Pearl of the Ocean - Santa Cruz

During Burger Week, we decided to try out this restaurant. The menu was a bit confusing, and the waiter forgot to ask us how we wanted our burgers cooked. Despite their website stating that they serve grass-fed burgers, only one of the options was actually grass-fed. Fortunately, we chose that one and it was delicious. The service was a bit slow, but we weren't in a rush so it didn't bother us. Overall, we enjoyed our experience and would consider going back again.

The servers at this restaurant truly went above and beyond to make sure we enjoyed our meal. When one person in our group found the first dish too spicy, they remade it and provided recommendations for future visits. The Sri Lankan cuisine was absolutely delicious.

The food was great. My son-in-law is from Sri Lanka and he confirmed that the food was authentic and very good. However, the prices were a bit over-the-top. 3 Adults and a child and the bill with tip came to $145. We ordered 3 main entrees, one shared appetizer and three beers plus one Tea. The child shared our food. The servings were good-sized and we had some to take home with us. I would consider going back for a special occasion, but would not take the family for a regular dinner out considering the prices. The evening sun was a bit too bright and glaring in the restaurant. It really detracted from the atmosphere. Service was very good even with a first-day employee. She did very well for it being her first day on the job. Very friendly! The manager was also very attentive and stopped by a couple times to make sure we were being taken cared of well.

My fiancée and I went here for Valentine 's Day—not realizing there was a prix fixe menu for Valentine 's Day at $45/person...I had only budgeted for about $75 for the 2 of us with tax and tip, since we are planning a wedding in just a few months. It was a busy night, so my fiancée let the waiter know that we didn 't realize the price, and we don 't want to take away a seat from someone else, so we would leave. He was SO friendly!! He said that since it was Valentine 's Day, and he didn 't want us to have to leave simply due to our financial constraints, that he would allow us to order off the regular menu (the one we had budgeted for). That was so nice, because we both had a delicious meal! I definitely don 't recommend going on a really busy night if you 're in a huge hurry, because it did take a while to get our check at the end, but the food was delicious, atmosphere was lovely, and the waiter was truly so kind and a great people-person! The owner and both staff members were so friendly, accommodating, and warm—great customer service. YOU MUST GO HERE FOR THE FOOD: I loved everything I had. Since I don 't like really spicy food, I asked the waiter what was more mild, and he was very accommodating—everything I had was at the perfect level of spice. My fiancée was more adventurous and tried dishes he warned us had some chili powder—and he was right! It definitely had a kick, but went well with everything else on the plate—great for those who like spice. Both of us got the mild versions—they can also do medium and hot. I LOVED the kale, the dhal, the paan, and the special squash curry—so basically I loved everything I ate! Definitely worth the wait and time for the delicious food and truly compassionate staff.

I was so excited when I discovered that a Sri Lanka Restraunt was in Santa Cruz. Unfortunately, I was extremely disappointed with the food and cost after our experience. The host was nice and the service was pleasant, however the dishes lacked authenticity and flavor. We ordered several vegan dishes and the vegetable selections used in the dishes was predominatly cabbage with a few carrort, broccilli, onion and few bell peppers. We also ordered the salmon special for the evening and the salmon was flavored with heavy salt. The special came with cashew cauliflower, dalh and a coconut curry. THE CASHEW CAULIFLOWER WAS TASTY. I am familiar with Sri Lankan cusine and have been to Sri Lanka several times, I would not recommend this place. The price for 3 adults and a 2 year old was over $100.00 and this was with no alcohol! I considered this to be expensive for what we got.