THE 10 BEST Santa Cruz Bars & Clubs
Bars & Clubs in Santa Cruz
- Traveler favoritesThings to do ranked using Tripadvisor data including reviews, ratings, photos, and popularity.
- Traveler rankingHighest rated attractions on Tripadvisor, based on traveler reviews.
Category types
Types of Attractions
Nightlife
Nightlife
Traveler rating
Good for
14 places sorted by traveler favorites
Bars & Clubs
Bars & Clubs
Bars & Clubs
Bars & Clubs
What travelers are saying
- dl50126Chicago, USA11 contributionsWe spent a lovely evening in this venue. Great wines available by the glass or bottle. We spent our time noshing, sipping and having great conversations with the staff. Be sure to have them call the bike taxi to take you home. This was the icing on the cake. Thanks to all.Written August 4, 2022This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- 915staceyfFayetteville, AR28 contributionsJimmy Thackery really burned it up at this great venue. A great spot with patio doors that open up to a smoking area and a taco bar. Perfect to enjoy the lovely weather in Santa Cruz. The bar staff is amazing. All the blues fans will feel automatically at home when they see the posters of all the greats who play there. Love it! We made new friends tooWritten September 3, 2019This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- WinoExtremeSan Francisco, CA165 contributionsI go to the Pocket every time I am in the Santa Cruz area, they always have great music. I have seen countless international acts on random nights. Affordable drinks and great staff. I only write about the places I love.Written July 7, 2016This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Matthew MCardiff, UK107 contributionsA great experience in the craft bar with Danny, very welcoming, great local knowledge & a great host in between serving a decently busy bar. Good products too.
Will definitely come back & recommend to friends.Written September 8, 2022This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - Nicole TSpencer, OH111 contributionsVisited here on a mini tap house/brewery tour (Humble Sea, Santa Cruz Mountain, and West End Tap). Beer here was pretty good, the selection of non-alcoholic beverages for the DD was better. Nice patio.Written October 7, 2018This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- christinanrodriguezLos Angeles, CA2 contributionsAfter looking for this place we never found it. This place is pretty ‘Derpy’
Good times with friendsWritten July 10, 2018This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - PittbossssSanta Cruz, CA4 contributionsAwesome neighborhood bar with great staff and a fun and friendly vibe. Remarkably good drinks, too! Management definitely takes pride in the establishment and it shows. Will be back soon.Written March 27, 2017This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- AthoniaSanta Cruz, CA1 contributionIt's a toss up between Red Restaurant & Lounge and Blue Lounge for best local bar in Santa Cruz. Good Times weekly voted 'Red' best bar in 2015 but I think that's arguable. Both have moody dark red lighting inside giving them that quintesential lounge ambiance. Strong drinks, clean bathrooms, and a great crowd also allow both establishments to rank highly side by side.
I'd have to say that Blue Lounge comes in on top by comparison to Red for a few reasons. The Seabright neighborhood is less touristy and has some creature comforts that downtown Santa Cruz lacks. For instance, Blue Lounge is a five minute walk to the harbor, the lighthouse and the beach. There's free parking behind the bar and plenty more parking on local side streets. If you want to avoid the crowds downtown then Blue Lounge is an easy choice to make for your weekend pub crawl.
Sounds: Blue Lounge has DJs spinning electronic dance music most weekend nights and they have nice big JBL speakers that fills the bar with jams.
Games & Entertainment: As others have pointed out there's a pinball machine and free billiards too! Thursday nights are LGBT night and on Monday nights they have karaoke.
Nearby venues: much like downtown you can easily grab dinner & drinks and end up dancing or shooting pool all night without ever getting into your car. Start with dinner and a pint at Seabright Brewery. Alternatively you can grab a sandwich & fries at Betty Burger. After that, flow over to Brady's Yacht Club to get your dive bar check-ins out of the way. End up at the Blue Lounge for billiards, dancing and drinks. They even have snacks behind the bar if you need a pallet cleanser after visiting the first two places.
All in all, it's a fun little place to hang out. Bar tenders are welcoming and the decor makes it cozy. Oh, you can hit 'em up on Facebook too https://www.facebook.com/theblueloungescWritten April 25, 2015This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - andy10krunKingston-upon-Hull, UK45 contributionsThis is definitely the place to visit if you want top notch burgers and a great choice of craft beers. Portions are generous so arrive hungry! Never eaten a beer battered deep fried burger before - it might not be healthy but it was tasty 😋Written August 11, 2018This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Skip HSanta Cruz, CA121 contributionsthis place is exactly what you want in a total dive bar. Very colorful locals who are professionals at dive bar attendance. locals only. If you are into that- this is your place. Bradys has been around for 40 years +. pool table.
try to blend in and good luck. If you are friendly, so are the patrons.Written January 17, 2017This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - Keesha Aakriti MMinneapolis, MN16 contributionsRocks definitely a must to go place. The bartenders are awesome at making drinks . One bartender made a drink for me out favorite gin and tonic. If your looking for cool people, great drinks, and cool atmosphere this is it!Written June 20, 2015This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Evelyn BStevenson Ranch, CA74 contributionsWe came for a late lunch. Surprised to find live music. Very Hawaiian menu with Managua, saimin noodles, poki and lomi lomi on the menu. I had the kalua pork, which was surprisingly light. We did order some appetizers, which came at the same time as lunch, unfortunately. Also, food took almost 25 minutes, which at 2:50 PM, seemed like a long time. Service was decent, food pretty good. Ambience was good. It's just the time to get the food was too long. Maybe if we'd actually gotten our appetizers as such, it would have been more tolerable.Written April 11, 2015This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- LayuithollandLeiden, The Netherlands794 contributionsI think they don’t care about reviews and they don’t have to at Blue Lagoon. It’s just your kind of bar in town were you hangout with a cheap can of beer and watch people in a dusty alternative vibe with usual suspects that hang out there everyday.
I like the place although the service is slow and not really enthusiastic.Written October 7, 2019This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - Jens ACopenhagen Region, Denmark4 contributionsThey are rude
They seems to not think about their custommers at all.
Ask to move from seat in the sun for no reason - not polite. Don't go there ...Written July 25, 2023This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Frequently Asked Questions about Santa Cruz
- These places are best for bars & clubs in Santa Cruz:See more bars & clubs in Santa Cruz on Tripadvisor
See what travelers are asking
Forum posts were selected by looking for forum titles asking specific questions and taking the top showtopic page by total pageviews as the optimal topic.
So I havent seen this post recently. Debating the merits of staying in Santa Cruz vs Capitola.
We are are a sports team of 15- 16 yr old boys traveling from Orange County ,ca to the area in end of July. Games can range from being in Sc, Aptos, cabrillo and San Lorenzo. We will be in the area for four days with some down time in the evenings.
Hotels are expensive in both areas. Looking into the Fairfield inn in Capitola (rates ave ~$300 but with breakfast & bocci ball court) with some of chain restaurants like chipotle & mall nearby.
The other option to to get a hotel in SC possibly Hotel Paradox in the higher end (~$330 but no breakfast) or Holiday Inn or Hyatt place same price as FI.
Pls lmk your thoughts of what would be a better city SC or C?
Would like a hotel where parents & kids have a nice common area to congregate during down time.
Also would like to have the boys have access to fun things to do during down time & have access to good food options since 16 yrs old boys playing sports are always hungry.
Will the team with 30+ people be frustrated trying to get into a non chain restaurant in Sc?
Hotel P is off the beaten path & expensive but has nicer facilities like pool area with nice lounge area. Is the hotel worth the extra $?
Any appreciate suggestions on the hotel I mentioned or any others that I have may have overlooked.
Thank you for your advice.
We are are a sports team of 15- 16 yr old boys traveling from Orange County ,ca to the area in end of July. Games can range from being in Sc, Aptos, cabrillo and San Lorenzo. We will be in the area for four days with some down time in the evenings.
Hotels are expensive in both areas. Looking into the Fairfield inn in Capitola (rates ave ~$300 but with breakfast & bocci ball court) with some of chain restaurants like chipotle & mall nearby.
The other option to to get a hotel in SC possibly Hotel Paradox in the higher end (~$330 but no breakfast) or Holiday Inn or Hyatt place same price as FI.
Pls lmk your thoughts of what would be a better city SC or C?
Would like a hotel where parents & kids have a nice common area to congregate during down time.
Also would like to have the boys have access to fun things to do during down time & have access to good food options since 16 yrs old boys playing sports are always hungry.
Will the team with 30+ people be frustrated trying to get into a non chain restaurant in Sc?
Hotel P is off the beaten path & expensive but has nicer facilities like pool area with nice lounge area. Is the hotel worth the extra $?
Any appreciate suggestions on the hotel I mentioned or any others that I have may have overlooked.
Thank you for your advice.
Answer: There is not much for boys that age in Capitola. Its core is a small village with boutique shopping. The hotel itself is on busy 41st Avenue, not very near the village. The mall you speak of is considering going out of business and turning into something else. It has a couple of semi-fast food restaurants. It is not something the boys could walk to from the Fairfield Inn, or has anything of interest to them, IMO.
The Holiday Inn Express in Santa Cruz is not near anything for the boys except Denny's :~). It is on Ocean Street as you come into the town. The Paradox is a new remake of a Holiday Inn and it screams 'businessmen'. It is also on Ocean Avenue, but further down and just across San Lorenzo Park (about two or three blocks) from the main street of town, Pacific Avenue, with lots of restaurants of various kinds, two movie theaters, ice cream parlors, a cookie company, pizza, etc.
Have you looked into the Dream Inn? This is of the same quality as, or better than, the others but near the Wharf and a block from the Boardwalk, an old fashioned historic amusement park with no admission charge.
The hotel has a pool and faces a beach. Surfing lessons happen there. There are volleyball nets set up on part of the beach near the Boardwalk. During the summer there are free movies and concerts and aerial acts at various times on the main beach there. Of your choices, I really think this is the best. It is not inexpensive, but I think it might be in the same ballpark as the Paradox. The boys *could* walk to Pacific Avenue from here, but it is about 8 or 9 blocks to the main area .
The Hyatt is new and I know nothing about it except its location. It is on the west side and not really convenient to activities for the boys.
I am going to give you a link to a traveler article on Santa Cruz. Trip Advisor has stopped supporting these, so there is a disclaimer that the information may be outdated. The information in this article is not outdated. I will be re-writing it to put in my own files.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g33048-c133677/Santa-Cruz:California:Santa.Cruz.Sights.And.Activities.html
Good luck and let me know if I can be of help....
Edit. The Paradox is not in a "shady area of town". Yes, homeless people do hang out in San Lorenzo Park, but there is no reason for the boys to go there. If you should pick that hotel they can walk on city streets, quite safely, to get to Pacific Avenue...
The Holiday Inn Express in Santa Cruz is not near anything for the boys except Denny's :~). It is on Ocean Street as you come into the town. The Paradox is a new remake of a Holiday Inn and it screams 'businessmen'. It is also on Ocean Avenue, but further down and just across San Lorenzo Park (about two or three blocks) from the main street of town, Pacific Avenue, with lots of restaurants of various kinds, two movie theaters, ice cream parlors, a cookie company, pizza, etc.
Have you looked into the Dream Inn? This is of the same quality as, or better than, the others but near the Wharf and a block from the Boardwalk, an old fashioned historic amusement park with no admission charge.
The hotel has a pool and faces a beach. Surfing lessons happen there. There are volleyball nets set up on part of the beach near the Boardwalk. During the summer there are free movies and concerts and aerial acts at various times on the main beach there. Of your choices, I really think this is the best. It is not inexpensive, but I think it might be in the same ballpark as the Paradox. The boys *could* walk to Pacific Avenue from here, but it is about 8 or 9 blocks to the main area .
The Hyatt is new and I know nothing about it except its location. It is on the west side and not really convenient to activities for the boys.
I am going to give you a link to a traveler article on Santa Cruz. Trip Advisor has stopped supporting these, so there is a disclaimer that the information may be outdated. The information in this article is not outdated. I will be re-writing it to put in my own files.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g33048-c133677/Santa-Cruz:California:Santa.Cruz.Sights.And.Activities.html
Good luck and let me know if I can be of help....
Edit. The Paradox is not in a "shady area of town". Yes, homeless people do hang out in San Lorenzo Park, but there is no reason for the boys to go there. If you should pick that hotel they can walk on city streets, quite safely, to get to Pacific Avenue...
Note that forum content are individual perspectives of forum posters and not the opinion of Tripadvisor

























