Pearl of the Ocean

So disappointed. Chicken tikka masala at $ 24? Chicken was over spiced and the dahl was bland. The bread «paan» was undercooked and almost inedible. The only great tasting item was the chai… Which was great.

This is a nice, quiet spot to eat with a lot of great vegetarian, vegan, and omnivore choices. My wife and I ordered the kale salad and split one of the specials — a root vegetable curry with cauliflower and cashews. Every item was delicious and impeccably seasoned. The dhal in particular was delicious. The kale salad was unlike anything I’ve ever tasted. The kale itself was plain, but the fresh fruit was seasoned with a variety of spices and packed quite a punch. I recommend trying to get as many different components into the same bite as possible as the flavors really sing when combined. My only complaint is that they had run out of several items (we ate around 7:30) that we would have liked to try.

Great food, quiet little restaurant. Not inexpensive but the food is healthy and beautifully prepared. Always a sweet, quiet ambience.

I would rate this place 5 stars if it wasn’t for the two servers we had that night. they were unknowledgeable and very rude. I thought the owner was very nice, but I’m not going back until they hire new servers!

What a great restaurant! We found the place on Unilocal when searching for Indian Food. The Pearl came up near the top of reviews. I didn’t notice at the time that it was actually a Sri Lankan restaurant. I’m very glad my wife and I decided to give it a try. Our waitress was brand new (first day) so she was not that familiar with the dishes. The Owner came out and made some recommendations that would give us a good range of samples of the Sri Lankan menu. Everything was perfect, my wife and I particularly like the wine that she paired with the food. Excellent combination. We’ll be back!
PS I agree with the other reviewer. You can’t go out to dinner at a restaurant serving locally sourced Organic ingredients and expect to pay Indian Buffet prices. There is at least one certainty in life. You get what you pay for.
Eric

The food is excellent! Just thinking about my dinner last night makes me salivate. I love number of side dishes that come with every entrée. The service is good. And the organic /​local aspect of the restaurant is definitely a huge motivation for me going there.
The only reason that it does not draw all five stars is that the price is high for the atmosphere, which is nice but not fully fancy. I really am on the fence between 4 and 5 stars. It just seems that one or two items $ 15 or under would be a perk, given the atmosphere.

The initial problem involves the restaurant not being open during the times it was advertised to be open. We went to Pearl of the Ocean with an open mind, hoping to try some yummy Sri Lankan food, even though friends and family all warned us against trying it, due to their own past negative experiences there with the food. Putting aside what we had heard about the quality of the food not matching the high prices, especially since one hopes to find delicious organic foods when advertised, we were more than ready to enjoy a lovely meal. When our family arrived well after the opening hour of 11AM, we found the restaurant was closed. We called on the phone while waiting outside, hoping someone would be inside and open the door for us, but only got an answering machine, again stating they open at 11:00, as does their website. At a later date, when I spoke to the owner about the restaurant being closed when it was advertised as being open, I was spoken to with an appallingly rude tone of voice, as if I had somehow inconvenienced HER! Emergencies/​unforeseen circumstances can happen, of course. Why not have an employee or two available to run the restaurant if the owner’s not available to have it open when it’s advertised to be open? Her attitude was completely uncalled for, and the extreme lack of professionalism and communication skills will keep us from ever attempting to try Pearl of the Ocean again. Taking into consideration the negative reviews friends and family have given the food and ambiance there, there’s no reason for us to even consider going back. What a shame.

Exceptional food! It worth coming here for dinner on weekend from Walnut Creek.
We enjoyed it after spending couple hours in the Kiva Retreat House two blocks away

After reading some reviews, I came here fully expecting the portions be small for the price you pay. But hey: organic local sourced food is always going to be pricier. We got the mushroom curry entrée with a side of spicy potatoes ($ 20) and a bowl of lamb porridge ($ 10).
We got our food pretty quickly after ordering. Sadly, the first thing I noticed about the mushroom curry I ordered was that it was lukewarm! Everything from the side of spicy potatoes to the dhal and rice and the curry itself was room temperature. So although the flavor of everything was pretty good, I have to take down one star because it was borderline cold. Flavor-​wise, the side of spicy potatoes was pretty spicy but good. There were good chunks of mushroom in the curry, but it wasn’t what I thought it would be when I pictured curry. It was more like a stir fry (maybe that’s just my misconception that Sri Lankan curry is similar to Indian curry?)
For the lamb porridge, it was very creamy and coconuty. The rice is broken up and almost had the texture of quinoa which was interesting. At first glance, it was hard to find any bits of lamb, but my boyfriend said he got some small chunks of it throughout. Overall, the flavor was good but could have used more meat for $ 10/​bowl.
So although everything tasted pretty good and had balanced flavor, I would give this place 3.5 stars if I could (1 off for the temperature of my dish, 0.5 off for being slightly overpriced).

Food is amazing, the owner is very sweet. All organic too! Very intimate spot! Great for a romantic night out for two.

WARNING: if you are looking for cheap food, go to a cheap Indian or Chinese buffets. Do not complain about the restaurant prices, simply order what you can afford. Don’t use Unilocal just to complain, use it to support good hard working people and local businesses.
This restaurant is my favorite place to dine in town. My hubby and I have been going to the Pearl of the Ocean since we discovered it ever since they opened 7 years ago. I can not believe the negative criticism on the last review. Looking at the previous one star review from «Naren K» I believe we were there on the same Saturday night because we heard a table of six people being very rude giving complaints to the server and then laughing. Six people shared one plate of salmon and then loudly complained about it saying that it was bitter. I had salmon and the coconut leeks myself and loved it as usual. It seemed to me that they were cheapskates who didn’t want to pay for their food. On top of that they we’re being rude and inconsiderate to the sweetest young waitress who was doing her best to please them and they left without paying. I wanted to write this review in support of this business because this group of people’s bad manners stood out to me. Anybody can come on Unilocal and write a bad review, but you won’t always hear the full story.
This place is so amazing, there is no place that can match the high quality, beauty, and home cooked style organic food in Santa Cruz. It is truely farm to table. My husband and I go the the farmers market at Cabrillo college and we see the owner all the time buying tons of organic veggies and flowers. We are locals and we witness how they are running this business. If you say it is overpriced think about the cost of cooking with organic meats, spices and oils at home. This is not cheap quality overcooked buffet style Indian food, where you pay 10 dollars and before you even leave the restaurant you feel bloated. if you come here you should know the value of the food.
My hubby usually gets the deviled chicken or lamb curry, but I like to try the daily farmers market specials or salmon curry. The asparagus salad is always incredibly beautiful and perfectly cooked with just the right spice. They always have an appetizer of coconut chilli chickpeas that they can whip up and it is so addictive and it’s healthy for you, but it is not printed on the menu. Remember to ask for that! I always get belli juice when it is available.
This place is our gem. We are always delighted with our experiences. We will be loyal customers for years to come.

Only good thing about this place– the waitress was attentive! Unfortunately I can’t think of any other positive experience.
Overpriced, takes for ever and definitely not farm to table quality!
1. Found hair (not tiny but full length) in veggie salad roll– sent it back and were offered a replacement, which we declined.
2. Stale potato curry in veggie spring roll
3. Stale coconut in one of the side dish. When we complained we got a replacement which was perfectly fine. Which makes me think if they knew the previous coconut was bad and just didn’t care.
4. Salmon– we ordered spicy salmon for $ 25 bucks and it tasted bitter– when asked we were told it’s because we asked for spicy version– seriously?

I was curious and happed by for lunch. There was a party of four outside, one gal inside when I arrived. My order was taken quickly however it was about 25 minutes before my meal came out. In fact the people outside had not gotten their food yet and when realized that, thanked goodness I was not in a hurry.
I’m not sure what Sri Lankan food is about but the soya with mushroom is very sweet. Will pass on that in the future. Amazing kale and tasty cauliflower in cashew cream sauce. Ginger rice. eh. Dal was straight forward, clean and tasty. Plating is attractive. But there was one person in the kitchen, one server which might have been an issue if the place was full much less a few tables. Just found it a bit pricey for what it is. $ 12.50 for three items with your choice of rice. Side of dal and papadum included. If you are a meat eater it is an additional $ 4.00 for the one chicken curry on the menu on top of the listed pricing. Buddha on the wall, a small banana tree and a picture of Jesus on your way out the door:)

Over prices way to spicy not tasty
Very bad décor the waters was ok
Will never go back
$ 150.00 for 4 people only 2 drinks
Bummed I went

This place is great. Service is a bit slow but its worth the wait.
The Chicken curry is the best thing on the meal. The eggplant is very good as well. You should also try the noodles. The ingredients are fresh and everything has the perfect blend of spices.

We just moved to the neighborhood and have been here two times so far and both times the food and mango lassis were delicious. Every dish seems to be made with fresh high quality ingredients and a lot of preparation. For example, the meat falls off the bone on the chicken curry dish, so you know it took a long time to cook.
I find the food here quite spicy though, so if you can’t handle spicy, I’d suggest asking them before ordering.
The food is also kind of pricey, so we’ll probably only go here for special occasions, but you get what you pay for and it’s worth it.

We came to Santa Cruz for a golf weekend, and found Pearl of the Ocean via Unilocal.The staff was friendly and attentive. The food was out of sight. Neither my buddy or I had ever tried Sri Lankan food so we decided to give it a go.
Wow.
I had the deviled chicken, which was an unusual dish but I am glad I tried it. The chicken was marinated overnight, and the chopped pieces were pan fried to crispy goodness with an almost Chinese type of glaze. The spices were light but flavor packed. It’s clear that the food is made with care, and the dish was artfully presented. Definitely a solid value for the price.
My buddy had chicken curry with a cup of dahl. The curry was not the usual heavy cream of curry. It’s a light, almost broth like curry. Plenty of heat and very complex flavors. He said the dahl is the best he’s had.
If you visit Santa Cruz, you should eat here.

It’s my first time to this place. I was amped on the food. And the spicy potatoes was great. I love hot spicy food. The service was Alil slow but with appetizers and wine, it helped out with the wait. The lamb is also a favorite of mine. It seems with whatever u get u can’t go wrong. I will be coming back again! And it’s a bonus when it’s organic!
Even though I thought for the price was high, for the portion of food was small and our bill was 235.00!
But I’ll still come back

Santa Cruz has not one, but TWO Sri Lankan restaurants, which is nothing short of remarkable, given that there are probably only 30 Sri Lankan restaurants in the entire country. How did a tiny town like this end up with two?
Anyway. The other restaurant, Malabar, is much better in every way shape and form. If you’ve never had Sri Lankan food (and, statistically speaking, you probably haven’t), go to Malabar. It has better food, better ambiance and better service.
We started off with a Sri Lankan Coconut Roti ($ 5.50) which is basically a semi-​thick, tough piece of bread. It comes with garlicky oil and a coconut dip on the side (make sure to tell them you want it vegan, otherwise they give you a butter dip). I wasn’t impressed with this appetizer at all; the roti was too hard and the dips didn’t taste great.
For our mains we had a «broccoli tofu with tempe» ($ 15) and a couple of sides, «cashew coconut cauliflower» and dal.
The broccoli tofu was a really basic stir-​fry with soy sauce and garlic. You could have gotten this same dish at pretty much any Chinese restaurant in the United States. They didn’t even fry the tofu here.
The cashew coconut cauliflower was decent, as was the dal. Not great, but decent. Those were the highlights of an otherwise mediocre meal.
The service was friendly but the sole waitress was quickly overwhelmed and we basically received no service after our dishes were served. No water refills and it also took over 15 minutes to get the check. I finally had to go up to the front counter and force the issue, as we were in a rush. Two other people did the same.
Pearl of the Ocean was a big let-​down and I wish I’d gone to Malabar instead.

Small Sri Lankan restaurant located next to a frozen yogurt place. These two businesses share the same small parking lot, so parking may be difficult to find when both locations are full. We came on a Friday evening, and it wasn’t crowded at all. There were only two other couples in the restaurant at the time of our arrival.
Service:
Our server was friendly and was nice about giving us suggestions, as well as mentioning which menu items were popular amongst customers.
Food:
— Salad Rolls — Sweet tempe, avocado, carrots, salad leaves, and rice noodles wrapped in a thin flour wrapped and dressed with mango chutney. This appetizer literally tasted how its name suggests it should… a salad wrapped up into a roll. It wasn’t anything exciting, though the mango chutney was good. It definitely made this dish.
— Deviled Chicken — Chicken breast marinated overnight, cooked with olive oil and special spices. Entrees come with two sides, rice, and a side order of dhal, papadam, and chutney. We wanted to try the spicy potato, since our server mentioned that this was a popular item, but she warned us that this item is VERY spicy, especially for someone who doesn’t really like spicy foods (aka ME), so I appreciated the words of caution. We ended up choosing the Kale Salad and Mixed Vegetable Curry. Everything came on one plate, so all of the sauces from the different foods mixed together and resulted in an unusual blend of flavors. Because of this, I feel like I wasn’t really able to taste each individual item separately.