Venus Spirits Cocktails And Kitchen - Westside

Visited Santa Cruz and came here by the recommendation of a local. I'm really happy we visited! We came during Happy Hour and got seated at the bar. Bar fries were good, they came out hot. We were interested in buying a bottle of gin and were given a taste of the three they offer! My wife and I were blown away by their seasonal gin #3 - very smooth with hints of apple and pear. We bought 2, one for us and one for a gift. Service was great and friendly. We'll be back to have a meal next time we're in town.

We came on a weekend night with a reservation. There was ample parking near the restaurant. We were greeted warmly by the staff and ordering was pretty smooth. The wait was a bit long for the food (around 30 minutes), but the drink were quick. There was no rush in the restaurant as there wasn't a lot of people, and the ambience was nice, like a nice get together, homely type restaurant. We got the pan seared Hokkaido scallops, five mac and cheese (forgot to take a photo whoops), and the cumin roasted cauliflower. I also got the berried treasure. The dishes overall were great, especially the scallops and cauliflower, they were buttery and slightly sweet/savory! The berried treasure drink was actually quite good, as recommended by the staff, it was a bit sweet and citrusy/bit sour, but also not too strong. Overall, it was pretty delicious, and I would come again on one of their special event/nights!

There are better choices. I will not go back.Uninspired food. Substandard service. Decent ambiance doesn't make up for those deficits. Took over 1-1/2 hours for a 3 course meal, before the dinner rush.Sunday 27 Oct 24. Started well - 5:30 reservation, they got us in at 5 pm. Waitress attempted to explain the Fixed Price 'restaurant week' menu but indicated the Cacio e Pepe had scallops - it doesn't - the 1st course did.The kale apple salad that we split, off the main menu, was the best item.Off fixed price, I ordered the scallops - turned out, 1 scallop, which was undercooked by about a minute or two. Micro greens were good, seasoning was OK. My brother got the lamb chop, which he said he liked. Main course - 20 minutes later, waitress brought out spoons for dessert - not the main course, and became flustered when we pointed out we hadn't eaten. We had to ask for water, twice. Our dishes then came out - I had Cacio e pepe, he had the filet. He said his was OK - color looked appropriately medium rare.My dish had - NO pepper, and no cheese! None! It was oily and unseasoned. Straight fail. Waitress didn't come back (as they should at nice restaurants) within 5 minutes of service. 15 minutes went by, I didn't finish so I could point out no pepper and no reggiano when she finally did reappear. She again looked flustered. Manager didn't come by at any point.20 minutes after removing our plates, they brought out dessert, which was OK. He had key lime, I had chocolate torte. Both were acceptable, but nothing special.No apology was offered, and no manager ever came by. If this is how Venus is managed, I doubt it will prosper for long.Spend your money elsewhere if you want decent food and acceptable service.

My wife and i came here for dinner on New Year's eve. We sat outside on the covered and enclosed patio, there was plenty of portable heaters for it to be comfortable. We split the Five Mac & Cheese, my wife had the burger, and I had the Fried Chicken. The Mac & Cheese was good, my wife was not impressed with her burger, but I thought it was fine. The Fried Chicken was absurd, it was just deep fried chicken wings. The drinks were good and the service was good also. I don't think I will return.

Summary: cocktails are the highlight, food is solid, open but loud environment, friendly staff Details: sometimes they are quite busy and other times they aren't -- get a reservation to be safe. Interior is open but bland. It can get pretty loud when it's full. Brussel sprouts: Yum! Comes with date jalapeño cashew cream. Not sure what that means exactly but I sure ate it all. Smaller portion for the price.Whipped feta: Yup, whipped. The sweetness is cut with tomato jam. It almost works really well. The house made focaccia is a bit boring.Cod ceviche: large portion with house made tortilla chips. Easy to share for two and maybe even four. Also, I could have eaten it all myself. Fried chicken: disappointing. Cornmeal coating was bland and the chicken was dry. No hot sauce. Summer Negroni: summer gin (I didn't know gin was seasonal) with vanilla and lime flavors. Good but a little too sweet for me.Margarita: a blanco agave and triple sec. Tasty and not too strong. Venus is a strong food option on the West Side. Probably only 3.5 stars but upgraded to 4 given limited choices nearby.

I was looking for a place to have a nice dinner in Santa Cruz and Venus fit the bill. I wasn't familiar with their spirits before but I was excited to try a cocktail from a distillery. The bourbon smash was really good and also pretty strong for a restaurant drink! I debated getting a second cocktail since they have an expansive and interesting menu but drink one was enough!We started with ordering some appetizers - and I was kind of expecting smaller plates but they were all pretty large. The sausage sampler was really like a meal and I saw someone eating it as a meal! We enjoyed the brussels sprouts and onion dip with chips a lot as well. I was really glad to try the wedge salad because that dressing was really memorable!The service was very fast and friendly. This place has a converted warehouse feel with high ceilings and visible duct work.Easy to park right in front though my GPS was a little less helpful since the "street" that is on looked more like a parking lot so we drove by and had to turn around! I did make a reservation through Open Table but they weren't that busy.

If you like handcrafted cocktails, then this is the place to frequent. Our bartender was super attentive and knowledgeable. The place has a very hip vibe and the food did not disappoint. We ordered the Brussel sprouts and sausage board. Both were excellent. We highly recommend dining here when in Santa Cruz.

Perfect date night spot in Santa Cruz! We love a good gin and tonic and Venus has incredible options. HIGHLIGHTS+ Drinks are amazing + Ambiance is fun! It is located in an almost industrial area but it has a super cool vibe + Easy to make ressies online LOWLIGHTS- No veggie Patty for their burgers :( they do have vegetarian options for food but nothing that was like out of this world incredible. The options for meat look amazing though so my hubby definitely enjoyed!- reservations are key! This place gets busy so don't expect to just rock up and get seated.Overall, amazing spot for drinks!

Maybe they had an off night, but I wasn't that impressed.Service is fine. Food was OK not as imaginative as some of the other new pop-ups everywhere. I feel like the place was nice but the parking is deplorable.

Overall Venus is a great place...except for some "specials" such as their smash burger and MGD on Mondays. Three times I've had terrible experiences with their burger...cold, tasted like old beef fat due to that reason. Dry...the house made pickles were the only good thing about this. I didn't bother to tell my server, but she didn't bother to ask why I'd didn't eat much of it.On "special" burger night, it is also specials on Negroni's, a favorite of mine, and they make them well! However, they are shrinking in size, so I don't know how to rate them. Any other night, they completely fill up the glass.I will go back, but not as often, as their prices are not cheap for the regular food & drinks...and those are amazing.