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Monday 11am - 8pm Tuesday 11am - 8pm Wednesday 11am - 9pm Thursday 11am - 9pm Friday 11am - 9pm Saturday 11am - 9pm Sunday 11am - 9pm

Makai Restaurant, 49A Municipal Wharf, Santa Cruz, CA (2026)

09/01/2026

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐭. 🍂🌴⁣⁣
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That first little snap in the air. The light shifts. Summer is still here, but September arrives with a different kind of appetite, something crisp, something golden, something warm, with just enough spice to hint at what’s ahead.⁣⁣
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At Makai, our 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬 live right in that delicious space between seasons.⁣⁣
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🌺 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐂𝐮𝐭 𝐉𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐚 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: Thick-cut, crisp jicama wrapped in golden tempura and fried fresh to order, with house-made tamarind Thai chili sauce for a sweet, tangy kick.⁣⁣
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🥪 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐞: And we mean it. Salsa macha pulled pork, rum-poached pear, caramelized onion, wilted arugula, and pepper jack piled onto thick sourdough, paired with tomato bisque served inside a hollowed-out beefsteak tomato. Comfort food grew up, went somewhere tropical, and came back with stories.⁣⁣
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🍹 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞: Lime, pineapple, and passionfruit meet Angostura bitters, Licor 43, amaretto, and Venus Gin. Tropical and bright, with warmer notes underneath, and dressed for the occasion with pineapple and an orchid.⁣⁣
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🥃 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐂𝐚𝐲 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝: Three great Caribbean rum traditions meet in one bottle, blending molasses and cane juice rums from Barbados, Martinique, and Venezuela. Citrus and banana lead into earthy mineral notes, nutmeg, baking spice, honey, and toasted coconut. 1 oz. pour | $6⁣⁣
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There’s an old rhythm to this time of year across cultures: the harvest, the gathering, the pleasure of abundance before the season turns. In Hawaiʻi, that spirit finds its fullest expression later in the Makahiki season, a time historically associated with harvest, peace, feasting, and gratitude.⁣⁣
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We’re not quite there yet.⁣⁣
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For now, September gets the beautiful part in between: 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫.⁣⁣
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🌊 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐢 𝐈𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐊𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐧 & 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚 𝐂𝐫𝐮𝐳 𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐟.

📍 Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery | Santa Cruz Wharf | Santa Cruz, California
🤩 Open M, T, Th, Sun 11-8 & W, Fri, Sat 11-9⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
😀 Happy Hour M-F 3-6 PM⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁉️ Trivia Nights Wednesdays 7-9 PM⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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Photography by Jamie Hall Media
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08/25/2026

There is a moment in every summer that refuses to be ordinary. 🌺⁣
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You don't plan for it. It arrives the way the best things do, sideways, unhurried, while you were looking at something else entirely. The light shifts. The room hums with the particular warmth of people who have nowhere better to be. Something is being made behind the bar that smells like coffee and chocolate and a decision you won't regret. And somewhere above you, a school of fish swims across the ceiling in permanent, unhurried formation, going nowhere and somehow always arriving exactly where they're supposed to be.⁣
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This is Makai. Thatch, tropical green, carved wood, and blue glass catching the afternoon light. A tiki restaurant and bar (rotating!) on the Santa Cruz Wharf that feels like it was assembled from the best parts of every island that ever existed and placed here, at the edge of the Pacific, specifically for moments like this one.⁣
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The summers you remember always have a room like this in them. A place that felt slightly outside of time, where the food was bold, and the cocktails were worth talking about, and the atmosphere made you lean back and exhale and decide that whatever was waiting for you elsewhere could wait a little longer.⁣
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That room exists right now. The August specials are still here. The Holmes Cay Private Barrel rum is still pouring. The Captain's Nightcap is still flying its flag. And the Pacific is right outside the window, the same as it has always been, the same as it always will be.⁣
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And here is what we know: something will happen when you're here. Not something dramatic. Something quieter and more permanent than that. A song will come on that opens something in your chest. Someone at your table will say something that makes everyone laugh too hard and too long. The second cocktail will arrive, and the light will do that thing it does in the late afternoon when it goes golden and a little reckless. And you'll feel it, that rare, specific electricity of being completely present in a moment that is already becoming a memory.⁣
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𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞. 🌊🌴

📍 Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery | Santa Cruz Wharf | Santa Cruz, California
🤩 Open M, T, Th, Sun 11-8 & W, Fri, Sat 11-9⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
😀 Happy Hour M-F 3-6 PM⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁉️ Trivia Nights Wednesdays 7-9 PM⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Photography by Jamie Hall Media
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08/21/2026

Some people have earned the right to the best seat in the house. This weekend, we'd like to help you give it to them. 🌺⁣
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Today is 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲 — and we think the best way to celebrate the people who have lived the most, tasted the most, and seen the most is to bring them somewhere that feels worthy of all of it.⁣
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The Santa Cruz Wharf on a summer day or evening. Colored lanterns. The Pacific filling every window. A kitchen turning out bold, beautiful food and a bar that takes its craft as seriously as any in California.⁣
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Let it extend into the weekend. Bring your grandmother. Bring your favorite uncle. Bring the person in your life who has been around long enough to know exactly what good looks like — and watch their face when the 𝐌𝐫. 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐢 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 arrive golden and impossible, when the 𝐂𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥'𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐰𝐥 lands bold and bright, when the 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧'𝐬 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐜𝐚𝐩 arrives with its little pirate flag flying, or when someone suggests the 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐂𝐚𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐢 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐥 — 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐫𝐮𝐦 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞, 𝟏𝟔 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 in the making, bottled exclusively for this bar and available nowhere else on earth.⁣
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These are the people who taught you what a good meal means. Who showed you that the best moments happen around a table with people you love. This weekend, return the favor. 🌊🌴⁣
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August specials all weekend:⁣
🥑 𝐌𝐫. 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐢 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 — $𝟏𝟕⁣
🥗 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥'𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐰𝐥 — $𝟐𝟓⁣
🏴‍☠️ 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧'𝐬 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐜𝐚𝐩 — $𝟏𝟔⁣
🥃 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐂𝐚𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐢 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐥, 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟔, 𝟏𝟔 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 — $𝟏𝟐/𝐨𝐳⁣
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📍 Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery | Santa Cruz Wharf | Santa Cruz, California

🤩 Open M, T, Th, Sun 11-8 & W, Fri, Sat 11-9⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
😀 Happy Hour M-F 3-6 PM⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁉️ Trivia Nights Wednesdays 7-9 PM⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Photography by Jamie Hall Media
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08/14/2026

There's a thread running through August at Makai; pull it, and the whole story unravels in the best possible way. 🌺⁣⁣
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Look closely at what's on the plate this month, and something reveals itself. Every special carries a quiet conversation between heat and cool, between bold and delicate, between the deep richness of the Pacific Rim and the bright freshness of a California August afternoon.⁣⁣
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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐫. 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐢 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 — avocado in tempura, golden and crisp on the outside, impossibly creamy within. Avocado is August's fruit. Technically a fruit, nutritionally extraordinary, loaded with healthy fats, potassium, and that particular richness that makes everything around it taste better. Paired with our orange Thai chili sauce, it becomes something unexpected and completely right. 🥑⁣⁣
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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥'𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐰𝐥 carries that same conversation further. Gochujang, the Korean fermented chili paste that has been building flavor for centuries, brings a deep, slow heat that's nothing like the sharp bite of a fresh pepper. It's complex. It's layered. And paired with fresh pineapple, house slaw, mung beans, and cilantro, it becomes a bowl that is simultaneously bold and bright, warming and refreshing. Named for one of Santa Cruz's most beloved surf breaks, it carries the energy of the coast in every forkful. 🌊⁣⁣
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And then the 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧'𝐬 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐜𝐚𝐩 arrives like the last light of a long August evening: Hendrick's gin, Bailey's, coffee liqueur, cinnamon Demerara, chocolate bitters. Every flavor in that glass belongs to the transitional season that August quietly announces. Coffee. Cinnamon. Chocolate. The warmth that starts to find its way back into the evenings even as the days stay long and golden. 🥃⁣⁣
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Presiding over all of it: the 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐂𝐚𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐢 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐥, 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟔, 𝟏𝟔 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫. A rum bottled exclusively for this bar, from a single cask that no longer exists. Caramel, vanilla, plum on the nose. Toffee and cacao on the palate. Stone fruit on the finish. It is, in the most literal sense, irreplaceable. When it's gone, it's gone.⁣⁣
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August is the month that knows what it is, the last full chapter of summer, generous and golden and already carrying the first whisper of everything that comes next. Come find it at the end of the wharf, where the Pacific fills the windows and the kitchen is ready for you. 🌴🌊

🌴 Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery⁣
📍 Santa Cruz Wharf⁣
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🤩 Open M, T, Th, Sun 11-8 & W, Fri, Sat 11-9⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
😀 Happy Hour M-F 3-6 PM⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁉️ Trivia Nights Wednesdays 7-9 PM⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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Photography by Jamie Hall Media
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07/30/2026

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞. 🌊⁣
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Through the windows, Monterey Bay becomes part of the room. The horizon lingers beyond the bamboo, afternoon light settles quietly across the floor, and the line between indoors and out begins to disappear. It's a view that never asks for your attention, yet somehow always earns it.⁣
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Around it, lanterns glow, hand-carved tiki stand watch, the kitchen fills the air with bold island flavors, and the bar crafts cocktails with the same care as the tide shaping the shore. Every detail feels connected, inviting you to settle into the moment and let the day unfold at its own pace.⁣
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July is nearly ready to drift into August, and with it, 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 to enjoy this month's specials.⁣
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🌺 𝐏𝐮𝐚'𝐚 𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬⁣
🥗 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐝⁣
🥃 𝐑𝐞𝐝, 𝗪𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞 & 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐳𝐞⁣
🇺🇸 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐞 𝐑𝐮𝐦 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜⁣
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Soon they'll become another favorite chapter in the story of summer on the wharf, making way for a new season of flavors.⁣
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The bay keeps its own rhythm. The tiki keep watch. And just beyond the windows, the horizon is waiting.⁣
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🌴 Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery⁣
📍 Santa Cruz Wharf⁣
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🤩 Open M, T, Th, Sun 11-8 & W, Fri, Sat 11-9⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
😀 Happy Hour M-F 3-6 PM⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁉️ Trivia Nights Wednesdays 7-9 PM⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Photography by Jamie Hall Media
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07/29/2026

Pau Hana. 🌺⁣⁣
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In Hawaii, it's the phrase that means the workday is over. The tools are down. The desk is behind you. The evening belongs entirely to you now. It's not just an expression; it's a philosophy. A daily permission slip to exhale, arrive somewhere beautiful, and be fully present in the moment ahead.⁣⁣
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Tonight, the Santa Cruz Wharf is mostly sunny and 64 degrees; the water is catching the afternoon light the way only the Pacific knows how, and Makai is ready for you.⁣⁣
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This is a Wednesday worth celebrating, and we have more than a few reasons. 🌊⁣⁣
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𝐏𝐚𝐮 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐚, our 2026 Signature Cocktail winner, created by Hana Kingsbury, is exactly what its name promises. Venus Gin meets fragrant rosemary and St. Germain's elderflower elegance, tangled up in house raspberry and tart lemon. Served up in a sugar-rimmed glass with a rosemary sprig resting across the top like a well-earned exhale. It's 5 o'clock somewhere, but here, it's always golden hour. 🥃⁣
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And for a few more days only, the 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬 are still here to meet you:⁣⁣
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🌶️ 𝐏𝐮𝐚'𝐚 𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬 — jalapeños stuffed with house-smoked pulled pork, cream cheese, and cilantro, wrapped in bacon, fried fresh, finished with orange Thai chili sauce.⁣⁣
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🥗 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐝 — house-smoked pulled pork over mixed greens with sweet pickled red onions, pepperjack, cucumber, candied macadamia nuts, and pineapple pico de gallo, finished with roasted jalapeño ranch.⁣⁣
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🥃 𝐑𝐞𝐝, 𝗪𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞 & 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐳𝐞 — apple spice bourbon, Amaretto, vanilla liqueur, bruléed apple. July going out exactly as it should.⁣⁣
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🍹 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐞 𝐑𝐮𝐦 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜 — fresh-pressed Louisiana sugarcane, distilled in New Orleans. Pineapple, kiwi, crisp apple. Proudly American and quietly extraordinary.⁣⁣
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The July specials end this week. Tonight is the night to come find them.⁣⁣
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And if you need one more reason — 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝟕 𝐭𝐨 𝟗 PM. 🎉 Prizes, laughs, and the kind of Wednesday evening you'll actually remember. Bring your team, your sharpest friend, or just show up and surprise yourself.⁣⁣
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𝐏𝐚𝐮 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐚. The work is done. The wharf is waiting. 🌴🌊⁣⁣
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📍 Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery | Santa Cruz Wharf 🌊⁣⁣⁣⁣
🤩 Open M, T, Th, Sun 11-8 & W, Fri, Sat 11-9⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
😀 Happy Hour M-F 3-6 PM⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁉️ Trivia Nights Wednesdays 7-9 PM⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Photography by Jamie Hall Media
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07/26/2026

One more week. 🌺⁣
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The door is still open, just barely, and through it, something worth savoring is still waiting for you.⁣
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The 𝐏𝐮𝐚'𝐚 𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬 are still here. The 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐝 still piled high with pineapple pico and candied macadamia, still dressed with that roasted jalapeño ranch that makes you pause after the first forkful. The 𝐑𝐞𝐝, 𝗪𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞 & 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐳𝐞 still glowing golden over its block of ice, that bruléed apple resting on top like a quiet signature.⁣

And then there's the one that deserves a moment of its own.⁣
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𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐞 𝐑𝐮𝐦 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜. 🥃⁣
Fresh-pressed Louisiana sugarcane. A column still in New Orleans. Unaged and completely honest, pineapple, kiwi, crisp apple on the nose, and a finish that lingers with the warmth of something that knows exactly what it is. There's a reason we chose this one. American-made, craft-driven, and the kind of bottle you find tucked away somewhere special and smile when you remember it's there.⁣
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Which is exactly the feeling this time of year starts to carry, even in July. Somewhere behind a door not yet opened, the holidays are already quietly assembling: Thanksgiving tables being imagined, Christmas gatherings being planned, the particular joy of pulling something carefully chosen from its hiding place and handing it over with a grin that says I've been waiting to give you this.⁣
⁣
Cheramie is that kind of rum. The kind worth tucking away. The kind worth sharing when the moment finally arrives.⁣
⁣
But the moment is right now too. One more week for the July specials. The door is still open. 🌊🌴⁣
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📍 Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery | Santa Cruz Wharf 🌊⁣⁣⁣⁣
🤩 Open M, T, Th, Sun 11-8 & W, Fri, Sat 11-9⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
😀 Happy Hour M-F 3-6 PM⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁉️ Trivia Nights Wednesdays 7-9 PM⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Photography by Jamie Hall Media
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

07/18/2026

There's a thread running through this month's kitchen at Makai; pull it, and the whole story unravels in the best possible way. 🌺⁣
⁣
Both the 𝐏𝐮𝐚'𝐚 𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬 and the 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐝 are built around the same soul: house-smoked pulled pork. But here's where it gets interesting.⁣
⁣
Kalua, the cooking method, not the liqueur, is one of the oldest cooking traditions in Hawaiian culture. The word itself refers to cooking in an underground oven called an imu, where a whole pig is wrapped in banana leaves, buried with hot stones, and left to slow-cook for hours until the meat pulls apart in long, impossibly tender strands. No smoke. No flame. Just earth, heat, and time.⁣
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What we do at Makai echoes that same philosophy, low, slow, and intentional, just without the hole in the ground. The result is pork that carries that same deep, quiet richness that has made kalua one of the most celebrated preparations in Pacific Island cuisine for centuries.⁣
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Now take that same pork and stuff it into a jalapeño with cream cheese and cilantro, wrap it in bacon, fry it golden, and hit it with an orange Thai chili sauce, and suddenly ancient Hawaiian tradition is having a very lively conversation with Southeast Asian heat and Mexican culinary influence. 🌶️🌴⁣
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That's what happens at a place like Makai. Cultures don't clash; they collaborate.⁣
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The 𝐏𝐮𝐚'𝐚 𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬 and 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐝 are on now. Come taste the history. 🌊

📍 Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery | Santa Cruz Wharf 🌊⁣⁣⁣
🤩 Open M, T, Th, Sun 11-8 & W, Fri, Sat 11-9⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
😀 Happy Hour M-F 3-6 PM⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁉️ Trivia Nights Wednesdays 7-9 PM⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
Photography by Jamie Hall Media
⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

Makai Restaurant

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08/21/2026

08/14/2026

07/30/2026

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07/18/2026

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Monday	11am - 8pm
Tuesday	11am - 8pm
Wednesday	11am - 9pm
Thursday	11am - 9pm
Friday	11am - 9pm
Saturday	11am - 9pm
Sunday	11am - 9pm