Located in the heart of downtown Santa Cruz, Laili is a progressive middle eastern influenced restaurant, sharing in the traditions of showcasing local, seasonal foods as well as incorporating diverse culinary approaches from around the middle east. Our philosophy reflects an appreciation for all of the people in our community who contribute daily to help us produce a menu of local, sustainable, organic food, with a focus on farm-fresh produce in a community centered restaurant.
Spencer N
3 months agoAmazing. The Mediterranean plate is incredible. This appetizer alone can fill two people. The ice tea had the most flavor in tea I’ve ever had. I would recommend the pesto pasta the olives compliment the pasta perfectly. You also can’t go wrong with the lamb wrap. I’m sure I would have enjoyed it more if I could’ve controlled myself from eating two naans with the Mediterranean plate.
Deep Rastogi
6 months agoGood food, good service, decent vegetarian selection. We arrived at lunch time, around 12:30 pm. There were very few people sitting indoors. I didn't check how many people were sitting outside. Google traffic pattern shows it is far busier at dinner time than lunch. The waiter recommended all the high priced items as being really good, and we just went with the recommendations, and it worked out well. We had a lemon soda non alcoholic drink which was very good. They brought a complimentary naan bread with olive oil and herbs which was also good. Saffron Chicken Sandwich and cauliflower soups were also good. Pear gorgonzola flat bread was good, but the flavors could be balanced better. The cheese was very salty. To balance that, usually the pear is sweetened more, but it was just normal. So the dish overall has a lot more saltiness to it. The microgreens on it were also very less, I'm used to seeing a lot more at other places. We took the cardamon creme brulee to-go. They don't have a good way of packing it. Though it didn't spill out leak, it didn't look very presentable at home. The cardamon flavor could barely be detected, but the creme brulee itself was very good. Overall, we liked the food and service and will visit again.
Reza A
7 months agoReally classy establishment. That includes the service and food. We had the spinach apitizer( don't know the exact name), the beat salad (knock out) and the beef kabobs (another home run). Wine beer and H2O. Everything was perfect Including the location.
Alisha Gujarathi
2 months agoI had a patio table request for two reserved 2 months in advance for a birthday celebration. When we arrived, we were seated indoors and told the patio was unavailable, not sure why OpenTable had the patio available to select in the first place if they couldn’t honor the seating request. I had also informed of a birthday celebration in my request and most peer restaurants will offer a desert or at least a birthday greeting at the very least but not here. Food was great our server was good as well.
Barmak Heshmat
2 months agoReally fresh ingredients, loved the chicken pomegranate dish. Creative recepies.