The Pearl fits the name.
Santa Cruz’s newest bar ranks as perhaps its prettiest, nestled in the regal lobby of La Bahia Hotel & Spa (215 Beach St., Santa Cruz), which debuted Sept. 8.
One of four tasting venues designed to deliver distinct experiences—along with upscale Pacific Rim-inspired High Tide, casual island restaurant Low Tide, and poolside burger-ceviche outpost Plunge—Pearl enjoys a white marble bar, chandeliers, cushy-classy lounge areas, stained glass panels and Spanish-style arches.
Creative AF cocktails at the moment include the likes of a “Seaweed & Sequoia” and a “Soda & Popcorn.”
The flat-out gorgeous whiskey sour ($19) and Elva’s Julep (Venus Blend No. 1 Gin, rosemary, fig, $23) I tried were a show to see assembled, and divine to sip as slowly as possible to both soak up the subtleties of the drink and the grandeur of the space, while making the $50+ price tag (with tax and tip) feel more worth it.
LOVE FLOATS
The iconic Chardonnay (790 Mariner Park Way, FF Dock, Santa Cruz) sails for Valentine’s starting with onboarding Champagne, complimentary drink tickets, chocolate-dipped strawberries, red velvet cake, raspberry tiramisu and more. The floating non-holiday festivities continue from there, with regular two-hour trips around the bay like “brewmaster sails” featuring craft beer and pizza, “winemaker sails,” Wednesday race evenings, sunset sessions and other open-to-the-public expeditions starting at $77, plus private bookings, chardonnay.com.
MORE SPLASHES
Speaking of love + liquid: Verve Coffee Roasters celebrates V-Day with a new limited-time Raspberry Rose Cold Foam Mocha with rich raspberry-rose cold foam and real dried roses now through mid-month, “Single? Taken? It’s complicated? Coffee-committed?” spokesman Tyler Grahame asks. “Verve…is celebrating all love,” vervecoffee.com…Meanwhile, the Wine Institute, the public policy advocacy group for Golden State wines, offers this: “Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to revolve around couples, prix-fixe restaurant dinners or pressure to perform romance. Cook an easy, delicious dinner at home.” Suggestions include Dungeness crab cakes (paired with CA Chardonnay or sparkling), steak au poivre (parlayed with a full-bodied SCM Cabernet or Merlot) and striped bass with braised peppers and saffron aioli (plus a local rosé or Grenache). The kicker: Recipes for those dishes and a bunch more appear at discovercaliforniawines.com/recipes-list.
FLAVOR FLEX
A pair of local creators have earned finalist spots in the2026 Good Food Awards—and consideration as foodie-friendly Valentine’s gifts—by overcoming brisk competition from 1,200+ entries. Repeat winner Mary Risavi of Wise Goat Organics (instagram.com/wisegoatorganics) is back in the mix with three pickles category contenders, namely her Fiery Fungi Kraut, Kraut-Chi and Purple Carrot Kanji.Nicole Todd and Santa Cruz Cider Company made the finals for her strawberry cider. Better yet, SCCC continues to welcome guests to its production-tasting space (65 Hangar Way, Watsonville) 2-9pm Friday, noon-8pm Saturday and 1-6pm Sunday, with rotating food trucks often parked out front, @santacruzciderco on social for grub options.
SAVORY SHORTIES
Award-winning author, nutritionist and advocate Marion Nestle visits to the Cowell Ranch Hay Barn at UC Santa Cruz 6pm Thursday, Feb. 12, to explore “Sustainable Food in the Trump Era,” and you can watch the sold-out presentation live online, thi.ucsc.edu/events…Thank you Surfrider Santa Cruz for heads up that the new deadline to speak out against offshore drilling is Feb. 26, santacruz.surfrider.org/news/opposing-offshore-drilling-round-two…Food-forward art alert: Appetite-arousing collages, paintings and sculptures by Scotts Valley-based artist Christopher Reynolds are now up at downtown’s Minnow Arts (204 Locust St., Santa Cruz), minnowarts.com…Marcel Proust: “Love is space and time measured by the heart.”
