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Venus Spirits Cocktails & Kitchen | Beachside, Aptos, CA

Venus Spirits Cocktails & Kitchen | Beachside

4.5
4.5
327 Reviews
$31 to $50
Californian

Make a reservation

2 people
8:00 p.m.
Booked 9 times today
  • Great for creative cocktails
  • Great for outdoor dining
  • Neighbourhood gem
Newly renovated beachside restaurant, located in Aptos, CA. Enjoy handcrafted cocktails with locally distilled Venus Spirits and a menu featuring local seafood, produce, and Venus favorites. Indoor, bar, and patio seating available.

Dinner Hours:
Wednesday - Thursday // 5pm - 9pm
Friday - Sunday // 4pm - 9pm

Lunch Hours:
Friday - Sunday // 12pm - 3pm

Order delivery or takeout

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Californian, Cocktail Bar, Fish
  • Hours of Operation
    Mon–Thu 5:00 pm–9:00 pm Fri–Sun 12:00 pm–9:00 pm
  • Phone number
    (831) 688-8917
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Private party facilities
    Interested in a private event? Check out https://www.venusspirits.com/events for more information.
  • Neighbourhood
    Aptos
  • Parking details
    Public Lot
  • Additional
    Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Happy Hour, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Takeout, View, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Offers

  • Celebrate your birthday with us!

    Multiple dates available
    Sun - 4:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.,Mon - Thu - 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.,Fri - Sat - 4:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
    Join us on your birthday and enjoy a complimentary chocolate torte!

    Celebrate your birthday with us! photo
  • Daily Happy Hour

    Multiple dates available
    Sun - 4:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.,Mon - Thu - 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.,Fri - Sat - 4:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
    Join us for happy hour! Available Wednesday-Thursday 5-6pm, Friday 4-5pm. We have a selection of share plates plus cocktails available at a discounted price!

    Daily Happy Hour photo

What 327 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.5
4.5 based on recent ratings
  • 4.5Food
  • 4.5Service
  • 4.5Ambience
  • 4.1Value

NoiseModerate

Loved For

  • Santa Cruz / Capitola / Aptos

    Innovative

  • Santa Cruz / Capitola / Aptos

    Good for groups

  • Santa Cruz / Capitola / Aptos

    Hot spot

  • Santa Cruz / Capitola / Aptos

    Neighbourhood gem

  • Santa Cruz / Capitola / Aptos

    Great for outdoor dining

  • Santa Cruz / Capitola / Aptos

    Romantic

  • Santa Cruz / Capitola / Aptos

    Lively

  • Santa Cruz / Capitola / Aptos

    Most Booked

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Venus Spirits Cocktails & Kitchen | Beachside delights with "creative & delicious" cocktails and attentive service. Guests love the vibrant atmosphere and "exceptional" appetizers. While some dishes could use more variety, the menu features standout items like lobster mac and cheese and prawns with pesto pasta. Enjoy scenic views and a lively dining experience.

327 Reviews
  1. James

    San Francisco

    6 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    6 reviews

    Dined on November 15, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Had the chicken Parmesan special with salad and wine. Was surprisingly delicious! Service was perfect.

    Is this helpful?

  2. Laurie

    Central Coast

    6 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    6 reviews

    Dined on November 15, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Love Venus. Went tonight to try their new special…chicken Parmesan. It was awesome!

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  3. Marc

    San Francisco

    4 reviews

    4.0

    4 reviews

    Dined on November 13, 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Was a nice experience. Took my wife here for dinner. The cocktails were tasty and the share dishes delish. I had the Fish n Chips which was a little disappointing. The Fish was dry and chips could have been a lot more crispy. The Brussel Sprouts were amazing. Service was fantastic. They could use some throw carpets or tapestries to cut down on the noise, they refinished the floor down to the concreate which looks nice, but is a terrible sound reflector (to many hard surfaces). Even though we were their on a slower Tuesday evening, the amount of people there made for a lot of noise. I can't imagine how loud it would be with a full house of people eating and talking. Over all, it was very good and I will return again soon.

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  4. Katie

    Central Coast

    2 reviews

    4.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on November 13, 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Dinner and drink were great. Salads, Burrata, Brussels, crab hush puppies, Ribeye were all fantastic. The golden ticket was delish, and my friends all enjoyed their drinks as well. Was a great dining experience overall.

    Is this helpful?

  5. Chloe

    San Francisco

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 9, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    The food was so flavorful and delicious. The ambiance was nice, our waitress was kind and attentive. Will definitely be back! The only issue we had was we ordered our steak medium rare and it came out well done :( we didn’t want to wait another 20 minutes so we did not send it back but hoping next time it’s better!

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  6. Rebecca

    San Francisco

    12 reviews

    vip
    4.0

    12 reviews

    Dined on November 3, 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    The last time we were there, the menu wasn't that great - little fish and chips at a beach restaurant. This time - they were halibut and they were good ! The kale salad was great. But you could add back the Chile Relleno. Thanks !

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  7. Mary Ann

    Central Coast

    2 reviews

    2.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on October 30, 2024

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 1
    Food was good. However, after waiting more than 15 minutes, we had to ask the host for a server to come to our table. She did, she was quite lovely. Restaurant was very cold with windows wide open on a very cold Oceanside night. Even after closing the windows at our request, I had to wear my winter coat throughout the whole dinner. Atmosphere is more like a cafeteria loud style. Food arrived in the timely matter. Shared plate was served without small plates for each of us to use which was OK but then they took away the empty shared plate and we had nothing to rest silverware on so we had to request new clean silverware. All in all we like the food, but we would not return. As the final note, when I made the reservation through OpenTable you asked if there was a special occasion and I noted that it was a birthday. It was my husband‘s birthday. However, the restaurant did not acknowledge. That’s fine but if you’re not going to acknowledge or do something, a little special, don’t ask.

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  8. Mark

    San Francisco

    7 reviews

    5.0

    7 reviews

    Dined on October 25, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Exceptional food and service. We were there for Restaurant Week and thought it was a real value.
    Venus Spirits Cocktails & Kitchen | BeachsideResponded on November 6, 2024
    Your review has made our day, so we truly appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback. It is a delight to know that you enjoy everything we have to offer. We hope to see you soon. Thank you!

    Is this helpful?

  9. Donna

    San Francisco

    2 reviews

    3.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on October 25, 2024

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 3
    We decided to finally try the new Venus (had been dining at the previous restaurant for over 25 years) for SC Restaurant Week . We made a 5:30 reservation and when we arrived the restaurant was mostly empty. Within an hour it filled to almost capacity. Our food was excellent. Husband ordered Fish and Chips and loved it, crispy batter over halibut, very fat and generous portion of homemade fries. I ordered the Prix Fix; Kale Salad, Manhattan Filet w/potatoes and Broccolini, and chocolate torte. The filet was perfectly prepared, thick , tender and tasty , generous 4 oz portion, with nicely prepared sides. I enjoyed a generous portion of unique and delicious chocolate torte for dessert. Unfortunately the restaurant was so packed our server was overwhelmed. We barely saw her and had to keep flagging down support staff for more wine, missing malt vinegar which he had ordered and more ketchup. We waited an hour for our food, our neighboring table finally canceled their order and left. The atmosphere lacks privacy, you can hear every word of neighboring diners, with all the hard surfaces it is VERY loud, and lacks the old ambience of Cafe Rio. The menu invites high dining but the interior resembles a fast food beachside diner.

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  10. John

    San Francisco

    5 reviews

    5.0

    5 reviews

    Dined on October 23, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    The food was delicious (as always). Can't beat the roasted brussel sprouts app! and Indigo, our server was charming and efficient. One of our favorite places.
    Venus Spirits Cocktails & Kitchen | BeachsideResponded on November 6, 2024
    Your review has made our day, so we truly appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback. It is a delight to know that you enjoy everything we have to offer. We hope to see you soon. Thank you!

    Is this helpful?

FAQs

Venus Spirits Cocktails & Kitchen | Beachside offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (831) 688-8917.

Venus Spirits Cocktails & Kitchen | Beachside is rated 4.5 stars by 327 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people
8:00 p.m.
Booked 9 times today

Order delivery or takeout

Google Map for Venus Spirits Cocktails & Kitchen | Beachside

131 Esplanade, Aptos, CA 95003-4501

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Neighbourhood
    Aptos
  • Hours of Operation
    Mon–Thu 5:00 pm–9:00 pm Fri–Sun 12:00 pm–9:00 pm
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Californian, Cocktail Bar, Fish
  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Parking details
    Public Lot
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Mastercard, Visa
  • Additional
    Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Happy Hour, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Takeout, View, Wheelchair Access, Wine
  • Phone number
    (831) 688-8917
  • Private party facilities
    Interested in a private event? Check out https://www.venusspirits.com/events for more information.
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