It’s getting late and after a flurry of visiting old friends and fancy restaurants, I am finally kicked loose with no clear itinerary, hungry, but tired, too early to go to bed, but too late to call old friends, so I stumble into Charlie Hong Kong’s which looks like a love child of Blade Runner and The Beach Boys. If you've traveled in Thailand on the hippy trail, you’ve seen places like this. Here, it where the locals go. I’ll have to say their Thai Curry soup seems a little watered down and other than mushrooms, there isn’t a pea, a pod, a tiny bit of vegetable of any kind, but it’s not bad, just not great. Then come the Teriyaki Chicken which has ample perfect rice-house rice with a good chewy grain that reminds me of shops all across Asia and a savory chicken that has simmered to tenderness and is saturated with flavor. The teriyaki soy appears to be home made and the ginger announced itself like a rooster announcing the morning. Not too sweet, not too complicated, not too fancy, but if I lived here, I’d eat there twice week for the rest of my life. They’d get so sick of my ugly old mug that they’d run and hide when I showed up, except I tip well. It's one of those places that drip character like an old roof drips water. Can’t wait to go there again.

Great vegetarian options and priced accordingly for that - but as soon as you add anything into your bowl/dish the price adds up quick! There is some seating if you wanted to eat in and the staff seems happy to be there. Overall it's a good spot to try once for yourself to determine if it's your jam!

It definitely is the best bites on a budget. This place was super generous with the portion, their flavor, and their additional sauces. With the price we didn’t expect to be served with big bowls completely filled up. We ordered hoisin pork rice bowl, chili sesame noodle salad and Thai coconut mushroom soup. The mushroom soup was very creamy and flavorful. The pork in the rice bowl was very tender and not too strong in flavor. The noodle salad sauce was addicted. Their veggies were very fresh, and the pickled radish and carrots were a wonderful flavor addition. They also offered self serve hoisin sauce, home made chili sauce (best with the noodle salad) and Sriracha sauce. They had limited space for dine-in and required you to self serve, so don’t forget to clean after yourself when you are done eating.

Might be good for it's vegan options, but it's meat rice bowls were very bland. Nothing asian about this. The amount of sauces offered for free were the only source of flavor. Good price and quantity but the taste was no where

What a cool place! Has great beach town vibes and super fast service. We had egg rolls, a salad, and a vegan cookie and everything was delicious. Great place for vegans!

This is my go to place for a super healthy post ride, post work out meal. Half of the menu is vegan and downright delicious! Open late and there's on site parking and on site dining. Keep in mind the patio dining is very low key and super casual.

Food does not taste this good in Texas. The quality of this vegetarian food goes hand in hand with how everything is more real, more authentic, higher quality- out here in central California as compared to straight boring Texas. I’m just going to have to get used to the fact that EVERYTHING is better out here.

Confession: I love junk food. Now this food is anything but junk - fresh, local, high-quality ingredients. At the same time, however, it satisfies my craving for something fast and flavorful. It's plant-based, hyper-local, healthy fare that's satisfying and uniquely Santa Cruz. If you spend any time in Santa Cruz you owe it to yourself to give it a try.

Fuego on a budget. 🔥 Their take on Asian fusion cuisine is really creative and they have a lot to choose from. Service was prompt and cheerful. They even offer chili sauce and extra teriyaki on the house. This is one of my go-to places for late evening take-out. Hits it on the nail every time without fail. Thank you!

It's very delicious especially The Green Curry Chicken Rice Bowl, The Curry Chicken, And The Peanut Sauce!

We are visiting from out of town and we must be spoiled because I ordered the Charlie Pad Thai and it had no flavor and super salty, it looked like a soup versus a Thai dish. I have been to Thailand and this was not even close to the dish. I have had vegetarian Pad Thai as well and I felt I was eating a soup. The chef should really taste his own food. Not trying to sounds mean but I was really excited to eat here. I tried eating it because I super hungry but really disappointed.

Love this space. Hidden gem of Santa Cruz! Food is always flavorful and fresh. Customer service is always friendly and accommodating! My favorite go to is the teriyaki chicken or salmon rice bowl with brown rice and vegetable medley!

Love Charlie Hong Kong! Organic delicious food, very easy menu where you choose your base and then add any protein of your choice, though not required, and the outcome is amazing. I've tried every of the classic options and my favorites are among; Pad Thai, Charlie Chow Mein, Yellow Curry Noodle, Rising Phoenix Red Curry, and others. Also very affordable, good side portions, and you feel great after eating a nice serving of organic veggies seasoned up nice! Check em out if you're hungry in the area🤙🏼

I would give more stars if i could. Very delicious, yet great prices. We got curry noodles with side mushrooms and a spicy dish with rice (forgot the name) so yummy! Kids peanut noodles were very good and came with tons of veggies mixed in! Highly recommend!

Me and my boyfriend got two different bowls. Mine was the Szechuan Mushroom Medley Bowl, His was I believe some kind of sweet tofu bowl with rice. They were alright. I feel like it lacked flavor in both the bowls. He complained that his stomach was hurting shortly after consuming. Mushrooms and tofu portions in each bowl were small, I was disappointed. Really disappointed because all I see is good reviews. I will go back one more time to give it another shot because I learned online they still offer non vegan/vegetarian options for protien so maybe that was my mistake. I also asked if they could add a sauce to the bowl that seemed like it would make it more appetizing and they said that it was impossible and that they absolutely couldn’t do that. That was odd because it was a small modification and if they needed to charge me a miscellaneous .25¢ for it that’s fine. Overall really disappointed and hoping the next time I go it won’t be the same experience.

Read really good things about this restaurant, but kind of disappointed when trying it. Overall flavor is on the blander side since I was expecting full-on southeastern flavor profile. Housin pork is also on the tougher side.

So yummy and affordable place for vegans, vegetarians and GFs. The workers are so friendly as well. Happy to be here and definitely will come back.

First visit, I’ll be back! Had the spicy tofu rice bowl and it was great. Not too spicy and super fresh. A simple place for a healthy meal in Santa Cruz.

I ordered the spicy peanut sauce noodle bowl with spicy garlic tofu and it was absolutely delicious. Some of the best vegan food I've ever had. And the portion was ginormous for the price - will definitely come back.

I'm sure there's many places in Santa Cruz that are wonderful to eat but this is the only place I ever go to. I discovered it in 2003 and have been going ever since!! My absolute favorite!! Hoison Pork Bowl!!!! So yummy and satisfying!!! So happy, this place is here!!!

I had the Gado Gado w/ Hoison Pork. It had lots of peanut sauce and was very filling. The pork was very soft and tasty. Lots of green onions and peanuts too which added to the meal. My friend had the curry chicken and I had a piece and the sauce was fresh and the chicken was soft. Less sauce on the curry chicken than the gado gado which is good if you’re watching your waistline. The atmosphere is fun and casual. I liked the lighting and how it’s outdoors but covered. I came back and had the Green Curry Noodles with Green Curry Chicken. It was tasty. Same level of tastiness as the Gado Gado in my opinion, but different in large part because the sauce wasn’t peanut based. The Green Curry Noodles were similar to the Gado Gado in being very filling and having a lot of sauce. I think if you want something cheaper with fewer calories then go with a rice bowl like the Green Curry Chicken rice bowl. That’s just my guess. I threw out part of the Green Curry Noodles and Gado Gado because I was full and didn’t want the calories, but if you’ve been surfing all day the extra calories and sauce could be exactly what you want.

My go to spot in Santa Cruz for takeout. A friend showed me this place years ago and I make sure to stop by every time I visit the area. Best rice bowls and Spicy Dan ever! They also carry Boylan's root beer

One of my favorite places in town to eat at that is quick and yummy. The Pad Thai is amazing and I love their peanut sauce. It's always fun to bring a newcomer into this place to share the delish foods and awesome atmosphere.