The Shadowbrook in Capitola by the Sea, is one of our favorite restaurants, we love it for special occasions and when we want to impress family or friends. Its also one of the pricier restaurants we go to, so we can't usually afford it as much as we'd to. Not only is the food top notch, but the grounds are among the most beautiful of any restaurant we know of and people come from afar just to enjoy it. The restaurant itself is nestled at the bottom of a hill among lush gardens and is reached by a rail tram. All these elements have made it one of the premier places for marriage proposals, amazing.
Well the Shadowbrook is also the grandaddy of establishments in the Eating out Cheap Hall of Fame. While they work hard to cater to a clientle that will drop some serious cash, they also have some awesome deals that allow people on more modest budgets to enjoy the food and surroundings on a regualr basis. Its obviously a win win situation since the place is full on any night of the week and any time of the year, that's a real feat in a town that usually survives on the tourist trade.
They do this two ways, one by having daily specials in the dining room, see their website for the latest specials and the second is by their happy hour. We been here a couple of times and what I've noticed is a lot of people are basically having an inexpensive dinner and drinks during this time. This is not an everyday happy hour, it only occurs on Tues. and Friday. Friday is half off happy hour and Tuesday is "two for one" happy hour. We went on Tuesday, when the happy hour runs from 3:30-6:00. Beer, wine and well drinks are $3.50 ea and appetizers including the pizzas are two for one, which means you pay for the most expensive one of the two.
We started with two vodka/cranberry drinks ($3.50 ea) and then ordered a Pizza Margherita and Memela's Oaxacan "pizza". The pizza consisted of fresh mozarella cheese, vine ripened tomatoes and fresh basil. Wow! The toppings were extremely flavorful and were nicely complimented by the thin crust which was lightly toasted on the bottom and edges. Turns out they're cooked in a woodfired brick oven, and it really makes a difference.
The Oaxcacan "pizza" is something out of this world. Its definitely not a pizza, its also not Nachos and its not a tostada. What it is a melange of incredible flavors sittin on top of two "corn tortillas" and I put the "" there because these are more than tortilla, they're a little thicker and have been lightly fried, crisp but not "chips" crunchy. The topping is a mix of 18 hour smoked pork, black beans, queso fresco, fire roasted tomato salsa and what appeared to be a whole sliced fresh avocado. Its the sum of the ingrediants that makes this the most heavenly concotion I've every had. This was a lot of food too. We had about half the pizza left and were about to pack it up and go home, but we couldn't resist nibbling and managed to finish it all. The best part is that in the end our bill was around $18.00 for two people!
We'll be coming back so for happy hour, but we're also going to try a dinner special. Thursdays all seafood items on the menu are $15.99.
Four thumbs up on this place.
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The Shadowbrook
Capitola and Wharf Roads
Capitola by the Sea, CA
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