Laili's Downtown

"Why haven't we reviewed this place before?" asked Natasha, my dining companion for the evening.
"It's one of our favorites!"

Laili's, a Mediterranean restaurant with an Afghan twist, sits in the middle of Cooper Street, downtown Santa Cruz. It's across from where the Cooper House used to be before the '89 Earthquake. You wouldn't know from the outside that this place has a big main room and kitchen with a great patio garden dining area too.

Website

We asked for a table outside, since it was a beautiful, warm evening. They had tower heaters set up all over in case it wasn't. Lots of trees and flowers everywhere. A few petals dropped on our table while we ate - extra fiber.

Since we were outside, can you think of a better drink than a Sangia ($7)? Cold and sweet with many chunks of fruit bobbing inside, Natasha took a sip and smiled.

We have both eaten here before and have our favorite dishes. Normally, I like to start with the Mantoo appetizer ($10), beef dumplings in yogurt sauce, but I wanted to try something new. Natasha suggested the Kadoo boranee ($8), chunky butternut squash in the same sauce. It comes with their flatbread and garlic oil.

It was cool, sweet and creamy and we couldn't get enough of it. The sauce is tangy and rich. We asked for another flatbread, since the first was gone and we wanted to scrape the last bits. I recommend this to all my vegetarian friends.

For her main dish, Natasha got the Chicken Kabob ($16), which comes with saffron rice. Tender and flavorful, we both agreed it's one of our favorites. I was going to order this too, but realized it would be a shorter review. So I went with the Lamb Kabob ($25).

Feast you eyes on this masterpiece! It's like a rainbow of deliciousness! Most of the lamb pieces were tender enough to cut with a fork. One or two were not, but it didn't miss by much. My rice had carrot strings and raisins on top. The three sauces were the cool yogurt (from the appetizer), a sweet apricot and a spicy cilantro. The side veggies weren't much to speak of - some okra, grape tomatoes and sliced potatoes. Watch out for squirting tomatoes!

We were very happy after our meal and agreed that this is a good place to bring out-of-town visitors. Or even in-town ones.


Scores out of 10:
Food: 8
Service: 7
Atmosphere: 9
Value for the price: 8
Overall: 8

Side note: I've gotten some feedback on how most of the reviews in SCFB are positive. This is because we like to eat at mostly good places! When some place is not good, you can believe I will post it. We just live in a great city with great eateries. Send me your suggestions if you have some.