Very loud music if that's your thing. It's a bookstore & restaurant. Not a family friendly joint I'd say. The food was ok. Quite limited, pricey menu and not exactly stellar Thai food. The curry portion is very small and the rice is an extra charge of $5. The grilled chicken dish is just 2 thighs, seasoned and grilled with a small cup of simple sour & spicy relish to dip in.

Overall, would not go back.

Hanloh Thai within Bad Animal books offers excellent food. The most efficient way to describe it is the tiramisu of Thai food. Light, fresh, but bold in flavor. The service is top notch, Hayden at the wine bar sets you up with excellent pairings with a unique wine selection. The atmosphere of the location within Bad Animal Books is cool and it makes you feel cool to be a part of it. We will continue to make this a staple for date night and always sit at the bar.

One of those expensive hipster places but they do the dishes right. Hat yai chicken is prepared exactly how it should, marinated in fish sauce with a thin light coating. Yum woosen I have no experience with but is noodles in an acidic sauce with tofu and tomatos. The only complaint is the rice is mushy which is a travesty for $5 a bowl. It really should be done right.

Best Thai food we have ever experienced! The curry had deep flavors and everything tasted so fresh! We also loved the ambiance and interior decoration inside the great bookstore.

Hanloh (I usually end up calling it "Bad Animal") is a must-try if you're in Santa Cruz for a nicer dinner. The food always makes me feel like I'm going on an adventure- a step away from take-out Thai as I know it. The service has never been anything less than stellar, and the environment is lovely. It feels trendy, because it is a bit trendy. But, the quality is undeniable. Delicious, delicious food.

Last thing- they always have some sort of grilled/fried chicken on the menu. It's alright. Good if you have a picky eater with you, but you will not be talking about it after- I'd suggest you try something else.

The vibe was amazing. The restaurant is located inside a bookshop that also sells wine, so while you're waiting, you can browse for books, which is a great way to pass the time.

The food tasted great. The oysters, curry (Geang Kua), grilled chicken, and steamed fish were all on point. My favorites were the curry dish and the steamed fish. As a Thai, I can say the dishes felt like a fusion but still gave a sense of authentic Thai cuisine.

The only drawback is the price. While the food is exceptional, the portions are too small for the high prices.

Amazing food and great wine. One of the handful of best meals you can have in Santa Cruz. It is not cheap, but worth it - with one exception. Their rice is absurdly priced at $5 per portion - mean for a party of two you might end up spending $10 to get rice... It's just rice? Who eats curry without rice? It should be part of the meal.

A great way to enjoy an elevated Thai meal. More expensive than your average Thai restaurant and 100% worth it for the quality ingredients in the incredibly prepared meals. The location is in a cozy and hip book store, lending to an intimate environment.

One of the best restaurants in Santa Cruz. Absolutely fresh, delicious Thai food.

This is by far the best Thai food I’ve ever had in my life. The flavor profile on the black cod is unimaginable. Such aromatic flavors mixed with the perfect blend of spices makes this my favorite restaurant in Santa Cruz. The oysters are perfect and always order extra Nim Jaam sauce. Great wine selection. Low-key vibes. I love this place. 5/5

Hanloh (I usually end up calling it "Bad Animal") is a must-try if you're in Santa Cruz for a nicer dinner. The food always makes me feel like I'm going on an adventure- a step away from take-out Thai as I know it. The service has never been anything less than stellar, and the environment is lovely. It feels trendy, because it is a bit trendy. But, the quality is undeniable. Delicious, delicious food.

Last thing- they always have some sort of grilled/fried chicken on the menu. It's alright. Good if you have a picky eater with you, but you will not be talking about it after- I'd suggest you try something else.

Worst experience, where they somehow added an extra $20 dollars to my tip and I had to take time out of my day to call and get it fixed. Absolutely ridiculous.

Very loud music if that's your thing. It's a bookstore & restaurant. Not a family friendly joint I'd say. The food was ok. Quite limited, pricey menu and not exactly stellar Thai food. The curry portion is very small and the rice is an extra charge of $5. The grilled chicken dish is just 2 thighs, seasoned and grilled with a small cup of simple sour & spicy relish to dip in.

Overall, would not go back.

I usually don't want to go to Santa Cruz. I will go to Santa Cruz to eat here.

Amazing food and great wine. One of the handful of best meals you can have in Santa Cruz. It is not cheap, but worth it - with one exception. Their rice is absurdly priced at $5 per portion - mean for a party of two you might end up spending $10 to get rice... It's just rice? Who eats curry without rice? It should be part of the meal.

If you are looking for a traditional Thai place serving "Thai" food, this isn't the place for you based on taste, presentation, and price point.

We ordered a beef dish. It was VERY salty. I mentioned this to the waitress. She answered back "Our version comes full flavor". Honestly, when a dish is that salty, there isn't much flavor.

We asked for hot water. Nope, we don't have hot water. That is a bit unusual for a restaurant, wouldn't you say?

Why we asked for hot water? We wanted to rinse the beef to reduce the saltiness. We couldn't. Sigh.

Hanloh Thai within Bad Animal books offers excellent food. The most efficient way to describe it is the tiramisu of Thai food. Light, fresh, but bold in flavor. The service is top notch, Hayden at the wine bar sets you up with excellent pairings with a unique wine selection. The atmosphere of the location within Bad Animal Books is cool and it makes you feel cool to be a part of it. We will continue to make this a staple for date night and always sit at the bar.

Hanloh kitchen stunned us! Super fresh herbs, fish and chicken. Everything on their menu rocks. Bad Animal is a wonderful environment too! Great wine selection. Excellent service!

One of those expensive hipster places but they do the dishes right. Hat yai chicken is prepared exactly how it should, marinated in fish sauce with a thin light coating. Yum woosen I have no experience with but is noodles in an acidic sauce with tofu and tomatos. The only complaint is the rice is mushy which is a travesty for $5 a bowl. It really should be done right.

A restaurant located inside a bookstore with excellent food and music being played. This place has a Thai taste that is super unique! The staff are very nice and seem to enjoy their job! Will definitely enjoy this spot every time I visit Santa Cruz

Best Thai food we have ever experienced! The curry had deep flavors and everything tasted so fresh! We also loved the ambiance and interior decoration inside the great bookstore.

Probably the best Thai food I’ve ever had.

My husband and I were visiting from out of town and I read on The Eater that this was a must-try. We visited later in the evening, about 8 pm, and were told there wouldn’t be a table until about 8:30, so we spent time perusing the extensive library. At 8:30 we were directed to the bar as there were still no tables open, but we both enjoyed the bar seating and being able to watch the cooks send out the various dishes! Once seated our orders were taken quickly and the food was brought out shortly after. We split the Nam Prik Lon as an app, a beef red curry dish that I can’t recall the name of, and the Vietnamese coffee crème brûlée. Incredibly rich, flavorful meals with outstanding seasoning and execution. Would highly recommend!

Food was good but on the expensive side - Bay area prices, which would have been totally fine had the dishes not come out at an unbearably slow pace. We ordered 4 dishes (starter, 2 mains & dessert) and the mains took a whole hour to come out.

Just go... Worth.

The best Thai I’ve shad in my life

Such an amazing place! Didn’t expect to find that place in Santa Cruz! The food, the service, the place…everything great!

I love the food, place and service. The menu is very small so it may not be for everyone. You also won’t find common dishes.

The vibe was amazing. The restaurant is located inside a bookshop that also sells wine, so while you're waiting, you can browse for books, which is a great way to pass the time.

The food tasted great. The oysters, curry (Geang Kua), grilled chicken, and steamed fish were all on point. My favorites were the curry dish and the steamed fish. As a Thai, I can say the dishes felt like a fusion but still gave a sense of authentic Thai cuisine.

The only drawback is the price. While the food is exceptional, the portions are too small for the high prices.

Flavor explosion!

You'll be hard pressed to beat the food being put out by Hanloh (quality, taste, presentation); it easily bests random places that I've eaten at across Thailand, right in downtown Santa Cruz.

Apps were great, and the chicken was cooked perfectly, but the curries are absolutely out of this world. Good beverage selection (though I wish they offered lemonade/similar).

The BAD ANIMAL book store setting provides a cool, trendy, hipster vide. And it can also be INCREDIBLY noisy.

We were a party of 5 and ordered 1 of everything. We all had our favorites but all of it was high quality and very unique.

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say hands down best restaurant in Santa Cruz County. You cannot get these flavors anywhere else. If you’re intimidated by the menu, just trust me when I say try it and you’ll love it. 100/10.

A great way to enjoy an elevated Thai meal. More expensive than your average Thai restaurant and 100% worth it for the quality ingredients in the incredibly prepared meals. The location is in a cozy and hip book store, lending to an intimate environment.

Why has it taken so long for SC to get a restaurant with flavor, outstanding service, and amazing ambiance? But the day has finally arrived. Hanloh is absolutely the best restaurant in SC. Every single dish they have on their menu is superb. The wait staff here are kind and extremely knowledgeable about their food and wine menu. And the restaurant is in an old book store. How cool is that? Seriously if you can’t appreciate good food, don’t come here. Save the space for those of us that can.

Great restaurant and library!

This place is fabulous, the food is delicious, service is excellent, just wonderful!

OMG!! It is such a great experience, with amazing food in such an unique atmosphere... If you haven't gone yet, hurry up and go before the residency is over!

Lalita makes great Thai food, which is really hard to find in the Bay Area in general. The tomato jaew is so good, we wish we could buy it in larger batches. Bad animal is a cozy location. And we appreciate that we can bring our dog for outdoor seating.

Every dish here had me trying to figure out its magic. More than anywhere I've been, this food is greater than the sum of its parts (and the ingredients are stellar). This was my second visit and a totally different menu. Both were incredible.

best in cruz

Absolutely incredible food. We had Hanloh cater our wedding in Santa Cruz. Lalita was amazing to work with and the food was delicious. We had numerous guests come up to us and tell us it was the best food they've ever had at a wedding. If you're getting married or have an event, look no further than Hanloh. You won't regret it!

Hanloh Thai food is fresh and loaded with complex flavors that make it clear this food is made from scratch, with love and the expertise of someone who really knows this cuisine. It is so refreshing to find authentic Thai food that isn't sugared up or dumbed down. The difference is so apparent! This food is everything I love about Thai food. It hits all the notes; spicy, pungent, tangy, a little sweet and loaded with fresh herbs and spices. Grateful to have this offering in our town!