The Catalyst

1011 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA

Address:	1011 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA
Phone:	+1 831-429-4135
Site:	catalystclub.com
Rating:	4.1
Working:	3PM–2AM 3PM–2AM 3PM–2AM 3PM–2AM 3PM–2AM 3PM–2AM 3PM–2AM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 12

Juan Andrade

My friends warned me about this place. That they had become way too strict with their customers. I had to see for myself. I went to see J-Boog with 5 other friends. Nobody was overly drunk. My friend ordered 5 drinks from the bar downstairs. We didnt realize it was cash only. When the bartender saw that my friend didnt have any cash he began to flip out. My friend said "hey hold on for one second Ill have my friend pay for it no big deal". I ran to the ATM while my friend waited at the bar. I was back in less than 3 minutes. I paid the bill and the bar tender proceeded to accuse us of attempting to get over on the club and take drink without paying. He was paid albeit 3 minutes later but the bill was taken care of all while somebody waited at the bar. Because of this all 5 of us were kicked out of the bar. Meanwhile as we are getting escorted out of the bar we had to walk through several huge clouds of weed and the bouncer didnt even trip!! The bar tender was extremely rude and so were the bouncers. Very unprofessional. I will not return. This place is for the kids.

A Private User

The Catalyst in Santa Cruz is one of the worst places I visited in SC. I tried to enter the lower bar area with a group of friends and after letting in my party of 6, the bouncer hassled only me saying I had to pay a cover. I asked why he let in the others in my party for free and his reply was simply that "oh they slipped by me." I replied, "well then I will just join them" and he grabbed me and got in my face like he was going to hit me. We exchanged words. I got called a "maggot" which I laughed at and then left after a bunch of his 6ft+ bouncer losers tried punking me. I was just headed to their crappy bar to drop $$. My verdict: The staff are serious scumbags. I didnt even get any amusing insults out of them. Bar is Dirty (what I saw of it) and the place looks run down and shabby. I wouldnt grace it with your presence if I were you.

Eric Valor

Great venue for music - a real part of history. As a general bar its OK. But the secret is going to the Atrium side for breakfast in the morning. Yes, you read that right - breakfast. Dont wait in long lines for the usual breakfast spots. The Catalyst has great local coffee and excellent fresh-squeezed orange juice and a the 4-egg Denver omelette is a fantastic cheesy meaty late-morning meal for a hungry guy (especially after a dawn-patrol surf). They also get bacon and sausages from a local meat production company with bread from a local bakery. Prices are quite reasonable and, again, no waiting in line. Have a great meal and then go for a walk downtown and delight in shopping our fabulous local businesses.

A Private User

I went to an Ozomatli show here a few years ago. One of the bouncers saw shoving upfront and pull me out of the crowd. Wrongly accused, I was thrown out of the show for doing nothing. I made my way back in to ask the bouncer for his name. He refused to give it to me. When I did find out, he became very angry and shoved me to the back alley where he proceed to pin me against a wall and strangle me, repeating, "Do we have a problem here! Do we have a problem here!" He finally let me go when I shook my head no. I will never set foot in this place again, and I warn others to do the same.

Andrew Boyce

As I am rating the venue and not the artist I would have to say this is a pretty average venue. There is nothing special about it. Just an empty room with a stage and large speakers. Drinks are WAY overpriced although they did have some great bartenders who took care of everyone right away. For the show I was at you are restricted to a sectioned of area if you want to drink. Bathroom was disgusting but I wasnt surprised about that. My biggest concern is that they are more worried about people with drinks rather than people smoking inside.

Josh Stephens

Good venue for locals trying to see performing artists without having to go all the way up to SF. If the artist you want to see is also playing in the city, definitely go for that. While this venue is great, it can be a total sweatbox on sold out nights. This is also due to the fact the venue is quite small. Save $2 and avoid endorsing Nestlé products by bringing your own water bottle/buying a cup of water from Rockers Pizza (the in venue pizza place) for a quarter. Otherwise, youll have to go the sinks for water as there is no fountain.

Seth Henderson

Cool venue. Real hipster vibe. A little old school looking but gives a really close and upfront interaction with the audienece. The balconies look like a cool spot(i did not go up), but the opportunity to be closer to the performer seemed more appealing. Slightly on the small side(its santa cruz, what do you expect?). Gets hot quick if the venue is decently full. Hopefully you can park close and not take a jacket inside if its cold out. In general, great place to go with friends to see some great artists.

MantisShrimp

Catalyst is a cozy venue with a very diverse showing of artists. Its the kind of place whose historic appeal can sometimes attract big names with low ticket prices . However, staff can be very rude when the venue states getting packed and I have already had an instance where a friend got kicked out over perceived gender while trying to use the bathroom, this derailed our whole night as we left our show before the headliner came out without even getting a refund. 5 star place with 1 star service.

LA R

Was threatened by two men trying to take a small woman with MSs table. They tried to steal the table and said they would throw me over the balcony if I alerted security. Got there 4 hours ahead to get a table because of the health issue. Told security anyway. They did nothing. Two other women tried to steal my friends purse. Really bad place now. Been going each year for Y and T. Never again.

Jared Johnson

I really like this venue, its well located in a popular area of Santa Cruz so walkable from dinner before the show or drinks after. It also has an intimate college atmosphere, with several bars within view of the stage and the entrance has a ramp leading down so you get a nice view of the whole joint when you initially walk in. Id be a regular here but I dont live in SC so the drive is a bit much!

Steve Meiers

Good fun venue but its not what it used to be. Decor is very run down now. Blackout theme now vs tropical in the 80s. Good sound and service, poor selection at the bar. Just the basics. A fair beer selection, not great IMO. Limited cocktails. Fair drink prices, except for bottled water. Cold pizza is the only food now. This used to be a nice place. Its a dive now, but a nice dive.

Robert Cole

Great venue that also serves pizza and has pool and an awesome laid back bar upstairs. Ive seen a bunch of shows here and they havent thrown me out yet, so thats something. Always surprised at the quality acts that this place ends up dragging down to Santa Cruz. Last saw Gogol Bordello here in November of 16. The show was transcendent.