The Red Pearl: Boulder Creek's Chinese Restaurant
If you want Chinese food anywhere in the San Lorenzo Valley, the Red Pearl is where you go. It's at 13151 Highway 9 in downtown Boulder Creek, with dine-in and takeout service. It doesn't deliver, which is the most useful thing to know before you order.
It's dine-in and takeout only. Plan on driving.
The dragon on the wall
The Red Pearl's website gives the hours and tells the restaurant's story:
"In the Northern reaches of the San Lorenzo Valley, Located in the mystical mountains of Santa Cruz, is the Long ago town of Boulder Creek. It's there, at The Red Pearl, that the most delicious Chinese Food is Prepared fresh daily. Also there, is Zhujiang the Pearl Dragon, He has now come to these mystical mountains to dwell as protector of The Red Pearl, the owners, Jenny & Ren, and all who partake of its wondrous food."
Jenny and Ren are the owners. Zhujiang the Pearl Dragon is the guardian. The site calls these mountains mystical, a description that fits easily around here.
What kind of Chinese restaurant it is
The Red Pearl serves American-Chinese cooking with a broad menu. The categories include appetizers and soups, beef, chicken, lamb, pork and spareribs, seafood, mu shu, egg foo young, chop suey, noodles and chow fun, rice and fried rice, and vegetable and tofu.
Two parts of the menu are especially useful for locals. There's a vegan section including mock chicken, which isn't a given in a mountain town where the vegetarian option is often a side salad. There are also family dinner specials, built for a familiar situation: a household on a weeknight when nobody wants to cook.
The kitchen advertises food prepared fresh daily rather than a steam table. The room is small and plain. People come for the food, and because the valley has one Chinese restaurant and it holds up.
Ordering, and the drive
The restaurant's site has an online ordering link, and you can order by phone at 831-338-9800. Either way, the order is for pickup. The Red Pearl sits on Highway 9 in the middle of downtown. It's a short walk from most of the shops if you're already in town, and it's directly on the main road if you're coming up the valley.
The restaurant closes early in the week rather than running seven days, so a Monday craving needs a different plan. Its site carries the current schedule.
Hours and menu items change. Check the Red Pearl's own page or call 831-338-9800 before relying on anything time-sensitive.
The menu
The full menu runs past four hundred items across seventeen categories, and the current version with prices lives on the ordering site. The shape of it:
- Lunch specials, daily 11 to 3: dozens of plates with steamed rice and soup or a fried wonton included, Kung Pao and Mongolian classics and General chicken among them, most under $10.
- The classics, deep: appetizers, soups, beef, poultry, lamb, seafood, pork and spareribs, chop suey, mu shu, egg foo young, noodles and chow fun, and rice plates.
- The vegetarian side is unusually serious: a full vegetables-and-tofu section plus an entire soy mock chicken category running to more than two dozen dishes, which is why the vegan section got its own mention above.
- Family dinner specials bundle multi-course meals for the table.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Red Pearl deliver?
No. Red Pearl doesn't deliver. Order for pickup, or eat in.
Can I order online?
Yes. There's an online ordering link on the restaurant's site. You can also order by phone at 831-338-9800.
Is the Red Pearl open every day?
No. It closes early in the week, so check the current schedule before driving up.
Are there vegetarian or vegan options?
Yes. The menu has a vegetable and tofu section and vegan dishes including mock chicken, which is unusual for the valley.
Where exactly is it?
13151 Highway 9, in downtown Boulder Creek, on the main block. Phone 831-338-9800.
Last reviewed August 5, 2026. Details follow the restaurant's own page. Hours and menus live there, not here.
For the rest of the town's kitchens, see where to eat in Boulder Creek and the food and drink listings. Browse the business directory or the rest of our Around Town guides. Something out of date? Tell us.
