18 Best Cafes in Santa Cruz

“Great tacos and great view🏄‍♀️“

“11th hour coffee is the best in town! Small batch quality direct trade coffee roasted with love. Happy to support a local growing business in the community.“

“Every time we drive over from San Jose we eat there.“

“We are grateful to have had Flower Bar Design Studio provide flowers for our wedding. Sharon promptly responded to our emails, making us feel at ease with our choices. When it came to the flowers, my husband and I were completely stress-free leading up to our wedding day. Everything was perfect!“

“Great food, atmosphere all the waiters are nice. Great location.“

“So yummy, very refreshing also addicting.“

“Great scone mixes - even my BIL now likes scones! Very fast delivery (I live out of state) for mixes. The Lemon Curd is delicious - on top of scones or licked off of a spoon.“

“Love this place!“

“A great place to eat, shop, and walk around. It’s also home of the Diversity Center, Santa Cruz County’s LGBTQ+ Center.“

“My Favorite place downtown❣️❣️❣️ Best Scones I’ve ever had!!! Super sweet staff💜 and breakfast sandwiches that keep you coming back every day😁“

“I was in town with my daughter for college visits and came across this restaurant in Santa Cruz via google maps. We went on a Sunday morning and were seated immediately after ordering, and the food arrived very quickly. We ordered vegan versions of a couple of their menu items and they were VERY good. Lots of flavor, not heavy sitting. We liked it so much we went back the following morning for breakfast before we took off to another state for another college visit. There were still more vegan items I would have liked to try on their menu. Definitely recommend this quaint little restaurant. Vegan friendly, but also good choices for omnis too.“

“No complaints! Nice and clean, washed and dried a huge load of clothes for less than $10 including detergent in just over an hour. They have a restroom for customers and lots of tables to sit and work or read or whatever. No parking lot, but free street parking is easy enough to find nearby.“

“A special shout out to Ethan who was very knowledgeable and friendly. He answered all my questions about what medicinal mushrooms I should get to boost my immune system.

The food was amazing! Had 🍄 🍄 🍄 tacos and the mushroom flatbread. Will definitely be back regularly.“

“Open early is a plus. (5:30am as of July 2026) Friendly staff but coffee recommendation was okay not great. Ordered extra hot but was about normal and not as strong as I like.

Would have purchased food but when I asked what they had at the walk up window they didn't offer a menu or suggestions.

Cute place, best for drive through. Seating area is limited with bench perimeter and small tables. Very cute.

Located in the Whole Foods Market Parking lot. No bathrooms available.

Might give it another shot but for espresso I favor other coffee spots that open later.“

“Good place to grab a coffee only steps away from the beach. They offer fun and inventive coffees, such as thin mint and raspberry truffle mochas, alongside everything else you'd expect. In addition to coffee, they offer bagels, pastries, and other snacks. The staff are friendly, and the drinks are good, but I did have an issue when my mocha wasn't stirred, as well as my friend's on one of the visits. Overall, it's a good place to grab a coffee, and the location is unbeatable.“

“BEST paninis and coffee I've had and in a super foodie!!!! ❤ I would eat all meals here!!!!“

“Great walk up open air market. My Family Had coffee and monster breakfast burritos . Both very good. Place is busy but the staff hustles and wait is not long. They are nice and you can feel they truly appreciate
all their patrons. Quick walk from west cliff“

“Everyone loves cuteness.“