The only thing we actually buy there are cornmeal blueberry scones which are absolutely fabulous. The small mall of the northern side of Santa Cruz and generally the patrons are nice. Staff sees three fast and efficient and getting the awful long lines through service and paid
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bakery
Malia S.
If there's one thing Santa Cruz should be known for, it should be the abundance of locally owned French style bakery and pastry shops. The saturation, freshness, and quality of these shops make it difficult to resist especially since I'm trying to get that Hot Girl Summer Body where I'll be wearing bikinis 24/7 enjoying the warm fresh ocean breeze at the beach. What really caught my attention at the Companion was their croissants. Freshly baked, super flakey outside and a moist inside with a light essence of butter. Not skipping out on quality of ingredients to the baking methods you can tell that no corners would ever have been cut here. Usually, after the pastries age the crispy and flakey outside begins to absorb the moisture in the air no longer retaining its flakey texture and the inside would goes soggy.However, the pastries from Companion somehow do a great job of withholding their shelf life and staying fresh for a few days longer which surprised me. I love the unique creativity and well thought out passion that each of the pastries have to offer. This place is honestly the best bakery In Santa Cruz that I've tried which says a lot. I guess my summer body goal can wait till next year.
b d.
Difficult to choose, so many wonderful looking breads and pastries. We settled on a loaf of the sourdough bread and a very flaky pastry, I don't remember what it's called but so delicious. We were there on a Thursday Morning, it was very busy. We will definitely be back. They said they also sell at the local farmers markets, so I'll check there next time too.
Lauren W.
I wanted this to be my go to and while I usually really enjoy the pastries and sandwiches from Companion, their customer service is dreadful. I've given them a few chances and each time the employees appear miserable and act like it's a burden that I would like to order. I keep meaning to ask if they'll warm up my pastries but they hardly look up at me and package my order up so quickly I can never remember. I'm incredibly friendly when ordering at a place like this and the energy that the employees give off puts me in such a sad mood. I have gone with two different people, on two different occasions, and both agreed that there's just something off about the service here. Hopefully this can turn around because, at this time, the food isn't worth the atmosphere
Nun C.
I don't visit often enough, but when I do I'm reminded that Companion Bakeshop is a gem with excellent pastries, coffee, bread, and people. Brian at the counter is awesome, friendly personality, no attitude answering questions- just exactly the guy you want to see first thing in the morning. Thank you Brian for being awesome and for making sure everyone is properly caffeinated!
roger t.
We came by to kill time and the wife found this place before our reservations at Mystery Spot. For today, they didn't have any sandwiches and were left with the bakery goods. We got the walnut brownie and like a lemon tea cake. The customer service was helpful and friendly but my cons for my visit. 1). No sandwiches 2). The brownie walnut was good but it was WAY too sweet for me and I have a sweet tooth. 3). The lemon tea cake tasted different. It had a distinct initial taste and an after taste. I wasn't fond of it and neither were the kids. 4). Ordered a machiotto however they didn't say it was a small shot. Regardless, thinking it would be like a Starbucks drink it was good and caffeinated.
J Z.
Excellent bakery. Vegan options and all the ones I tried were great. The chocolate chip sourdough alone is worth a visit. Gets crowded, go early.
Alana S.
So I feel dumb and mad about a recent purchase. While checking out we saw cookie tins for $20. I assumed they had cookies-maybe a post Christmas clearance. I asked the woman checking us out if the cookies were good and she said sure. She put the tin in our bag along with our other purchases. When I got home in San Jose later that day I realized the tin was EMPTY. Who pays $20 for a cheap empty cookie tin with a paper stick on label? I guess it was us because we didn't pay attention to what we were actually buying. We called the place to make sure this wasn't a mistake. Nope,
Sophie C.
My favorite spot for pastries in Santa Cruz! Always a great selection of sweet and savory pastries, along with bread loaves, drinks, and sandwiches offered. Whenever I visit, there's usually quite a long line but it goes quickly, and is so worth it. There's limited overall seating- some outdoor tables and one indoor table that's normally taken. Fun ambiance though! Definitely try the scones, they're huge and so satisfying! I also enjoyed the ham and cheese croissant, although I thought that it was more on the doughy/bready side inside instead of flakey layers. Try a latte with the almond anise syrup! I've never tasted anything like it, the flavor is so rich.
Liz G.
Waited in a line for quite some time, so the anticipation of what was to come started to build! I was not disappointed with my mocha and my cinnamon roll and kouign Amman !!
Why oh why are they soooo slow, every time?!! Are you too cool for school?!?! I know why, they have 4-6 people working in the front, but only 1 maybe 2 when they finally notice, works the pastry counter and one works the coffee machine while the others do... I don't, nothing!! And, then the ones that are actually "working" will do stupid things that can be done later when there isn't a line out the door... Please teach your employees about customer service!
Michelle D.
We came a few minutes after opening and they were busy! There was so many selection to choose from, and they were very helpful in their suggestions. We chose a galette & chocolate croissant, both of which were really good. We also got a matcha latte and a hot chocolate that were good.
Subhi K.
Local bakery with variety of choices different pastries and breads. They have convenient sitting areas. They serve sandwiches not early in the morning
Christine H.
Yummy! I had the cinnamon roll, blueberry scone, their picnic bread loaf, and a matcha latte. I would admit that the pastries are too sweet for me, but my friend who has a sweet tooth loved it. The matcha latte definitely needed a lot of sugar. The picnic bread loaf was my favorite. It's really hard when toasted though... but delicious nonetheless
Linda M.
We stop here whenever we are in Santa Cruz. We've even been known to time our day trips over the hill so that we can stop here for bread and treats. We haven't had a sandwich, toast, or eggs here yet, but we will definitely do that soon. Our favorite breads are Three Seed, Goat Horn, and Walnut. We've enjoyed various pastries, and we particularly remember the amazingly delicious Kouign Amann - which I almost didn't order because I couldn't pronounce it. Love the food and staff here.
The only thing we actually buy there are cornmeal blueberry scones which are absolutely fabulous. The small mall of the northern side of Santa Cruz and generally the patrons are nice. Staff sees three fast and efficient and getting the awful long lines through service and paid
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bakery
If there's one thing Santa Cruz should be known for, it should be the abundance of locally owned French style bakery and pastry shops. The saturation, freshness, and quality of these shops make it difficult to resist especially since I'm trying to get that Hot Girl Summer Body where I'll be wearing bikinis 24/7 enjoying the warm fresh ocean breeze at the beach. What really caught my attention at the Companion was their croissants. Freshly baked, super flakey outside and a moist inside with a light essence of butter. Not skipping out on quality of ingredients to the baking methods you can tell that no corners would ever have been cut here. Usually, after the pastries age the crispy and flakey outside begins to absorb the moisture in the air no longer retaining its flakey texture and the inside would goes soggy.However, the pastries from Companion somehow do a great job of withholding their shelf life and staying fresh for a few days longer which surprised me. I love the unique creativity and well thought out passion that each of the pastries have to offer. This place is honestly the best bakery In Santa Cruz that I've tried which says a lot. I guess my summer body goal can wait till next year.
Difficult to choose, so many wonderful looking breads and pastries. We settled on a loaf of the sourdough bread and a very flaky pastry, I don't remember what it's called but so delicious. We were there on a Thursday Morning, it was very busy. We will definitely be back. They said they also sell at the local farmers markets, so I'll check there next time too.
I wanted this to be my go to and while I usually really enjoy the pastries and sandwiches from Companion, their customer service is dreadful. I've given them a few chances and each time the employees appear miserable and act like it's a burden that I would like to order. I keep meaning to ask if they'll warm up my pastries but they hardly look up at me and package my order up so quickly I can never remember. I'm incredibly friendly when ordering at a place like this and the energy that the employees give off puts me in such a sad mood. I have gone with two different people, on two different occasions, and both agreed that there's just something off about the service here. Hopefully this can turn around because, at this time, the food isn't worth the atmosphere
I don't visit often enough, but when I do I'm reminded that Companion Bakeshop is a gem with excellent pastries, coffee, bread, and people. Brian at the counter is awesome, friendly personality, no attitude answering questions- just exactly the guy you want to see first thing in the morning. Thank you Brian for being awesome and for making sure everyone is properly caffeinated!
We came by to kill time and the wife found this place before our reservations at Mystery Spot. For today, they didn't have any sandwiches and were left with the bakery goods. We got the walnut brownie and like a lemon tea cake. The customer service was helpful and friendly but my cons for my visit. 1). No sandwiches 2). The brownie walnut was good but it was WAY too sweet for me and I have a sweet tooth. 3). The lemon tea cake tasted different. It had a distinct initial taste and an after taste. I wasn't fond of it and neither were the kids. 4). Ordered a machiotto however they didn't say it was a small shot. Regardless, thinking it would be like a Starbucks drink it was good and caffeinated.
Excellent bakery. Vegan options and all the ones I tried were great. The chocolate chip sourdough alone is worth a visit. Gets crowded, go early.
So I feel dumb and mad about a recent purchase. While checking out we saw cookie tins for $20. I assumed they had cookies-maybe a post Christmas clearance. I asked the woman checking us out if the cookies were good and she said sure. She put the tin in our bag along with our other purchases. When I got home in San Jose later that day I realized the tin was EMPTY. Who pays $20 for a cheap empty cookie tin with a paper stick on label? I guess it was us because we didn't pay attention to what we were actually buying. We called the place to make sure this wasn't a mistake. Nope,
My favorite spot for pastries in Santa Cruz! Always a great selection of sweet and savory pastries, along with bread loaves, drinks, and sandwiches offered. Whenever I visit, there's usually quite a long line but it goes quickly, and is so worth it. There's limited overall seating- some outdoor tables and one indoor table that's normally taken. Fun ambiance though! Definitely try the scones, they're huge and so satisfying! I also enjoyed the ham and cheese croissant, although I thought that it was more on the doughy/bready side inside instead of flakey layers. Try a latte with the almond anise syrup! I've never tasted anything like it, the flavor is so rich.
Waited in a line for quite some time, so the anticipation of what was to come started to build! I was not disappointed with my mocha and my cinnamon roll and kouign Amman !!
Restaurantji Recommends
Why oh why are they soooo slow, every time?!! Are you too cool for school?!?! I know why, they have 4-6 people working in the front, but only 1 maybe 2 when they finally notice, works the pastry counter and one works the coffee machine while the others do... I don't, nothing!! And, then the ones that are actually "working" will do stupid things that can be done later when there isn't a line out the door... Please teach your employees about customer service!
We came a few minutes after opening and they were busy! There was so many selection to choose from, and they were very helpful in their suggestions. We chose a galette & chocolate croissant, both of which were really good. We also got a matcha latte and a hot chocolate that were good.
Local bakery with variety of choices different pastries and breads. They have convenient sitting areas. They serve sandwiches not early in the morning
Yummy! I had the cinnamon roll, blueberry scone, their picnic bread loaf, and a matcha latte. I would admit that the pastries are too sweet for me, but my friend who has a sweet tooth loved it. The matcha latte definitely needed a lot of sugar. The picnic bread loaf was my favorite. It's really hard when toasted though... but delicious nonetheless
We stop here whenever we are in Santa Cruz. We've even been known to time our day trips over the hill so that we can stop here for bread and treats. We haven't had a sandwich, toast, or eggs here yet, but we will definitely do that soon. Our favorite breads are Three Seed, Goat Horn, and Walnut. We've enjoyed various pastries, and we particularly remember the amazingly delicious Kouign Amann - which I almost didn't order because I couldn't pronounce it. Love the food and staff here.