Soul Sweets The Dessert House

Deliciously Cute place!! I loved the Atmosphere and the very friendly staff. I love their heart design on their boba tea cups! As well as all the candy, cups, and things for sale.

I’ve tried many boba shops, but this was my worst experience. My Taro Blend tasted like vanilla instead of taro, and despite asking for “less sweet,” it was cloyingly sugary—much sweeter than my friend’s “normal sweet” drink. In short, skip this place if you want true taro flavor and reliable sweetness control.

Cute spot to stop at & get some treats.

Me and my kids come here once a week. Very nice.

There boba is really good. Definitely one of the better ones in Santa Cruz county

I don’t understand this place. We ordered a soft and were one of two people in the entire store who ordered. We sat there for a good ten minutes while they made other orders, probably door dash. It makes no sense to make someone wait for soft serve, when it takes minutes to put it into a cup. They are also weirdly strict about how you are allowed to order the ice cream. Sad, because it has a lot of potential, but I have no idea what I’m waiting for.

Update: after tasting the soft-serve, I don’t think this place should stay in business. It was absolutely terrible. Icy and bland. Tasted like fake dairy. Way overpriced and like they used Hershey syrup in place of real fudge. Sad. I’m not at all sure why people go here.

It was really good, and the milk tea was amazing the service was also really nice I would recommend

the Thai tea tasted like alcohol. pretty gross

Great ice cream!

My kids love the rose gold milk tea with boba.
The Taiyaki with chocolate is good. They make it fresh when you order, but I recommend ordering it ahead online if you want to cut the wait time down.
Speaking of ordering ahead. You can order online, but they do not take orders over the phone.
They serve locally made ice cream from Marianne's Ice Cream.

This is going to sound weird. I would say my biggest complaint is a general feeling of unease while there. It's similar to getting that gut feeling that someone is talking about you behind your back. Weird, I know. It is just the energy.

Second complaint. The door is super heavy. Good luck to anyone in a wheelchair, disabled or just not that strong.

Parking: There isn't any dedicated parking for the shop. The parking spots are for all the nearby businesses. Usually there is always at least 1 parking spot open.

Wheelchair accessibility: The wheelchair accessible parking is 3 or 4 businesses away. That being said, the doors to Soul Sweets are ridiculously heavy. There is absolutely no way to get a wheelchair inside without someone available to hold the door or doors open.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 4

Service: 3

Recommended dishes: Taiyaki 3pcs

After running into quality issues with the other boba tea spots in Santa Cruz, it was refreshing to find this shop that has a wide selection of consistently-prepared drinks. I like to order the Assam Black and Jasmine milk teas, and my partner likes to jump around the menu and order just about everything.

We arrived one night right as they were closing up, and we met the owner. She recognized us as regulars and thanked us personally for coming in so often! It makes me want to continue supporting this local business.

Dietary restrictions: Oat milk, almond milk, and coconut milk available.

Kid-friendliness: There's a small space with some little chairs for children to sit on.

Wheelchair accessibility: No stairs or steps

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Interesting combination between soft serve scoop Marianne's ice cream as well as boba milk tea drinks...
Very tasty! First time will take more photos next time

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

My kids love the rose gold tea boba!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 4

Love this place! Such a nice clean place for a sweet treat, and so many varieties to pick from! Also very nice employees?

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Best tasting boba ever. Service is meh

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 5

Service: 2