Glad we discovered this cute coffee shop!…read more Visiting Aptos we stopped at this coffee shop and right as we entered we noticed how beautiful aesthetic and clean it was. They serve a variety of bread and breakfast pastries. Great prices and quality. I wish we had one of these in the East Bay. Cappuccino was delicious! 2oz and perfect blend! Customer service was excellent and I will definitely be coming back!! 10/10

Came here with friends, and we were all delighted!…read more There are a lot of good coffee shops, but I like how this one had indoor and outdoor seating plus a video game for kids. Matcha and coffee were smooth, and of course Manresa bread was delectable. Donuts were very much enjoyed by my friends, too.

Solid 3.5 stars - neighborhood coffee shop that feels familiar. Service was very friendly. Lots of…read moreoptions outside of coffee including bagels, pastries and smoothies. We ordered coffee, a berry smoothie (yogurt, frozen berries, apple juice), and egg bagel sandwich (egg is microwaved vs cooked on a pan). Plenty of indoor and outdoor tables / seating. Would come back for a quick coffee and savory bagel if in the area.

Great service and some mighty fine coffee. Interested in checking out some of their yummy baked…read moregoods and empanadas

Excellent food and beverages all around. The Nona's Caprese and Church are exceptionally tasty…read morevegetarian options. They also have delicious take away, heat and eat meals and sauces. And the baked goods...good luck not indulging. Castelli's coffee deli is top quality service, food and just steps away from Seacliff beach.

Great place to pick up sandos for the beach, hiking, or for wineries that allow outside food…read more 5/5: Tortellini salad. $5. It's perfect. 5/5: Chocolate hazelnut bomboloni: $3.50: perfect brioche, filling is great. 4/5: Limoncello cake $5. 3/5: Nonna's Caprese sando $15: sliced turkey. The bread gets too soggy from the pesto. The chicken pesto sando at Zoccoli's is much better. 3/5: Reuben sando $17: Not as great as I expected.

Parking can be a problem on the weekends during the summer, since the beach is right next door…read more Most of the pastries are from Companion Bakeshop. I tried two items: - 5/5: The Machiatto is excellent. They serve 11th hour coffee. - 3/5: The Mexican chocolate pie ($8/slice) is too sweet. All I can taste is sugar.

We came here twice during our stay nearby. The first time was decent. Coffee was good, staff was…read moreok, the food was tasty but inconsistent. (The meat pie and pastry we ordered were not warmed all the way, but the bagel was good) Then inside seating area was also sticky and slightly dirty looking. Our second visit was yesterday 6/20, and it sounds like we weren't the only unhappy customers based on other reviews. I'm not surprised to hear the lady in charge that morning rudely made customers leave because she "needed a reset". We asked about getting pizza around 10:45 am, which we acknowledged was early...but just asking to see what was possible. Instead of a real explanation, we got a snarky look at her watch and just an "um, noooo" with a bad attitude. If there was a real reason, like the dough wasn't ready or the oven wasn't on (it was, we could see the flames) I would understand. However, the lady was complaining to a coworker about an issue with the manager or something while we waited in line so there was already some unprofessional behavior beyond the lack of customer service. We left without getting anything at that point. We won't be back to Venus, The Pixie Deli down the street has good food and friendly service.

Came here for breakfast while staying at the nearby Sea Cliff Inn…read more Food and coffee: Small selection of baked goods including fresh breads, croissants, pastries. We ordered a raspberry "pop tart" (filled pastry with frosting), plain croissant, and avocado toast. All were very good. Their fresh breakfast sandwiches "weren't available yet" (not sure what that meant) and the avocado toast did take a while to make. Service: Service was a little aloof but fine. Ambiance: Only a few indoor seats, two outdoor tables and kids toys though next to the road. Very modern and new interior. Would recommend trying, be prepared for a short line / wait.

Really cute storefront. There's a store to the side, and a great display of pastries. I can see why…read morethey draw a crowd. Got here right after opening and took a stroll around. They were in the middle of making sandwiches, which did look appetizing. Got in line at a perfect time because it quickly grew behind me. I always go with the basics... purchased a true French baguette, and a delicious looking chocolate chip cookie. Solid 4 stars for the French baguette. Great crispy crust, nice airy inside, not dense at all. Awesome for dipping in coffee. My only downside is the price. $6 for a French baguette... why? I'm waiting to see if it gives me any super powers. As for the chocolate chip cookie... perfect example of how looks can be deceiving. I know it's all preference, but it was just a basic cookie. No sea salt added for that something extra and no browned butter to be found. Just an ordinary, overly priced cookie. Sadly, does not win a spot for my top 5. Also, the gentleman at the counter was pretty frigid. Maybe a bad morning? Perhaps that's his personality. Who knows, but I wouldn't expect much at the counter as far as hospitality goes.

Love this place -Amazong!! Fresh Delicious meals that…read moreartfully crafted and taste DELICIOUS! The Cupcakes are Delicious and Gigantic!!

This place was a true disappointment. For starters, everything is already super overpriced, and the…read morelunch options are very limited. I ordered a turkey sandwich, which seemed simple enough. The woman at the counter was bland and unwelcoming from the start. It honestly felt like we were bothering her just by being there. Customer service makes a big difference, and this was definitely lacking. When my food came out, the sandwich was literally falling apart because they loaded it with an excessive amount of mayo. It made it messy and unpleasant to eat. Overall, between the high prices, limited menu, poor service, and sloppy food, I won't be coming back.

An OK place to get coffee and a pastry here in the Santa Cruz area. Definitely a bit dingier and…read moredarker than most coffeeshops, with some concerns about cleanliness - tables were sticky and there was food and crumbs on the floor around my chair before I sat down. Coffee and pastries are decent, although the pastries are priced pretty expensive. Lots of activism and messaging by the coffeeshop, which can be a plus or minus depending on your proclivities.

Donnie Darko!! This…read moreis what makes the surrounding towns/ Santa Cruz unique. Living in SF we wanted to find something different and unique. We appreciated this corner coffee shop and the vibes. We even came back the next day just for Donnie Darko - if you enjoy iced coffee this is it! One of the cons of this drink is it comes only in one size; apparently a specific formula or proportion of ingredients. Would come back to this town just for this amazing coffee!

it's ALL about the FOOD! SERVICE! COMPANY CULTURE! I share this from, the , lens of a sugar/ fat…read moreaddict, who ,is a native born , "Cruzian". The ambiance ? Crowded, poor feng shui, and full of tall people craving sugar and caffeine. For a short person like myself it's the one down side. The remedy is to order things for pick up or get your food out of the prepared food section. The ambience , triggers, my fight or flight instinct (personal problem.)Thanks for listening Many ago I,was in with four Girl Scouts ,to pick out meetings goodies. My vigelnce and ,protective neurons, on high alert We, ordered some delicious food and as I went to the cash register to pay , Gayle, came out ,and paid the total of my order. She's watching all she did was smile and I knew that she'd read my face ,seen the panic ,and acted on it. Gayle's, is a place, that I will always take visitors.

Ok, so I'm not much a dessert person theses days, but when on vacation, I'll perhaps cheat a little…read morefor some of my long time favorites pastries since I'd need doing a lot of sightseeing and walking around for exercise anyway. I searched around the area for some popular bakeries and Gayle's came up on top, so off we went to try it out. As expected, the place was very busy when we walked in, we immediately grabbed a number, and waited to be called to place our order at the counter. It'd be a good idea, though, if you had made a good round to browse at all the goodies they have to offer, so you know what you want once your number is called... at least this is what we did. So, we ordered the Pain de Amande (almond croissant... my fave), a Bear Claw (loved these as a teenager), a Raspberry Napolean, and a Fresh Berry Tartelette with pastry cream. OMG! The almond croissant was aaammmaaazzing! I'm going to say this with all confidence, but this was the very best almond croissant of ever eaten! The croissant had a very nice light crisp on the outside, lovely dense layers of pastry inside, and that almond paste was just the best.... it has excellent flavor, just the right sweetness... not overly, and just pulled the whole croissant together to give one amazing yummy bite.... that you won't be able to stop eating! The Raspberry Napolean was excellent too....a bit sweet because of the raspberry jam. Regular Napoleans have flaky layers holding the sweet fillings, but this was more of a butter biscuit layer.... not quite the same, but still oh so yummy! The berry fruit tartelette was also excellent... fresh berries on that delicious pastry cream, inside a perfectly baked pastry shell. Lastly, the Bear Claw.... used to be one of my favorites, but I thought it needed something more most and creamy or moist on the inside, otherwise it tasted just a little bit dry.... still very good, but just needed something more. The one thing all the delicious baked goods we tried had was, they were obviously very freshly baked with the freshest ingredients.... and prepared to perfection. If I'm ever in the area again, I will definitely pay another visit to Gayle's as their pastries are simply the best you'll ever find anywhere.