We drove an hour to try this Pasticceria and we are glad we did and will be back. We felt like we…read morewere in Italy enjoying the best pastries, pizza and cafe late ever. The owners, two brothers from Italy are professional trained chefs. It is definitely a must visit cafe.

5/5: The rhum baba is perfection. Get it. It's a cocktail in pastry form…read more 5: Chocolate covered zepole cream puff 5: Regular zepole cream puff 4: The chocolate covered cake with a layer of orange 4: Big cream puff with a Coffee choux cream. 2: The pistachio gelato is way too sweet. All I can taste is sugar. This might be ok for little kids who like super-sweet stuff, but it's cloyingly sweet for anyone over the age of 18. 2: The chocolate bombe uses very mild milk chocolate mousse. It is lacking the intense bitter chocolate flavor and complexity that I'm looking for. 2: Tiramisu: The espresso layer is too mushy.

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.

I was in town for two days and went everytime it's hard not to buy to much. Everything is amazing I…read morelove the cheesy garlic sticks and almond croissant almond croissant cookies, lemon cookie and chive biscuit I love this place the coffee is really good as well!! It's not laid out how it works so your first time is a bit confusing. Grab a ticket a listen to them calling out numbers and raise hand for your number. Lots and lots of sitting it can get pretty busy so be aware of that waits can be a bit but so damn worth it

This is one of the lesser known local bakeries filled with awesomeness…read more Parking is street only. Sometimes there will be a spot open right on front, sometimes not but there is a pay lot more or less right in back of the building that always has room. It's not the largest space inside, but it does have a fair amount of table/booth combos should you chose to lounge on site. The window displays are pure old school European bakery and when the owner feels up to it can be quite creative. They do offer a limited lunch/breakfast menu which looks to be light fare-pasta, egg dishes, salads, sandwiches etc, but in reality is quite substantial. The portions are large, and are just stuffed with ingredients. They can be quite filling. While the food menu is pretty great I don't go to a bakery-which is what this business is-for a sammich, or soup. I go for the pastries, and occasionally when I feel lazy, the breads. The pastry here is outstanding. The baker/owner is an italian baker originally from Milan that got lured to this area and eventually decided that the only way he'd get the super awesome Italian pastries he loved was to open a bakery and do it himself. It goes without saying that any of the Italian stuff is entirely worth your time and expense. The croissants are buttery perfection and yeah if you wanted a rustic tuscan loaf, tiramisu, panetonne, sfogliatell or cannoli this is THE place. Just to mix things up they do some mean bear claws and almond filled thingys as well. The also do some coffee products-american style drip and of course espresso, but they are handicapped by being located right next to what is arguably the best coffee shop in the area. Regardless the coffee is a little bit cheaper and almost as good, and who doesn't want coffee with a bear claw? Pricing is on the higher side (other then the coffee, which is quite reasonable.) as this is very much an artisanal kind of bakery with lots of labor of love put into the product. Bare bones coffee and a sweet can be had for under ten bucks, but lunch/breakfast menu item can get into the ten-fifteen dollar range in a heartbeat. A loaf of bread and a couple of croissants will be in the ten ish range. Less for basic croissants, more if you go for the millionaire bacon stuffed option. Service is usually solid, but at times they have trouble getting good people for the front counter role which leads to new teen employee levels of confusion about the products. All in all this is an excellent lesser known bakery choice, very much worth the time, parking and expense for the sheer luxurious treats they offer.

Pretty good. Generous portions. Need to serve Peroni beer. Good setting. Nice breeze. Planniing to…read morereturn soon.

Stumbled upon this place on the last day of our trip. Bummer as I would have come back for another…read moremeal. Don't wait! Come check out this place for a very satisfying and delicious meal! The broccoli quiche and the lemon tart are our winners! My daughter loved her cheesecake too! Service was great!

Oh la la. This place is absolutely amazing at producing outstandingly delicious traditional…read moredesserts. The berry cobbler is insane. Their lemon meringue tart is so good. The bread is fantastic. We love Companion but this place may supersede them for our family. Wow wow wow.

Yummm! Truly great croissants, blueberry muffins & raspberry…read moreswirls. Go, you'll be happy you did! Also super easy parking in the rear lot.

A small cozy shop with many pastries, tarts, and pies! They also serve sandwiches, breakfast,…read moresalads, and have soup of day. We ordered * strawberry Marionberry Scone: 3/5. A little too sweet. Not bad. * plain croissant: 4/5. Simple as it can be. * cheese danish twist: 4.5/5. The best one and flavor is all there and balanced. I ended up finishing everything on the spot. I also got the Tres Leches Coffee, easy 5/5. Service was pretty quick, and they try to get people served as quickly as possible.

Great bread, can not recommend online ordering alas. Moved from Bay Area, so I ordered online since…read moreI was missing my favorites. Order arrived Friday at 12:50 pm, missing one of my wheat sourdough's. ( ordered 4, received 3). Sent email at 1:04, ( complete with photos of products received and packing slip, double checked final charge to see if i was charged for all 4, I was. tried email from order form, tried the contact us link/form on website, tried to call the direct phone line Monday morning and left messages. Update: Tuesday morning, got an email they are sending a loaf out.

I just ate a piece of Beckmanns Cherry Pie! OMG the Crust!!!…read more Its the best crust ive ever had. I love it and want everyone to know that they should give it a try. Yummy

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!

My husband and I combine our morning Capitola walk then share a "Big Turkey" sandwich and sit on…read morethe benches in the Esplanade to eat. It's one of my favorite sandwiches (from anywhere). The service is great. The price is great. The portions are great. The owner is very friendly. I've lived in Capitola a long time and have seen places come and go. I hope he sticks around. Tell a friend!

Review time!!! Is there nothing this fabulous cafe can't do?…read morePizza!!! Hot fresh dough,full of flavor with the tastiest ingredients and toppings. Freshly grated Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes!!! 5 Stars We ordered two types of pizza and both tasted uniquely different.

They have variety of pasties, desserts and breads but my favorites are the Bolillo with cream…read morecheese and jalapeño! The best I've ever had. The bread was crunchy in the outside and soft in the inside. The amount of jalapeño and cream cheese was so well balanced. They also have the best tamales in town! Staffs are all nice and accommodating. Store is clean and has plenty of parking space.

On our way home, we had pre ordered 2 dozen tamales to take home. They only make it fresh, no…read morefrozen. We enjoyed the chicken green sauce (the favorite) and pork red sauce over the next few days and froze a 1/2 dozen for another time. You should ask for them in a tray if you order that many, otherwise you have to take 4 plastic bags home. The cost came to $100+ with the tax but they're big and delicious.

I came here with my mom on a Fri and Sat morning. Fri it was not too crowded and Sat it was very…read morebusy. The pastries were delicious and I love the vibe here, it's very comfortable and everything is made fresh in house. I got their fritatta which was yummy. I also purchased their lemon meringue pastry which was yummy. I did not try their coffee. My mom got a morning bun which she said was very good and she also tried their bread and butter.

Yes originally began for sourdough bread but now a variety of styles (all with sourdough starters),…read morepastries, coffee, breakfast and lunch. The line can get long on weekends but unlike neighboring coffee shops, it seems to move quickly and food comes out faster. Order pastries and bread at the glass case and coffee and breakfast at the registers. Coffee comes out by exit door while food comes out from the kitchen in the middle. The coffee is well balanced. Not sure whose they use but syrups are made in house. Breakfast sandwich looks small but is quite hearty and filling. You can add avocado, bacon, and aioli. This is a go to. West side avocado toast: adds garlic aioli, avocado, and poached egg to the Aptos version. Defn better Pesto goat cheese baguette: three letter review -- OMG Kouign Amann: this one is square, rather than classic round, and a little denser but still layered and not overly sweet. GF brownie: quite good for gluten free but sweeter than I like. Bacon egg galette: the puff pastry is nicely flaky with onions and crispy bacon. Messy but good. The premade sandwiches are all tasty and much better than you get in a grocery store. Customer service is a little hit and miss, based on personalities. There's plenty of seating inside and out.