Absolutely love this little local coffee shop in the heart of Santa Cruz. They are even a small roasting company that roasts small batches of coffee on site daily! The prices are reasonable and the ambience is perfect. Try a cappuccino or a breakfast bagel if you go. Love this place and recommend it to anyone stopping by! read more

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Wow this place used to be so good but the employees are not with it and have awful customer service skills. Not only did the cashier not know the difference between 12oz and 16oz (we got rang up for 16oz and got 12oz cups). The barista took 15 min to make two mocha's and there was one drink order in front of us. Then she screwed up the drinks. We only asked her to fix one but she rudely said we would have to pay for another. Sadly this will cost this establishment much more as we will no longer frequent this place. read more

Not the best place in town but if you are desperate for coffee and you missed the other 20 coffee places around downtown, Mission St. and along Ocean Avenue before heading to the beach this place works in a pinch if you don't want to grab a bottle beverage at the liquor store nearby. Iced soy latte was okay read more

While staying in Santa Cruz we were delighted to be able to walk to this coffee shop. There's so much to look at with all the signage, chalkboard art, stickers etc. the lattes are fantastic and the bagels are really excellent and they give huge helpings of lox, which was a wonderful surprise. My kiddos loved the mocha freeze with no caffeine. read more

Java Junction - Iced vanilla latte - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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Still waiting for over 20 minutes for some avocado toast lol seems quite unorganized here

Stylish coffee shop. Great smoothies. They do avocado toasts, bagels and great coffees !

Decent coffee, but the service was terrible. The girl who helped us at the cash register was so unpleasant. I tried to smile at her, but nothing. She had a blank stare that said, "what do you want?" And she was actually patronizing since the menu wasn't very clear and I had to change what I wanted. Not nice or friendly at all....seemed like she was allergic to human beings. The managers really need to put people who LIKE people to work at the front. read more

Great coffee and amazing bagel breakfast sandwiches. The negative reviews of this place are crazy. I've been coming here for 12 years and less frequently since I don't live in SC anymore. Anyway great coffee and great place to chill in the morning. read more

My hair salon is nearby so occasionally I will wander over and get a coffee or a snack if things are running late. I usually prefer a cappuccino or iced coffee and I've always been pleased with what I've had here. Snacks are very straightforward as well and I like the vibe just fine. Customer service can occasionally be spotty but, to me, that's common in Santa Cruz so I don't stress too much unless I'm really in a hurry. read more

Java Junction - Sesame bagel with sundried tomato schmear, cappuccino. Tom Waits on the Jambox. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

One of my best friends & I went to Santa Cruz to visit & we wanted to find some local coffee shops to go to. Once we went here we didn't want to go ANYWHERE else. Their flavored lattes are soooooo good!! Somehow the iced lattes taste better than the hot ones. The service was incredible. Everyone was so kind & friendly. As for ambiance it literally felt like my friend & I stepped into a Time Machine to a coffee shop from the 90's. This was July of 2021. TO THIS DAY we still talk about this place. This is the BEST coffee place we've ever been to & we have been to coffee shops all over the country, but mostly in the south. read more

Perfectly frothed goodness is a good way to start any morning! I love coming here early, grabbing a mocha topped off with real whipped cream to jump start the work day! The team is friendly and gets all the modifications on my drink right every order and is nice to my pup that sometimes comes in with me as well. Also, the breakfast bagels here are very tasty and always toasted just the right amount (enough to keep egg/cheese warm but not too crusty). read more

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Fun place to work and chill with a coffee or one of their awesome smoothies. They also have great breakfast foods, bagels, burritos, and pastries. Fun people, open and airy. You have to try the Monkey Business smoothie. So yummy with banana, honey and peanut butter. read more

Java Junction - Monkey Business Smoothie on the beach! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Good variety or drinks & food. They were fast to make it regardless of the line that kept growing. The only problem I had was it was really loud in there (music etc) and the guy who rang my friends and I up was really rude to us. Aside from that, the place is nice, open, and has a good selection of food and drinks. read more

Tried this place for the first time since Kind Grind left. Hmmmm - ordered a cupa coffee for my GF on our walk. Chose the light roast. I didn't really want any coffee at that time although I'm a regular robust coffee lover. The small cup cost $2.25 and was strong, bitter, and... lukewarm. At this point I'm missing Kind Grind. read more

Friendly people, great food and coffee, always consistent and just the best place to stop in when I need a quick pick-me-up. Love and appreciate all the staff here. read more

Very cool relaxed vibe. Barista very friendly . Yummy local foods, cakes , bagels etc Coffee very good and worthy of a stop if wanting good local coffee relaxed cozy atmosphere and good service read more

No bathroom! Only order stuff to-go because the coffee and food is really good. We walked from Frederick's park to hangout and bought the family food and coffee drinks. When we were done my wife and kids asked to use the bathroom, and the girl behind the counter said they don't have a bathroom for their customers. There was no public bathroom near by! It made sense when we first walked up we saw a guy in the back parking lot come out of the bushes who looked like he had to use the bathroom. We won't be back. If you are the owner reading this....bring the bathrooms back! You are a BUSINESS that serves drinks and food! WTH??? read more

Great breakfast variety. Good coffee. Strange location, but don't let that turn you off...the cafe is very nice with plenty of indoor and el fresco seating. read more

nice interior and location, just very expensive and waiting quite a while. but our drinks were great!

Turkey cranberry sandwich with two long hairs. I mentioned it and she said sorry turned her back. End of story.

Decent coffee. Too bad the service is shit. Rude cashier left a bad taste in my and my guests mouths. Thanks for an underwhelming experience. read more

Great lunch spot! I usually order a hot chocolate and turkey avocado sandwich on toasted sourdough bread. Staff is very relaxed and mellow.

Stopped in to get coffee and let my kid use the restroom. First sign I see is "no restroom." I dont give my money to establishments that have no facilities. read more

You make my heart sank!! I got through Grad school driving over the hill, setting up shop at the corner table, and now coming back for more with my loved one. Staff is funny and kind, prices are reasonable, and clean environment. My home away from home. We really enjoy the creative drinks with coconut milk. Cheers William and Rita read more

I'm not sure if they got my order wrong, but it didnt taste as I wanted. I ordered 3 shot of espresso for the strong coffee taste with raspberry syrup. It tasted more like water down coffee with triple raspberry syrup. I should have gone to verve down the block for stronger coffee. The staff seemed nice during the brief minimal contact. read more

Why is it that coffee shops always have their menus written in chalk? How long does it actually take them to write/rewrite them? And how do they write so straight and neat? Those are thoughts to ponder about while enjoying a nice cup of coffee, while either soaking up sun in the outdoor patio, or kickin it under a roof indoors. Its not hard to find, but hard to notice. Good place to crack down and do some work, so you don't have to look like a huge tool writing your paper on a macbook at Starbucks. read more

The staff here are a**holes! And the coffee sucks due to the staffs inability to prepare it. Very unfriendly. When I kindly asked for an espresso the girl at the front asked if I would like a single or double. I asked her how big their single shot was. Then I got lectured that I should know that its the same everywhere, that the basket size is this that, blah blah. Bottom line I told her to do a single. Sure enough it came out to something about the size of a triple and was bitter as hell! Maybe I have too high of expectations for places like this to produce espresso. read more

The coffee here is hit or miss depending on who is working there. I hate writing a bad review but I'm going to be honest here... I've frequented this place quite a bit and was sorry to come in one day..I noticed there was a new girl working who didn't really know what she was doing when she made my coffee...i've been there...I used to make coffee and I understand learning but the person who should have been training her was sitting on a stool on her cell phone. Meanwhile the other girl making my coffee looked at my apologetically as she literally shoveled nasty burnt foam into my cup...resembled sea foam and was literally too thick to pour any of it. I couldn't believe she actually handed that to me and expected me to drink it. I didn't blame her, the problem was her experienced co-worker for not teaching her how to make these drinks. I was a good sport and tried to drink it but the taste was expectedly not so pleasant. It is the second cup of coffee I have poured out in my life. It is a hit or miss place to me. Sometimes the staff is nice, sometimes they are just caught up in their own world and rather aloof. Sometimes the coffee is nice (the gentleman who works there makes the best cup I've found) and sometimes its cringe-worthy. Good luck! read more

Updated review, still 2 stars. Staff are way better. But man do I get irritated at the blended mochas. I specifically ask them not to blend it into chocolate espresso milk. And yet there I am paying $7 for cold milk. Want a frozen drink? Try Fins or Coffeetopia. read more

The two stars are mainly for their customer service. Most of the staff is just plain rude. The male worker today was especially rude. When told that our order was supposed to be to go, his response was "so? you want me to wrap it or something?" .... Well, generally in the past when we get our order to go, it's wrapped. I'm big on customer service and this place has none. The coffee and food though are very good. The bagels are fresh, and the smoothies delicious. read more

Java Junction has one thing going for them- location. I like that it's walking distance from my house, there's lots of seating inside and outside, and it's a great place to bring my laptop and get some work done. It has a nice atmosphere and it's exactly what a neighborhood coffee shop in a beach town should look like. Everything else sucks. The coffee is not good and it's overpriced. Plus they have a $5 minimum to use for credit cards I always end up wasting more money on some crappy food item that I didn't even want. The baristas are annoying and sometimes rude, which I just don't understand. They have two job duties: make coffee and be nice to people. In my experience they fail at both. Also, I don't like the bathroom arrangement. An easily accessible restroom where you don't have to worry about packing up all your stuff if you need to go is absolutely essential you plan to be in one place for an extended period of time and consumption of beverages is involved. But I guess there's not much they can do about that. read more

I want to like this place but the staff make it so hard. Most of the employees are pretty rude. It does not matter to me how good the mocha may be if the staff sucks. I mean come on, is it to much to ask for a smile and a "how's it going" when I walk in? So with that said I can tell you that yes the mocha is decent and yes the location is on Java Junctions side being that there is not much of a choice in this hood. read more

I want to love this place, I really do, but it's not the best. It's not the worst either. Here's the lowdown: PROS: Coffee is delicious Good smoothies When the service is great, it is really good Outdoor patio Homemade whip cream...yummers! CONS: When the service is bad, it's horrible Sometimes people smoke on the patio, which I thought wasn't legal Mediocre tea selection Bathrooms are on the other side of the building Overall, I'd say it wouldn't be the worst choice for getting coffee in the area, but I can think of a few i'd rather visit instead. read more

There are too many other really good coffee shops to bother with this one. Seating is available here for a reason. My friend and I stopped in and the guy behind the counter had a look of detest and stood there staring at us. I said hi and he shrugged. Really dude? I asked for a double espresso over ice and he bitterly took orders from 6-7 more customers before asking me again what I wanted and finally made it. It was the most sour spro I've had. I don't think was having a bad day, he is just kind of an ass. Side note, there was a stunning girl making smoothies and she had a smile on her face - but she stayed away from angry coffee counter dude. read more

What a great spot! They have coffee (obviously), bagel sandwiches, pastries, parfaits, cookies, chips and tea. You order at the counter and pick up your items at the corresponding counters. I ordered the Super Lox Bagel that came with cream cheese, lox, capers and red onions. I also bought a bag of kettle chips and a bottled water. It came to a total of $10. They do charge a CC fee for totals under $5, I believe. I sat outside with my friend and her two dogs. There were quite a few tables inside and outside. The bagel was not wide but thick and it had to have been the best lox bagel I have ever had. It was sooo good, I was contemplating ordering another one. read more

We stayed in the area and wanted something quick and quality breakfast. We had the oatmeal, bagel sandwich and coffee. The girl at the counter was nice but seemed a bit annoyed. We really loved the food. The ingredients were fresh and well made. The coffee was really good. We visited twice and the second time there was a young man who was very friendly and the service was much better. We definitely recommend this place. read more

Nice outdoor seating area - until you realize that you are surrounded by a major intersection and burger stink from the place across the street. The coffee itself is average, the prices are high - too high for what you get. Also they assume every coffee should be served in disposable cup -- BOOOOOO!!!! most coffee drinkers are addicts, serve the coffee in a real glass or bring a mug. WTF? read more

A fine establishment for drinks and food but HOW can you be a coffee shop and not have a bathroom available for your customers??

With all the coffee shops in Santa Cruz, I never really got into Java Junction. It wasn't comfortable enough for me to want to hang out there and the crowds weren't interesting enough to make me want to stay just to people watch. The coffee was good enough, I guess, but I'd really only stop in if someone I was with wanted a smoothie. read more

Worst. Chai. Ever. But I suppose that's what I get for ordering chai at a coffee roasting place. Great service tho. read more