Everyone talks about Gayle's, but in my opinion, Norma Jean's has the best pastries in town. Their plain croissants are hands down my favorite perfectly flaky and buttery. The kouign amann is incredible, the mango scone is delicious (honestly, all of their scones are!), and don't even get me started on the cronuts... they're amazing! You can truly taste the love and care that goes into their homemade pastries, and it shows in every bite. read more

Food was good, service was good, the only issue I have is that the owner sat her dogs butt on the table. Then took it to the kitchen. That is a health code violation so I will not be back and I am concerned about those who are allergic. However food was good. read more

Best pastries, quality and variety, in south SC County. The space is limited for large-ish groups --- so go in smaller groups!!! Coffee is good, pour-overs are gooder. Take your fave person. read more

Cute place, very welcoming and staff were nice. Pretty quick service for the amount of people waiting. read more

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A really lovely local spot in Aptos. Definitely hit the spot for what we were looking for coffee. Lots of options to try, and nothing was bad by any means. Quite solid overall! read more

It's my Go To, each time I am in town! Warm & cozy local shop. Lots of regulars, people sit to catch up or take it to go. Parking on site. You order from the wall Menu or the counter display. Baked muffins are good!! I've enjoyed the Carrot cake, Blueberry muffin & a scone. Breakfast burrito seems to be a favorite and the coffee hits the spot. I've had the macchiato, latte & mocha. When you can, check it out before you land at the beautiful beach read more

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Well that was awful. Stopped in because Cat & Cloud was unexpectedly closed next door. Ordered an iced vanilla coffee and an iced caramel mocha. One person working. He never used the espresso machine to make the coffee for our drinks. He kept taking orders with you making the drinks ahead of those orders. One foreign tourist ordered an almond croissant and it slid off the plate onto the floor right in front of him and he didn't offer to replace it (even though the ceramic plate has not the right choice for the oversized croissant). The drinks are downright ghastly. My Vanilla iced latte had no vanilla syrup. The coffee shop felt old, dated and dirty. Avoid this place. It it just gross. read more

Norma Jean's Coffee - This is the exterior. The rusty screen door should have been my first clue as to the experience on the inside. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Aptos, California

Best coffee in town. All coffee is organic. Muffins and pastries made fresh each morning. Baked goods include croissants, cronuts, and muffins. Other options include Egg burritos, sandwiches, including croissant sandwiches, bagels, lemon bars, siracha hard boiled eggs, quiche, and fresh fruit. Employees are all happy, friendly and helpful. Very clean and comfortable space to meet with friends. read more

Hey!! Norma Jeans coffee shop!! This is the place to go!! Open at 5:30am during the week and 6:30am on the weekends, you need to be there! Every pastry is handmade daily and the Kona coffee is the BOMB!! The people who work there are very nice and considerate and the owner, Kathy, has a good heart ! Try them soon!! I'll see you there!! read more

I came here for the first time.It was early Saturday morning n decided to give this place a try And it didn't disappoint.I got the chicken salad on a buttery croissant ,devil eggs and orange juice.Very yummy. The customer service was awesome and the place was very clean.I recommend this place read more

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3.5 Cute spot! The coffee and service were good. We went for açaí bowls, but they seemed to be pre-made and frozen which was a bummer. (Used to samba rock and Amazon juices). I'll be back to try other breakfast menu items, but would rather have açaí bowls made fresh as they're meant to be! We will try again. read more

Today we stopped at Norma Jeans as I saw somewhere they are celebrating 20 years of business and I hadn't stopped in before. Everything was absolutely delicious and the girls working were very friendly and welcoming! The environment was warm and cozy- felt like the homey cafe that it truly is! The pastries were delicate and packed with flavor and this is now my go to local bacon egg and cheese. I opted for extra cheese because YOLO. Hands down our new favorite local cafe! read more

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New to the HD and we are always looking for a good place for breakfast. We like a variety of places. Read some of the reviews so we were intrigued. The owner was the o love ya waitress and the daughter was at the grill. I was looking forward to my meal based on all the reviews!!!! Sadly I was so disappointed. I don't want to be rude but the food was not very good. I've had better food from a hospital cafeteria. Oh did I mention the owner reeked of booze! read more

Great location. Always great service! Fresh food, good drinks snd friendly staff. Highly recommend!!

The service was nice and quick! I enjoyed the seating as well. The vintage vibe was very cute! I was a little disappointed because the matcha latte was watered down and tasteless. read more

Norma Jean's Coffee - Matcha latte - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Aptos, California

Horrible coffee taste like water don't recommend wasting your money there go down the street to the other ones

This cozy little local hotspot has some of the best breakfast burritos around and amazing pastries baked on site and some of the nicest employees too! So grateful to have this clean, woman owned business in my neighborhood! read more

Great coffee choices, smoothies, teas, many fruit and pastry choices and a stuffed full burrito! Casual comfortable meeting place. Very personal friendly service. read more

Had breakfast with my brother at this quaint breakfast place. Sad to say it did take me a moment to connect the Marilyn Monroe pictures with the name of the place. The bagels were fresh, warm, crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. Great way to start off the day. read more

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A friend and I were talking about pastries and in particular couign amann. She recommended Norma Jeans. Now I highly recommend them. I heated the couign amann for about 15 seconds and it was wonderful. It was flaky a and soft with a bit of sugar crunch. They are $4 and worth every bit. read more

Unique little place to grab coffee and breakfast to go! We stopped in on our way back from Seacliff State Beach. We got smoothie (I think strawberry), iced quad espresso, plain bagel with cream cheese, and a mango scone. All were very delicious and well made - particularly the mango scone! Fortunately, we didn't have the experience some of the other reviewers had in terms of customer service. We were greeted pleasantly and promptly. Our questions were answered with patience and we left happy with our first experience! Glad to have found you guys! read more

Norma Jean's Coffee - Mango scone deliciousness - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Aptos, California

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My friend loves this place so I decided to give it a whirl. I ordered simply with a coffee and breakfast burrito. They were both stellar and I particularly enjoyed the burrito. I will be back. read more

Hello cutie pie! What a fun little spot to get coffee. Of course Marilyn Monroe is everywhere in the details here. The staff was kind and in-tune with their customers. It is a small location with a lot of seating squeezed in. I had the hatch chile quiche and it was pretty good. Overall this was a fun place for me to catch up with some of my friends. read more

Underrated due to its proximity to the overrated and crowded Cat and Cloud coffee shop. Good coffee, friendly and lively staff, pleasant and non intrusive Euro music, indoor and shaded outdoor seating, and a menu good for meals and pastries. Plus the place is devoted to Marilyn Monroe memorabilia. What's not to like? read more

Norma Jean's Coffee - Elvis, caught looking. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Aptos, California

Friendly staff...nice atmosphere...good coffee... The place is in Aptos village and is s nice alternative to the corporate cafe culture which has sprouted everywhere these past decades. It has a little outside space with tables which is nice. Thumbs up read more

Delightful first time experience. Can't believe I've never visited considering I'm a many decades local!! All the accolades are warranted. It was a busy busy Saturday morning (W2W weekend), and the staff was so sharp, so on point, so smiling and amicable. Pistachio latte, Sumatra drip, breakfast burrito, etc. All superb, just superb. It could not have been fresher. I was impressed by the quality and freshness of the food and of the staff. I felt prices were good for the quality. Top notch and can't wait to go back. Oh wait, we've already been back twice. read more

Norma Jean's Coffee - brought m'gals. One's a devoted Marilyn fan and that was the initial motivation - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Aptos, California

This is the place for coffee and and a quick breakfast. Got a dry cap, orange juice, smoked salmon bagel and breakfast croissant. All were good. They know how to make a dry cappuccino and the OJ is fresh squeezed. The breakfast croissant was a little dry, needs some kind of sauce or spread but it was good. The bagel and smoked salmon came with capers and thinly sliced red onions. I like the attention to detail because so many other places leave out these essentials on a smoked salmon bagel. There are three bagel options, plain, Parmesan, or sesame. I ordered a hot black coffee to go and I could choose between a light roast Kona or a dark roast house blend. The dark roast was fabulous. This place is decorated in homage to Norma Jean Baker (Marilyn Monroe). The red interior gives a psychological pep to your morning. The staff is great, the patrons are friendly, the prices are right and the food and beverage are good. Support local and go here over a national chain. Not only will it be better for your tastebuds but your wallet too. read more

I am picky when it comes to coffee, being that I live and breath coffee lol This place has a much more "coffeehouse" ambiance than the other place a couple doors down, so I opted to come here. I had a tamale (weird, but ok) that was absolutely delicious considering it came from a coffee shop and two deviled eggs. The americano I ordered wasn't bitter and had a great flavor to it. Not a dark burnt taste, but the beautiful espresso taste. Clean, comfortable, tasty, and great customer service! I will be back. read more

At 11:20am I was in the line and ready to order my coffee but I guess the guy with long hair help out the lady (Karen) which I guess he didn't see me in the line. He seem like doesn't cared as much supposed he's friendly?? But afterwords the coffee was good! read more

From the reviews I was under the impression that you could order a regular breakfast. As close as we could come was the breakfast croissants, premixed eggs from a carton, thin slice of processed ham, yellow cheese, on a so-so croissant. However the coffee was great. Not so much the price... read more

It's always in lookout for a cafe/coffeeshop where j can sit back, enjoy my drink, read a book or do work. Went to Norma Jean's for the first time and i could do all the above. The cafe is vintage looking which makes it really cute and service was fast. Yet to try their pastries; my mocha tasted good too. read more

Bravo to Kathy the owner, who held on thru the Pandemic even amidst surrounding construction and depressing chaos. I'm so grateful to celebrate this business receiving the attention and appreciation it deserves. Norma Jean's is like a humble beating heart for Aptos Village when it comes to sustaining some original authentic character and sense of place. One of my two favorite original woman-owned cafes in Santa Cruz County. Very cozy atmosphere, low key, uncrowded, frequented by loyal village regulars, fun Norma Jean theme, outdoor cafe seating and a clean customer-only restroom with tiles that strangely transport me to Paris. The owner faithfully rises before the crack of dawn to make homemade scrumptious pastries of all different sorts. Croissants as flakey and delicious as a Parisian bakery. She's amazingly nonchalant and humble about her efforts. Delightful engaged staff (a rarity these days) serve excellent coffee drinks, not over priced like elsewhere in Aptos, Santa Cruz or Capitola. I highly recommend checking out the wide variety of teas in glass sealed canisters on the wall. Ones that are so delicious and you can't get at other cafés. Food items such as sandwiches, smoothies and breakfast burritos are all outstanding and made fresh in house or quick to go. There is a wonderful variety to choose from. I can only imagine how extra satisfying it would be to enjoy a cup of homemade soup on cooler days. Even so, im very jazzed with the menu and experience Norma Jean's offers. LKG read more

I'm sorry to have to write this review but my family is in the area this weekend and ordered Door Dash from here due to the variety of options on their menu. We ordered three açaí bowls for my husband and kids, banana bread to share, a breakfast burrito for me and two coffees. The breakfast burrito did not come with our order so I didn't get my breakfast. When I called to let them know the person on the phone was not very remorseful or helpful. Also, my husband and son don't like coconut and did not indicate to add coconut to their bowls but they had coconut in them anyway, rendering it inedible to them. The coffees were just ok and the banana bread was good so giving it a couple stars but overall we were disappointed with our experience. read more

What a find!!!! We were looking for a good cup of joe on our travels up North and found the perfect place. Easy parking, lovely staff and the barista made my friend's vanilla cold brew, cold cream "blah blah blah" PERFECTLY! The choices of pastries was amazing.... we both enjoyed the sunny morning outside under the tree and a very friendly patron drove up and said how relaxed we looked! We agreed whole heartedly with her assessment.... and asked her to take our picture. She did! Love the decor with the Marilyn Monroe memorabilia everywhere and the ambiance is just how one would like it in the morning - no one yelling out your drink order - just calm and lovely. Thanks for the brew and the great service! read more

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Best coffee spot in aptos. The coffee is organic. The staff is personable. The coffee is reasonably priced and their food selection is perfect for any day. My favorite is the Mexican mocha hot. read more

Norma Jean's is by far the best coffee place in Santa Cruz County . The bagels are the best, croissants fluffiest, sandwiches perfect , smoothies delicious In other words every thing you order from Norma Jean's is yummy and always consistent! And there's more!!! Norma Jean's has the best prices in the county! Oh Did I forget the coffee? Of course it's perfect every time in every way!!! read more

Amazing fresh baked goods, I love Norma Jean's. Don't go to Starbucks, this is a really great locally owned place, comfortable and full of character. read more

The coffee here is so good I cant explain it enough. The croissant I had with it was perfect. The whole aesthetic here is beautiful. Welcoming service when you walk through the door. I recommend this place if your wanting a heck of a good coffee. read more

I am a basic early gen Millennial that drinks cold brew coffee daily lol. This is my favorite place for it as the flavor and strength are what I prefer. Cathy and her staff make all the pastries there in-house and you can tell when you bite into one. With all the bougie options in Aptos - I love supporting this local small business. read more

We stopped in while in Aptos. We loved the breakfast burrito, big and very flavorful. Also, had the mocha and white mocha drinks, delicious. Would definitely come back if down this way. Stop in you won't be disappointed. read more