I Luv the banana mango flavor, coffee flavor is ok too! the service is good. Cute environment. Highly recommend it! read more

Polar Bear Ice Cream - Banana mango & coffee chip - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Capitola, California

Shocked...appalled even. The service here was probably the worst I've had in a while. My sister and I walk in the store, no hi or hello. So I say hi first, everyone just stares at us. Not even a smile back... nice? I ask to sample something, I just get hit with blank stares and it gets given to me. The only reason they're getting 3 stars is because the icecream is very good, but service makes your experience, and this experience, well was not good. There literally were 6 staff members and ALL of them acted the same, I didn't know there was a zombie apocalypse recently because it sure did hit this store. It pissed me off so much I didn't even want to eat there but the sample was too good so I had to. read more

#1: 42yo - 5 stars Rocky road and Peanut Butter Cup "Their rocky road was of the hook! They use cashews -- I don't think I've ever had rocky road with cashews." (The picture I originally took was blurry .... and I didn't have a chance to get another because we were walking and then it was GONE! LOL!) #3: 17yo - 5 stars Chocolate Brownie Batter #4: 13yo - 5 stars Chocolate Chip and Vanilla Bean (I think my kids were done with star-rating explanations! LOL!) Total stars: 5 This place is going to be a definite Capitola staple for our family! read more

Polar Bear Ice Cream - #4's Chocolate Chip and vanilla - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Capitola, California

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Omg! That was a huge single scoop in a cake cone. They are so many flavors and picked lavender and honey. Loved it! Service was fast, small line on a Saturday evening. read more

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A stroll through Capitola village, restaurants and seaside shops, please don't pillage! Colorful houses by the beach, peeps taking selfies with each. Couldn't help but daydream, then someone mentioned ice cream! Beach Break is where we went, recommended by a friend who's a nice gent. Marianne's and Polar Bear treats Locally made, but there are no seats! Grab and go! That is their motto! Salty Bear is what I had. Salted caramel and chocolate... that was rad! Combo of sweet and salt I love I'm flying like a dove! My little girl enjoyed her rainbow sherbet. Too sweet for me, Herbert! Who is that? I don't know Just trying to rhyme, yo! It's late, I'm exhausted. My brain is frosted. But let me just say this: Many flavors were a bliss, It's hard to choose which one to get Two scoops for me is a threat. So if you have no self control, Why not have ten scoops in a bowl?! read more

Polar Bear Ice Cream - Rainbow Sherbet 3.47888 stars! - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Capitola, California

Amazing ice creams and perfect for a sunny beach day. Most of their ice creams are egg free as well - this was a blessing as we don't eat eggs read more

Best, fluffiest lemon sorbet I've ever had. It's been months since I've been but I think about this ice cream every day. read more

Polar Bear Ice Cream - Lemon ice cream - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Capitola, California

Such refreshing and generously scooped ice cream! Service was fast and we lucked out since there was no line. You'll need to order at the window and pick up the ice cream on the other side of the store. We ordered two scoops: mango and peach. Both were super refreshing and delicious. The ice cream even had little fruit chunks in them! My picture doesn't do justice of what a gorgeous shade the peach ice cream was. Highly recommend this ice cream store and can't wait to go back. read more

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Fantastic ice cream and service! Love all the flavors we tried! Highly recommend the blackberry one!

Delicious and such a great variety of flavors. Line is slow because everyone wants to sample everything. But I'd say it's definitely worth it. read more

Good energy and very authentic icecream spot! Definitely recommend if visiting Santa Cruz.

Customer service lacks when you think you are the only game in town. I can't comment on the ice cream but the staff wasn't vey kind, and we did not get served. read more

Loved this little ice cream spot! Great for a hot day in Capitola. They're a little pricey, but still really great. Their thin mint is a great mint chocolate chip. Reminds me of Bruster's which is my absolute fave. read more

It doesn't matter whether it's a hot summer day or a cold winter one but I can't seem to pass this place up. Granted ice cream is my personal kryptonite but there's something about beach treats that are irresistible. There are 54 rotating flavors of Marianne and Polar Bear ice cream, both made locally in Santa Cruz. Marianne's has been around since 1947 and claims 102 different flavors. Some standouts: 2AM Truffle - Vanilla Ice Cream with Chocolate Swirl and Blackberry Swirl Caramel Fudge Crunch - Caramel ice cream with Chocolate Swirl & Cashews Mudpie - Coffee ice cream with Almonds and Chocolate Sandwich Cookie Bits Polar Bear is younger (founded 1975) with smaller batches of 45 handcrafted flavors. Some of my favs: Chocolate Brownie Batter: Chocolate brownie batter ice cream with brownie pieces Monkey Business: Banana Ice Cream with honey & chocolate peanut butter cups. Salty Bear: Salted caramel ice cream mixed with dark chocolate ice cream Beachbreak let's you sample as many as you like -- especially if it's not crazy busy. The people are nice and incredibly patient, even when some of the guests seem to take hours to decide. I'm craving ice cream now read more

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Best ice cream in Capitola. Burgundy cherry & Banana Mango taste really good. read more

Absolutely delicious! Perfect ratio of peanut butter to chocolate ice cream. Friendly service. Pretty good value for a touristy place. read more

Polar Bear Ice Cream - Chocolate peanut butter swirl in a cake cone. - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Capitola, California

We went here a few times and the ice cream is delicious!! The single scoop serving is huge! It's practically two scoops. It's definitely a good size. The staff are super friendly and helpful. They were all so nice and funny. The hours are awesome too! I think it might be the only ice cream shop open at night. So glad they were open and I could fix my ice cream cravings! We tried multiple flavors. There's so many good flavors we wanted to try! But we got the: * Butter pecan - delicious!! * Green tea - delicious!! Loved the flavor * 1020 (caramel, fudge, and Oreos) - the staff said it's what they're known for & we really liked it!! * Pumpkin - delicious!! * Coffee with almonds and fudge - not a fan. It was way too fudge-y and overpowered the coffee flavor I definitely recommend going here!! Staff are friendly, ice cream is delicious, fantastic hours of operation, variety of flavors. Can't go wrong here :) read more

Polar Bear Ice Cream - Flavors - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Capitola, California

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I went here with my family to get some ice cream after the beach. They have such a variety of flavors and the service is great. The guy helping us out was super patient and was able to recommend awesome flavors - he even let us sample some. We got lavender & honey, chai, mango sorbet, and horchata. All were super delicious- lavender honey was my favorite out of them all & mango sorbet ! The place was also super cozy. read more

Best ice cream we have ever had! My family loved it! We live 2 hours away, and we will definitely be going back just to have their ice cream!! read more

A great place to stop by for ice cream in Capitola! Although a lot of the flavors were sold out when we went, there were still a lot of great options to choose from. The service was quick and attentive, and I was excited to receive my dessert. We ordered the: - Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough - Butter Pecan - Mudpie All the ice creams were delicious, and the portions are definitely generous. Would recommend to anyone looking for a cold treat on a summer day! read more

Fast and friendly service and fantastic ice cream! You can definitely tell the difference between the scoops here and what you get a the super market. We had the cafe, milk and cookies and rainbow sherbet and all were fantastic! A great place for a tasty treat after spending an afternoon at the beach! read more

The sign said they close at 9:30pm on Saturday. Myself and 5 friends showed up at 9pm. Employee locked the door and didn't acknowledge us. Was there to spend money and they didn't even open the door. read more

I'll throw my arms up in the air and confess that I'm an absolute sucker for the new age contemporary ice cream chains (Salt n' Straw, Van Leeuwen's, Ample Hills) that are likely putting some serious pressure on the old school spots like Marianne's. Having said that, Marianne's is still kicking it old school and doing it exceptionally well. Star 1: How were the service and atmosphere? Top notch. Marianne's gets crowded - packed during peak times, but the classic NYC deli ticket system burns through lines and the folks on the other side of the counter keep their smiles and speed going. Star. Star 2: How were the portions relative to the cost? $5.25 for two large scoops of ice cream was a bargain given what you can end up paying elsewhere. Star. Stars 3 and 4: How was the food? Salty Bear is a genuine treat as others have pointed out, and both the consistency and flavor were there. Single Star. Star 5: Would you be excited to go back? Given the breadth of selection at Beach Break, I'd absolutely be excited to come back. Star. read more

Polar Bear Ice Cream - Double: $5.25 - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Capitola, California

Really good ice cream. I got the Irish Coffee and one of their berry flavors (something with a weird name that was recommended). The berry flavor was delicious! read more

Polar Bear Ice Cream - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Capitola, California

I was once told the best time to have ice cream is when it's cold outside. Not sure if that's what made this ice cream so yummy, but it was good! I had to coconut pineapple, kids had some chocolate or vanilla concoction, and husband had a coffee one? It's a great stop to quickly grab a sweet & head off to the beach and people watch. read more

I love sticky consistency ice cream with real tasting flavours and this place exceeds my expectations. Est 1975 so they definitely know why they're doing! read more

You can have your fancy nouveau ice cream places. This place is a bit of a throwback to just great ice cream. Generous portions, efficient service and great flavors. It's perfect for a walk around town or by the beach! read more

Hands down- the best ice cream spot in good old Santa Cruz. I believed that they have been around since 1947- WOW. My family and I were strolling by the beach on the weekend and was craving for a cold drink/cold snack. Came across Marianne's and was surprised that the line was not as long as expected on a hot summer day. I got their milk & cookies flavor and I am so happy! The milk & cookies flavor have tons of cookies in it and the milk ice cream was very creamy. The ice creamery was neat and clean. The staff were very attentive and called out numbers clear and loud to help serve customers (they do a number/ticket system so no body gets left behind). The pricing is not bad for a tourist area and I am sure I will be back next time! :) read more

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Ice cream was great! I got heaven and let me say it was truly heavenly. There was a small wait, but I was helped by the kindest staff, super patient and allowed me many samples she even recommended me heaven! Thanks Polar Bear! read more

Darn good ice cream. I wonder if there was some way to get descriptions of the flavors

Great service. Ice cream not too sweet, yet flavorful. Line goes out the door but moves so the wait is not long. We visited this joint three times during our trips. read more

Great flavors great staff nice area get your ice cream and walk to the beach watch the surfers and enjoy your delightful ice cream

Ridiculously good strawberry milkshake. Friendly staff, great location. Filler filler

So yummy. Definitely recommend to anyone and everyone. You have to get a number instead of waiting in line. There are so many choices and toppings. read more

Polar Bear Ice Cream - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Capitola, California

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Yikes my 7th and final review of the day!!! I'll make this review short and simple! If you're in Santa Cruz, Capitola or Aptos this Ice Cream place is definitely worth trying. We took a short 4 days vacation in Santa Cruz and while there we had Ice Cream over at Beach Break by Marianne's 3 times. This place is the bomb! Certain times of the day especially between 12-6 it gets extremely busy. Geez I wonder why! Every single time we tried their ice cream it was a home run. So yeah all I can say is "Give them a try" if you're in the area. Final take... Ice Cream 5 Stars Service 5 Stars Location 5 Stars read more

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My friends and I didn't know we had to grab a ticket so we stood in what we thought was a line for ten minutes until the staff said to grab a ticket. I had the single scoop of burgundy cherry and it was yummy. My friend had the milk and cookies shake and she liked it but had to get a spoon because the cookies were too big to go up the straw. My friend had the coconut pineapple ice cream and liked it. read more

Polar Bear Ice Cream - Single scoop of Burgundy Cherry ice cream - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Capitola, California

What an amazing find! My boyfriend and I randomly decided to stop by Capitola after our day in Santa Cruz and we loved the look and feel of the little town. We enjoyed walking around and seeing everything it had to offer. We stumbled upon this ice cream place because why not? The workers gave us some samples of he many flavors they had to offer and it's safe to say, we want to come back and stay in Capitola for a mini weekend getaway so we can walk down to this ice cream shop every night lol I was in a fruit type of mood, so the peach that is on top of the mango hibiscus was a lovely combo! I got it in a cone and enjoyed it at the bench watching the sunset! My boyfriend who is the complete opposite and got the blueberry cheesecake and and a chocolate/peanut butter flavor also enjoyed my ice cream. Total win-win for us :) read more

Polar Bear Ice Cream - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Capitola, California

Ok. So let me start by saying that the ice cream is the best in town. Especially the green tea, cantaloupe and blackberry honey flavors. But the food they serve is not my favorite. I wanted to check out the food forever and I finally got the opportunity to a few weeks ago. The burger I ordered was pink in the middle and the coleslaw tasted like bell peppers which was odd for a slaw. The onion rings, however were delicious. Definitely check this place out. Enjoy the delicious ice cream and if you order a burger be sure to ask for it to be cooked well done. read more

Very tasty! Friendly service and great ice cream. I believe Marianne's bought this chain so the ice cream is Marianne's.

Really great ice cream. Very nice staff behind the counter. Lots of choices. Just a few minutes walk from the beach so convenient.