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    SandCastle Cafe

    3.5 (45 reviews)
    Closed 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

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    Iced Coffee + Coffee Boba
    Jessica T.

    This was the only open coffee shop when I visited Capitola, and it was alright. I just wanted an iced coffee w/ oat milk. They charge an extra $1 for milk alternates, which is a bit expensive. Iced coffee w/ oat milk: 3/5 Pretty average iced coffee and felt like something I could've made at home. They overdid the oat milk, so it tasted more like oat milk than coffee. It wasn't bad and it got me through the day, but it was just kind of expensive for what I got. The shop itself was empty, so we were served pretty quickly. It's not bad, but it's not great either.

    Watermelon & Strawberry 3.443445 stars!
    Jen C.

    This place is trying to be TOO MANY things. On one hand, it's a Coffee place and there are pastries, but it's also a place for Boba. Then it's also a Frozen Yogurt place. I even saw someone's pic of Chicken Enchiladas?!?! What the heck??? I didn't see that on the menu, but maybe I missed it. It's just too much! I guess this place is trying to get as much money as they can! We were ready to pay for the frozen yogurt, and the gal behind the counter was taking a while to make three boba drinks. I was, like, uhhhh, our yogurt is melting.... But I didn't say it out loud (not too loud, I thought) cuz I could tell she was overwhelmed. She was kinda pissy when I asked her if they had more Chocolate Piroulines. I get it she's stressed. More people coming in. Was there no more, or was she just too busy to look for it? I wonder. Or maybe she heard me??? We already had ice cream three days in a row, so we felt like we had to get something different. There are only four or five flavors of frozen yogurt - strawberry, watermelon, chocolate, and vanilla. Yeah. Not exciting. What's hilarious is that it seems as if they just grab a bunch of things from their kitchen and plop it on the counter to be used as toppings. Some were in Tupperwares. They're not even in nice glass containers like you would find in other Froyo places. Well, we got our sweet tooth somewhat satisfied. We'll just stick to ice cream next time. Even if we have it five days in a row. Since they have an extensive menu, this woman needs help behind the counter. Geez! Can you imagine if someone ordered enchiladas, and she had to put it all together, THEN she had to make boba drinks??? Our yogurt would have surely melted!!! Give the woman some help! Please hire another person, especially on weekends or during busy hours.

    Nathan K.

    Best boba ever passion fruit green tea so delicious wanna come here every day!!! Yummy in my tummy

    #1's Original Tart with toppings
    Christina T.

    You tell them what you want and they make it. #3: 17yo - 2 stars Original Tart with toppings Not a lot of topping options Yogurt itself was good #4: 13yo - 1 star Original Tart with toppings Not a lot of topping options Yogurt itself was NOT good #5: 8yo - 3 stars Watermelon with toppings Good (Again, not sure on why she chose this star rating but okay?) Total stars: 3

    a bicycle parked in front of the building
    Tony G.

    Horrible customer service. The lady did not get my order correct. It was a clear miss-understanding but she refused to give me the correct order or a refund. I had ordered oatmeal with blue berries. She gave me a blue berry shake with oat milk. Clearly an innocent miss-understanding on her part but she refused to give the correct ordered and still charged me $8.00 I was very nice through the whole experience, but she can not get away with being so rude. This was my second time there. There's only person working. Orders take forever because of that. She doesn't ask questions or has much of a conversation with customers. If she doesn't understand something or is unsure she should ask. She had no problem communicating me to leave though. Do not go here. Do not support such bad customer service. There are plenty other places that have what they have

    2020-12 menu
    May Y.

    Summary: Cute place with alternative choices ;). I like that it has boba and frozen yogurt. Feedback on the boba. The boba balls were ok to me but my kiddos liked them. Again, it is personal preference. I like them chewy and there are a tiny bit hard. The flavor is good though. The drinks use powder based favor. Flavor was fine but it has some powdery flavors and textures. We would come back.

    I went in and it was a cute shop. The menu had good choices. I ordered a black milk tea with boba and a iced matcha latte. The black milk tea did not tasted good. It was normal and something that isn't worth the money in my opinion. ($5) The matcha latte was still warm and there isn't enough ice. It was too sweet to my liking. ($5) The customer service was not very friendly. The lady was mean.

    Great coffee and tea menue

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    10 months ago

    came down to capitola today and wanted a quick snack. great service, and a delicious milk tea!

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

    the espresso tasted like water :( way too expensive for the quality of the drinks we ordered.

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    7 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Very friendly service and good coffee. Nice vibe to the place. I can imagine bringing a book here and hanging out for a while. Recommended.

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    7 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Great young staff! Service with a smile! Always enjoy picking up a quick bite on our way to the beach!

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    3 years ago

    Great customer service! yummy food! a variety of different drinks and snacks!

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    6 years ago

    We like it! We stopped by for boba after surfing and it was very nice and made quickly. Def recommend!

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    7 years ago

    Best Boba tea I've had, it was made of legit tea! Most places I go are made out of syrup!

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    7 years ago

    Cute spot for fro yo, a smoothie or coffee. Very friendly and helpful owners who clearly take pride in their shop!

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    Review Highlights - SandCastle Cafe

    its a cute shop with a sitting area that is also cool on a hot day over all love it there and will be going back!

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    The Penny Ice Creamery

    The Penny Ice Creamery

    4.4
    (2.4k reviews)
    4.2 mi
    $$

    Years later we still try to come here whenever we are in downtown Santa Cruz. It is not cheap, but…read moremy goodness is it luxurious! I was so full from lunch so I shared a small handmade waffle cone with their rich and vegan dark chocolate sorbet covered in their homemade marshmallow fluff and torched to perfection! My spouse ordered an espresso milkshake with their vanilla bean ice cream. It was the perfect birthday treat!

    Sometimes, the best adventures are the ones you don't plan. While hunting for a parking spot the…read moreother day, the family and I happened to stumble upon a fantastic local spot called The Picnic Basket. Intrigued, we decided to step inside and check it out. The building has a wonderful setup, functioning like a mini marketplace with charming little shops nestled inside. The one that immediately caught our eye, of course, was The Penny Ice Creamery. Right off the bat, I loved the aesthetic of the shop. The design is nice, simple, and wonderfully understated--nothing is over the top. It has a clean, minimalist vibe that makes you feel instantly welcome and lets the focus stay right where it belongs: on the treats. While the rest of the crew decided to sit this round out, my son and I eagerly stepped up to order. My son went with a classic scoop of Vanilla Bean. To say it was a hit would be an understatement. He kept talking about how delicious it was and just how good the flavor tasted. I decided to try the Chocolate Toffee Swirl. The chocolate base itself was rich and tasty, though I do wish it had a bit more of that crunch--it could have used a heavier hand with the toffee, as the pieces were a little sparse in my scoop. One thing worth noting is that they feature a curated, rotating selection. While everything they make is fresh, the menu is on the smaller side, so you do have to choose from what's available that day. I'd love to see them expand the menu a bit in the future because I'd definitely be curious to try more of their creations. We ordered the "kid scoops," which turned out to be good portions. Being a supportive dad, I naturally stepped in and finished the rest of his vanilla bean--and I can officially confirm his review was fairly accurate. Overall, The Penny Ice Creamery is a cool little shop with good treats. If you find yourself exploring the shops inside The Picnic Basket, it's absolutely worth a stop to cool down with a scoop. Have you been to The Penny Ice Creamery yet? What's your favorite flavor combo? Let me know in the comments below.

    Photos
    Mandarin Sorbet with rainbow sprinkles
    Mandarin Sorbet with rainbow sprinkles
    Dark Chocolate (Vegan) with Toasted Marshmallow topping
    Dark Chocolate (Vegan) with Toasted Marshmallow topping
    Verve coffee praline ice cream with roasted marshmallows topping! Hee.

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    Verve coffee praline ice cream with roasted marshmallows topping! Hee.
    Marianne's Ice Cream and Market

    Marianne's Ice Cream and Market

    4.5
    (447 reviews)
    2.2 mi
    $$

    We give this place a 10 out of 5. Eight years of a family trip, with a plan to beat the spend from…read morethe previous year. Our favorites include: lavender, fresh banana, bittersweet chocolate, lemon custard, pistachio, and the strawberry shake. The best ice cream in the galaxy.

    Marianne's Ice Cream is an Aptos and Santa Cruz tradition! Before or after a day at nearby…read moreSeacliff beach... a visit to Marianne's is a must. Thank goodness for street parking because the Marianne's lot is small like most beach areas. I think I have tasted all most every one of the ice cream flavors over the years. In a cup, cone, milkshake or sundae! And I have been known to take a quart to go now and again :-) With 100 flavors in rotation and 250 recipes, it is easy to have a different taste at almost every visit. Marianne's is open from 10 a.m. until midnight. Yes... it is that popular. And there is a steady line of excited customers at all times. Summer and holidays... be prepared for a wait. I came on Memorial Day and was #90. They were serving #40! Silly me! Customer service rocks! No matter how long the line... the staff greets you, smiles and best of all will give you all the samples you want! Thank you very much! You cannot miss Marianne's! It is an eye catching red barn looking building! Lots of personality. Once inside... grab a number and start looking at all your options. There are a lot. It is one huge room with a lot of excited and happy people. Too cold for ice cream? Never! They have coffee and espresso too for those foggy beach days! July is Yelp's, "Scream for Ice Cream" month. So come and chill at Marianne's. What are you waiting for?!?

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    Everyone LOVES Marianne's Ice cream!

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    Everyone LOVES Marianne's Ice cream!
    Polar Bear Ice Cream

    Polar Bear Ice Cream

    4.5
    (205 reviews)
    0.0 mi
    $$

    Oh me, oh my! If you…read morecheck my reviews, you'll find LOTS of ice cream spots in my history. I'm a glutton for a creamy, frozen ball of deliciousness. Polar Bear did not disappoint. Ate lunch in the area but had to grab some scoops from the oval spot. I ordered the thin mint and chocolate/peanut butter double in a waffle cone. It was ice cream perfection! The mint was fresh and tasty with HUGE chunks of chocolate and the peanut butter/chocolate was deep and rich. The waffle cone added a nice crunch overall. The employees were friendly, fast, and helpful in answering questions about ingredients and allowing a few samples. Shop is small but was walk through so the layout works well being on the corner or a busy intersection. Highly recommend Polar Bear Ice Cream - like, seriously, you have to stop here!!

    Great experience at Polar Bear Ice Cream, as the staff were kind, patient and helpful and the…read morelocation is convenient and easy to find. The menu has a good range of flavors and you can sample and try any that you might be interested in. My mom got the lemon sorbet after sampling a blackberry flavor and a honey lavender one. I opted to skip the samples and choose one of my go-to flavors - thin mint, which was delicious. It was such a refreshing treat! The shop also has some seating and chairs where you can sit and enjoy your ice cream. The prices were pretty reasonable and while we ordered junior scoops, the portion size was larger than expected. Definitely recommend!

    Photos
    "Thin mint"
    "Thin mint"
    Large Milkshake
    Large Milkshake
    2 Scoops - Waffle Cone

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    2 Scoops - Waffle Cone
    Cruz Creamery

    Cruz Creamery

    4.0
    (210 reviews)
    3.9 mi
    $$

    This one was difficult. It was really closer to a 2.5 for me, but with all of the other ice cream…read moreplaces around town, Cruz Creamery just really misses the spot. Ultimately, we came here because the other one that we wanted to go to down the street had a line into the parking lot. In hindsight, we probably should have just waited. The ice cream here just didn't stand out. It melted too quickly-almost like it wasn't really kept cold cold. The flavors meshed together and didn't really pop and you know something is odd when after going through 4 flavors, the lady up front say, "that's the best", or "that's one of my favorites" to each and every one of them. Getting your order mixed up was also a deduction. I wanted a brownie sundae and because she was out of hot fudge, asked if that could be replaced with caramel. I said yes, but ended up just getting a caramel sundae without the brownies?! Unfortunately I didn't notice until after I sat down with my sundae to which point, I just didn't care enough to get it fixed. The place seemed dingy and confused. With ice cream, but froyo, it could be a bit confusing. Overall, it just didn't seem genuine. There are too many ice cream shops around and to call this one a local and community focused ice cream shop seems like a bit of a stretch to me.

    Cool dessert shop offering lovely lounge seating, ample space, a froyo station with a variety of…read moretoppings in the yogurt bar, and plenty of ice cream flavors in the display case, including vegan and sorbet options. There were 4 types of chocolate available, but no dark chocolate. I opted for a double chocolate fudge brownie milkshake. They didn't have lowfat milk but the worker was friendly and offered to put less milk. Strangely, the shake ended up being on the watery side. It also wasn't quite filled to the top, and even got foamy at the surface. But it was delicious nonetheless.

    Photos
    Inside.
    Inside.
    Outside
    Outside
    Inside

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    Inside

    SandCastle Cafe - coffee - Updated July 2026

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