Such charm and whimsy in this place. Ava was amazing! She had so much patience and awesome…read moresuggestions. These aren't your normal flavors, but slightly ajar from them. Definitely come in and have the marshmallow toasted on top.

So good! Interesting, unique flavors! This is my new favorite! Locally sourced and so fresh! We…read morewill be back!

The ice cream has to be really bad for me to give anything less than five stars :-) I'm just…read moresaying... lol. Reading the local Yelp reviews, Bruster's Real Ice Cream keeps popping up. So driving through the Aptos "hood" yesterday there it was right in front of me. It must have been a sign:-). Luckily for me most of the memorial weekend crowd/ tourists were at the beach a couple of miles away because the place was relatively quiet. So this is a to-go type of ice cream stop. And by that I mean you can order at three different windows which may or may not all be open depending upon the crowd size. There was only one window open today. This is manned by kids. High school kids it looks like. They are doing a relatively good job and are working so who can complain about that. You cannot go inside because there is no inside for customers. However after you order there are a few tables. If there was a large crowd it is first come first "sit". According to the information and signage... batches of the most popular ice creams are made daily right here. I ordered two scoops for $10... a Sea Salt Caramel and a Banana Chocolate Chip. Both were very good. Thick, creamy and went down easy :-). If you are in the neighborhood, I recommend this for a delicious stop! There is plenty of parking because it is located in a large shopping complex. Oh and by the way... if you are shorter than 40 inches you get a free ice cream cone! I tried my hardest but 5 feet 2 inches did not cut it. :)

Loved the seasonal ice cream and the waffle cone. The Strawberry was more like a sherbet or Italian…read moreIce mixed with a cream ice cream. While, the Mint Chip was delicious!

This will become a go-to sandwich spot when we visit the beach. We ordered ahead through their…read morewebsite and they were ready within 15 minutes. The portion sizes are large and the sandwiches were very tasty- especially the bbq boo brisket, which is what my husband got. The Dutch crunch bread wasn't hard, it was super soft and delicious. I got the roasted turkey which wasn't as great but still good. Would've loved to have had the option to add pickles to the sandwiches or pickles on the side but all in all, great experience and we will be back!

Really lovely sandwich here! We got two sandwiches to split, which was more than enough for 4 meals…read more- these sandwiches are very large. We got a turkey sandwich and a BBQ sandwich, both of which were delicious, with tons of ingredients in them. The staff were really friendly as well! The only thing I might say is that it seems like all of the sandwiches are really complex, a mountain high with tons of ingredients. I would have loved a more simple sandwich that focused just on the high quality ingredients. But overall really enjoyed the experience!

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!

Best food ever! I absolutely swear by their sandwiches and burritos.... incredibly fresh, packed…read morewith flavor, and consistently amazing every time!!!!!

This place feels like a version of the food co-opt in Davis, CA: high quality food with somewhat…read morehigh prices. Service was super friendly!! I haven't seen that level of friendliness outside of a Trader Joe's. Iced latte was so smooth and delicious. I would definitely come back for that (and maybe also for some of the fresh bread!)

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!

Classic beach burger joint - nothing fancy, always delicious! We love the staff and even in the…read morebusiest times there's a smile on everyone's face.

There aren't too many places like the left around that bring back those nostalgic old school…read morememories.... yes, this place did that, which was a nice temporary distraction. In fact, we were staying at a hotel nearby and the restaurant server highly recommended this place for a great burger..... so, on our second day visiting Aptos, we decided to check this place out. Service is very friendly, the place does have a cool nostalgic feel to it, but I think the good old days are pretty much gone, and I suspect, so has the quality of the food here because, it was honestly only ok. So, my wife loves a good burger, and so naturally, she ordered the hamburger combination, which came with a small bag of fries and a drink, and I ordered the fish sandwich combo. My wife was actually pretty disappointed with her burger... all she'd tell me was that it was ok, with a bit of a disappointed look on her face. To make things worse, the fries were luke warm. My fish sandwich was actually not that bad... nice flaky white fish with a nice light crunchy fried breading on the outside, sitting inside between a nice warm bun. However, my fries were luke warm too. I think the highlight of our dine in lunch experience was the side order of fried onion rings... they tasted quite good, were still quite hot, and they weren't oily. I can see how this place can still be popular for those who want a quick take away bite to eat, but if you're truly looking for a great tasting quality burger or sandwich, this is likely not the place to find it. That's too bad as we really had high hopes after a local recommended this place.

My in laws live in town and I try and visit here at least once whenever I come for a visit. I like…read moreall the ice cream, but I am partial to the dark chocolate and the salted caramel together. I also like fruity flavors as well.

I was craving ice cream and so glad The Penny Ice Creamery had a vegan flavor. I had the vegan dark…read morechocolate ice cream and it was delish! They have both indoor and outdoor seating.