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.

Fantastic location and good vibes here! The dark choc dairy free option was SO good! My husband and…read moreI each had one scoop w the toasted almonds. Such a yummy treat on a chill Sunday eve spent strolling along the downtown streets!

Found Marianne's by accident. It reminded me of Bud's Ice Cream and Mitchell's Ice Cream in San…read moreFrancisco. Very crowded...packed parking lot...long line outside the door that moves very quickly. We grabbed a number and waited our turn...just a few minutes. Looked over the menu of flavors while we waited. So many flavors to choose from...the flavors we choose were very tasty. By the time we ordered, got, and paid for our ice cream, seats had opened up. Everything you want in an ice cream...rich, creamy, flavorful. We enjoyed every bit our scoops.

Love Marianne's from the grocery store, an even better experience is visiting their brick & mortar…read moreshop. My visit took place on a warm and sunny afternoon, lots of guests waiting to taste delicious ice cream. Lines moved fairly quickly. Remember to grab a number upon entering. Shoutout to Sophia (in training according to her name tag). She provided the best service I've had in a long time as she patiently explained their vast menu selection and exchanged genuine interactions. The double junior was the perfect size with 2 different flavors. I opted for the pistachio cardimon and the Oregon blackberry. I had a few bites of caramel/mocha flavors, which were slightly too sweet for me. Regardless, I feel you can't go wrong with any of their flavors and they provide samples. The inside is pretty cute with its retro flooring and wall decor. Plenty of tables to sit and enjoy. Small parking lot, but ample street parking around the shop. Looking forward to visiting Marianne's again next time I'm in Santa Cruz. #12/2026

Cute lil shop In downtown. I got a large cone with bitter Carmel and dark chocolate with…read moremarshmallow fluff. Yummm very rich the Carmel was super good though still thinking about it ha. The fluff is worth it cause you know vacation! The service was fast and they were very kind. A must stop if in town yum Can't wait to go back I wish I got a picture sadly I didn't

I got mint chocolate chip mini scoop in a cup. It was definitely more minty than i expected. Strong…read moremint flavor and not much chocolate chip. Still worth it. Such a good vibe in there. Staff were friendly. They have various flavors/special flavors each day.

This is one of the best ice cream shops I've ever been to. It was my first time here and it was…read morebeyond delicious. They have a huge variety of flavors even offering samples and helpful suggestions. The varieties included sorbets and even non dairy options as well. I normally tend to avoid ice shops with the limited options for dairy free but I was pleasantly surprised to see so many options. I decided to try the lemon custard and it has quickly become one of my favorites. It's true to flavor and the texture is amazing. The sundae I ended up trying was a brownie fresh banana ice cream. It was a lot bigger than I expected but sooo good. The staff were super friendly and patient while I tried a few different flavors. Before giving you a sample they even checked in to see if anyone had any allergies. I will definitely be back for more when in the area.

Have been here a few times now and it is always delicious. It is often very busy as well, and the…read morestaff have always been attentive. Most recently, I tried their sundae of the month, it was very yummy. It was completely packed, but we waited around 15 minutes before it was our turn. Parking is limited, but there is other parking around the area. They have a lot of flavors, something for everyone! I definitely recommend.

After a long day at the beach, we stopped in about 10 minutes before closing, and the staff were…read morestill friendly and helpful. My husband and I both ordered the almond fudge on a sugar cone, and it did not disappoint. It was creamy, flavorful, and full of nuts. We will definitely be back!

After a horrible dinner, we decided we deserved a sweet treat. Polar Bear Ice Cream did not…read moredisappoint! Our server was happy to explain all the unique flavors. (100% recommend the Otter flavor! Tastes like a churro!) She made us a very nice brownie sundae and also made sure to give us two spoons. Fast, clean, and great options!

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!

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.

Went here with my husband for walking in the neighborhood and had the ice cream was delicious! Good…read morecustomer service and even people in general are friendly here in Santa Cruz. We got peach flavor which had real peach pieces, wasn't too sweet and we had popcorn (A pick from my husband) I was reluctant to have it but it ended up being one of my favorites! Highly recommend. Very good quality ice cream, Good Prices and Good Customer service. Do it.

We were walking down the main street when a downpour came, we found this place to wait for the rain…read moreto let up and I was glad we did! I'm not a big sorbet fan, but the mango sorbet was very good. I had an americano to go and that blew a lot of the other coffee I had away. This is a great place to refuel!

These are the best crepes in Santa Cruz! I came here for a trip twice now and I cannot hit the road…read morewithout getting one of these massive crepes to go. My personal favorite is the strawberry banana nutella crepe with whipped cream. The place itself is small, yet cozy and you can tell is a local hidden gem. Service is quick and each crepe is cooked to perfection.

We stopped by here for a quick snack to hold us over for dinner and the crepes were pretty dang…read moregood. They really pack in the strawberries. I had the nutella and PB mix and it was good. Service and price were right on!

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.

My family and I have tried lots of cookies from all over the Monterey and South Bay Area…read more We happened to stumble upon this place yesterday and will never eat another cookie brand again. They are the best. Oatmeal raisin, peanut butter, and the chocolate chip were outstanding Well with the trip and don't forget to look for the day old bags of 6 cookies for $7.50

I've come here multiple times to get ice cream, which is absolutely delicious. This time I decided…read moreto try the peanut butter chip cookie and was a little disappointed. The cookie was pretty dry and crumbly, which I think is their style, but I personally didn't really like it too much. It also didn't have too much peanut butter flavor. Good amount of chocolate chips though.