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!

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?!?

Towards the end of the Santa Cruz pier is Marini's. They offer a candy shop, ice cream, smoothies…read moreand a host of other treats. My friend indulged in a milk shake and I tried the chocolate cinnamon ice cream. They hand dip their cones so of course I had to get a waffle cone, which is one of my favorite things. The pier is a fun place to walk. Please come and create your own adventure.

A classic candy/ice cream shop on the wharf with impeccable service always with a smile. Candies…read moreand trinkets arranged nicely in a clean cozy shop. If you have a craving for taffy this is your place.

We go here whenever we go to the wharf . Its firstly one of the few places that has skim milk for…read morea latte . Yes the have plant based whole milk etc . So i love the option. The fudge is out of this world . They ice cream is of course unbeatable and the staff is always nice

It's been a while since Ive had taffy. This definitely the best spot to get it on the boardwalk. My…read moretoddler got to see the taffy being pulled. She definitely loved the bubblegum flavor. Stop by for a quick and nostalgic treat.

Ordered a strawberry funnel cake with ice cream. (the ice cream is always a must!) This is our…read morefavorite spot every time we come to Santa Cruz. The wait wasn't too long and the service was nice. It's a little pricey, but expected for the Boardwalk. There's plenty of seating around and you can even catch a view of the beach while you eat.

True authentic tasting funnel cakes. Every time we come to the boardwalk we get this delicious…read moredessert to finish off the day. I'd suggest adding the ice cream as it makes it that much better. It's a good size and will definitely hit the sweet tooth spot. They have good workers and their service was fast.

This review needs updating. I am now confident in saying that these ice cream bars ARE the best in…read morethe world and would love to be proven wrong (hey, IF a better ice cream bar exists it would have to be mind-blowingly good). It starts by them using quality ingredients. They use Marianne's vanilla ice cream, and Valrhona chocolate (a French chocolate used by gourmet chefs). You can choose milk chocolate or dark. They have a bunch of options for what you can include in your bar, including chopped almonds, caramel, and marshmallow. My favorite is #4: dark chocolate with caramel and marshmallow. It is insanely good. After each bite I am thinking "oh my god this is good." Frankly I am glad it is in Santa Cruz (and not in my town) or I might be 50 lbs heavier. I just had one yesterday and the experience is still vivid. Oh, and their chocolates (which also use Valrhona chocolate) are also damn good. And if you like brownies they've got you covered too. The guys running this place could not be nicer, which makes this place a joy to visit. This is really an exceptional place to come to and we are lucky to have it in our area. I am now a regular almost every time I am in Santa Cruz (and I come here often).

Small shop with no tables for enjoying your sweets after purchase, but that part didn't bug me too…read moremuch since I got mine to go. A bit on the pricey side for sure, but holy cow was it delicious! My wife and I both had to be careful not to eat it all in one go. We wanted to spread out the joy of eating it. Incredible chocolate, local business, somewhat pricey. Definitely worth checking out!

This little snack spot on the Boardwalk may be my 2nd fave after Tater Twists. The menu doesn't…read morehave many options but even if they only served the pineapple Dole Whip it would be ok because that is all I need, lol. Creamy and sweet, it tastes just like the one I get in Disneyland...IYKYK. DELICIOUS!

I love a nice refreshing dole whip! I got the float which comes with a strawberry and pineapple…read moreswirl and pineapple juice! Very refreshing and super cute that it came with a drink umbrella. I also really love that they have paper straws, and not plastic and that they've gone compostable for cups! Way to go! This was the perfect treat for a nice stroll along the beach toward the lighthouse!

Stumbled upon this place on a pretty warm day in Santa Cruz, and wanted to give it a try. There…read morewere a few people in front of us, but it did not take too long for it to be our turn. I tried a scoop of strawberry and a scoop of their coconut flavor. It was very delicious and refreshing. They also have pizza on some days, but we were not able to try. I would definitely recommend and I am excited to go back and try more flavors!

Cute and locally-owned shop in downtown Santa Cruz. There are a number of Italian ice flavors and…read moresome coffee selections such as Affogato. Owner was helpful and shared the story of his father behind the name of his shop. We ordered a large that comes with up to 4 flavor scoops. The kids enjoyed the mango a d pineapple flavors. The affogato with a small scoop of salted caramel just didn't hit the mark with an underwhelming scoop of Italian ice that doesn't do the same as a scoop of traditional vanilla ice cream plus a disproportionate amount of bitter coffee. Prices are average. An okay spot if you need a cool treat and can't get to the local premium ice cream shop.