Shout out to Maxine for all the best recommendations and peak info regarding the brew and story behind each drink! The taste of each is so unique i am most definitely coming again specially after my friends boasted about the service and ambience being so welcoming and uplifting! read more

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The location is inside of a food hall. Saturday afternoon was bustling with lots of activity in the area. There were plenty of open places to sit at the bar. It was a little tricky for our group of four to talk since we were all seated at the bar. There were a couple of areas to stand with your drinks if you wanted to stand across from someone to speak while enjoying your drink. Cocktails were unique and fun! Everyone in our party enjoyed our cocktail. The bartender was friendly, not overly attentive (bonus), very knowledgeable and patient with our questions. read more

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Located in Abbott Square, this bar has an excellent variety of cocktails, and the bartenders always take great care in making the drinks. It's a great place to be on Friday's when there is live music in the square, and on any occassion, you will have a wide-variety of food choices surrounding you. They make one of the best Old Fashioned's I have had - mixing a unique blend of cinnamon and cloves into the cocktail. read more

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Located inside Abbott Square Market, we hung out at this bar before having dinner this past Sunday. The bartender was friendly and provided excellent service, even gave some recommendatiins for chartreuse cocktails. My bf preferred the green chartreuse straight, though I wasn't a fan. I stuck with the juicy juicy which had the perfect combination of flavors for my liking (strawberry vodka, lemon, and peach). We also got an old fashioned, which was made well. We thought the drinks were pretty good and had decent alcohol content. And the bar setting was appealing, with a modern look, an outlet right in front of my seat (so I could conveniently charge my phone), and the side wall was used as a screen with a projector (since they don't have a TV there). read more

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Ambiance: the Front & Cooper has two sections in the market, one near the entrance is for cocktails and the other further inside is for beer and wine Service: fairly fast once you place the order, although the line is not always organized Drink: standard and specialty drinks NIÑA FRESA - *** mezcol, requils, sirewberry guoile Pineapple, lime, orgeat, bold smokey taste Price: each cocktail costs about $14 before tax and tips read more

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All cocktails that I've tried at this place tasted fantastic. I always like to hang out with my friends at Abbot square and I highly recommend trying any cocktails out there. The bar is very beautiful, as well as the cocktails. I love the aesthetic and atmosphere. The service is always good even if it gets busy. I also recommend checking the days that there's live music at abbot square, so it's perfect for whoever wants to have a great time having delicious cocktails. read more

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We were in Santa Cruz Abbott Square Market we had lunch and went shopping here . We wanted a drink and realized they had a full blown bar at Front And Cooper there is a side just for beers and one side of the bar . The bar area is elegant they have a menu I love menus for drinks. The menu has a lot of options to choose from with quality ingredients. The service was amazing they were very friendly and attentive . We got some good drinks and took them with us to grab more food . This is located when all the food is at so u can grab a quick drink and find seating anywhere or sit at the bar . Overall this was a great bar in the middle of the market and close to all the shopping . We had a great time we would definitely be back . read more

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On a weekday stroll downtown, I really was not looking for alcohol. But... I came across hard kombucha here and had to stop for a drink. I was on vacation arterial. The server was nice... my friend and I returned for dinner a couple nights later and ordered beer from here. This location is good to visit is visiting Abbott square or the mah. And they have accessible seating at the bar. read more

Front & Cooper - I was looking for green juice and found the next best thing... hard kombucha - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

The ambiance was great for a Friday night! The drinks were excellent as well. We ordered the juicy juicy and the spicy margarita.

A friendly bar located in the back of Abbott Square Market! They have a big variety of affordable cocktails to choose from. Many fruity ones, some gin & tonics, non-alc options, etc. I tried the Dragonfly cocktail. I was surprised to see a cocktail with lychee in it! It is a fairly rare find in such a westernized-bar. It was served in a pretty coupe glass. The cocktail itself was VERY strong. I didn't taste any lychee (besides the garnish), but that bourbon definitely shines through. This drink got me feeling quite buzzed to say the least. I also tried a sip of my friend's Pennyroyal Tea cocktail and this drink was more refreshing & light~ read more

Front & Cooper - The Dragonfly & Pennyroyal Tea - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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Seems that this spot can get busy fairly quick, but luckily my friend and I came in before the line built up! The drinks we ordered: *Dragonfly ($13): I feel the urge to get any drink that has lychee as one of their ingredients LOL. Definitely was strong in terms of flavor, you can taste the bourbon in it. *Pennyroyal Tea ($13): I recommend getting this drink if you're unsure of what to order. This drink was refreshing and had two different types of ice, crushed ice on top and cubed ice on the bottom! I couldn't really taste the alcohol in this until I kept sipping on it. The drink had a ginger candy on top that was good. It tasted like ginger but not overwhelmingly tasted like ginger, if that makes sense. read more

Front & Cooper - Dragonfly & Pennyroyal Tea ($13 each) - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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I was at Front & Cooper on Friday night and witnessed a pretty horrific display of unsanitary work practices by one of the bars' employees. This gentleman blew his nose from behind the bar & then literally took that same towel and proceeded to wipe the bar down with it! I was in total shock to see that kind of behavior, particularly with face to face contact with the public. Management needs to know! If there was a phone number to share this with a manager, I would have called them, but there is not. read more

Stumbled upon Abbott square market on accident, went inside and found this cute bar. Ordered a few rounds of drinks. At first the bartender was not as friendly as we are used to but it's okay he was busy being the only one. As our time continued and two other bartenders joined the ambiance definitely switched around and ended great with all 3 bartenders. Overall, it was a great time. read more

Front & Cooper - Black saint and cactus flower I think... it was a spicy margarita and very delicious. - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

This place is incredible . Spectacular drinks and customer service was spot on A little hard to find but worth it read more

Front & Cooper - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Very good overall! Smaller drinks at highway price points but I really enjoyed overall. Great milk clarified drinks too.

Not only are the cocktails beautiful, but they're quite tasty as well! After another visit, and getting to try a few of the cocktails, I can truly say this place is has some amazing libations. The small details that go into each drink are so well thought out, and make each of the cocktails unique. The cocktail menu changes somewhat often so there is always something new and exciting to try. They also have a menu of gin and tonics that stays steady, so you can stick in your cocktail comfort zone if you know what you like. The bartenders are very knowledgeable in their craft and are great at making suggestions or adjustments for your tastebuds. read more

Front & Cooper - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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WOW! This place is THE BEST cocktail spot in Santa Cruz, the fastest, most knowledgeable bartenders ive seen in town. These negative reviews are completely illogical and unfair towards the bar. First of all i have never been to Abott square and not seen a thousand people trying to get a drink, most businesses would make you wait outside with a door guy until they had space to let you in but because its a big open space they got mobbed like festival bartenders and handle it amazing considering the insane uphill battle of not being able to stop people at a door and space out customers. Imagine a restaurant without hosts or hostesses where a thousand people showed up at once, you would wait over an hour for food and its no ones fault, thats just reality of serving a thousand people. Front and cooper however have never kept me waiting longer than15 minutes on the most packed nights ive ever seen which is an amount of time i wait at most bars that have a fraction of this customer population. Finally the customers are slow not the workers. I always have twenty people ahead of me and everyone wants to restrict the bartenders from working by asking them baseless questions. Sure i could understand asking about exotic menu ingredients but people will ask the bartenders about every single thing while knowingly holding up a hundred people, "whose the guy in that painting?", "does the ladder work?" "What kind of band is playing tonight?", were gonna blame the staff for this?Its the staffs fault that people didnt want to think about their drink order at all until they talk to them personally? I think any reasonable person is going to be incredibly impressed by how well they manage to control a festival size crowd and consistently be putting out a vast selection of drinks(some created on the spot for dealers choices) at a faster pace than any fancy craft bar could keep up with. These guys are skilled and the drinks are the best! read more

I'd only recommend going to Front & Cooper for a drink if you're already at Abbot Square grabbing something to eat at one of the other restaurants or just there for the live music in the square. Otherwise, if you're just looking for drinks, I'd recommend skipping it and going somewhere else. I literally only go here if my friends want to grab a drink with some food from somewhere in Abbot Square Market. It's really one of the only places in there with alcoholic drinks that I've seen. I'm not much of a cocktails person, so I usually get sparkling wine at places, but their sparkling wine is absolutely terrible, so I just grab a beer if I'm there now. And it's beer...not amazing or anything...just beer. The customer service at Front & Cooper specifically is meh (not great, but not bad when I've gone), but the vibe at Abbot Square in general is fun when you're feeling like a night out. They have live music on the weekends at night that makes it a fun night. So overall, only grab a drink here if you're already at the square. Otherwise, go anywhere else. read more

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Only been here once, but I'll be back for sure! Gin and tonics are a classic, but this place has reinvented them and they're doing it right. I had the Thyme, Sage, Pineapple once which added the perfect amount of savory and tang! The whole pieces of fruit and fresh herbs were delightful and the drink itself really stood out amongst all the ~fancy~ cocktails I've tried. I would recommend going to this place if you want to taste what a G&T SHOULD taste like! I definitely will be back for the same drink and to try more! read more

Front & Cooper - Gin and Tonic, with housemade tonic! - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Went tonight to see their highly-rated world-renowned Christmas takeover and was super highly disappointed! Took almost a half hour at 5:45pm to get a drink. The bar was fully seated and there were 2-3 lines that got broken up and served at random. Multiple people who came after us got drinks first. We finally got our drinks and they were just ok.. weak.. If you all are going to have a Christmas themed pop-up and promote it, maybe you should reconsider your way of service and remove bar seats and become a walk up bar.. or have 2 specific lines with clear signage! We wanted to chill and drink for a while but absolutely didn't want to wait for a second drink after waiting almost a half hour for our first. Absolutely disappointing. read more

Really impressed with their selections of beer. Super friendly dude - great conversations. Nice place to enjoy your food from other parts of the food court. read more

Front & Cooper - a glass of beer and a glass of beer on a bar - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Great cocktails! High recommendation! Hand crafted Ginger Beer and Tonic Waters. Order a Moscow Mule and a gin and tonic from the menu. read more

Came here for the seasonal Dole whip drink! It was not very busy but there was only one bartender serving patrons. The bartender was doing her best but it took a really long time to get the one drink we read more

Felt the need to post this review because of the low rating here. Drinks- top notch. The best we've had in Santa Cruz. Super unique ingredients and recipes. Really committed to the craft here. Vibe- located in the Abbott Square market, the small bar is really a nice place to relax with a drink. The fact that you can go and grab some food right nearby is pretty great too. Service- Johnny was our bartender and did a great job. Tho on the quiet side he was aware of when we needed a refill and was there to supply. Overall will definitely be back the next time we're in the area. We tried the Da Coco, Papi Churro, Smoke on the water and the clarified milk punch cocktail. Each one blew us away. read more

Phenomenal! Such a cute, unique and fun little bar in the heart of downtown Santa Cruz. Must try place if you like to try fun elixirs as they are called on their menu read more

This place has a fun vibe on a Monday night, and this was ideal since there were many tables to choose from. The heat lamps were on making it super cozy. The bartender went around letting people know about last calls, which I appreciated. I didn't know if they made pina coladas, so when I asked I was happily surprised. I've never had nutmeg on top one before, and I though it was genius. The flavor combinations work really well together. I enjoyed the drink presentation, if that's something you're into then I highly suggest checking out this bar. The bartender was super attentive and nice. Check this place out if you haven't! I didn't think I would like it, but it was nice. Also, the bathrooms have a code and the workers will tell you if you ask. read more

Front & Cooper - pina colada - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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The cocktails served here are creatively-named and exquisitely-crafted. You will not be disappointed.

Friendly bartender Ube drink - taste more like Pina colada, the pineapple overpowers the ube Black Manhattan and whiskey sour is the way to go! No issues or real complaints so 5 stars, cheers! read more

Front & Cooper - Menu - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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Best drinks. Favorite bar. Great ambiance. Definitely try their menu. They make some amazing, very well balanced drinks. read more

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The drinks are SO good here, especially the gin ones. it does get very crowded on weekends with lines out the door, but a really chill bar. I'd recommend the number 3 and juicy juicy. read more

Front & Cooper - The Number 3 - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

My first time at Front & Cooper was this past Saturday 8/21 and it was amazing. I came here to celebrate a friend's pre-wedding and can't wait to return for another one of their incredible cocktails. One of the coolest aspects of this place was the location. The bar is located in a large business area with a number of other businesses - eateries and even a large stage where live bands perform. There are numerous tables at the shared patio in the front entrance to the bar, and many more in the back area. You can grab food from any of the nearby places, a drink, and sit to chat, people-watch, or listen to the live music. The cocktails are creative and full of flavor. I had 2 gin and tonics, #3 and #4. They were equally refreshing and so delicious. Not overly sweet and not artificial in any way. The prices are very reasonable and the staff knowledgeable, nice, and graceful under pressure. Be prepared to wait in a long line for this little gem. It moves quickly and it will not disappoint. read more

Front & Cooper - Pineapple, thyme, & sage G&T - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

A very cool bar located downtown and tucked away into a corner next to a delicious seafood sandwich spot. I was a fan the second I spotted this place! Dark decor, kind of looks like you're on a ship or something, comfortable padded bar stools, and some pretty good drinks! What originally caught my eye was the frozen drink machine but I ended up going with a hibiscus mimosa and my friend had a bloody Mary. They were a bit more expensive but it's a nice new area so expected. We bought some food at the places nearby, this was our first time in this area since we lived here over 3 years ago. We hadn't seen this food/ bar area but we loved it and had a lot of fun eating and drinking at the bar! We hear that they sometimes have music out on the patio too and since the whole place is open you'll still get to enjoy the music from anywhere even if you don't sit outside! read more

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Great bar and nice bartenders! I would go to this bar a lot as a student at UCSC. The drinks were good and a fair price! One time on my friends britih day, the bartender gave all of us (around 5) free specialty birthday shots, they were a shot he created himself, and it was delicious! I usually get the oogum boogum, juicy juicy, or a cocktail. This is a great place day or night, to grab a drink, sit down with some friends, and enjoy down town Santa Cruz! read more

I was in Santa Cruz for Dance Week and stopped in to Abbot Square for a tasty adult beverage. Front & Cooper was the only vendor selling beer so that's where I went. They have a thoughtful selection of local and not so local microbrews on tap. They actually have 2 seperate sections of the bar, one making fancy craft cocktails and the other serving just beer and wine. I went with a dry hopped blonde ale from Lost Abbey which I thoroughly enjoyed. There were several other varieties that I would sure have sampled if I had more time. One thing that I found unique about their cocktail selection is that quite a few of them were "on tap". That's right, you can get a expertly crafted cocktail poured straight out of a tap, who'ed a thunk it? Abbot Square is a place that I hope to visit again soon and I'll be sure to stop in for a drink at Front & Cooper, Give'em a try! read more

Front & Cooper - Lost Abbey dry hopped blonde - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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I've seen better and faster customer service from McDonald's. The wine bar next to it is much better

Customer service was bad, a bartender that definitely didn't look like he wanted to be there. I went on a Saturday afternoon about 4pm. I ordered a whiskey sour, he put it together fine until he presented it to me and then it spilled all over the place. He saw this and didn't clean it up and just gave me my tab. I had to wipe the mess up and leave with my drink. read more

Great appearance with the menu, cocktails and vibe but fall way short on service. One can find the place with a long line, two bartenders, and one making drinks. Took 20 minutes in line to put order in. One stool and two dudes are clearly friends of the bar tender who get drinks every third round. I think all the place needs are more hands on deck. read more

Drinks were tasty and strong, vibes were just right, friendly bartender, and dope music playing. This made for a great night here at this bar. We were in town and wanted to stop somewhere for some cocktails and stumbled upon this place by accident. Their cocktail menu has a huge variety, and something for everyone. Will definitely be back again! read more

The bloody marries are delicious, if your out in Santa Cruze this is a must. The bar tender was cool, and there's plenty of food selections to choose from. Do it bruh read more

I visited some friends in Santa Cruz and they kept raving about Front & Cooper's gin & tonics, so of course we had to try it out! I tried the Grapefruit, Clove, and Mint Gin & Tonic as well as the Raspberry, Blackberry, and Creme de Cassis - they were DELICIOUS. After ordering your drinks, you are able to go to an outdoor seating area that the adjoining restaurants/bars share. It is a really nice, relaxed vibe and will be warm year-round, as they have heat lamps that they bring out. If you are looking for cocktails in downtown Santa Cruz, this is the place to go. And if you don't like cocktails, they offer other beverages as well. read more