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    River Cafe

    3.3 (343 reviews)
    Closed 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
    Updated 1 month ago

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    Business Info

    RIVER CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Happy hour specials
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - River Cafe

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    Scott Y.

    Great MoMos, great service, personable people. Can't wait to go back and try the Noodles. Owner even gave our dog some chicken! We will for sure be back to this gem.

    Day of Joy Meal. July, 2024.
    Laura S.

    Our Nepalese American family planned to visit River Cafe for the Tibetan community's "Day of Joy" on July 6 in honor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's birthday. The Tibetan community and friends would provide food and drink. But, life got in the way, with my adult daughter feeling ill so we ended not going. However, in hearing of our disappointment, her sister-in-law visited the restaurant and brought us two take-out meals that were provided free of charge to patrons on the Day of Joy. Each meal included three vegetarian momos (round steamed dumplings filled with kale, cilantro, garlic, bean noodles, tofu, and potato), a side spring salad (greens, dried cranberries, walnuts, and dressing), dry noodles with spinach, green onion, carrots, and sauce, a wedge of watermelon, and a creamy pie dessert (not sure what it was, but it was yummy). Thank you, River Cafe and the Tibetan community in Santa Cruz. We appreciate your generosity -- and plan to visit River Cafe in person in the near future! Based on how good these meals were, we must try out your chicken and beef momos and chai!

    Main lobby
    Suraj S.

    I had a great experience being in this cafe. Me and my wife tried chicken noodle soup along with chicken momo . Soup was delicious and made our morning feel better and ready to go on our adventures of the day. Chicken momo - juicy, we loved it. The vibe in this cafe was calm, friendly and welcoming. I recommend everyone to go try it in the morning. It's a good place to start your day

    Beef Momos
    Rain b.

    First time here and I was impressed! I had the momo beef sandwich and an Americano, both were delicious. The café is cozy and comfortable, and the owner is very kind and welcoming. I'll definitely be back!

    Dirty Chai
    Madeline A.

    Found this cafe half a mile from Santa Cruz Pier. Found the place calming. We gave it a try. The cage advocates for Tibet awareness. Love their beef momo !!

    Ordering countwr
    Annie T.

    River Cafe is this small glass-walled cafe with lots of outdoor seating. It has cute decorations inside and is centrally located near shops and close to downtown. I went there for coffee and tea with my family after lunch, but we will definitely be back for the momos (dumplings!) because those look FIRE! The service was super friendly and professional too! River Cafe may have to be in my family's restaurant "rotation" because we love dumplings!

    Aloha kombucha
    Cassondra R.

    I came across this quaint and unique, family owned cafe while making my way to downtown Santa Cruz, and I was very happy that I stopped in. I was greeted almost immediately and my order was promptly taken soon after. They were very friendly and all food was made to order, cooked to perfection, very delightful flavors, fresh ingredients, and served hot. I ordered the bacon burrito and deliciously refreshing, local, aloha kombucha. They brought me my order where I was sitting, which was another plus, but I noticed my burrito a vegetarian one, filled with tofu, french fries, well melted shredded cheddar cheese, spinach, scrambled egg, and I added avocado. It was delicious, and the chef even said he marinated the tofu himself, so good! However, the burrito had no bacon as I ordered, so I asked for a side instead and they were more than happy to oblige. In fact, they gave me extra bacon! They are very kind restaurant owner who cook and serve well! Also, apparently they are a neighborhood favorite too! As I was waiting for my food I could here a family vehind me saying how they love going there because it feels like home, and I can definitely see that. I am a happy customer who will return and recommend this place to friends and family.

    Beef noodle soup
    Angela Y.

    I was looking for a quick healthy lunch option and found River Cafe. Excellent, fresh and healthy options. 2 thumbs up. Highly recommend. I will come back often.

    half of a grilled veggie panini (i ate the other half) and the 12 oz chai
    yes

    I ordered the Grilled Veggie Panini and Chai. I loved the veggie panini, me and my friend thought it was very filling and yummy. The chai wasn't to my taste, but it was still pretty good, my personal preference aside. The service was pretty fast. I think the interior is charming, its a bit small. Overall we really enjoyed this place, I hope to come back again to try the Momos.

    Dry noodle with chicken

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    5 months ago

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    7 days ago

    The best little tree house cafe in town! The Momo's are amazing and the service was brilliant. Thank you for everything.

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    2 years ago

    Incredible food, some of the most delicious vegan food in town, and a great staff! Highly recommend the vegan noodle soup

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    Page 1 of 9

    Ask the Community - River Cafe

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    Terra Superfoods

    4.1(30 reviews)
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    I am addicted to Terra! I work downtown, this is my "made it to Friday " treat…read moreAlways so fresh, made amazing with care and quick.Great ingredients. I have nut, and fruit allergies that have made it hard to have açaí bowls at other local restaurants but TERRAs menu is clear, ingredients easily listed. Service is always on point, and clean inside. Anything about location I don't think is fair on them, they are located at a weird spot downtown.. they do a great job. Please never change TERRA SUPERFOODS!

    Super happy to see another health foods/acai and vegan friendly shop pop up in Santa Cruz! I am an…read moreacai bowl fanatic so having the ability to build your own or order one close to him is simply divine. They have a few pre-made suggestions for bowls and you can also build your own. Prices start around $13 for the smallest bowl and makes its way to a larger size that can feed multiple people. I went with their namesake, "The Terra," which was the closest to a traditional acai with healthy nuts/seeds, bananas, strawberries, and almond butter to name a few. My bowl was great and everything tasted fresh and not overly sweet like other acai bowls I've had. I'm also curious in trying their wraps and grain bowls too since they all sound delicious. One small thing we noticed is that they created two of the same bowls but we had each ordered different ones. It wasn't a huge deal since none of us had any particular allergies but make sure to check and see that you got the correct order. Also, it's not Terra's fault but unfortunately, we could smell cigarettes from anyone smoking outside as it seemed to come through some air vents? Hopefully once the area gets more developed that this shouldn't be a problem.

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    Java Junction - Medium chai tea with a plain bagel with cream cheese

    Java Junction

    3.0(178 reviews)
    0.1 mi
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    My cousin and I would come here daily when we were younger my wife and kids and I set to stop in…read morefor coffee today staff was super nice coffee was good sadly I didn't have an iced coffee so I didn't check if they had the homemade whipped cream but I will tell you 13 years ago it's was sooooo good I will have to come back on a warm day and see if they still make it! Don't sleep on this place when coming to Santa Cruz it's one of the best here for this area besides LuLus on Pacific Avenue! Do not go to the drive up Lulus horrible owner!! Just check all his reviews!!!

    I ordered a matcha it took soo long. I only ordered one thing. They weren't busy at all, so I was…read morevery shocked by the wait. The matcha was really watered down and it tasted very artificial. I didn't try the food, so I can't speak to that. But if you're in a pinch and need a quick coffee or Matcha... This is not the place to go. The staff also seem really rushed or anxious, and not very present with customers. One thing I love about a great coffee. Shop is the way staff engages with their customers. The way they charge. You is also weird. I get the 25% cup fee, but it's $.75 if you want the drink, Iced, and then another dollar for milk substitute. I was just disappointed, and hoping for at least a decent Matcha. I couldn't finish it. It was really bad, tasted very artificially.

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    Java Junction - See the bottom of the cup..its caked with powder...

    See the bottom of the cup..its caked with powder...

    Java Junction
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    Matcha, not good.

    Cruz Creamery - Half Honey Lavendar and Half Rose Ice Cream

    Cruz Creamery

    4.0(210 reviews)
    0.5 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
    Cruz Creamery - Inside.

    Inside.

    Cruz Creamery - Outside

    Outside

    Cruz Creamery - Inside

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    Inside

    River Cafe - coffee - Updated May 2026

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