My husband found this place via a maps search for Breakfast, and oh my did we love it!! It's a cute, locals vibe, cafe- style restaurant with an ample menu. You order at a register, and then they bring your food to your table. We ordered the vegan breakfast tacos, and vegan biscuits and gravy. Both items were SO tasty. Prices were very reasonable. Service was good. Would definitely recommend, and we will for sure add it to our list of spots we enjoy when in Santa Cruz. read more

Windmill Cafe - Vegan tacos :) - Cafes Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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Some hits. Some misses. Super friendly and fast service at this cute restaurant with convenient parking. Menu selection and prices were amazing. My tuna melt sandwich was outstanding -- fresh and well made. The misses: no heaters inside or outside, the coffee cake pastry tasted stale and served cold, and my companion's breakfast potatoes were a bit burnt and greasy. read more

Cute little local's spot. Very casual. Good food, lots of muffins/pastry type goodies, bagels, etc. read more

It's like eating in your own dining room, if you lived in a cool old windmill. The Vegan Surf was a welcome surprise with a terrific tofu scramble and home style potatoes that never disappoint, all topped of with an oat chai that spices the breakfast so well. read more

Windmill Cafe - Windmill Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Yummy food and lots of good options! Order at a counter and food is brought to you. Cute seating areas. read more

Windmill Cafe - Matcha late and lox on sourdough - Cafes Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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I decided to head over the hill to Santa Cruz this morning to get some sand between my toes. After my walk at Seabright, I was getting hungry and popped into Windmill Cafe for a quick bite before heading home. The small parking lot was full when I arrived so I had to drive around a bit and finally found a spot across the street. There's seating inside as well as patio seating which is where I sat. I needed some sunshine and fresh air. You place your order at the hostess stand which is oddly placed blocking the door. If you want to sit inside you need to squeeze past which felt odd. The menus are outside hanging on the wall. Here's what I ordered: SURFS UP - 2 scrambled eggs, 2 slices of thick cut bacon, home fried potatoes and a piece of sourdough toast with butter and jam. This was your standard basic breakfast. Everything was good although $13 felt kinda high especially with the portion size being pretty small. MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE - I love a good Mexican hot chocolate but this one needed to be much warmer and more spice. The temperature was barely lukewarm. Service was wonderful. Super friendly staff. Not sure I'd drive all the from San Jose to eat here but I'm sure the locals love it. Fast, unpretentious and many items are gluten-free. read more

Windmill Cafe - Surf's Up Breakfast - Cafes Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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Bland and uninspired. They use the smallest eggs. The toast was cold. The potatoes were a few bites worth. Maybe Denny's with smallest portions. read more

I love the decoration of both the inside and outside of the cafe. It is so unique and interesting! When I walked in I was super impressed with the menu. Extremely reasonable prices for unique and interesting food. They also have a sauce variety of drinks, smoothies and homemade pastries. Plus the people that work here are super nice! What caught my attention was the Grilled Goat Cheese with Smoked Salmon, Tomato and Dill. Super simple ingredients, so each as every flavor was able to shine through very well. The goat cheese paired really well with the salmon, and was warm and melty on the bread. I loved the tang from the goat cheese and the salmon flavor, a little unexpected to see on the menu but it just works! The bread itself was lightly toasted so it had a great crunch when you bit into it. The tomato gave a good bit of freshness to each bite. The salmon was super good, but I would have probably appreciated another slice. Honestly thought, for the price I paid, the food was extremely well put together flavor wise. Extremely fair price, and would definitely order this again. I also order a herbal raspberry tea and had no issues with it. Total for the sandwich and tea was only $15. Worth every cent! A great place to get delicious, great quality food without costing an arm and a leg. I definitely want to come back here again and try some of their other food and pastry options. Probably a new favorite cafe in the area. read more

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I love Windmill Cafe! The food is fresh, interesting, and delicious. The portions are a bit small but so are the prices. I like the beautiful outdoor seating area and it enables me to eat out. Oh, and there are *many* vegan options! read more

3 stars because it's fairly average. Staff is friendly. Prices are fair. Food is fine for the price. It's a decent spot with character that has decent food, but nothing incredible. Bonus is the short walk to blacks beach. read more

Great service. Lovers of nature and protectors of habitat. They planted milkweed to attract monarchs. Now they are nurturing and protecting them. read more

Windmill Cafe - Photo taken at the Windmill after this Monarch Butterfly left its cocoon. This is why I love this place. What a gem. - Cafes Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Cute spot. Nice ambiance. Indoor and outdoor seating. I was underwhelmed by the food. Not that my avocado toast was bad, but it was literally just avocado and olive oil on a standard piece of sourdough sandwich bread. If I'm going to pay $7, like at least give me artisan bread. My friends Big Scram Bowl, also was just kinda pinner for $13. My other friend's sautéed veggie croissant did look pretty good. They do have a bunch of vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free options, so I will say it's probably a good choice if you are looking for one of those. They serve high quality coffee. read more

Cute little place is absolutely worth a stop! I found it through my gluten-free app and was very excited to see that they served gf french toast. Had a weekend away with my better half while the kids were away and stopped in for breakfast... This was the first French toast I've had in six years. It was everything I had hoped for, custody in the center toasted and crispy on the edges, so good! It was so good we came back the next day for breakfast again! Both the French toast and waffle were great, their breakfast scramble and potatoes were amazing. Thank you for serving so many gluten-free options and for having safe protocols in the kitchen. We will be back with the kids, thanks for everything. read more

Took a weekend trip to Santa Cruz, and we loved it so much we ended up going here every single day for breakfast!! The first day we loved it (I got the lox bagel with both add ons) and it was SO CUTE and delicious. I ended up getting it all 3 days because I loved it so much. A friend in our party is Celiac and the staff was so knowledgeable about gluten intolerances and was very gluten safe with lots of options. She said their gluten free waffle was one of the best she'd had (I tried it and couldn't tell it was gluten free!). The decor inside is super cute and the staff is really sweet. Also, perhaps more importantly and to sway you to come here: the reason we ended up coming here every day in Santa Cruz was that the lines everywhere else were nuts! I'm talking hour long wait everywhere else, and here we got our food within 15 minutes of ordering. Skip the lines at other places, and eat a great (& affordable) breakfast by coming here. Next time I'm in Santa Cruz I'll be back! read more

Cute, good food, listed as good for kids (I think it depends on the kids :( ) very sunny outside small cute look inside. Likely won't go to again :) Not a fan when people make any amount of comments about little ones and volume it's not like they are phone controlled at the age of 1-3 :). read more

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Poor Service. Food is not so good. Place did not seem clean. Lot's of signs that seem to be ordering the customers to behave in certain ways. read more

We drove by this place for years, but finally stopped in and we were glad we did. It was like the best home-cooked meal. Nothing fancy just good cooking. read more

Having celiac disease, along with other diet restrictions, it is hard to find good options to eat at on vacation. I have passed this hidden gem countless times over the years, and it is now my absolute favorite place to eat in Santa Cruz. Literally every item but one in the menu was gluten free. And they sell amazing gluten free baked goods as well. This place is a dream come true. The guy greeting us at the door was extremely kind and very helpful and patient as we asked about the menu. The kind service and cozy vibe at this cafe is enough to bring us back over and over. The food though... The food was honestly so great. Gluten free/vegan food can look strange in some cases such as these waffles, but they were absolutely delicious, and the French toast was incredible! 10/10 overall. read more

Windmill Cafe - Gluten free waffles, gluten free French toast, potatoes, and sausage. - Cafes Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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The Windmill Cafe is practically perfect in every way--delicious breakfast & lunch including gluten-free & vegan options, friendly service, and a sweet dog-friendly patio. https://windmillcafesantacruz.com/ read more

What a way to start your day- head down to Windmill Cafe! Ordered a bagel sandwich and an iced latte and it was divine. Staff was so friendly and the outdoor seating was perfect. 10/10 would eat again. read more

We come to Santa Cruz a few times a year and we spend every morning at the Windmill. It's very gluten free friendly, the staff are always kind, prices are so reasonable and the food is always delish, high quality and consistent. Also very kid friendly, one of the few places our kids actually like the food! Love love love Windmill Cafe read more

The food was great, the service was pretty fast, super cute vibe and outdoor seating.

Friendly service good food reasonable price Great for breakfast or lunch Cozy seating indoors or out read more

Had a lovely breakfast here! GF options galore. I would highly recommend this cute lil local spot! read more

Windmill Cafe - Inside Seating - Cafes Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

They forgot our sandwich. We ordered two lunch items, a pastry, and two drinks. We didn't realize we were missing a whole lunch item until we got to davenport (the bottom of it). What we got: - turkey, avo, bacon sandwich: no where to be seen!!! Paid for it for nothinf - lox bagel: where's everything else???? I did not expect it to be a bagel w/cream cheese and like 6 thinly sliced salmon..... - persimmon orange muffin: dry as poop!!!! We took a mini nibble and threw it away. What a waste!!!! And two drinks that were mediocre Would I come back? No Why? Food is disappointing, quality of drinks, food, and pastries aren't there read more

Windmill Cafe - Lox bagel - Cafes Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

We decided to try someplace new and saw that this place had some decent looking food and outdoor patio. The breakarito we split seemed healthy but not exceptionally flavorful. I had the urge to add some hot sauce even though I typically am okay without it. My boyfriend ordered the large mocha and I had the medium Mexican mocha. He preferred the Mexican mocha because of the spice. Unfortunately, we weren't quite blown away by the food or drinks. The parking lot is hard to find and easily missed. I had to circle back a couple of times because I ended up in the residential area behind the café. The parking lot itself is rather small. Restrooms are located inside and they require you have a mask before entering. They provide you a mask if you need. read more

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Great latte's!!!! At least once a week, gotta have one. Soy milk latte is my fave and they know how to make them perfectly.

Windmill Cafe is a cute little spot that's sort of tucked away from the rest of Santa Cruz. I took my friend here for a birthday brunch and really enjoyed the ambiance with its outdoor seating and giant windmill watching over. Their cafe has a variety of both meat and veggie friendly options along with drinks and baked goods. You order from the front and they bring out your food once it's ready. As of November 21, they are still only doing outdoor dining. Their menu has a surprising number of vegan friendly options including your classic tofu scrambles/burritos and some tempeh options. I ordered their Tempeh Rueben ($9) which was covered in kraut and their special vegan sauce. The sandwich itself was good but admittedly quite small, and with it lacking a side, I had to order a small side salad ($5) in order to feel more satiated. I thought the salad could've been more robust than simply a handful of mixed greens with a vegan vinaigrette but I appreciate them having it as an option. My friend ordered their "Surf's Up Breakfast" which were scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon, and toast. She said the food was okay but didn't end up finishing her potatoes. I also ordered a Chai which I thought was quite pricy given that a large made it a dollar more at $6, and use of non-dairy milk had an additional cost. I really hope one day that places could not charge for a non-dairy option as it makes being plant-based seem expensive or extra taxing to navigate. My friend also got a large orange juice that was $7 but was clearly from the store. Overall, really enjoyed the atmosphere and food but wish there was more to the meal and that the drinks could be a bit cheaper. Service was good and parking can be limited. read more

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I enjoyed this spot. It looks beaten up from the outside but the food is very good. Will be coming back often. I like their patio area. The service was great. read more

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If I was rating fresh/quality ingredients, this place would get full stars, but the food was kinda lack luster. Kids got French toast, it was good. I got a scramble with greens added. Potatoes & eggs with greens had no salt or seasoning added. They need to add fresh herbs and season it. Salt, pepper & hot sauce livened it up. Bacon was fantastic. OJ was good. Chai tea was another item that lacked in flavor. Patio area was nice despite being by a busy road. Service was eh. Place still has some weird pandemic vibes going on. read more

Windmill Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

This is hands down my favorite place in Santa Cruz. You feel like you're both on vacation but also at home. The staff is so friendly, the food is AMAZING and so fairly priced, and the baked goods are amazing. It's really hard to find gluten free and dairy free foods that don't taste like cardboard and they somehow have mastered it. Everything tastes like your grandma made it. Healthy and tasty. Their coffee is also amazing but I drank it too fast to take a picture. They also have coconut milk!! So hard to find. The little outdoor seating area is my favorite. So cozy. I love coming with friends or alone to read. I'm not someone that goes out to eat alone ever but this place is so comforting. read more

Windmill Cafe - Surfs up with gluten free toast and gluten free dairy free coffee cake. - Cafes Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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This place is great ... I would take all the "one star" reviews with a big grain of salt. People here are SUPER friendly, food is solid, coffee is solid, prices are reasonable, and the vibe (100 year old windmill) is super cute. Let's keep this wonderful little place busy, so it is here for years to come! read more

Cute little place overall. Service was okay. It's quite sunny outside so during lunch time it might be better to dine inside. The food was great. They have good vegan options. read more

Windmill Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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Yum-o! We came in this morning and grabbed the vegan hash that came with blue corn bread and a couple of lattes. No indoor seating, which was just fine. Grab a spot, pet a pup from a local and wait. The staff will bring you your food and get you anything else you need, like butter for your cornbread. And, don't miss the spread of hot sauces and accoutrements to pick from. It was a lovely meal that inspired me for home cooking! Just look for the building with a windmill on it, obviously.... read more

Windmill Cafe - Vegan hash with blue corn bread special and a coconut milk latte - Cafes Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

The waitresses were lovely. However the manager had gotten upset at one over a cup size. Felt very unprofessional to do on the clock when it could have been private (it very clearly upset the waitress) . Regardless the cup sizes were off and weird anyways. Food was good. read more

Food is ordered at the hostess stand and a chalk broad that is not very clear. All condiments are self serve but they did even explain that. And not enough for all the tables anyway. What kind of restaurant doesn't even have sugar for the coffee. Food tastes old I think they made the toast the day before. Service is lack luster. Seems like the employees would rather be ANYWHERE but work. Very small and cold inside. I've had better food and experience with more friendly people at Starbucks, but we wanted breakfast not a snack. read more

Great vibe and ambiance. Such a cute place. Outdoor seating. Gluten Free and organic options. Plenty of them. read more

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I used to love this place. Now it's awkward & the food is bad (baked goods from Costco?) & apparently you can't go inside anymore. Bummer. read more

Wild that this "sandwich" was over 10 dollars for a paper thin BLT. I'd do one star, but the greeter that helped us was kind, and the efficiency of receiving the sandwich was prompt. Probably easy to be fast considering the busty quality of the sandwich was lacking. We ordered the sandwich on sourdough, but it was the cheap kind of sourdough where if someone told me it was white bread, I would have believed them read more

Windmill Cafe - Paper thin BLT. 10 including tip - Cafes Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Windmill cafe was nice, but we waited for roughly 45 minutes, and overall the food was just decent. The restaurant was very charming but they seemed to be very under staffed. Overalll I wanted to give 4 stars but it just wasn't there. read more