Windmill Café

Extensive gluten free options, I had a GF turkey and bacon sandwich which was very tasty!

Simone Harms

Very cute spot right of East Cliff. Locally run they serve delicious locally sourced food with lots of vegetarian and vegan options. Their coffee is delicious as well.

Anusha Paramesvaran

Great brunch or breakfast spot. Plenty of gluten free and organic options. Great ambiance!! We enjoyed our beautiful breakfast with coffee! Such a great vibe! They even have a vegetable garden in the back!

Roger Volden

This is a great little cafe especially if you have dietary restrictions. Most of the food can be made gluten free and a lot of the menu items are vegan friendly. The whole place has a very Santa Cruz feel to it and it's extremely casual. The food is good and the smoothies are delicious. I had the grilled goat cheese and salmon sandwich with the Frida smoothie. Absolutely fantastic. The line to order food isn't too bad, but when they're busy it will take a while for you to get your food.

Shawn Orgel-Olson

Very cute café that's in a historic building right by Twin Lakes Beach! Tons of gluten free and vegan / vegetarian options for those that want them and overall just fresh and tasty. Fair prices too! Asian stir fry was excellent with tempeh (wild salmon available as well) and the breakfast scramble with greens was good - I think it would be even better with cheese added on top (will do that next time). Cappuccino was good and strong!

Sandy Moore

Celiac friendly (gluten free). Wonderful service, darling atmosphere! We LOVED the potatoes and gf French toast. Everything was delicious, good portions, and the attentive and thoughtful customer service was A+. 10/10 highly recommend. Bummed we're not local or we would be regulars.

Nalini Amore-Broccoli

We love the Windmill Cafe. We've been there twice in a week!! Excellent service. Wonderful outdoor seating. Awesome yummy food!!

Noel Noblett

Extensive gluten free options, I had a GF turkey and bacon sandwich which was very tasty!

Anthony Balelo

This place is awesome. Great quality food, as far as organic non gmo. My kids had the French toast with REAL mapel syrup, no HFC syrup, loved it. I had the grilled sandwich with salmon and goat cheese, loved it. The portions are not huge, but the price is very reasonable.

Geina Tharp

Sooo good! If you're gluten free, this place is must. I had the gf french toast (ahhmazing) and the impossible sausage (also fantastic). Sooo many gf bakery items. Great place!! Highly recommend.

Cindie Dowell

Gluten- free French toast! It's SO good. They have a ton of gluten free muffins, brownies, etc. Super cute, friendly place with outdoor seating.

H Lindstrom

Absolutely amazing. Very very generous with how much you’re getting for the price. Amazing quality of food and presentation. Super aesthetic and relaxing outside eating area. Absolute hidden gem of Santa Cruz I will recommend forever.

This place is such a vibe! I had a great organic triple shot latte and a yummy scram bowl for breakfast. They have a good dog menu for your pups. Whats not to like!? Yum!

We love Windmill. We visit Santa Cruz a few times a year and we come here for breakfast every single day. Santa Cruz is definitely not known for its good food so we are grateful to at least have The Windmill! Also very kid friendly, very GF friendly, just friendly in general and we looooove it!

Bobby Blue

GREAT PRICES! Great eggs, avocado toast, and coffee! Cute cafe tucked away, like it’s a best kept secret!

Rhiana Glor

We love Windmill. We visit Santa Cruz a few times a year and we come here for breakfast every single day. Santa Cruz is definitely not known for its good food so we are grateful to at least have The Windmill! Also very kid friendly, very GF friendly, just friendly in general and we looooove it!

Love this place, food is great, ambiance is great, but I’m not sure what happened this time. Food was still good, but portions shrunk considerably for the surf’s up, which is a major bummer. I even tipped 20% before sitting down and still got shorted, so it wasn’t that. Who knows, maybe an off day, but might go somewhere else when eggs bacon toast potatoes is 15 bucks and you get a pretty light spread.

I love their food. So delicious and fresh. I ordered a bagel with salmon (lox) and there were fresh herbs and edible flowers sprinkled on top. They grow the herbs themselves on the property. Staff is really nice, but maybe not flexible with menu. My only sad critique is that their coffee needs a major overhaul. The drip coffee was so weak. I tried to remedy it, by adding a shot of espresso to it, which didn't it improve it much. There are so many amazing coffee places in town that they can easily get consultation on how to improve their coffee drinks. I wIll definitely return for breakfast and brunch, but will bring my own coffee.

This place is hiding in plain sight....probably driven past a million times and never noticed there's a windmill in Santa Cruz with a cafe in it. Food is dine out only at the moment (on a very nice patio with sun or shade, take your pick). I had the grilled goat cheese and smoked salmon sandwich on sourdough. Grab an extra napkin 'cause it's kinda sloppy, but this sandwich was DELICIOUS! Plenty of lox and oozing with goat cheese. My companion had the bagel and lox, which was super-loaded with even more lox than the sandwich. Sorry to say, my house coffee was meh (I take milk in my coffee,  so you know I'm not a purist...but I do want the coffee to taste like something!) Overall a good experience and a nice spot for a casual bite to eat.

Good spot for a relaxing brunch in Santa Cruz. The building is truly a windmill and there's seating outside. The Thai coconut curry for lunch was delicious. I also enjoyed the Brazilian smoothie which was good for a hot summer day.

Vincent

Love this place, food is great, ambiance is great, but I’m not sure what happened this time. Food was still good, but portions shrunk considerably for the surf’s up, which is a major bummer. I even tipped 20% before sitting down and still got shorted, so it wasn’t that. Who knows, maybe an off day, but might go somewhere else when eggs bacon toast potatoes is 15 bucks and you get a pretty light spread.

Shiri Gradek

I love their food. So delicious and fresh. I ordered a bagel with salmon (lox) and there were fresh herbs and edible flowers sprinkled on top. They grow the herbs themselves on the property. Staff is really nice, but maybe not flexible with menu. My only sad critique is that their coffee needs a major overhaul. The drip coffee was so weak. I tried to remedy it, by adding a shot of espresso to it, which didn't it improve it much. There are so many amazing coffee places in town that they can easily get consultation on how to improve their coffee drinks. I wIll definitely return for breakfast and brunch, but will bring my own coffee.

Judith Rachel

This place is hiding in plain sight....probably driven past a million times and never noticed there's a windmill in Santa Cruz with a cafe in it. Food is dine out only at the moment (on a very nice patio with sun or shade, take your pick). I had the grilled goat cheese and smoked salmon sandwich on sourdough. Grab an extra napkin 'cause it's kinda sloppy, but this sandwich was DELICIOUS! Plenty of lox and oozing with goat cheese. My companion had the bagel and lox, which was super-loaded with even more lox than the sandwich. Sorry to say, my house coffee was meh (I take milk in my coffee,  so you know I'm not a purist...but I do want the coffee to taste like something!) Overall a good experience and a nice spot for a casual bite to eat.

Chetan Suresh

Good spot for a relaxing brunch in Santa Cruz. The building is truly a windmill and there's seating outside. The Thai coconut curry for lunch was delicious. I also enjoyed the Brazilian smoothie which was good for a hot summer day.

Michael Rothwell

I woke this morning craving some good old fashioned biscuits & gravy. I live just a couple of blocks from the Windmill and thought I'd try my luck there. Unfortunately there was no biscuits and gravy this morning, so I thought I'd give the traditional Surf's Up a go. Very simple, just scrambled eggs, two sausage links, fried potatoes, and one slice of toast. The potatoes and eggs were both top notch and delicious... The only reason I'm giving the food 4 stars instead of 5 is because of the quantity of food! After paying over 20 bucks for breakfast and coffee, I like to get filled up! Still this service was pleasant and atmosphere homey and comfortable... I intend to give them another chance and try their breakfast burrito next week

This place is very cute 😍 I like how old and coastal it looks. I got the French toast with bacon 🥓 and a espresso. The French toast has a good flavor but way too mushy in texture. The bacon was alright not the best though. Friendly staff and a nice outdoor area with lots of plants and flowers. I might come back and try something else 🤔.

Davisu Echo

This place is very cute 😍 I like how old and coastal it looks. I got the French toast with bacon 🥓 and a espresso. The French toast has a good flavor but way too mushy in texture. The bacon was alright not the best though. Friendly staff and a nice outdoor area with lots of plants and flowers. I might come back and try something else 🤔.

While the location is historic and visually appealing while waiting for your food, the food itself is only average, and the service is alright. Regarding the food, the bread was old, and the vegetables were barely cooked despite the long wait time. Instead of toasting the croissant, which would have crisped it up, it seemed to be heated up in another way, making it warm but not addressing the other issues. The vegetables were good, but barely sautéed. The composition of the sandwich was not great, with the bottom falling apart and the insides falling out - but it was great to eat with a fork. With that said, the portion size is on the smaller side for the price point. Regarding service, the cashiers took a while to process orders, and overall, the service could be improved. The manager (?) was rude to a customer while we waited for our food, which doesn't add to the overall impression. However, the building is a historic landmark and is quite lovely to sit outside or inside, enjoying the architecture.

Robert Wilson

While the location is historic and visually appealing while waiting for your food, the food itself is only average, and the service is alright. Regarding the food, the bread was old, and the vegetables were barely cooked despite the long wait time. Instead of toasting the croissant, which would have crisped it up, it seemed to be heated up in another way, making it warm but not addressing the other issues. The vegetables were good, but barely sautéed. The composition of the sandwich was not great, with the bottom falling apart and the insides falling out - but it was great to eat with a fork. With that said, the portion size is on the smaller side for the price point. Regarding service, the cashiers took a while to process orders, and overall, the service could be improved. The manager (?) was rude to a customer while we waited for our food, which doesn't add to the overall impression. However, the building is a historic landmark and is quite lovely to sit outside or inside, enjoying the architecture.

There are things I liked about this joint: It felt like a shabby 90’s cafe so it did offer some nostalgia. There are a fair amount of vegan choices as well. The food? It, umm, existed. The tofu scramble was way too dry as were the potatoes. The muffin I had, crumbled in my hands because it was so dry. Admittedly, the sausage was good though as was strawberry jam. The service was friendly enough, albeit counter service so… The thing that killed the place for us was the noise. It wasn’t even that busy, and it was just cacophony (Open kitchens are the worst idea ever.) Not only the din of the blender for smoothies and coffee was loud, but it seemed like someone was throwing dishes in the sink from about 10 feet away. It was way too much so we hurried out of there as soon as we were done trying to eat, preferring to drink our tea in the rain than stay in that dining room. If you don’t mind noise, it’s probably an okay breakfast joint.