Java Junction

I breaked for lunch and went to Java junction for a sandwich. I wasn't expecting too much from a coffee cafe, past experience reminded me: " it's a coffee joint pray for mediocre." The woman who served me at the counter also prepared my sandwich. She was very polite and served up an outstanding club sandwhich that kept me satisfied until the end of my work day. I shall return with indubidable expectations. 5 stars indubidably!

Great little coffee shop on Seabright. You can sit outside and watch the world go by as you sip your drink. Staff was very friendly.

Great lattes, friendly staff, love the location, good vibes and cool music. Lots of snacks decked out bagels and plenty to have to drink!!

Sandwiches, coffee and smoothies are all excellent. The people and owner are wonderful and friendly. The services are on point. My dog Hilo looks forward every morning to greet them and get a treat. A great place for the neighborhood to hang out and socialize.

Quick, Quality and Friendly! NOT overpriced! Got a depth charge and almond milk salted caramel latte. We approve of the unsweetened vanilla almond milk and Torani syrup selection. Endless options and awesome menu. Need to try more from here!

I love their smoothies! Strawberry Fields is my personal favorite. The outdoor area is also a nice space to enjoy some views and start the day.

When we visit the Seabright Beach neighborhood every year for vacation, one if the the things I look most forward to is going on our morning walk to Java Junction and having the most delicious Mocha ever. I honestly dream of them! The employees are super friendly and helpful. This is why they get 5 out if 5 stars!

Really impressive mix of old Santa Cruz coffee house and serve-your-self hipster sandwich and sweets drive by. Excellent music and staff. Plenty of separate tables, more outdoors. Clean and bright.

Everything they do at this location they do well. As someone who lives nearby I wish they stayed open later. I think it could be a great spot in the community for people to study/work in the afternoon, and maybe host some artists.

Always such a pleasant environment to chill at. From the Battistas and the great food...it's a go to place.There are a Variety of coffee, teas,smoothies, chai, pastries and simple breakfast foods. All fairly priced. Overall I definitely recommend to try at least once.

Very cute and very sweet as it will be

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A café with soul and excellent flavor ☕✨ Java Junction Coffee is the perfect place to start the day on a good note. The atmosphere is very pleasant, with soft music that sets the mood without being distracting—ideal for relaxing or getting some work done. Their coffee is delicious, carefully prepared, and the pastries… an absolute treat! 🥐😋 What impressed me the most was the kindness and respect of the staff—always willing to help, even considering that my English is not the best. I felt welcome and comfortable here, which I truly appreciate. If you're looking for a café with a great atmosphere, friendly service, and excellent coffee, this is the place. As long as I’m in the neighborhood, this will be MY café. ☕😊

Great outdoor patio. Good coffee and friendly service…what more do you need! 🤷‍♂️😀

Pablo A. Churin (Argentinier in Emsdetten)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A café with soul and excellent flavor ☕✨ Java Junction Coffee is the perfect place to start the day on a good note. The atmosphere is very pleasant, with soft music that sets the mood without being distracting—ideal for relaxing or getting some work done. Their coffee is delicious, carefully prepared, and the pastries… an absolute treat! 🥐😋 What impressed me the most was the kindness and respect of the staff—always willing to help, even considering that my English is not the best. I felt welcome and comfortable here, which I truly appreciate. If you're looking for a café with a great atmosphere, friendly service, and excellent coffee, this is the place. As long as I’m in the neighborhood, this will be MY café. ☕😊

Joe Metro

Great outdoor patio. Good coffee and friendly service…what more do you need! 🤷‍♂️😀

PLEASE! try their coffee and ask for their AMAZING WHIPPING CREAM!!! House made and amazing flavor! One of my favorite spots in Santa Cruz 💕

Great spot for coffee on sea bright area

This independent coffeehouse is being negatively impacted by the closure of Murray St Bridge. Please support small businesses

Great lattes and their salmon bagel is awesome. They went a little heavy on the capers in my opinion, but those are easy to pick off. Overall, a great choice of café and I will be coming back.

Great coffee (they roast it); great, friendly service. Lots of food choices. I had a garlic bagel with egg and something on it. The bagel was good-ish; there were other things on the menus(!) that looked delicious. I shall go back. Atmosphere was richly varied and warmly welcoming. If I lived in the neighborhood, it would be my go-to morning place.

Great drip coffee, cute atmosphere and wonderful staff. Highly recommend!

Chill little coffee shop in seabright. The coffee is really good and tastes fresh. The sandwiches are beautiful and well made. Delicious. A local favorite for us and our neighbors.

Lee Barrow

Great drip coffee, cute atmosphere and wonderful staff. Highly recommend!

John Morrison

Great coffee (they roast it); great, friendly service. Lots of food choices. I had a garlic bagel with egg and something on it. The bagel was good-ish; there were other things on the menus(!) that looked delicious. I shall go back. Atmosphere was richly varied and warmly welcoming. If I lived in the neighborhood, it would be my go-to morning place.

Annette Steiner

This independent coffeehouse is being negatively impacted by the closure of Murray St Bridge. Please support small businesses

Ryan Porter

Chill little coffee shop in seabright. The coffee is really good and tastes fresh. The sandwiches are beautiful and well made. Delicious. A local favorite for us and our neighbors.

Cindy Arellano

PLEASE! try their coffee and ask for their AMAZING WHIPPING CREAM!!! House made and amazing flavor! One of my favorite spots in Santa Cruz 💕

Buffalo

Great lattes and their salmon bagel is awesome. They went a little heavy on the capers in my opinion, but those are easy to pick off. Overall, a great choice of café and I will be coming back.

G Smith

Quick, Quality and Friendly! NOT overpriced! Got a depth charge and almond milk salted caramel latte. We approve of the unsweetened vanilla almond milk and Torani syrup selection. Endless options and awesome menu. Need to try more from here!

Nhut Nguyen

Sandwiches, coffee and smoothies are all excellent. The people and owner are wonderful and friendly. The services are on point. My dog Hilo looks forward every morning to greet them and get a treat. A great place for the neighborhood to hang out and socialize.

Love Java Junction coffees ans smoothies. They roast their own coffee beans as a result, whole beans and coffee grounds are available for purchase. Bagels and bagel sandwiches are available for breakfast or lunch.

Nice local coffee shop without huge selection of coffee drinks, smoothies and breakfast/lunch food. Outdoor patio tables to enjoy your purchases in the sunshine!

First time to the spot, although it's nearby. The people I was with said it was the busiest they'd ever seen it. The layout is quite nice. The metal chairs are super uncomfortable, which I suppose is good if a business doesn't want customers lounging around for very long; but as a customer, not pleasant seating. They've got a pretty extensive menu of connosiur coffees to foofoo coffeeesque sugar shakes, which are popular with Americans, and some nice food items, including the yummy avocado toast I had. Although it didn't seem crazy busy, as I initially mentioned, the people I was with said it was the busiest they'd seen it, which they figured explained 1) it taking quite a while between ordering and receiving coffees and 2) getting one of our coffee orders wrong. We're all only human, so I won't hold anything the delays or mistake against them. I would try this spot again, and could see it being a decent go to cafe for meet ups. An investment in more comfortable seating would be nice to see though.

DJ

First time to the spot, although it's nearby. The people I was with said it was the busiest they'd ever seen it. The layout is quite nice. The metal chairs are super uncomfortable, which I suppose is good if a business doesn't want customers lounging around for very long; but as a customer, not pleasant seating. They've got a pretty extensive menu of connosiur coffees to foofoo coffeeesque sugar shakes, which are popular with Americans, and some nice food items, including the yummy avocado toast I had. Although it didn't seem crazy busy, as I initially mentioned, the people I was with said it was the busiest they'd seen it, which they figured explained 1) it taking quite a while between ordering and receiving coffees and 2) getting one of our coffee orders wrong. We're all only human, so I won't hold anything the delays or mistake against them. I would try this spot again, and could see it being a decent go to cafe for meet ups. An investment in more comfortable seating would be nice to see though.

Great atmosphere in this little coffee shop. $3 for a small coffee. Only one table in the corner has access to an outlet so it's not a great spot if you want to get work done and charge your laptop. No bathroom. Overall a very cozy place with decent food.

Nice local spot with a rotating seasonal drinks menu throughout the year. I like it there enough that almost every time I go do laundry across the street, I come here for the morning brew. They serve fairly good smoothies and teas as well, with pastries, bagels and other food items to purchase. The place does tend to get quite warm as I’m assuming they don’t have any AC and the fans they have are more decoration than function. Also hope you come when it’s not too busy as they seem to be short staffed so any sort of influx can cause you to wait up to 20 minutes for a cup of coffee.

Josh MOnthei

Great atmosphere in this little coffee shop. $3 for a small coffee. Only one table in the corner has access to an outlet so it's not a great spot if you want to get work done and charge your laptop. No bathroom. Overall a very cozy place with decent food.

I feel like whenever I go in here the staff is not very social.. even when you are talking to them. Probably not gonna come back as this is always my experience. Lots of other good shops In town!

Has outdoor seating too, facing the Sun. I'd give it 4 stars if they turn the music down and get sound-proofing for the smoothie blenders.

Good coffee and other drinks. Ordered a bagel and cream cheese and they put the wrapper inbetween the two sides and then cut it in half so when you remove the wrapper half the cream cheese gets taken off the bagel and stuck to the wrapper. Time to learn a better way to wrap your bagels. I'm not a fan of paying $3 for a dry bagel. If I wanted that id of ordered a dry bagel

Came here to get some work done on a weekend afternoon and it was an okay experience. The staff here were nice and friendly. I ordered their Tropical Mango Smoothie ($10) and it was 16 oz of goodness. You definitely get a lot of bang for your buck from this cafe. Work wise - it's not as conducive as I had hoped. There is wifi available but no outlets to charge any devices. They also had the doors propped open which made it a bit breezy inside, and during winter, a bit cooler than I was comfortable with personally. Beware - there's also no restroom available and they sent me to Seabright Social next door, where I snuck in to use it and promptly left. Small parking lot available in the back with tight parking spots.

Andy Ng

Came here to get some work done on a weekend afternoon and it was an okay experience. The staff here were nice and friendly. I ordered their Tropical Mango Smoothie ($10) and it was 16 oz of goodness. You definitely get a lot of bang for your buck from this cafe. Work wise - it's not as conducive as I had hoped. There is wifi available but no outlets to charge any devices. They also had the doors propped open which made it a bit breezy inside, and during winter, a bit cooler than I was comfortable with personally. Beware - there's also no restroom available and they sent me to Seabright Social next door, where I snuck in to use it and promptly left. Small parking lot available in the back with tight parking spots.

I love the coffe and have never had any complaints there. Great people and a warm and inviting environment. The reason for 3 stars is both the Seabright Ave. And East Cliff locations in Santa Cruz are not open until 7 am which is contrary to what their hours are for each location on the internet. It would be great to know that they open later before I decide to go to the shop.

Food - the bagels are pretty good, - the special cream cheese options are great - the fancy drinks are often too sweet (although you can get super specific with instructions and then they're great lol). Experience - The staff are really nice - The owner has very specific politics (more liberal, less progressive) and brings that into the cafe (holding events or having political incentives for certain votes) which brought them down from 4 stars for me.

Tucked into a small shopping center next to a brewery. It was the local coffee shop near the house I rented. It looked promising from the outside/inside. We ordered two drinks. Sadly, the drinks were not up to par. I had high hopes, but they just won't met. The coffee was mediocre.

Chloe Martins

Tucked into a small shopping center next to a brewery. It was the local coffee shop near the house I rented. It looked promising from the outside/inside. We ordered two drinks. Sadly, the drinks were not up to par. I had high hopes, but they just won't met. The coffee was mediocre.

Emy Cristo

Food - the bagels are pretty good, - the special cream cheese options are great - the fancy drinks are often too sweet (although you can get super specific with instructions and then they're great lol). Experience - The staff are really nice - The owner has very specific politics (more liberal, less progressive) and brings that into the cafe (holding events or having political incentives for certain votes) which brought them down from 4 stars for me.

Christian Baker

I love the coffe and have never had any complaints there. Great people and a warm and inviting environment. The reason for 3 stars is both the Seabright Ave. And East Cliff locations in Santa Cruz are not open until 7 am which is contrary to what their hours are for each location on the internet. It would be great to know that they open later before I decide to go to the shop.

They have a lovely staff and the vibe is nice; however, I asked for a small coffee, and it was filled with coffee grounds. I really wanted to like this place, but as a fellow barista it's a little dissapointing. Sorry.

A local friend took me here as I'm always down to support a local coffee shop, especially as I'm visiting from SLC that has a different coffee culture. While the atmosphere and service were great, also to note that both indoor and outdoor seating were clean and enjoyable, the drinks and bagels we ordered left much to be desired. My vanilla latte was grainy, had a weird aftertaste, and the ice had already melted in the cup, which gives away it wasn't properly made. The bagel sandwiches were good but kind of plain beyond the turkey and melted cheddar, no salt, pepper, or much else to it besides add-ons you have to ask for. Probably will pass on this one next visit and advise there's better quality shops out in Santa Cruz. We ended up not finishing the drinks and went to Verve coffee roasters instead for new drinks.

Jennifer “Jerene” Rosio

A local friend took me here as I'm always down to support a local coffee shop, especially as I'm visiting from SLC that has a different coffee culture. While the atmosphere and service were great, also to note that both indoor and outdoor seating were clean and enjoyable, the drinks and bagels we ordered left much to be desired. My vanilla latte was grainy, had a weird aftertaste, and the ice had already melted in the cup, which gives away it wasn't properly made. The bagel sandwiches were good but kind of plain beyond the turkey and melted cheddar, no salt, pepper, or much else to it besides add-ons you have to ask for. Probably will pass on this one next visit and advise there's better quality shops out in Santa Cruz. We ended up not finishing the drinks and went to Verve coffee roasters instead for new drinks.

No bathroom; not like customers only: zero options and nearest place to redeposit your purchase is blocks away. Not very neighborly.

How establishments expect a tip when the are lazy and act as if helping a physically challenged customer put a lid on their beverage is not in their job description is totally unacceptable. If u are physically challenged. Beware if you intend to be treated as a person

Asked for an Italiano, and then when I receive the critical look explain that it is a very very short Americano… After paying 450 for this, I received a very large Americano and let her know that that was more water than I asked for, so she poured have to drink out including the espresso and then give it to me… On top of that there’s no bathroom! Do yourself a favor and walk the extra 30 seconds around the corner to verve coffee roasters

Barista is nasty, rather not see the Barista empty the portafilter by rapping it on the actual garbage can, then wipe the remaining coffee out with her unwashed hands, then proceed to make coffee without washing it out at least in a sink. Also seemed overwhelmed 1st thing in the morning making someone else's coffee ignoring customers in line. I just walked put.

Be prepared to wait 30 minutes for a mediocre bagel sandwich that won't match what your ordered. I live down the street and only go in times of extreme desperation and laziness and always regret it. It's a good place to go it you want to be annoyed. You can drive to the bagelry, get a bagel, go to Safeway and make your own sandwich in the time it takes these people to make a coffee, which by the way is very watered down.

Waited 30 minutes for two smoothies. They are understaffed and the staff is extremely slow.

J Lee

Waited 30 minutes for two smoothies. They are understaffed and the staff is extremely slow.

David Farrar

Barista is nasty, rather not see the Barista empty the portafilter by rapping it on the actual garbage can, then wipe the remaining coffee out with her unwashed hands, then proceed to make coffee without washing it out at least in a sink. Also seemed overwhelmed 1st thing in the morning making someone else's coffee ignoring customers in line. I just walked put.

ekristiansen7

Be prepared to wait 30 minutes for a mediocre bagel sandwich that won't match what your ordered. I live down the street and only go in times of extreme desperation and laziness and always regret it. It's a good place to go it you want to be annoyed. You can drive to the bagelry, get a bagel, go to Safeway and make your own sandwich in the time it takes these people to make a coffee, which by the way is very watered down.