Vegan
American
Organic
Raw
Beer/Wine
Take-out

Part of a collection of restaurants specializing in vegan raw and cooked cuisines. Uses produce from the owners' farm. As of Nov 2016 no longer uses honey. Previously called Cafe Gratitude. Reported closed October 2023.


Venue map for cafegSC
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99 Reviews

First Review by KamrynWilliams

JakeCombe

Points +22

Vegan
21 Oct 2019

Delicious

Lots of food and very delicious. Appropriately priced

Pros: Big orders

nicarielle

Points +28

Vegan
28 Sep 2019

Great cafe

Really nice place to get flavorful and varied vegan food. The artwork and murals decorating the place are beautiful. The staff were casual but still attentive enough that you’re not stuck waiting around if you don’t want to be.

Pros: Nice ambience , Varied menu

Karin&Cor

Points +797

Vegan
27 Sep 2019

Nice place to go to

Lovely people serving good food

Pros: Friendly , Fresh, Neat

Cons: None

James75

Points +38

Vegan
07 Sep 2019

Great Vegan Lunch

After a week of horrible vegan food in the office and hotel, this was a truly welcome place. Great selection available on the menu, friendly staff and tasty food. I had cauliflower wings and the Gratitude bowl - highly recommend both.
Missed 5 stars as I got my main before even a quarter of the way through my starter and this perennial feeling of the staff, very nicely, trying to turn the table over.

Pros: Only vegan, Lots of options , Tasty food

Cons: Service a bit too rapid, Feeling of turning the table over

premdoggy

Points +27

Vegan
04 Sep 2019

Best in the West

Can't beat this restaurant for service with a smile, local organic, all vegan options.
Their house soups are made fresh and locally organic and always fantastice. Their short and main courses leave a lot of choice, my favorite is the 'extraordinary' sandwich with potatoes.

Pros: Taste, freshness, friendly service, all vegan, local organic

racheltreckeme

Points +34

Vegan
28 Aug 2019

SUPER flavorful.

I’ve been coming to this cafe all my life and every time i’m surprised with the quality of the food! They have a great menu which is all based on whole foods and there but (“cheese”) sauces are fantastic.

Pros: All vegan , Good customer service , Flavorful food

Kaseyfrench

Points +329

Vegan
13 Jul 2019

Great menu

So many options I had to choose from! Really cool interior and very friendly staff.

Samile

Points +98

Vegan
31 May 2019

Tasty

Staff are very friendly and the food was really good and served quickly in my opinion. Price range is okay as well.

VeganOnVacation

Points +275

Vegan
27 May 2019

Reliable vegan food in a cool environment.

Good vegan food and deserts.

backroads

Points +88

Vegan
25 May 2019

Tasty

Had the homemade bean burger and it was a good one indeed

Pros: Lots of vegan options, Use their own produce

06 Mar 2019

Delicious 😋

Es war sehr lecker 🤤 Die Wände sind sehr schön bemalt😍 Nettes Personal und es ist alles Vegan 🌱 10/10

Pros: Alles Vegan, Schöne Atmosphäre , Nettes Personal

Cons: Mittel Teuer

00misha

Points +390

Vegan
20 Jan 2019

Great, somewhat healthy, food!

I’ve been here a few times now and I have enjoyed every meal. My favorite is the BLT sandwich. The service is always quick, even though the restaurant gets quite busy during lunchtime (yay!). The menu isn’t overwhelming with options, and even if you aren’t seeking a super healthy salad, they still have great burgers, sandwiches, and appetizers. Cost is what you would expect from a nice sit-down place in Santa Cruz.

Pros: All vegan, short, varied menu (not overwhelming), good food

badgirlsvegan

Points +2102

Vegan
09 Dec 2018

Basic but good

Somewhat bland, but I enjoy it

kristengrayhound

Points +76

Vegan
14 Oct 2018

Excellent Service

Yes the food is great. But the service was top notch. Asked me if I wanted butter or earth balance and when they were out of earth balance went ahead and made me a coconut oil substitute!

Pros: Many options , Will ask specifically what you need , Friendly energetic staff

Cons: Outside seating can be a tree dust filled

100%vegan

Points +585

Vegan
22 Sep 2018

Healthy and delicious

Great casual place with good options. Has something for breakfast or lunch. I got the tacos which came with a salad. Was fresh with a great tasting sauce on the top. The salad was dressed with a creamy dressing that was fantastic. I also ordered a side of maple smokey tempeh, which was so good. For dessert the raw mocha cheesecake topped of a great lunch.

Pros: Fresh and delicious, Friendly staff, Clean

Cons: Most all the options seemed to have kale

MandrillusSphinx

Points +301

Vegan
12 Sep 2018

This is my new Santa Cruz spot

The staff were really nice. I was doing Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz and I called in looking for vegan low fiber pasta. They didn’t have pasta but referred me to a noodle bar across the street which was impressive customer service. I ended up skipping the noodle bar and just went here instead. Everyone was as nice in person as they were over the phone and the food was great. I got a ginger drink that was pretty intense but nice. I finished off the meal with a slice of lemon vegan cheese cake which was amazing. There was another ironman table in the restaurant which was also fun to see.

Pros: Good food, Nice environment, Really friendly staff

Cons: Ordering was initially a bit awkward, Do we order at the counter or the table?

Xabier

Points +462

Vegan
19 Aug 2018

Great food, maybe a little pricy

Great food, maybe a little pricy. They gave us tap water directly, that is a great point.

Pros: Good food, Tap water directly

Cons: Pricy

CoreyOlson

Points +15

Vegetarian
05 Jul 2018

Rudest cafe in town

I stopped in to just get a smoothie and was ignored for 5 minutes once I said I was just getting a to go order. Every employee there made eye contact with me, but they all refused to help me. Once I did order and it was ready the one guy shook his finger at me when I went to grab it. The only helpful employee was the one who came from the back to help me and took my order. They did not speak to me or acknowledge my presence once. I will not be coming back.

Pros: Artwork

Cons: Customer service , Wait time , Vibe

AllenJeng

Points +41

Mostly Veg
01 Apr 2018

Love this place. Great foods and service

My family visited Santa Cruz over Easter weekend. We were happy that Cafe Gratitude was open as we had never tried it before.

The cauliflower wings are superb, better than any vegan wings I’ve ever tried. My wife ended up ordering second one.

I love the Whole (macrobiotic dish) and Amore sandwich.

The drinks for my kids were Eternal with coffee and a lemonade. Both were excellent and enough for family of four.

Service was very friendly and speedy.

We will definitely want to visit Cafe Gratitude every time we come to Santa Cruz.

Pros: great foods, great service

Plantdrew

Points +16

Vegan
30 Mar 2018

Decent

It's decent and needs an update.

Pros: shakes, salads, murals

Cons: price points are high, service inconsistent, mission and vision need updating

elitheumbreon

Points +47

Vegan
08 Feb 2018

Sweet cafe downtown

Its a bit small and tucked away from the main street, so if you're not local to the area I'd recommend mapping it. Everything I've had here so far is really good. I really enjoy how they call each mean things such as "I am Nourished" ect. It's a really nice aspect of the cafe. The atmosphere is cool and artistic. All vegan which is a plus. Smoothies are a good size and good taste for the price (which is standard for the majority of the food). I'd recommend getting the potatoes with the spicy cheeze on it, or the Two Taco breakfast plate.

Pros: All vegan, Decently priced for the portions, Cool atmosphere

Cons: A little tucked away

ElizabethF

Points +18

Vegan
18 Dec 2017

Good food but plastic straws

Our food was pretty good and surprisingly filling, but I was annoyed that our drinks came with plastic, disposable straws already in them. So if plastic going to the landfill/ocean annoys you too, don’t forget to ask for no straw when ordering drinks.

Kart

Points +57

Vegan
22 Oct 2017

Delicious food

Really nice place with yammi food.

alexandra_vegan

Points +1549

Vegan
04 Oct 2017

Delicious, big portions

I loved the warm hearted polenta with extra sauteed kale. The portion was big, dish was fresh and vibrant

Pros: Vegan

Cons: Expensive

chb-pbfp

Points +10606

Raw
21 Aug 2017

Nice vegan restaurant with nice raw options!

A raw food place anywhere in the world should for me personally always deserve 5 star's, now it's of course not the goal of a review, it should provide some more objective inside for future visitors.

The location was great, the staff lovely and the food is amazing.

They propose a lot of raw food options, lunch, dinner, desserts...

Pros: Amazing raw food choice, Great taste

Cons: Paid parking around

AshleyLorden

Points +1254

Vegan
13 Aug 2017

Good quality food

All vegan restaurant right in the center of downtown area (parking is available nearby but you may have to pay and/or circle). Has a hippy vibe but they've toned that down more recently (each dish is named "beautiful" "brave" etc., but before they asked you to order by saying "I am x", and now you can just say "x please"). About half the clientele were a bit out of the mainstream, but half were, so it seems they've been able to attract a mix. We enjoyed our food; quality healthful ingredients, good portions, nice flavors. Food is a mostly healthy-ish American basics menu, with salads, soups, bowls, and plated dishes, along with juices and smoothies. Waitress was nice but food came out too slowly.

Pros: Good food

Cons: Slow

jimmylegg

Points +58

Vegan
05 Aug 2017

yummy new place for my Whole Foods plant based dining

Black bean burger and turmeric milk with a shot of coffee, even the fig balsamic side salad was crazy good.
Thank happy cow app, I now have a go-to place in my neighborhood!




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