DONUT STATION — Restaurant in Capitola

Excellent. Excellent! Excellent!! Excellent!!! I stopped in just to try it out. Someone had told me it was good, and they were right, right, right. It's not tricked out for tourists. There was a table of people who looked as if they were there for a regular morning gather. :my dog early on the Esplanade just down the hill, with my own cup of coffee from home, I'm often asked where I got it, and where can a person get coffee. Not until 7:30 in the off-season, and not until 7:00 when the tourists come. BUT THE DONUT STATION will be my answer from now on. OPEN AT 6:00 A.M. YEAR ROUND, this is a place whose owners understand people. I didn't notice if there was fancy coffee, but there was by cracky! coffee. And the best donuts I've in the last I'm not gonna say how many decades! It's true there's a chi-chi expensive bakery down the block with chi-chi coffee and too much noise. I'll take the Donut Station any day of the week. Imagine the pleasure of walking back to the delight you and your just-getting-out-of-bed friends will show when you return with fresh donuts and good hot coffee early in the morning. MMM-mmmm. Donuts and coffee, sitting out above Soquel Creek, or Capitola Beach watching the sunrise in the quiet of the morning. It doesn't get any better. (Note: If you're not up to see the dawn and want excellent fancy coffee, or coffee machine coffee, and can wait a bit, the best coffee on the Esplanade is Mr. Toot's. But that's another story. And they don't have the best donuts in California, or any donuts, for that matter, though one tourist told me he had had really good berry pie the night before. Check my review of Mr....

Free secure wifi! My 86 year old dad lives for his morning donut coffee paper ritual. I never go in search of them but indulge when I want to spend quality time with my dad (who is visiting me from Wisconsin). OMG this place rocks! We went to two other places in Santa Cruz before discovering this gem. One was out if donuts at 10am?!

All their donuts and pastries are baked in house every night. Our all time donut to judge quality by is the French which is the lightest fluffiest donut of all time and not easy to master. The key is the inner moistness. Other places may make look alikes but taste like dry crisco inside and leave a film of grease on the roof of your mouth. The ones here don’t need as much frosting as they have but the chocolate is rich and creamy and I eat it all with delight.

My dad has an emotional support dog (13 lb Yorkie) and the staff is really cool about our taking him inside to sit under the table. The staff is very very friendly and knows many customers by their names! Impressive!

I usually byo coffee to these types of places as they don’t typically serve decent coffee (no espresso for sure) but this place offers about 8 different roasts and its refreshing to pay 2.50 vs 6 bucks for a cup of joe. Refills are $1! Its nice to not hear the roar of espresso machines too!

Theres nothing ‘pretty’ or ‘hip’ here but its just nice down to earth people and very clean. They also offer bagel and croissant...

Donut Station is one of my favorite places to go early in the morning for a special treat, and my daughters thoroughly enjoy it as well. Coming here is always a pleasant experience. The donuts are always fresh and delicious, with a wide variety to choose from. I particularly enjoy the ham and cheese croissant, heated up. Bagels and breakfast sandwiches are also on the menu. They serve many flavors of hot coffee and tea, with all the fixin’s. The cooler is well stocked with many cold drinks, including a bunch of flavors of Guayaki Yerba Maté! Cindy and Tina provide phenomenal service and they keep the line moving fast. They keep the shop very clean and tidy too! Pricing is a great value for everything on the menu. Transactions are cash only, and they have an ATM available in the corner for your convenience. 10/10...