Marea Sol Cafe — Restaurant in Santa Cruz

This is my first Google review. The service (or lack thereof) and the drinks were absolutely NOT good at all. Before writing this, I looked at previous reviews and noticed that this particular issue has been brought up before - and yet it seems to not have been resolved by management.

I went to this cafe with my friend in hopes of finding good coffee or matcha around the boardwalk and were deeply disappointed. First of all, the server and barista working today (July 16th at 10 AM) did not acknowledge us at all, even though we were standing right in front of the counter for 5-7 minutes. No greeting, no offer to take our order - nothing. I want to preface that the cafe was not busy at all with only ONE order in front of us and the boardwalk was still pretty quiet and chill, considering it was also a Wednesday morning.

I could understand the barista being busy with the previous order - but the other employee?

Honestly, your lack of customer service skills was shocking. While we stood directly in front of him, he aimlessly walked around behind the counter in that tiny cafe, briefly chatting with the barista who was obviously busy and looking around for God knows what. Not once did he ask if we needed help, offer any recommendations, or even make eye contact. And at one point, he casually put his hand under his shirt while working - you are working in a job that handles products for human consumption. What the actual heck? Thankfully, he didn’t serve us our drinks.

To be clear: acknowledging a customer takes one second. That’s the bare minimum. Especially when there are only 3 customers in there, one whose order was already taken. It's awkward just standing there waiting for you to take the damn order.

As for the barista and drinks - we ordered two iced matchas (one with strawberry, the other lavender), both with oat milk (+$1.50), and the total was $17.50 for two 12oz cups. The only redeeming quality was the syrups, and even those couldn’t save it. The matcha was poorly mixed, leaving a weird texture on our tongues, and turned them green (I know this is normal to an extent). I found myself clearing my throat every few sips due to the powder getting stuck. Neither of us finished our drinks.

Please take this as constructive criticism. These drinks were advertised as specials, but they didn’t deliver. I’m sure you’re a capable barista, but this was not it.

To management: You’re in a prime location across from the boardwalk. With that kind of foot traffic, people will keep coming - hotel guests, tourists, locals. That’s why it’s even more important to provide good service and quality products. Please consider retraining your team on basic customer service etiquette - both in how they interact with guests and how drinks should be prepared.

I was already upset at being ignored at the counter for nearly 7 minutes. Was that the longest wait? No. But again - it only takes ONE second to acknowledge someone. On top of that, the drinks were not good which made the entire experience horrible. You guys have potential, please meet it.

Sincerely, Someone who has previously worked in customer service for many years and an avid iced...

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