Samba Rock Acai Cafe — Restaurant in Santa Cruz

The acai bows were OK though too sweet. However, we were treated rudely by the owner / manager. We went to the restroom, and while I used the restroom, my daughter stepped just outside to wait - the bathroom is just next to a door leading to a back patio. The owner / manager (not sure exactly what she is, but she had an aura of "I run this place") rudely admonished us for stepping outside "Guys, that area is for employees only and the sign on the door says so"!

I looked at door and it was open. On the back of the door (the side that we wouldn't normally see if the door was closed) there was a small "employees only" sign but it is highly unlikely anyone would notice it, and besides, it is on the side of the door that is meant for people coming into the place, not going out.

I mentioned to the owner / manager person, that the signage is not clear, and she said the door is normally closed and, very sarcastically / snidely "look at it now". I looked back and, sure, there were all kinds of "employees only" and related signs on the door, but HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO SEE THAT WHEN THE DOOR IS OPEN AND THAT SIDE OF THE DOOR IS NOT VISIBLE.

There is an easy solution to this problem. You need to have signage that works whether or not the door is open. Just hang a sign over the doorway. Problem solved. Customers see it, no need to admonish customers for not heeding signs that they may not see.

Besides this incident there seems to be a pattern here of not "Do right by the customer", but "The customer had better do right, or they are to be admonished and/or privileges are taken away". The other example is the sign in the bathroom saying that they're not going to supply paper towels anymore because it was causing the toilet to back up too often. Again, not enough customers "doing right", so admonish them and/or take away privileges! At the very least, provide an alternative like a hand blower. This is amazingly poor...

THIS PLACE SERVES SPOILED FOOD!

I've been coming here for many years, but unfortunately today will be the last time. My boyfriend brought me an acai bowl with coconut cream, and the second I tasted it I knew the cream was rancid. It had a very sour, bitter taste and I had to spit it out. We decided to drive the 10 minutes back to get a new one.

The manager initially denied anything was wrong and told me that no one else had complained, basically implying that I was either crazy or trying to get free stuff. I said that was fine, but I know what rancid food tastes like and I still expected a new bowl to be made and to be comped. She seemed to agree. Returning with a new bowl, she told me that actually, one of the bottles of coconut cream WAS rancid, and explained some sort of issue with the supplier. Ok, whatever.

Then, the issue of comping it. Her attitude changed very quickly and she said that no, she would not comp us because she made a new one. Seriously? We had to drive back, use gas, and spend about half an hour of our day because YOU served spoiled food to a customer. That is disgusting and appallingly bad service. Not to mention that I asked for my new bowl to have no coconut cream, which costs money- so we actually paid money to basically get scammed.

I have spent many hundreds of dollars here over the years and I will not...

So I walked in to order, was told immediately to put on a mask, I didn't have one so I covered my face with my shirt, the lady said it was fine, then I paid a ridiculous amount of money for what looked like a third of a bowl. She didn't ask me if I wanted to add in any of the side add-ins, so I forgot to have her put the free one in. She was rude and rushed me out. I left and walked back to where my husband was at no more than a block away, but he didn't want it because there was barely any in it, and it cost over $10 for it, so I walked back and when I went inside she stopped helping the customer she was with immediately to yell at me to get out because I didn't have a mask again. I replied that I wanted to return the acai bowl, and that she had said it was ok to cover my face with my shirt, and it wouldn't take long but she wasn't hearing any of it. She yelled at me again that I couldn't return it because I left the building with it and I don't have a mask, one time was enough she said. She looked very stressed out so I wasn't about to tell her how rude she was being but I have a baby who's a couple months old so I can't afford to be spending that much and get shorted on the bowl, even if they are usually delicious. Will not be going in...