The Abbey Coffee Lounge — Restaurant in Santa Cruz

Great food. But bathrooms were closed 15-20 min before the shop closes. Otherwise this would be a 5 star review.

Today I visited, am from out of town and needed to find a spot to eat and work for a couple of hours. The spot was wonderful and the employees who took my order were super nice. The food was good too.

It was close to 2pm and I looked up and noticed the bathrooms was closed for cleaning with a sign. At about 10mins til 2 an employee came by to kindly notify me they were going to close. So I packed up, but the bathrooms were still closed.

I’m in my 50s here and just drank a big cup of chai (good chai prepared by an employee) and I need to get back on the road — in a town that’s not really my home. I thought I’d ask to see if there may be other bathrooms available; afterall this coffee shop seems to be attached to a church. The employee I spoke to seemed to be willing to let me use it quickly but then a lady who was behind the counter interrupted and said “the bathrooms are closed. Sorry.” And honestly did not sound like she was sorry at all but more like she was holding a boundary. I guess I see the sign and that they have a right to do that. I gotta say, not feeling very cared for here and the amazing hospitality I felt up to the point just got thrown out the window.

Not sure if this is their usual practice. I’m a firm believer that coffee (dietetic drinks) places should provide bathrooms access to customers. So yeh, overall it was ok but not sure I’d return… bathrooms are important to me at this age. 😬🤣 I then found a gas station across the street and used their bathroom.

Wonderful dudes behind the counter though. Thanks for the lovely...

Awesome experience. We stayed at a little rental cottage up the street and wish we would have discovered this from Day 1. But, we did get to go about 3 mornings in a row. (I did read the previous post and must say I didn't feel any judgmental feelings while there. In fact, all I saw was love and customer service. And they played secular music, appropriate music, which is not always the case at Church Coffee lounges. But hey, everyone is entitled to their review. And mine is very positive.)

The coffee was excellent. Service was friendly, though not what you'd get at a speedy Starbucks or Peet's. Nonetheless, it was pleasant and reasonable with clean tables and plenty of seating!

And the facility / dining area is huge and open, with fantastic coffee drinks of all varieties and pretty decent food! Plenty of parking. And yay!... they have a public restroom. (That is NOT always the case downtown.)

We did not come to the church or any church services... but I probably would in light of the way I was treated at the coffee house.

If I return to Santa Cruz, I will be back to The Abbey...

This is a church outreach nonprofit mission what happens to be a coffeehouse. Sometimes it can be a very mixed experience. This is a large space with just a ton of inside and outside seating. There are many, many, many comfy spots to chose from. The wifi while not always the best is free, and they don't get fussy about laptop camping-the place is chock full of college students working their assignments. They have their own parking lot so there's no issue with parking- unless of courser the church has a service going on, in which case it's the santa cruz standard mission impossible parking. When I some I go for the teas or specialty stuff-latte's etc as I just don't like the pour overs or drip coffee. I They beans they use have a floral bend to them and it's just not my thing. So to summarize- Good artistic space, affordable (ish), great for working. Bad: not so efficient wifi, is a a christian church outreach (but a nice one. Low to nonexistent on the preachy.) and beans that are not Steve compatible. Overall still...