Surf City Coffee — Restaurant in Surf City

Edit 3/4/2024: After I eventually noticed Pat's response to my original review, I contacted her as she suggested, and she made good on her offer to provide a full refund on the original transaction. In light of this I have revised my original rating, and will consider revising it again assuming we have a more positive experience during our next visit to Surf City Coffee this Fall. Thank you again for your help, Pat, and I look forward to coming back in for another coffee and burrito when the time comes.

It's always hard writing a negative review, especially as a small business owner myself. However, the service (and food) I received yesterday was very poor so I feel compelled to share my experience.

When I came in yesterday morning, I ordered a breakfast burrito along with a coffee for my wife, who was waiting out in the car with our baby. It took a while to order, because the teenage girls working there were chatting it up with some teenage girls who were customers in front of me. Not a huge deal, I used to be a teenager at one point myself.

Eventually, after a few extra minutes of waiting due to their side discussion, they finally turned their attention to me and I placed my order. Got my wife's coffee almost right away and was told the burrito would be out shortly, so I proceeded to stand and wait.

I figured it might take anywhere from 5-15 minutes, but after 20 minutes went by I started getting the feeling they had forgotten about me, which is strange because there were 3 girls working there along with a middle aged woman, it's a small place, and I was standing near the front counter the entire time. It's not like they couldn't see me standing there waiting.

Around the 25 minute mark, still waiting for my burrito and not seeing any signs that they were aware, I finally decided to ask one of the girls if she knew how much longer for the burrito, and it was clear from her response that they had forgotten about it. She said "give me a minute to crisp the other side" almost as though to hide the fact they had forgotten, and to make it seem like a normal wait time, but sure enough when I got the burrito (which they had simply forgotten about in a george forman style warmer) it was completely burned on one side and not fully cooked on the other. Photo attached.

My family was on the way out of town, so I didn't notice this until we were already in the car on the way out. As a result, I ended up paying for a burrito that was barely edible, and the cash tip I had originally left in their tip jar was something I wasn't able to get back, either.

At a minimum, it would have been nice if they had simply acknowledged their mistake and put a fresh burrito on for me. Between forgetting about it and then trying to pass it off as okay, though, I wound up being late, having bad food, plus a wife and baby who weren't happy with the extra wait time.

Wish I could give a more positive review, as this is truly a cute and quaint small town coffee shop, and I'm sure the people generally mean well, but you can surely understand my disappointment. Hopefully they will improve their service...

Pat has been so amazing to me this past week. We have vacationed in Surf City for years in a house of 25+ people, and this year we were close enough to the town. I accidentally discovered this little gem of a coffee shop earlier this week, and Pat is now someone I am going to remember for the rest of my life.

The second you walk into Surf City Coffee, you immediately feel like apart of the family. Classic rock can be heard when you first walk in--nontraditional for a coffeshop but kind of awesome. She truly puts her customers before anything else, a rare trait in a business nowadays. She made me a perfect mocha frappe, and would not charge me until she knew she had made it to perfection. Prices are better than most coffee houses, both local and franchises. She allowed me to read and write in her store close to three hours my first day in there. We talked forever, even hugging on our way out.

When I came back the next day, she knew my name and order. As I have been coming back every morning, I have also noticed several other repeat customers coming back for more every day. Pat and her friend, Carol, a local author who helps out at SCC, remember everyone.

She is a local vendor for jewelry makers and gluten-free pastry makers, not only promoting her local business but the local business of others. I bought a beautiful necklace this morning her friend Paul made (Mr. S Designs) and I am in love with it.

Pat truly has become my favorite part of this year's vacation. This is our first trip without my grandparents accompanying us, and she has definately helped make me not feel so alone in this transition.

Surf City Coffee is a place that shows the true colors of this beachtown. You would be missing out by...

First I just want to start off by saying how hard it is to find a good coffee shop. Especially one that serves great drinks and food , has an amazing vibe, and most importantly has amazing service. Surf City Coffee meets all of those points. I had the honor to enjoy their coffee shop this morning while here on vacation. This coffee shop is the most amazing coffee shop I have been to in awhile. The drink I ordered was delicious and was made so quickly. The same goes for the breakfast burrito I had. I can tell that the people who work there genuinely enjoy the job that they do. Overall, I highly recommend this coffee shop to anyone. Especially if you are looking for a calm beachy vibe, great food and drink, and amazing...