Walnut Avenue Cafe

Wonderful food, it is better for small groups. And unfortunately they don't take reservation. I recommend it

This is definitely one of the best breakfast spots in Santa Cruz. The eggs Benedict are delicious and you have to try the signature walnuts and bananas. The shambles are also quite good. Staff here are very friendly and accommodating.

Popular place so expect a wait during obvious busy times. With over a dozen parties on the list before us we were told to expect a half hour wait, (weekend morning, perfect weather)and they we exactly correct. Good food, good service, noisy during rush periods.

The service was excellent. The scramble was delicious. Offers great options for vegans as well.

This place is awesome. A great breakfast place that has an awesome environment. Servers were always asking if I needed anything. I would definitely go back if I visit Santa ctuz

Found this place for a late Sunday lunch. My wife’s omelet was excellent save for the somewhat greasy home fries. My mushroom swiss burger was super greasy. I’d stay with breakfast.

One of the Best breakfast spots in Santa Cruz!! The Rancheros was amazing- highly recommend. Great service and friendly environment. We will be back next time we are in Santa Cruz.

The food here was excellent! We ordered the banana walnut french toast and shrimp scramble (daily special) which tasted amazing. Had to wait a little but it was just as expected for Saturday brunch.

Lovely place just off the main street. Very popular with all ages and busy. Sat outside and servers came out frequently. Friendly staff The eggs Benedict was appetizing and served hot. Plenty on the plate.

Had breakfast here and it was perfect. I got the 9 grain pancakes topped with blueberry syrup. it was delicious! Our waiter was amazing. He checked In on us to see if we were doing okay or needed any refills. I recommend them.(:

One of us wanted breakfast. One wanted lunch, couldn't have been better! Busy, but the staff hustled. There is a wait sometimes on weekends, but worth it.

Great food and service. Quality of food was great. Huge portion size. Great price.

I hate how much I like this place. Been coming here every time I’m in the Santa Cruz area. The French toast with walnuts and banana is so darn good. Can’t go wrong with it. Elbows of steel cut oatmeal is also great if you want a filling healthy breakfast. It’s large too. And their scrambled which I just recently tried were fantastic. Love this place. And great downtown location. Within walking distance of many shops.

Short wait and great food w/ customer service

Great breakfast. The ham and eggs were excellent. Home fries were really tasty. We went on a Sunday morning and it was really busy. Be prepared to wait a while, but it's worth it. Also, be prepared to pay for metered parking.

Extremely delicious Eggs Benedict, and fantastic chilaquiles. Plus service is super friendly and they have a dog menu. I can't wait to visit Santa Cruz again and come back here. Amazing find.

The food portions are good and the prices are excellent. The food itself is great and there are great selections for vegetarians/vegans. I highly recommended the old special 1.

Yum just yum food was amazing

Great food, OK service but intimidatingly long lines. But they did manage to stick to the wait time they promised. Unfortunately they lost our ticket so after waiting 20mins they said they had to reorder it but would put it ahead of the queue. After that the food came quickly but the service still left a bad taste. Overall, the blackened ahi tuna eggs Benedict was good but ultimately not worth the wait.

THE best Hollandaise sauce I’ve had in years and years (was there lemon juice in there?). 😍Eggs Benedict were well seasoned - nothing’s worse than a bland plate, and I was not disappointed. They even buttered the English muffin, which you rarely see anymore. The house potatoes were served with pan fried onions, seasoned to perfect once again. Oh wow. Might travel here again just for the breakfast.

I love the Walnut Ave Cafe! It’s the coziest breakfast/brunch place in town and the service is AMAZING! Huge portions at a great price! Would highly recommend the waffle with grilled bananas and whipped cream.

Great breakfast from early in the morning until mid afternoon. A Santa Cruz institution. There is booth, table, counter, and sidewalk seating available. They have all you usual breakfast favorites, but alas no hash browns. Grrr...

Super popular but in my humble opinion, just "good diner" level taste, and not very healthy. Interior is fine but nothing special. Staff is fine but very busy. It's an institution, but personally after going a few times, I'm not sure why.

Enjoyed our experience despite the rude/annoying thrupple that was having a full on relationship meltdown publicly at the table next to us. Even food being delivered didn't shut them up. Food was tasty, serving sizes were good, and there were lots of options. Servers were friendly and the wait wasn't long (Wed AM).

Love the food. Counter sitting is the best. Great food in a great town🌞🌊

Basic food.. almost good. Maybe if they used seasonal local food it could reach 'good'

Stopped here in Santa Cruz on roadtrip down the coast to San Diego. One of the best stops on our trip for food. Definately worth a visit.

Fantastic Cafe with some nice outdoor seating. Staff was very friendly and service was quick. The Duzer special burrito is tasty and an exceptional value.

I worked next door to the Walnut Cafe for 10 years. I have had breakfast at least 100 times. Everytime excellent. When alone I'll sit at the counter. It's got a home like nostalgic vibe. Also very personal service at counter. 5 stars I'd give them more if I could..

Great vegan options. Absolutely fantastic options for everybody. Very inexpensive, bottomless mimosas for $14. Real orange juice in the Mimosa. Didn't take a pic because I just dived in.

Fast, cordial service, great breakfast. Seems far enough away from the Boardwalk to feel like a neighborhood restaurant.

Walnut Ave Cafe is a great place with delicious food and great staff. Not that expensive, and you get quite the portion. Located close to Pacific Ave, its worth the trip over at some point. Eggs Benedict is one of the best things on the menu.

Best chilequiles ever! You will likely have to wait to eat here but it's worth it. The food and service are exceptional!

Great staff. Friendly, efficient service. And delicious food. Lgbtq friendly environment. Has a cool mom n pop cafe feel.

Always busy but cozy place with comfort food and endless coffee.

What a nice place to visit. You'll love the easy gentle atmosphere and servers are wonderful. Large portions and the Lemon Poppyseed muffin was delicious. We'll definitely go again when we're in town.

This is my new favorite place to go for breakfast. If you don't get there early, there will be a wait from 30 to 60 minuets. Food is fresh and good, the coffee is good. One of there specials is there fresh made muffins. Yum.

The options are amazing. I recently enjoyed a mouth-watering shrimp Benedict. Yum

Love this place. Food is fresh and great.Downtown Santa Cruz on a quiet street.Had the chiliquillas. Very good.Wife had the eggs Benedict. It was awesome

Excellent food and service, great location. Easy to understand why this gets so many good reviews. Everything we tried was excellent. Was particularly pleased with the waffles.If lunch fare is anything like breakfast, the lunches will be great too.

Firts of all it was very hard to find parking space as this place is located in the center of Santa Cruz. However it was worth the wait. The place was PACKED I literally mean PACK. The waiter was so kind and friendly, even though he was rushing in every direction. The food is amazing. Like AMAZING worth the wait worth the time and money. Its definitely a soul warming experience and food as well.

This place was good, but probably not as great as I thought it would be. The omelette is made a little differently than usual, and they barely put any meat in mine. We also ordered the French toast which was surprisingly not too sweet, which was great! The blueberry pancakes looked amazing. The homemade potatoes were really good as side dishes as well. Service and order size were really good. We came Sunday morning (around 10am) and it took about 25 minutes to sit our party of 6, but smaller parties were seated fairly fast.

This is my favorite downtown spot. I've been coming here for over two decades. It's always a hit if you want to impress your guests. Friendly manager and staff with great prices.

If you go on a weekend expect a delay. This place can get busy with local people. The food is always consistently delicious and the price is reasonable for a restaurant. Good food and a nice environment.

Good vibe and quality with a reasonable choice of offerings, but maybe I should've stayed to their main focus of breakfast options; shrimp caesar salad was a bit bland. If half stars were an option, this would be 3.5. Friendly, team oriented service though. No parking, all metered and busy streets.

Decent food. I have the turkey avocado scramble and it was tasty.

This is a great place for brunch. The atmosphere is lovely and the food was great. However, the food took a while (albeit worth it) and the long wait was rather minor annoyance. Otherwise, the service was great. I recommend this for parties of two, as I feel like the long wait was due to us being a party of four.

Awesome Breakfast Spot in Santa Cruz!! My favorite breakfast here is the Huevos Rancheros con Carnitas. It’s HUGE and super tasty and satisfying. Be sure to ask for the house-made salsa that comes with it only by request. The coffee is also top-shelf quality. If dining single, you’ll almost never have to wait when sitting at the bar. Sidewalk tables also available.

this place seriously took a really long time to get us our food at this moment of writing this i haven’t gotten my food they sat us outside when we said we wanted inside, we finally complained and they sat us inside but still no food after like 30 mins. Not to mention the unfriendly staff that did little to no help to solve our problem, I have gotten better service at jack in the box

It was a busy place for Sunday brunch, but we were able to get a table for 2 within about 10 minutes when we showed up around 10am. They served very good breakfast fare. I had a vegetable scramble that had delicious fresh vegetables scrambled into eggs with cheese, and I would order it again.