Alfresco

Ok, first. I am Southern. I am trying like crazy to embrace the Cali style of healthy, non anything eating. I walked around downtown and found myself hungry. Conveniently located, very friendly, great selection, nice outdoor tables for people watching (so fun) and a great selection. I ate the peanut sauce salad (not actual name). It had tofu in it and I couldn’t tell! Really large and delicious. This is a fantastic, healthy choice.

Lady was not nice. I asked for no olives in the bowl and she laughed and said «it’s premade». How was I supposed to know, being my first time there. She was super annoyed when we told her we would like our order to go instead of for here. Most of the good is pre-​made so definitely not a fan of that. Definitely not going back.

I hadn’t been to this place until recently, but I really liked it. Its just a little stand on the sidewalk serving up food made that day. Its vegetarian, good, and extremely fast. Friend and I had a bowl each, both were warm, satisfying, and filling! Lots of rice, which is how I like it.
There are a few tables out front where you can sit and a pitcher of water for drinking. What more do you need?
It was great fuel for a long day of walking. Worth checking out!

I really like going here when I’m on my way somewhere and need something to go that’s quick and healthy. Chatting with the owner/​chef is nice too while she is making your food is a nice plus.

Very good food – we can’t wait to try more of the temptations on the menu.
I had a North African bowl, substituting brown rice for the couscous. Chick peas, eggplant, tomato… were quite tasty, though the veggie to rice ratio could have been a bit higher. Never fear – they have a variety of sauces at the counter that can make any boring rice taste delicious.
Gf had an Asian wrap, which included tasty veggies & wasabi cream cheese. Her iced tea was okay, but nothing to write home about.

Great Asian wraps

I’m not Vegetarian nor Vegan but I can easily appreciate all that the menu has to offer. It was literally the second to worst type of day to eat alfresco but after a long day of walking and skating around I was hungry.
To make things a little more humorous a man who must have taken a liking to me was dancing around me and smiling at me the whole time. For a second I thought he was gone for good but only disappeared behind my cousins head. I kept my head low and shoved my face into my wrap to no avail.
The Santa Cruz wrap was A-​OK
The service was nice and fast
I will definitely come back and explore the menu.

Not bad, but nothing spectacular. This is a one-​woman store in a teeny tiny booth. She also has a couple tables with chairs right outside her booth for customers. My date and I each ordered a wrap (I had the Italian, my date the asian). Both were good, made fresh. Not terribly big though for the price of $ 6.50 each. I would eat here again in a pinch, but for 2 small wraps a cup of iced tea, and a can of root beer for $ 20, I might look elsewhere.

I was super excited to try this place. Loved the location, and the look of the stand/​building.
However, the food was mediocre and the service was unfriendly.
I dont think I will return.

I was on a wonderful Santa Cruz vacation and the food here is incredible. It was exactly what I was looking for that day. Brown rice, organic greens, tofu, and the most amazing miso vinagrette ever!!!
The lady who works and own this place is super nice and was able to deal with my picky order issues with a great attitude! Thanks! If I lived here, I would eat here all the time!

I happened upon this place today while looking for someplace yummy to eat. I came with my boyfriend.
In total we ordered
Hibiscus lemon tea (2)
Deluxe rice paper wrap (for him)
Asian wrap with hummus (for me)
North African Bowl with salad (to share)
The total was $ 25. In general, the food was fast, fresh and flavorful. The tea was AMAZING. Of everything we ordered, that was our favorite. I wasn’t so thrilled about the North African Bowl, but I think it was because I was expecting it to be cold for some reason, and it was hot. My boyfriend devoured the whole thing, and I think it ended up being the right amount of food for him with the wrap — his wrap was a lot of lettuce and other veggies, so he needed something more hearty to fill him up. I really enjoyed my Asian Wrap, however. It had tofu, avocado, hummus, and a whole mix of veggies so I felt satisfied with just that.
I’ll definitely be back, especially for the tea.

Love this place! I have been going to Alfresco for a couple years now, and it has always been a great place for a quick salad… plus, I love the outdoor seating. Some reviewers seem to complain about the price, but compared to the $ 8/​lb salad runs at New Leaf, Al is a pretty good deal.
It is one of those places that you feel better after eating their food than you did before you got there. Keep it up!

This place was SO LAME. The owner must have been on her cycle, because she was seriously RUDE. She didn’t say hello or even crack a smile at us the entire transaction. Hmmmm… Awkward?
The food was also a HUGE RIP OFF! Maybe your run of the mill Santa Cruzian doesn’t mind paying 7 dollars for a tortilla stuffed with lettuce, but I knows a cheat whens I sees it!
At the end of our meal, we were left wondering:
a) What did we just spend 16 dollars on?!?
b) Why is this place SO OVERRATED?
and
c) Why is this woman working in customer service?
Let me be clear, I can definitely appreciate simple, clean tasting vegan food. Contrary to popular belief, simple vegan food CAN be wonderful. However, Alfresco completely missed the mark. BORING, BLAND and WHAT THE HECK!?? Why are you warming up food in a microwave? BLEGH!
1 Star.

Fast, fresh, and flavorful! I can’t believe this is my first time trying Alfresco, given that I work on Pacific and am always looking for quick things to grab for lunch.
I had a wrap– she let me make my own, given that it was later in the afternoon and there wasn’t a crowd behind me while I chose. So I had hummus with cucumbers, carrots and sundried tomatoes. And of course a mound of fresh greens. All of the ingredients were super fresh, and the ratio was good for highlighting the various flavors.
I also had some hibiscus lemon iced tea, and it is delicious!
I will definitely be back!

I absolutely love this place! Everytime my fiancé and I come down to Santa Cruz to surf, we stop by this cute little kiosk to pick up lunch — much better than stuffing ourselves with greasy tacos or burgers and fries. It’s quickly become one of my favorite things about Santa Cruz (yet one more reason to find a way to move down here for good!).
I absolutely love her rice paper wraps (filled with yummy fresh vegan fillings like avocado, teriyaki tofu, and fresh crisp veggies) but we’ve also tried her African stew over couscous, which is absolutely delicious. Definitely give this place a try!

Awesome, vegan friendly food that is ready in like, TWO MINUTES. Which is great because this hippo is always hungry! Also, definitely not as pricey as most places in Santa Cruz.
A billion extra points for having ABC vegan cookies and not charging FIVE DOLLARS for them like most places do.

There are two food stands not far from each other. To hedge our bets, we got one from each. I tried mushroom rice bowl – and it wasn’t really the hearty vegan meal I was looking for. In 5 minutes, I got a bowl of brown rice topped with a few crimini mushrooms, one thin slice of goat cheese and a balsamic based sauce. I was VERY jealous of my friend’s entrée from the other stand.
Maybe there aren’t that many vegan options out there or maybe I ordered the wrong thing — if there is such a thing — but I wasn’t really thrilled with this place.

This is the perfect place to stop and have a quick, healthy meal. It’s nice to be able to fill up with tasty and healthy food and then continue on with your day without going through waiting for someone to seatyou, take your order, etc.
The ingredients are very fresh, and as other reviewers have said, they get your food to you extremely quick. The proportions are perfectly satisfying, imo, and nothing I order ever makes me feel guilty or regretful, as everything is so healthy. I LOVE the bowls the best!
If you’re having difficulty choosing something off the menu (I usually do, as everything sounds so enticing) then you can create your own wraps and salads – there is an abundance of ingredients to choose from.
I’ll definitely buy from here again when I’m passing by.

I had a vegan friend in town and we were heading to Santa Cruz for the day. We searched
and found a list of places catering to vegans (we expected a loooot more in Santa Cruz!) and this place had some of the best reviews, so off we went, ready for a food stand.
The stand is in a great place in town. It’s located right off the main business stretch, with plenty of little tables and chairs. Unfortunately for us, it wasn’t the BEST day to be outside: the wind was insane and it was super-​cold out, but that’s the only seating this joint has.
I stared at the menu for some time before I knew what I wanted. I kept going back-​and-​forth, overly-​impressed by the more-​than-​reasonable prices (is this my San Francisco living talking?).
«Salad? No… well, maybe. OooOOooh, a wrap! I can personalize a wrap! What do I want? Oh, it all sounds good. Maybe I should get one of the specialty wraps? Oh, no, I don’t want any cucumbers. Hmm… that Asian Salad sounds good. Is that what I want?»
My friend orders.
«Hmmm, I’m sorry. I think I’m going to get a wrap.»
Patient lady gets out tortilla.
«I’m sorry. I’m changing my mind. Can I have the Asian Salad?»
Patient lady smiles and starts the salad. It’s done in .23 434 seconds.
Just like my friend’s wrap.
Now, I can appreciate how quick the food is made and all of that, but I really expected it to be… uhm…better. Maybe I got the wrong thing? My salad was… pitiful. The wrap my friend had looked really good, but my salad… again, pitiful.
It was mixed greens and some chopped veggies with a squirt of watered-​down Jiff, some peanuts tossed on for good measure.
I mean, really? I could have made that for half the price at home.
The dressing was not even CLOSE to distributed over all of the greens… it was merely tossed on top.
Needless-​to-​say, she screwed up what SHOULD be the easiest thing on the menu to make.
But, again, my friend’s wrap looked great.
The tofu tasted way too much like ham. I’ve never been a big fan of ham.
I spoke to the lady a bit. She said she’d been there for some years. She was the owner. She was reeeeaaallly nice and I told her I’d found the place on Happy Cow.
She had an excellent selection of nice teas. She made a great recommendation for me.
I have been teetering between three or four stars this whole review. I think I’m going to have to leave it at three. That salad was just awful.
I’ll have to try it again. Maybe you’ll be seeing a different score. I hope so… I want her to do well. Really, I do.

Wow! Amazing food that tastes great!
I was down in Santa Cruz a few days ago and I was starving for food and on a tight time schedule.
I walked pass this place and decided to come back to try out their food.
Its vegetarian and vegan «fast food” – that caught my eye. The food is made in 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
I ordered the Asian Rice Bowl (brown rice topped with a choice of teriyaki smoked tofu or baked tofu, seasoned shitake mushrooms, and covered with a delicious peanut sauce). Didn’t take long (less than a minute to get my food). When I took my first bite, it was sooooo tasty. A little bit salty, but who cares? It was rich, filling and soooo yummy! The seasoned shitake mushrooms were so good to eat and the peanut sauce was perfect! Every bite I took, I just couldn’t believe my luck in finding really good food. I couldn’t help to think that I made such a great choice for lunch. I think this dish is the best dish I’ve ever tasted. I would say that it’s 100x better and tastier than most vegetarian restaurants I’ve been to!
While I was eating my tasty lunch, I looked around and noticed the Mercury News company across the street and all I could think about was how lucky the employees there could get their lunch from Alfresco. I wish there was something like this near my work place!
I also ordered 2 mini wraps to go for later on to eat during my roadtrip. The wraps were so-​so. I’m not a fan of wraps, anyway.
I took their flyer with me and hope to come to Santa Cruz again with friends. I’ll take them to this little kiosk for our lunch.
But definitely, if you’re in the Santa Cruz area looking for lunch, give Alfresco a try since it’s healthy, fast, delicious food.