Cafe Campesino

If you like microwaved food it’s ok. But tortillas should never be microwaved. The tortillas were so soggy with unflavorful sauces. Would not recommend this place.

Good here is amazing! Super high quality and authentic. Waits are very long (30 minutes)

The tacos are delicious homemade corn tortillas rolled up more like a mini, open burrito than a traditional taco! Easy to eat in a hurry! I highly recommend them! It’s also friendly service.

I really liked this place. It was quirky, which you would expect in Santa Cruz. But I found the mole outstanding. It is a tiny kiosk, so it took awhile to get food, but for me it was well worth it. I thought the food was fresh, delicious and it was a fun place. But for full disclosure, the guys I was with were about ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ on this place being worth the wait. And getting a seat can be a problem. But with all of these issues, I will go back again, it was that good.

The enchiladas were drowning in sauce, so I can’t really say I enjoyed any of it. Not worth the wait. The lemonade was honestly the best thing about the meal.

I love Café Campesino! It’s my go to spot when I visit Santa Cruz (which is around once a month, on average). The food quality is good, fresh and never changes which is very important since many restaurants make the mistake of sacrificing quality to save pennies. One thing that I would like to note is that this place won’t make you full but it also won’t leave you upset and still hungry. I consider it perfectly portioned. The organic strawberry lemonade is really good. The woman that takes our order is very kind and has a warm personality. Keep in mind that this place is outdoors since Café Campesino is actually like a kiosk of some sort like many other small food/​beverage spots on Pacific Ave. Highly recommended. Great options and most importantly, delicious!

Guacamole was extra spicy. Quesadilla includes cheese only. Waiting tima was 15 min!!! This quesadilla was the worst what I’ve ever tried

This is my favorite taco place in Santa Cruz. It’s just a stand in the middle of the sidewalk, I passed it over and over again, thinking it was a coffee shop. They have build your own BIG tacos, everything is FRESH and full of flavor. I got a vegetarian taco with potatoes and it was incredible. Whatever they are doing, they are doing it right. Bravo and thank you ladies!

One of my favorite’s for Mexican in Santa Cruz. Wish it was more accessible, though. It only open for lunch, so I only go if I just happen to be in the area. If you do go, expect a bit of a wait, but it’s well worth it. Food is delicious and healthy!

Food was so, so delicious, beautiful, and lovingly made in the little green hut… like a fancy little food truck without the truck. Service was warm and efficient. Great people watching spot… tables are under shade trees right on the «mall» downtown. Split the mole plate and a giant taco between me and my two teenagers. Plenty of excellent, tasty food for a light dinner before heading right next door for a movie.

Some delicious food came out of this tiny booth! I never noticed what this booth served, i honestly thought it was just a coffee/​ice-​cream booth or something. We decided on a whim to eat here because there was an outdoor eating area nearby and we had our dog with us. We really were not expecting much out of this spot.
The two women running the booth were very warm and welcoming, and you could tell they were hard working. They took their time perfecting orders.
They had a good sized menu of Mexican dishes, fresa, mexican mochas, etc. I ordered the Frida Kahlo soup, a spicy tortilla soup that had chicken, avocado and sour cream in a tomato broth. Delicious. The ingredients were fresh and the chicken was good quality. My husband ordered the enchiladas verde and he was very impressed. My son just had a cheese quesadilla and beans and he nearly wiped his plate clean (because, quesadillas, c’mon.).
The only downfall is that you do have to wait a few minutes to get your food, especially on a busier day, because they are making these meals fresh upon order, but it is so worth it because you get quality Mexican food.
I look forward to trying more things on the menu.

In the way of food style, convenience, venue – we have nothing like this in Santa Cruz. Everything is great. Lo adoro, & I look forward to the day she expands

This place is delicious. Stop reading this and eat there because you’ll like it if you like fresh, delicious food. You can sit outside and in Santa Cruz the weather is perfect so that’s good too.

BEST PLACE IN SANTA CRUZ HANDS DOWN! Literally, it looks like it is a part of the sidewalk and can be quite easily missed. Still, they have a cutesy little seating area in the midst of downtown. Great aura and even better food! I always order their tacos and custom make it with everything I love. It’s slightly overpriced but I don’t mind at all since their service is so fast– especially since there are only two ladies working there! Go there and tell me you agree!

I went there twice last week. The best organic farm fresh food ever. Their Enchiladas Verde are my favorite… the sauce is spicy and delicious. They make everything fresh. I am in awe that this delicious food comes out of this tiny little booth. They are vegetarian and vegan friendly as well. I will be going there again… and again.

Café Campesino is an amazing little sidewalk café!
The food is delicious and the service is sweet and friendly. Over time, I’ve gotten to meet the owners who are kind people and open to telling you about their food sources (mostly local and often organic) when it’s not busy.
A lot of my friends and I make it a point to come here, even when it’s a little colder outside– just bring an extra layer! I’ve always had a great experience here and they keep their section clean and inviting. A must for anyone living in or visiting Santa Cruz.

Campesino is great! I’ve only been there twice so far, but have loved everything about it both times. I have friends who would swear by this place. As long as I keep having the same experience, I can see why.
First off, this place is really hard to notice, even though it’s literally in the middle of the sidewalk. I passed by it multiple times over the years and always assumed it was a little coffee place. It’s just in a little booth with outdoor seating all around it. Perfect for a nice, sunny day.
The food takes a little while to get to you. But when it does, it’s worth it. The first time I went I got vegetarian tostadas, which were delicious and very filling for the price. Then the other day I went back and got chicken enchiladas. The meat is tender, and they put tons of delicious sauce on the plate to dip everything in. It also has lettuce, sour cream, and potatoes.
Definitely worth the price, and probably a must-​go for Santa Cruzers. My coworker said she decided to live here after trying their enchiladas. Go!

In the middle of downtown SC lies a little hut with limited outside tables and seats that serves Mexican food. And on a good day, Café Campesino would have been quite a nice place to have a good lunch. But alas, on the overcast day we came to this place, we had an a-​okay experience.
The saving grace of this place in my eyes was the Frida Kahlo Chicken Tortilla soup, served in a big mug and consisting of avocado, chicken, tortilla, cilantro, and onion in a creamy tomato broth. It’s usually served with sour cream, but we opted to take it out. True to the description of the soup on the menu, the broth was very light and flavorful, and everything in the soup complimented each other very well.
The other dish (chicken mole) was just okay. The one thing I remember noting about this dish was that the tortilla tasted funny and rubbery, which totally threw off the whole dish to me and we didn’t even finish it.
I hope to come back for that Frida soup though! What a nice concoction for an overcast day.

I love this place! The Tortilla bean soup is amazing. I keep trying to make it at home. My friend says «it’s good, but…». I love the gorditas, especially with mole, and I always get the guacamole & chips.
I haven’t tried any thing else, because the soup & gorditas are so good, but my family took me for my birthday, and they ordered a variety of dishes and loved them all.

Maybe I totally missed the mark at this place but the whole experience was odd and the food was not that good.
A friend was eager to come and try their homemade Mexican Vegetable Soup. The place itself is a little sketchy– it looks like one of those public bathrooms in SF (like another Unilocaler mentioned). Anyways, the employee was very friendly (although it did take some time to order just four items). I was a little skeptical about how they could prepare real Mexican food in such a small place.
Three of us ordered a Quesadilla with Pulled Chicken and the Mole Sauce while my friend ordered the soup. His soup was pretty tasty (the reason for the stars) although it wasn’t anything exceptional (like the 4.5 overall rating would suggest).
The Quesadillas however were a different story! They tasted completely microwaved and had no flavor at all (literally tasted like nasty processed cheese and a cheap tortilla). The mole sauce came in a TINY container (see photo), which was certainly not enough to help combat the dry, nasty Quesadilla. The chicken inside had no flavor at all (wasn’t marinated in anything like most pulled chicken) and tasted reheated. The plates came with some random lettuce on the side as well. For the price range they are charging, they should certainly offer better quesadillas, chicken, and at least throw in some salsas.
We also had the Rose Nectar to drink which was tasty but nothing special. While this place certainly isn’t horrible, it definitely does not deserve 4.5 stars on Unilocal at all.
Stick with the Veggie Soup if you do stop by!