Lulu’s At the Octagon

Nice spot to duck out of the Santa Cruz drizzle. For those who like choice in how their coffee is made, this is the place. Didn’t even know what some of the techniques were and that’s saying something coming from Portland. My latte was delicious — perfectly creamy. Daughter had a jasmine tea that smelled incredible.

Def love Lulu’s. They have amazing drinks and a great atmosphere. Where else can you get a cup o joe in a brick octagon? Uhhh… nowhere… except here.

I really love this place. The staff are always nice and the tea is really really good. If you’re a tea drinker like me, this is THE place in downtown Santa Cruz for tea.

Usually this placed is packed and hard to find seating. But the plus side is that they have outlets compared to Verve coffee shop to charge your electronics. Btw, they only give you 110 min to use their wifi. I ordered a latte, it was quite light compared to the latte at Verve. The ambiance was not that of a coffee shop due to the music choice– it was not jazz. Compared to coffee shops in Santa Cruz it closed earlier than most. Overall, it was an average experience.

Lulu’s at the Octagon is an incredibly cute location — it’s literally brick-​covered octagon building. Annnd that’s where it stops being cute.
THE GOOD.
+ Plenty of seating and wi-​fi for working/​lounging
+ Decent music blasting through the speakers
+ Friendly and fast barista
THE BAD.
— Their coffee. Seriously, my latte had no flavor, and the guy’s cold brew was very unremarkable too
There are far too many good places for coffee in this area to settle for Lulu’s.

My second favorite place in Santa Cruz! Chill vibe and a great place to hang out with a friend or chill by yourself! They also have out door seating which is nice when it’s warm out! Most times I’ll buy cheese and crackers from green leaf then sit in the outside seats and have a small picnic with a friend. Of course a picnic isn’t complete without drinks so we’d get lulus tea and coffee! I had their New Orleans iced coffee and it was too sweet for me but it was super strong. SUPER strong. I liked that it was strong but I hated that it was too sweet. My friend got their gunpowder green tea. The tea was pretty good and they gave it to us in an individual sized teapot, which was neat! We asked for like 2 refills of hot water LOLLL

Super hot cappuccino, had to wait to drink a few minutes to start drinking it, a little weak espresso flavor. Great location though!

…gone to shit.

This spot has the best coffee in Santa Cruz also has good outside seating wifi friendly staff quiet ambience coffee is flavorful made to the right temp good froth good presentation

We’ve walked by Lulu’s so many times but never gave it a try until last week. I came in on a weekday, late afternoon; it wasn’t very busy. Ordered a soy capp (reasonably priced at $ 4 including tax) and grabbed a seat.
Drink was great, much better than any experience with Verve coffee I had. Noise level was a little high so I wouldn’t recommend coming if you want quiet. Doesn’t feel like much seating inside, but they do have outlets at each table area under the bench seating and some seats outside. Will definitely be back when in the area.

Any kind of real coffee you imagine is served in this very interesting space. Nice knowledgeable people and all the finest coffee equipment and tools to make the best cup of bean juice. Wish you were here.

I’ve been here a couple times and Meh is about all I can rate Lulu’s.
Here are a couple of caveats that may make you try them over the Verve, Starbucks, Peete’s, Santa Cruz Roasting — etc.
If whip cream is your thing — then Lulu’s is a 5 star winner for you. It’s not sprayed from a can here they literally scoop it out of a bucket with a shovel — I tried it on my kids hot chocolate and it was the real deal.
If you like doing your homework or generally malingering around coffee places then Lulu’s has you covered — generous seating inside and out with what I can imagine is decent wifi.
I had one of their «special» $ 5 drip coffee’s — it was good; but, I think Verve is better — Santa Cruz Roasters may be even better.
The pastries are typical for what you’d find at a Starbucks — I was a little disappointed in them, nothing super special going on for the price point. The kids behind the counter were a little distracted — 15 minutes to get my pour over and then they forgot to even make the hot chocolate.
For my money, the people and the products are better down the street at Santa Cruz Roasters — guess I better get to reviewing them…

I don’t care how good your coffee is, if you have bad attitudes towards your customers, then I’ll happily pay Peet’s Coffee down the street for their great service.
This is the management that I’m talking about, the girls behind the counter are sweet and amazing.
The manager, I didn’t catch his name, walked away from my friend that was trying to HELP him by telling him the restroom wasn’t ADA compliant. He didn’t care and walked away while he was in the middle of explaining this. SO RUDE.
Just minutes later, we were still sitting on the outside patio and who I am guessing is the owner, given the fact he pulled up in some fancy convertible, came over to us and said that the patio is now closed because he has to blow it off. It’s not like we were spending a large amount of time there, we were finishing up our coffee, getting ready to leave soon. Also, I had spent money on 3 drinks that morning because I wanted to try some that I hadn’t had before.
The management obviously does not care about their customers, so why would I ever go back to any of the locations?

Do you love Lulu Carpenters, but want to get your coffee & food in a reasonable amount of time? Like before your 15 minute break is over? All hail Lulu’s at the Octagon! *Fast* friendly service, great coffee, and a tasty seasonal beverage menu (e.g. summertime sparkling lavender lemonade). My only wish is that the hip octagonal seating was a little more comfortable. But no one’s perfect, not even you, magical Octagon Lulu’s, but you’ve come close.

Best espresso in Santa Cruz, in my opinion.
A place that makes specialty coffee special, where your drink is well crafted and delicious. The atmosphere let’s you enjoy your drink and your company. Well priced.
I strongly encourage you try their cappuccino while sitting outside.
[Wifi is free with purchase.]

There are two Lulu’s one on the main drag of pacific ave and this one which is by the museum of art and history. I like this one much better.
There can be lines at times, but most often this location seems much more mellow then the coffee joints on pacific.
The coffee and tea is excellent, they have pour overs and the heavy whipping cream is real cream served with a trowel, not spray whip from a can.
Tea is also prepared to order.
There is seating on benches on the inside of this octagonal shaped building, but the best seating is outside regardless if you chose to sit directly in front, or in the courtyard area shared by the museum which has a wonderful little fountain. A small caveat-​some of the chairs are more rickety then others.
Delightfully quirky building with the mellowest enviroment in santa cruz.

The line at Verve was ridiculous, so we came here. No waiting! Service was friendly & efficient. My cappuccino was a bit weak and perhaps not as hot as it should have been. Nice décor. Beautiful day, so we found a nicely shaded table outside.

Lulu’s is a super cute little place with nice indoor and outdoor seating. I’ve tried a lot of their drinks now and am always impressed. If you like chai or mochas, I definitely recommend those two.
Their food is also very good! I’ve had a lemon cupcake and ham and cheese croissant. (And definitely try to get something with their homemade whipped cream! Delish.)
Overall just a great place to get a drink and do some work.

I am a huge fan. No matter what time of day this place always delivers. I love their large cups and latte art. I love the fact they have every kind of milk/​substitute available as an option… I love their pastries… and the cozy inside. This place has never steered me wrong and I have yet to have a bad experience. It is a nice option of you don’t want to get coffee on the «strip» aka Pacific Avenue among the crazy crowd.

Wasn’t paying attention to the hours, but was served with pleasure and a thank you for choosing Lulus.
My Macchiato was smooth, perfect.
I also had a croissant. Melt-​in-​your-​mouth.
I was not rushed to finish but of course, as it was my oversight on the time I didn’t keep too long.
Really like this place. Relaxing.