Red Apple Cafe

Damn good local spot. I usually come alone so getting seated and served is not a problem: when guests come with we make a point of going early (before 9:00) to beat the crowds. And there ARE crowds.
There are crowds because the food is good, the portions are substantial, the outdoor seating is appealing, and the service is generally warm and friendly, although not without its hiccups.
We only recently moved to the area and this is already a stalwart go-​to. It’s clear that they have cultivated and earned a solid local reputation over time.
WAFFLES!

Live out of town. Local veterinary recommended it. Noon on a Tuesday and brought the mutt along for «café seating» training in the very nice roomy outdoors patio. Seated quickly and was immediately supplied with a bowl of water without asking for our thirsty just-​from-​the-​beach pup. Very dog friendly here. Food was good — come hungry. Portions are huge. Substitutions were no problemo. Hostess and server made the pooch very welcome. Oh, and we humans, too. Service was great. Will be back after the next vet appt. Of course there is plenty of seating both inside and outside for customers not wishing to share their meal space with Fido. I focused upon a review for «dog folks» as I was seeking one a few days ago on Unilocal for the Aptos area.

Awesome dining experience thanks to our delightful waitress, Jessica. Very good quality American comfort food.

Great waitress on a busy mothers day. The hostess was obviously stressed out. The food however was good and cooked well. The mimosas were strong just the way I like em!

Pros:
–delicious food
–good selection
–savory and sweets are both great
–location is solid
–patio is cool too
Cons:
–pricey (but average for the area)
–service can be lax at times
Overall: A–

Loved it. Very friendly service. Sat outside and had the Benedict with spinach mushrooms. It was perfectly done. I will a back withe the family.

Had the turkey, pesto, avocado eggs Benedict. Loved the pesto, not crazy about the turkey. The hash browns were delicious! He had the bacon pot, which was flavorful and filling. DISCLAIMER: portion sizes were gigantic. Coffee was very tasty. Recommend.

The wait to get seated was short but from there downhill. 10 minutes to get menus and another 10 for the waitress to finally show up, seemingly with no idea we’d been waiting to order for 20 minutes.
Our food (eggs and pancakes which is easy) then took another 30 minutes and this while the restaurant wasn’t even full. During this 30 minutes the waitress never came back to offer more coffee, water whatever.
The food was pretty good but the service wasn’t just terrible it was non existent. Wouldn’t recommend coming here unless you have a lot of time and enjoy truly terrible service.

Great atmosphere! Gracia and Dan are fantastic service oriented owners with a terrific establishment! Chloe was our server and she was amazing! So personable! Best breakfast in Santa Cruz hands down! Highly recommend the Eggs Benedict!

Great eats. Memerable place and lots of food

Food and service were very good. Very busy, which is what we look for. You may need to wait for a table. But it will be worth the wait.

Good hidden breakfast spot in Aptos. We had a great waitress and really enjoyed our meals. Very hearty portions and quality food. The affordable prices make this place an easy pick. We will definitely be coming back.

So, it was my 2^nd visit here and the food was just as delicious (and filling) as the 1^st time. The service was ok too but I really wish my server would have cracked at least ONE smile.
There are two reasons today for the 1-​star demerit. One: No substitutions allowed, even for something as simple as substituting tomatoes instead of mushrooms (which I believe the tomatoes are of equal or lesser value than the mushrooms on the «add on» list). I don’t know, call me «frugal» I guess but if I’m paying almost $ 11 for an omelet that is supposed to include mushrooms but I don’t want them, doesn’t it seem only fair that I should be able to substitute something of equal or lesser value at no extra charge? I’m just saying…
The other reason for the 1-​star demerit is because the table (the one closest to the door) was sticky all over. I don’t think it was even from any food or drinks. It looked like the shiny, smooth finish had been stripped off. I looked around and none of the other tables seemed to be like mine. SUGGESTION: Use the «extra tomato money» you get from everybody and refinish that table.
Oh…one more little «tip»: let the servers know it’s tacky and unprofessional to discuss their salaries and tips in front of and/​or within ear shot of customers.

Love this place, i try to go every time i come come! I get the turkey pesto eggs benedict. mmmm! Homemade rotisserie turkey makes it so unique.

Mediocre breakfast. Ordered a waffle, egg, side of linguica sausage and coffee.
Service was good, prompt and attentive.
Unfortunately, the food was mediocre. The waffle had obviously been made earlier and was warmed back up for the order, not fluffy, but rather toasted and tough. They did make a new one upon request, which was fresh but still not a fluffy waffle you would expect from an experienced breakfast place. The Linguica had also been previously cook and was warmed to serve with the meal. It was dried out. Finally, the egg order ‘over medium’, and served over easy and cold.

Amazing restaurant with a cozy ambience and equally amazing customer service! Olivia was our server and she was THE BEST! Definitely recommend this place. Food is fresh, tasty and was a huge quantity. We had shrimp omelette, garden vegetable omelette, Ham & cheese omelette and my favorite was pecan waffle! All deserve 5 stars.

Visit was on 8÷8÷15: nice little café hidden in a shopping center, food was delicious, big portions and friendly staff and the prices wre average. They also have nice outdoor seating which i really liked

The food is great, the service is good, and because of that there’s always a wait.
I’ve been coming here for years, all of there benedicts are great I’ve tried them all.

I ordered crab cakes Benedict because of the recent Unilocal reviews, the presentation was nice but once I started eating it I found the crab cakes to be really really mushy and greasy, not much crab just lots of filler mush. The eggs were the best thing on the plate. My son ordered pancakes, bacon and eggs, he loved all of it. The window treatments were so cute, great idea. I do t think I’ll be cal for the food.

The Red Apple Café is cute and had delicious food! I had the bear claw french toast and it was scrumptious! My friends had a variety of omelets. The portions were very generous and we sat outside on the patio. It had a lovely atmosphere except for the gratuitous amount of bees. I am allergic so I kept having to stand up and move away until it went away. After three times I asked to be moved inside. The bees were fairly aggressive and not afraid of us. They kept landing on our dishes. The waitress was very sympathetic and moved us inside almost immediately :)
I would definitely come here again but I would need to eat inside!