The Ugly Mug in Soquel, CA

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Telephone:	+1 831-477-1341
Website:	cafeugly.com
Address:	4640 Soquel Dr, Soquel, CA, 95073
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:	360 ftSoquel Drive & Daubenbiss westbound 440 ftSoquel Drive & Daubenbiss eastbound 0.4 miSoquel Drive & 41st eastbound
Categories:	Coffee & Tea Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Bakeries

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Bussiness info

Delivery	No
Accepts Credit Cards	Yes
Parking	Street
Bike Parking	Yes

Wheelchair Accessible	Yes
Outdoor Seating	Yes
Wi-Fi	Free
Good for Working	Yes

Today

Today	5:30 am – 8:00 pm Closed now
Local time (Soquel)	03:42 Friday, 30 May 2025

Business hours

Monday	5:30 am – 8:00 pm
Tuesday	5:30 am – 8:00 pm
Wednesday	5:30 am – 8:00 pm
Thursday	5:30 am – 8:00 pm
Friday	5:30 am – 8:00 pm
Saturday	6:30 am – 7:00 pm
Sunday	6:30 am – 7:00 pm

Description

Specialties

We offer Really Good Espresso, not an over-extracted brew, but one that makes you smile and ask for another.

Gelato from Caffe Classico, is beautifully displayed, and is one of the best Ice Creams in the country.

Fresh pastries made by Heather in Aptos.

A comfortable atmosphere that is never pretentious, always welcoming and just the place to meet friends in the neighborhood.

History

Established in 1996.

The Ugly Mug was created from a desire for a local place to catch up on events of the day with your friends. An antidote to the cubical.

The Mug has become a village icon, always a meeting place, a safe place, a place for your family, a place to have a meeting or a place to play a game.

Even with the addition of Free WiFi, conversation is still the central focal point of the café.

Meet the Business Owner

Steve V.

Business Owner

Steve started in coffee just out of high school, working for Peter James Coffee. Packing coffee, delivering, became blending and roasting. From Peter James, Steve went to work for Ralph Flynn at the Coffee Society in Cupertino, California. At the Coffee Society, Steve really honed the idea of ‘The Third Place’, a meeting place in America, the land of the strip mall. When a little space opened up in Soquel, Steve knew how he wanted to fill it and Soquel has been better since. With over 20 years in the coffee business, Steve knows what he like and he brings it to his customers with great attention to detail.

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«A Community Store in the Mountains of Soquel. Great Coffee, Cold Beer, and other necessary items you may need.»

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Steve V. says,

«Fat Burritos, Hot Sammies, tea, coffee, beer — Yum!»

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20 reviews of The Ugly Mug

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S R.

Place rating: 5
Aptos, CA

I used to be a Peet’s girl, but the Ugly Mug changed all that. Their perfectly brewed shot, expertly foamed milk, and local bank account have me shouting 5 STARS!!!
Oh, and they serve Heather’s Pattiserie goodies.

Kris W.

Place rating: 4
Phoenix, AZ

This place has ample seating so bring your laptop
Parking is a bit hard to find the latte here is better than firefly but the breakfast options are limited.
The service is great people in Santa Cruz seem very friendly. I sat here for awhile on my laptop the noise was reasonable an the flow of people was good so can people watch easily

Kevin R.

Place rating: 4
Los Angeles, CA

The Ugly Mug is probably one of my favorite coffee shop names I’ve heard. Even though I had a few cups of coffee with my breakfast just down the street, we had to stop in here for another. It was busy on a Saturday morning but the baristas kept the line moving rather quickly. And yes, they even have ice cream for those hot summer days!
Easy parking: Plenty of spots of the street.
Large drink under $ 5: Yes
Friendly staff: Yes
Indoor seating: Lots of tables scattered around and more at the counter along the window.
Outdoor seating: Not much, just a couple benches facing the sidewalk.
Décor: Lots of bright and funky colors and artwork hanging on the walls.
People with laptops: Yes
Hipsters: Some
Famous Faces: No
Foam Art: No
People watching: Good
In & out quick: Yes
The challenge continues!

Lorraine C.

Place rating: 5
Mountain View, CA

I love the UglyMug. Raw Milk Flat Latte… drool!
We drive over from Los Gatos at least once if not twice during the weekend just to get a latte from the Ugly. The staff is always friendly and very awake, the place tends to be filled with SC/Soquel locals.
You will definately pay close to $ 10 for 2 rw milk latte’s, but it is soooo worth it.

Lindz P.

Place rating: 4
Santa Cruz, CA

Cool and funky, nice spot to get an espresso and read. The owner is very friendly. I enjoy the open mics, nice to see local talent

Mark M.

Place rating: 4
Pebble Beach, CA

Great coffee selection. service lacking in happiness …

Steve K.

Place rating: 5
Soquel, CA

Integrates students, hippies, and businesspeople like a Vitamix.

Jonathan K.

Place rating: 5
Boulder Creek, CA

LOVE THESE GUYS!
Great drinks, friendly staff, comfortable environment. A good place to work or study if you’re on the road in Soquel.

Jezik f.

Place rating: 5
Gilroy, CA

One of the last real coffee houses! A real sense of community. Great coffee and atmosphere. They have live music from time to time. They are my favorite coffee in the entire south bay area. When they say French Roast they mean it. Its fair trade. Its organic. Its delicious and the barista’s know how to poor a shot! I get the iced espresso and sometimes the americano. They have gelato and fruit smoothies too. Only bummer is no outdoor seating. (I guess I can’t have it all) Downhome friendly and chill environment with great and reasonably priced coffee.

Rich M.

Place rating: 3
Aptos, CA

I’m not a coffee drinker… so this is just for the many cups of hot cocoa I’ve ordered.
I love the fact that they steam the milk with the espresso machine… and use real chocolate.
My issue is with the staff and atmosphere.
I double checked my phone to ensure it was August 2015… but the «ambiance «was the groovy 60’s in my hometown of Berkeley.
Only thing missing was a black light and a McGovern poster in the corner.
Maybe less hippie homage and more tidy appearance would help usher in the modern age?

Menlo K.

Place rating: 4
Menlo Park, CA

Nice comfortable place. Very friendly and inviting space with good drinks.
The bathroom seems to be an afterthought. To say it’s tiny is an understatement. It’s cute but cramped. The door is so narrow, you have to turn sideways to get through it.
With the name, I was hoping for interesting mugs, but no luck, just plain clear pint glasses. The name made me think back to custom artistic mugs with faces that my family got at a street fair as kids. I realize that individual non-stackable custom mugs would be expensive to purchase, clean and store, but it would be really cool!

Greg F.

Place rating: 5
West Linn, OR

This it’s exactly the place I’ve been searching for this last week of vacation. For me, the tests in every community I visit are their preferred coffee and their most highly toutrd morning pastry. The last three shots in the Capitola/Santa Cruz tour can’t hold a candle too the Ugly Mug on either score.
Tried three blend the favorite being a half-and-half blend of San Francisco and Peru.
The coffee cake is light with lots of cinnamon and just the right amount of sweetness.
Great people alluring here, know regulars by name, have a pleasant and laid-back atmosphere, good art, community announcements. All-in-all, a local gem not to be missed by travelers!

Katie A.

Place rating: 5
Soquel, CA

I love this place with allllll my heart. The owner Steve is great and knows many customers by name (so you know he cares about the cuatomers) and the staff as of lately match his sunny disposition. I had especially excellent service this morning from friendly staff; and I enjoyed the «Lil Sum’n Sum’n» which was a perfectly sweet espresso drink. This is the kind of place I’ll go to for many years to come and tell everyone I know to go to.

Greg F.

Place rating: 1
Providence, RI

Very, very disappointed in the ugly mug, this used to be my favorite stop in the area, after a long absence i came in to order a cortado and the girl gave me a poor espresso shot with just a weak steamed milk.
This is not a cortado. (See attached picture)
This is espresso with steam milk.
I could have saved my money ordering a shot of espresso and pouring in milk from a pitcher.
I tried to explain what it is and how it should be and she tried to explain that an espresso with any kind of foam is machiatto and i said no, she then said it was a cappuccino, i also said no, i said a cortado should be equal parts espresso to micro foam in a 4 oz glass typically, i gave had good ones here before, but this girl seemed to be not interested, in fact it took me a few minutes to get her attention from her other tasks she was doing.
I told her that what she made me is not the drink i ordered.
I tried to tell her how the foam and milk need to combine and actually make a delicious drink.
She seemed adamant in telling me How I was wrong and this is how Steve told her to make them.
After being a long time customer, it will be a long time before i come again.
sad day today. I used to love coming here.

Creative H.

Place rating: 4
Soquel, CA

This iconic cornerstone of Soquel history deserves many kudos for tenacity and hometown loyalty. This is «Mom and Pop» at it’s best. Don’t miss it.

Delia P.

Place rating: 2
San Diego, CA

Worst espresso I’ve ever had! (Minus Starbucks, they are about equally bad) with that being said, I LOVE the ambiance, and I only ordered a double shot of espresso, my gut tells me they make good coffee and speciality drinks. Just don’t come here if you’re seeking a simple expresso.

Ocean E.

Place rating: 4
Soquel, CA

Jennifer was extremely helpful and sweet with my son, who wanted to try gelato.
Nice chill place cool vibe and decent prices if you are looking to avoid the Capitola weekend crowds.
Cool Octopus on the ceiling — Cookie Monster gelato rules!
A very welcoming place.

Angela N.

Place rating: 4
Downtown, San Jose, CA

Really neat place! Friendly staff, neat décor, and great espresso drinks. I got a white mocha and a slice of lasagna the other day and my only complaint is that the lasagna was scolding hot on the outside and obviously cold on the inside. I think taking time warming it up gradually in an oven/toaster oven would have been better. Other than that, I would come back here again for the coffee and chill vibes.

Richard A.

Place rating: 5
Savage, MN

Love this place! I go back everytime in in town… the workers change, but the laid back, friendly attitude and awesome coffee drinks are always a welcomed luxury amidst my travels.
If you like the corporate predictability of Starbucks, you might not like the Ugly Mug.
If you enjoy the feeling of a local, one of a kind, whimsical, gathering place… then feel free to roll out of bed, put on a pair of uggs and lose yourself in a book… or update your Facebook status on the free wifi.

Aarash Z.

Place rating: 5
Richmond, CA

I’m sure Santa Cruz and its surrounding cities have many nice places to hang out, but for whatever reason, we always end up at the same couple of coffee shops… Today we ended up at The Ugly Mug, which was new to us… What a lovely place!
They have a bunch of space to sit, great drinks (get the Orange something Green Tea… really yummy), and a nice atmosphere to boot… I guess they even have live music on Wednesdays…
I hope we end up back there early and often when we visit

The Ugly Mug

Soquel, United States