Fro-yo Road Trip: Santa Cruz

Fro-yo girl here. My friend wanted to go to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk to ride the Giant Dipper. Of course I had to check out every fro-yo shop in the area. I didn’t try all of them but some of them have other locations that I’ve been to, so I think I have a good feel for the Santa Cruz fro-yo scene. And my favorite is…Yogizmo.

* Yogizmo, 1717 Mission St, Santa Cruz, CA: They have sweet and tart fro-yo as well as mix-in style fro-yo (called Infuzions). I liked how they had some organic toppings and free honey. The plain tart was tangy, milky, smooth, firm, creamy, and dense texture. They claim that their fro-yo is all natural and that it’s the only fully cultured fro-yo in the area. They might not have mochi (their Scotts Valley location didn’t have any).

* Froyo?, 1010 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA: I’ve been to their Cupertino location and think it’s okay. The concept is strange because it’s only partially self-serve. You tell them the fro-yo flavor and size that you want, they put it in a cup and then you add your own toppings (39 cents an ounce).

* Yogurt Delite, 1306 Mission St, Santa Cruz, CA: It looks like an old school, sweet fro-yo place. It’s cash only, like most old school fro-yo shops. I think it’s part of a chain since I’ve seen other locations with the same logo in Oakland and San Jose.


* Swirl, 1315 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA: Definitely the cutest fro-yo shop in town with 6 self-serve flavors a day (39 cents an ounce). The machines let you swirl two flavors together. However, the fro-yo texture is too fluffy and airy.

* Marini’s Downtown, 1308 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA: It looks like a candy store first, then an ice cream shop, but now they also have tart fro-yo. The pictures of the fro-yo didn’t look appealing.


* Marini’s Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk: You can find soft serve ice cream all over the Boardwalk but I only spotted one place that has fro-yo, the Marini’s near the arcade. They still make candy there, including the classic boardwalk candy, salt water taffy. To find the fro-yo, go inside the arcade passed the Marini’s express window (towards the old time photographs area). It’s next to a shooting gallery.

* Top A Lot, 738 Water St, Santa Cruz, CA: Another self-serve fro-yo shop, also 39 cents an ounce. I didn’t check it out.

* The Sweet Spot, 827 Water St, Santa Cruz, CA: I didn’t see this place but it sounds like an ice cream shop that also sells fro-yo.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.