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Categories: Specialty Food, Breakfast & Brunch [Edit]
1315 Pacific AveMon-Sun. 7:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
"God! It's been WAY too long since I've had me some Zachary's. I remember back in those college days dragging my hung-over butt for some damn…" read more »
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AMAZING!!!!! This place is my DREAM restaurant. Cereal is my favorite food. Fruit comes in second, and frozen yogurt third. And here.. they have ALL THREE! It's a great place. First off, the decor is fun and inviting. There's a huge counter to sit around, plus some comfy chairs. The walls feature huge pictures of various parts of cereal characters (ie, the fruit loops bird's nose). There are also some books scattered about, on the history of cereal and whatnot, which are fun to peruse.
Now the important part... THE CEREAL!! They have about 15-20 dry cereals to chose from. Mostly brand names (golden grahams, life, cinnnamon toast crunch, cheerios, etc) and a few of their own making. You can add fruit (dried or fresh), and other delights like oreo bits, chocolate chips, peanut butter, caramel sauce... etc. It's a great deal too - you can get 1, 2, or 3 scoops of cereal. And the first two toppings are FREE. What other place gives you free toppings?!
If you're in the mood for hot cereal, they have a variety of oatmeals (and you can of course create your own). My friend had the pumpkin oatmeal creation and it was sooo delicious.
The cereal's served in fun plastic bowls, or you can get it to go! They also have coffee, tea, juice, etc. PLUS.. frozen yogurt! A-MAZING. All very reasonably priced too. And right in downtown santa cruz.
You must go here if you have a hard-on for cereal!!
What kind of silly establishment sells bowls of cereal as their mainstay? Duh! No wonder it's out of business.
Closed. But at least I still have my sloop!
They ran out of the green sloop. But I picked up a few red and blue ones. $0.99ea Read more »
Aww... I must be nice here!
I feel horrible. Another small business has closed :(.
***Trying hard to write nice****
But come on, you had to admit... that was a dumb concept! Dang it!!!!!
*****SLAPS hands!!!******
I couldn't believe my eyes... while walking down Pacific Ave for something sweet to indulge in, I… Read more »
Seriously??? Cereal???
You're going to pay $4 to someone for pouring you a bowl of cereal. Here's a concept, why don't you come over to my house and I'll pour you cereal and milk for half the price.
Cereal at a restaurant. Simply awesome.
Had Reese's Puffs mixed with Cinnamon Toast Crunch and topped off with strawberries and bananas.
Also had a blueberry strawberry smoothie. Delicious!!!
Friend loved it and took a box of cereal home!
While I was strolling down Pacific Ave. I just happened to look up and see this place. It's kind of like what happens to me when I see just green flecks out of the corner of my eyes...you know, any neighborhood starbucks..and in an instant I just knew I had to dodge traffic and run to it to be in front of all it's glory. You see I have been begging my friends for YEARS to take me to the one in Los Angeles but everyones like "uh, okay loser" so now here I am in Santa Cruz and nothing in my way!
Do I think it's silly to spend close to 5 bucks on a sugar high-n-die, yes. But I also love drinking my lemonade out of a jar at Dave's BBQ and reading the novels at the "library" bar, so if it has a theme I'm in. *side note, the pumpkin spice frenzy is starting at starbucks and I've got my scones ready!
After eating my Cap'n Crunch Berries with bananas and chocolate chips while watching cartoons and going back 3 times for more milk just cuz it was there, I was fully satiated. I recommend it as a treat for the kids (and some 31 year olds) or on a bright saturday morning when really all you want to do is watch transformers.
Are the ten people who wrote the reviews prior to mine the only ones who are maintaining business of this establishment? Every time I go past it is totally empty except the employees.... I finally went in here on a whim-- primarily after reading Kristin E.'s review. Dark Knight was sold out-- as was Mama Mia...and some other movie.. WTF this is Santa Cruz....why are movies sold out? BLASPHEMY. Anyways-- on a whim after Santa Cruz Roasting Company I went in... yep they had tart yogurt.... okay sure why not give me a small...Coconut topping rock on..... BUT:
A small with 1 topping is 2.98.. for those of you who love yogurt delite that is pretty much the equivalent to the child's size.. a huge WTF.
The concept of a cereal bar is cool...but I mean you can get tons of cereal at Costco for hella cheap.... or sales at Safeway.... there are healthier choices to purchase for reasonable prices as well....
Personally, I felt their froyo was not that tasty...... I have had way better.... I might go back to try the oatmeal or something...but yea... definitely not impressed.
Really guys? This place has 4 stars?
Cons:
-WAY expensive. When is a bowl of cereal ever worth 4 bucks? I don't care how you swing it, I think a box of cereal for 5 bucks is a rip off. It's not like this place even has unique cereals!! They just have a huge selection of your childhood faves at inflated un-childlike prices...
-The concept is too similar to a real bar (instead of a cereal bar) but without the crowd
- The oatmeals are heavy...something I am not used to thinking regarding oatmeal. I actually felt kind of sick after having the nutella oatmeal...too sweet and too thick...I went into a gnarly food coma
How often are you really craving cereal? I'm assuming if you are a cereal craver, you probably own a box at home. You may say "I never finish the box...One portion is perfect for my craving." But at least if you buy the box you can share it or give it to someone else. Here its a one time dealy, and probably will remind you of why you don't buy cereal regularly.
Its a fun concept, but too pricey. It also tries to trick you into thinking that this new concept is worth it. Sorry, Cereality, I fell for this reinvention of the wheel concept when Coldstone's came around and tricked me into paying 6 bucks for scoop of ice cream.
One star for the kitchy spoons that double as straws and the clean atmosphere despite seemingly marketing to children. Phase1: Train children to adapt to the cereal bar scene. Phase2: Release them into the wild, untamed street of Pacific Avenue to do the old peoples bar crawl.
Get em young...
So, as of right now, this is the only Cereality in California.. Which already makes it a plus, & I don't know if there are even any other cereal restaurants out there.
It's basically like yogurt shoppes, where you pick a base, then add whatever toppings you want.. Only with cereal, and they have a wide variety.. Though they're probably missing a familiar cereal or two. They even have recommended mixes already on their menu so you don't have to go through the hassle of picking cereal to mix. They even put it in some version of a Chinese takeout box, which doesn't make sense if you put milk on it then leave, because you really can't eat it to go unless you get milk separately.
The ambiance of the place feels like you're in your mom's kitchen waiting for breakfast to be served. They even have cartoons playing on repeat so it feels just like Saturday morning. I think that's one of their slogan. "Where everyday is Saturday morning."
All in all, it's different. I wouldn't come here often, but it's a dope place to show some friends.. I'm knocking off a star because for the price of a bowl, I can buy a box of cereal at the groceries, & top it with whatever I have at home. But aye, it's definitely worth a visit.
Don't you hate buying a whole box of cereal only to find yourself throwing it away 4 months later after eating one bowl........ Enter Cereality....
This is a great concept!! They have over 40 different kinds of your fav cereals from hot and healthy Quaker Oatmeal to atomic Apple Jacks!! Seriously...who buys apple jacks and eats the whole box! They also have these cool cereal combos if you don't know what you feel like. Both hot cereal and cold.
I walked in and was craving a bite of golden grahams so I asked them to put a scoop of my GG's in first... But I also wanted some gorilla munch with cranberries so boom they put that in on top. At first I started eating the gorilla munch dry out of my chinese cereal box. My friends started picking at it too cause they had already milked their cereals.
THENN...when I was ready for my GG's, I just dispensed my milk from the unlimited milk bar and started to go to town.
Make sure you buy the SLOOP! It's a spoon and a straw in one!! Why didn't I invent that! I missed it at check out but thank God the bossman Sam got one! Once I was done chowing down my GG's, I was ready for the sugar milk high..instead of going super ghetto and lifting the box to my mouth and spilling all over my shirt...I just started sucking on the sloop and WALLA!! Golden Graham milk heaven!! Don't throw away the sloop...you can totally take it home and use it!
Definitely worth giving it a try. They have yogurt , oatmeal and other stuff too so there is a lot to try and something for everyone.
Can't wait til it comes up north.
Personally, I am a big fan of cereal - so when I passed this place one day in downtown Santa Cruz, I was so excited and immediately went into try it. The lady inside (the owner's mother) was so nice and sociable; she told me about how the place got started up and even let me take a few pictures! She also gave me really generous samplings of granola so I could decide which one I wanted (definitely ask for samples if you are deciding what cereal/granola to order).
I ordered a child's bowl of granola with sliced bananas and soymillk (my favorite combination), and I really liked that she gave me the whole carton of soymilk so I could pour it myself. Though it was delicious, I am giving this place three stars because first of all, it is definitely a little pricey (you can make this stuff at home for a lot cheaper), but I guess you pay the price for convenience and a cool concept. Also, the portions are not as generous as you might like (and seeing as how I'm a cereal-granola-lover, I can definitely eat a lot of that stuff). However, there are a lot of options, and cereal does make for a great snack. This place is somewhere I would go occasionally for a splurge or a treat, but not all of the time or else I'd definitely burn a hole in my wallet.
If you want to try a lot of different combinations of cereals with lots of fruit or other toppings, this is a great place to use as a sampling tool.
A cereal bar is a great concept and this one has definitely been executed pretty well; the only factor that may deter people is the price. Great cafe in general though!
I'm giving this 2 stars SOLELY on the fact that since they've starting serving tart frozen yogurt a week ago, their supply can't really keep up with the demand as i've been in here 3 times within this past week to discover that they were OUT of frozen yogurt.
that's the only gripe I have. just keep making more!! hopefully when froyo? finally opens up, things will be better and i can get frozen yogurt on demand, anytime anyplace.
ZOMG SANTA CRUZ HAS SOFT SERVE TART FROZEN YOGURT!
I was craving tart frozen yogurt like a madwoman…
Read more »
Heard about this place on the Woody show. We ended meeting the owner who spoke on the show too, a very nice and gorgeous woman. The atmosphere of the place was like walking into a kitchen with Saturday morning cartoons playing! Staff was very friendly and patient. If you love Cereal, this is the place to be. The Moo Moo station is pretty sweet, the Milk is ICE cold and awesomdelic.
However I wished they had more cereal, they had a good amount but it wasn't every single one you'd see at Safeway. Also they should have set it up to a similar style to "Sweet Factory" when choosing your cereal. You should be able to pick and dump which and how much cereal you get rather than look at a tiny menu and order it.
I got the swiss morning yogurt parfait because it was lunch and I didn't feel like eating cereal. It was really good with the blueberries and strawberries!
It's cool that a customer can mix and match cereal. The cereal blend there is cheaper than making it yourself. Plus it is unique and a cute place to go to for a quick breakfast or snack!
Truth be told, I was kind of skeptical about this place when it first opened a few months back. The concept of a cereal bar is a bit odd to me, but there are some people out there who live for breakfast, so I suppose it's not too farfetched to imagine a 'cereal bar' would work. In reality (har), it actually is a nifty idea for people who simply don't have the time to sit down and have a nice bowl of cereal in the morning.
Essentially Cereality's menu is made up of a number of different cereal brands, toppings (which include things from fresh fruit to malted chocolate balls), and smoothies, which you can arrange however you like. Alternatively, if you're indecisive like me, they have a couple of preset selections to choose from. The food itself is actually quite good. Being a fan of parfaits I decided to try that out, and I was impressed; my girlfriend's smoothie was actually better than anything we've had at Jamba Juice.
Cereality's atmosphere and architecture is pretty interesting. They managed to turn the old Togo's into a neat little cafe with a large TV and some comfortable couches, but the unfortunate thing is that no one is ever there. I almost feel like it's a shame considering how nice the place is, but so many people just seem unwilling to give it a chance; on my one visit here about six or seven people came in but all left after just browsing the menu for a moment.
I'd definitely say check this place out, especially if you're big on cereal. Sure, it's not as convenient as paying the same amount of money ($2-$5 per item) for a whole box of cereal, but it's a nice change of pace. Here's hoping business picks up for Cereality.
Even though this place is closed, i still want to give my appreciation for the unique idea of dedicating an entire dining place to CEREAL. I just had to laugh and try this place out when I saw it. $5 for a bowl of cereal is really ridiculous but they do have some whacky flavor combos. I had the apple cinnamon something something. Too sweet but a fun experience in my first cereal bar.
I just turned 21, and this is the only bar I want to go to!
My friend, Andrea and I decided to stop by and try this new joint out. We had walked by during construction, and then read an article about Cereality in the local newspaper--and since college students are the finest cereal connoisseurs, we decided we had to give it a shot.
As far as ambiance goes its like,art gallery meets Saturday morning cartoon. There are purple walls lined with portraits showcasing a few of America's favorite cereal box characters, cereal encased in clear glass frames with name and dates (I'm surprised they didn't buy the corn flake that looked like Illinois), and finally a "kitchen" table with a TV in front of it showing cartoons.
I got the honeycomb cereal with peaches, strawberries and soy milk. My friend, got fruity pebbles with brown sugar, bananas, strawberries and soy milk. We were both hooked on our first bite. They even have cereal combos for the indecisive, yogurt dishes, and hot cereal.
A+, I'll be back soon!
Ever since I saw the movie FLAKES I've been looking into finding a cereal cafe somewhere I could visit. since theres only a handful in the US I deceided my best chance was here in Santa Cruz. Just like in the movie they took a stoner hangout serving cereal and being a cereal museum of sorts and turned it into a starbucks serving $4 a bowl whole grain/high fiber etc. Now this place is part of the Cold Stone Creamery chain and I now see they have just added the cereality menu to some of the CSC locations. I love the idea of eating cereal out but it seems it would be better suited for someplace like Haight-Ashbury.
This is a Coldstone version of cereal!! Jason and I tried the PB + B combo which consisted of Peanut Butter Captain Crunch, Cocoa Puffs cereal, chocolate syrup and bananas. We paid $4 for a small bowl just to try it out and it was scrumptious!!
It's a really cool concept and all, especially if you need that quick fix on a cereal craving; I'm just not sure if I'd consistenly pay $4 on JUST a bowl of cereal when I could pay that much for an entire box! Anyway, it was definitely worth trying, but I don't know if I'd ever go back...
I give this place 3 stars because its a pretty cool concept, it's a cute spot to hang out and eat cereal AND the cereal we had was good!
After googling research this place is CLOSED!!!
I like cereal alot.... Partly because I can't cook and it does'nt look like I'm starting to try… Read more »
My family and I had SOOOO much fun with this concept.
We were cruising Downtown SC last weekend and saw that they had Tart Frozen Yogurt (my absolute FAVORITE). I got a large Natural flavor- and it was some of the best I've had. My husband got the Life Experience- Life cereal with bananas, almonds and honey- he's lactose intolerant so he was planning on eating it dry- but they offer Soy and Rice milk!
My daugthers got the Banana Brown Betty oatmeal- which the staff cooks in a skillet while you watch (piping hot oatmeal with brown sugar, bananas, strussel and caramel sauce) Then we all chilled out and watched cartoons on their huge flatscreen. Soo fun.
I was looking for a breakfast place and found Cereality. This place has every cereal you could imagine!
They have healthy cereal as well as good old fashion Apple Jacks!
The decor is awesome - the perfect place to chill out and enjoy your favorite bowl of cereal. It brought back childhood memories.
Thanks Cereality!
I was really skeptical when it came in, why buy a bowl of cereal? But honestly..... it's great. You can mix cereals and toppings which makes for a great snack or meal. They also have a ton of fresh fruit to choose from, so even though its a little pricey I think it's a great.
They also have a fun atmosphere, great study place, and I took my nephews when they were in town and they loved it.
The service is also fantastic!
Hey cheap skates who are bitchin about $5 cereal bowls... bet everyone of you has paid $3 for a bottle of water before, or $10 for a cocktail or beer. Get a life or find something better to do than be cheap and annoying on Yelp.
Any new concept of food in a fun environment like this is a movement in the right direction. This is the future of dining people! It's time to get out of the house, be on the go, eat on the run... hopefully we'll all have active enough lifestyles that we'll need to run into the next Cereality Bar down the street to grab a quick bite, versus sitting on out phat asses at home digging into stale cereal boxes. Companies like this are doing mankind a service and improving the quality of our lives.
Here's my signature cereal combo: Reeses Peanut Butter Puffs with Peanut Butter Oatmeal.
Try it!
This place is an AMAZING concept. I took my best friend here for her birthday, and we brought a bunch of our friends and pigged out on cereal. With all the fruit toppings there's too much to choose from, including pop rocks! I got the Cinnamon Toast Crunch with strawberries and bananas with a strawberry peach smoothie. The people working were very gracious when we told them how excited we were to eat there, they gave us great service. I love the decorations too, I guess when you really appreciate cereal this can possibly be your favorite place. Just writing this makes me totally hungry.
So I basically love cereal. My best friend posted the review under mine, she took me here for my 22nd birthday, we brought some good friends and it was seriously a blast. The workers were awesome and lots of fun to be around. I would recommend this place to anyone and everyone! We're hoping to actually go back again tomorrow. So if you like cereal, go!!! It's so worth it!
This place was disappointing to me. Since I watch a lot of Food Network, I got really excited when I saw that they were opening up a Cereality in Santa Cruz! I went in the first day it opened and was super stoked. Two of my friends ordered the PB&J which was good! I decided to try something new and order one of their customized oatmeals (since I saw someone else order it and it looked delicious). So I ordered the one with nutella and strawberries (I forgot the name) and waited a good amount of time for it. When I first tasted it, it was SALTY! This is not how oatmeal should taste so I told them and they decided to make me another one. After it was done, I tasted it and realized that it was a completely different order. They made the all strawberries one. The taste of it was a bit overwhelming and I was really looking forward to the other one. But since they already made me a new one, I did not want them to make a third one for me. The sweetness this time was a bit too much for me even when I added a tiny bit of milk to it. I just could not finish it.
As for the cereal, I had some of my friends' and it was good. You cannot go wrong with cereal so I would say to stick to that! It might have just been my luck of not getting exactly what I ordered but I am definitely not going to order that again.
As for the atmosphere, I really liked it. It feels like a giant kitchen with cute decorations on the wall!
this is the place to go if you ever wanted to feel like a kid again for just one day!
after hearing about cereality for many years i was excited to stop into this santa cruz location when i was in town taking in some sites. first off this is a great place and an awesome idea. sure i could bu my own box for around the price of what i get here but then i tend to sit around on my fat butt and eat the entire box while watching old movies.
and with a place like this that even has a realistic home kitchen, dining room and living room i feel like just getting comfy on those couches watching the cartoons playing or listening to the great selection of 80's music playing.
i prefer the cold cereal menu as they have some of the old faves we all grew up with but with a cool twist. i love the pb + crunch- peanut butter panda puffs, cap'n crunch, bananas and chocolate make me feel like elvis. or how about the devil made me do it- cocoa puffs, lucky charms, chocolate more chocolate and malted milk balls to top off the whole chocolate thing. the best part is they are served in the coolest chinese style take out boxes so it's so easy to carry on the go. and the spoons rock! little plastic spoons with holes in the end i can drink my milk out of as a straw.
the hot oatmeal menu looks great as well but i have always been more of a cold cereal kid. just call me healthy! :) i have got to try the smoothies next time i'm in santa cruz because i really need to see how pop rocks taste in a smoothie drink.
just to give you and idea of the many possibilities here's what they have to offer as far as ingredients.
Apple Jacks
Bran Flakes
Cap'n Crunch
Crunch Berries
Cheerios
Cinnamon Life
Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Cocoa Puffs
Corn Chex
Corn Flakes
Corn Pops
Crispix
Froot Loops
Frosted Flakes
Frosted Mini Wheats
Fruity Pebbles
Golden Grahams
Grape Nuts
Honey Graham Oh's
Honey Nut Cheerios
Kix
Life
Lucky Charms
Oatmeal Squares
Optimum Power
Panda Puffs
Raisin Bran
Reese's Puffs
Rice Krispies
Special K
Trix
Wheaties
Granolas
Cereality Hose Granola
Cereality Low - Fat House Granola
Organic Cinnamon Spice Granola
Peanut Butter Almond Granola
Fruit
Apples
Bananas
Blueberries
Coconut
Dried Apples
Dried Apricots
Dried Cherries
Dried Cranberries
Dried Mixed Berries
Golden Raisins
Peaches
Raisins
Strawberries
Nuts / Grains
Almonds
Grape Nuts
Pecans
Trail Mix (Contains Nuts)
Walnuts
Wheat Bran
Wheat Germ
Other
Candy-Coated Chocolates
Caramel Sauce
Cereality Charms
(Triple) Chocolate Chips
Chocolate Cookies
Chocolate Syrup
Coffee Syrup
Graham Bits
Honey
Malted Milk Balls
Maple Syrup
Mini Marshmallows
Peanut Butter Sauce
Pop Rocks
Reese's Pieces
Strawberry Syrup
Struesel
Yogurt, Low-Fat Vanilla
i think im developing a tart addiction, cos ive been needing more tart in my yogurt, the tarter the better. psychic dependence perhaps? but luckily, this place delivers the tart, and i love it. hope to try the cereal when i come back. seems like a novel way to serve cereal. and im diggin the milk dispenser! so clever!
Santa Cruz, CA
Category: Bakeries
Santa Cruz, CA
Category: Breakfast & Brunch
Santa Cruz, CA
Category: Chinese
Santa Cruz, CA
Category: Chinese
Santa Cruz, CA
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