Juice Bars of Coral Gables
The Liquid Diet
By Lizzie Wilcox
April 2020
Coral Gables was recently named the best place to live in Florida by Money Inc. for obvious reasons. But it could also be dubbed as one of the healthiest places to live in Florida, based on the amount of juice and smoothie bars alone.
One of the most popular smoothie destinations in town is Gables Juice Bar on Almeria Avenue. In true Gables style, most of their smoothies are named after luxury cars, save for the Very Berry and PMS – pineapple, mango, strawberry, that is. The M.Benz is made with strawberry, banana and pineapple; take out the pineapple and you have the Bentley. They only offer one size for $7.60, but it is large enough to fill you up for breakfast or lunch.
With a paseo side entrance on Alcazar Avenue is Banana Berry, formerly known as Green Berry. This might be a good time to get the Flu Fighter, made with banana, strawberry, orange, Vitamin C, Echinacea and Spirulina. If you’re not in the mood for something fruity, head straight for the Super Smoothies portion of the menu, which has drinks like the Peanut Power and Coffee Builder. Its wood décor gives off a bohemian vibe that transports you to New York. But sitting in its cute outdoor garden-like area in the winter brings you straight back to Coral Gables.
The Dr. Smood chain recently opened a location on Giralda Avenue, bringing its organic juices and “smoodys” to the City Beautiful in a comfortable lounge-like setting. The Lean Green smoody is a mixture of celery, lemon and ginger juices, spinach, kale, avocado, plant protein powder and maca – whatever that is. Down the block at the east end of Giralda Plaza, you’ll find yet another juice bar: Green Life Organic Bistro.
The place is tiled, cool and clean, the fridge is stocked with cold pressed juices, and they have half a dozen smoothies ready to be made. We love the Strawberry Dragon because how often can you find a smoothie made with dragon fruit?
In the South Gables (across U.S. 1), there are even more places to satisfy your liquid diet needs. Around the corner from Madruga Bakery, Raw Juce offers different levels of juice cleanses for the “juce warriors.” The beginner, intermediate and advanced packages range anywhere from $65 – $450 depending on how many days you cleanse. Next to Whip ’N’ Dip on Sunset Drive, Sun Juice Smoothie & Juice Bar has an almost overwhelming amount of options: tropical smoothies, berry smoothies, citrus smoothies, milk-based smoothies, new smoothies (which they change every two weeks). Allot yourself an extra 10 minutes just to take in the entire menu.
Regardless of your choice of vendor, a liquid diet is a great way to give your digestive system a break, while still getting key nutrients and doubling your bathroom breaks!