Liquid Diet 

A Quick Guide to Juices in the Gables 

Health is in. Luckily, The City Beautiful keeps up with the trend, with an abundance of healthy lunch spots that include smoothies and juices. To help you find cool refreshment that comes with nutritional benefits, we compiled a survey of our favorite fresh, cold-pressed juices around town. 

GreenLife Organic Bistro 

GreenLife has a small selection of cold-pressed juices to complement their breakfast and lunch menu. The juices come in a bottle to go, but you can enjoy them sitting outside on Giralda Plaza. We chose the Heart Beets juice, a bright pink mix of beets, granny smith apples, pineapple, and lime. We were skeptical about how beets would taste in a juice, but the pineapple and apple take over with a perfect combo of sweet and sour. 

Dr. Smood 

Want an upscale setting for your juice fix? Dr. Smood (271 Giralda Ave.) has a spacious seating area with booths and comfy armchairs. It also has a fridge stocked with freshly made juices, cold pressed each day to retain enzymes and vitamins. We went with Cold Press Juice No.9 described as “Love with a Kick” (lemon, lime, raw honey, ginger, turmeric, orange, oregano leaf, cayenne, and echinacea), a great morning kick-start for your metabolism. 

Biltmore Hotel Juice Bar 

Bet you didn’t know there was a juice bar at the Biltmore Hotel. It’s right by their fitness center, a small room with a chalkboard wall – and anything you need to pre-energize or re-energize before or after your workout. The menu is split between smoothie and juice options, all made fresh. We tried the Apple Ginger Juice (apples, ginger, lemon, and cinnamon), a go-to for anyone who loves sour flavors. Fairly priced, tasty, and good for you! 

Raw Juce 

Aside from acai bowls and smoothies, Raw Juce (112 Madruga Ave.) offers great organic cold pressed juices. A bit pricey, but they are also gluten free, GMO free, BPA free, and come pre-packaged. Our favorites are the thick, fruity, and sweet Green Protein (banana, pineapple, almond milk, cucumber, chard, spirulina, and protein) followed by chocolate milk-like ChocoLIT (cashews, almond milk, coconut nectar, cacao, and sea salt). Both delicious. 

Banana Berry 

A block west of Le Jeune at 305 Alcazar Ave., Banana Berry is a cozy lunch spot with wood paneling and plants, tables outside, and upbeat pop music. Here you can recharge with all-natural, fairly priced, made-on-the-spot juices. You can even make your own from scratch. We went with Sunrise in Miami (oranges, carrots, and ginger), feeling our energy levels rise as we sipped this tasty, tarte treat. Who needs caffeine? Although they do serve coffee… 

Gables Juice Bar 

Disguised as a pizza joint covered with vintage posters of classic rockers like The Beatles and Jimmy Hendrix, Gables Juice Bar & Muscle Pizza (230 Almeria Ave.) also has a freshly pressed juice menu. We went with the Lemonade with Ginger, made simply from lemon, ginger, and apples. Tasty and naturally sweet, but not too sweet. Although Gables Juice Bar is not currently allowing dine-in due to the Omicron variant, you can still order takeout.