Review: Juice Bar - Anderson - Cincinnati, Ohio

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We had high hopes when we spotted the Juice Bar in the Anderson Towne Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Juice Bar is actually a very large chain, with locations in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Texas.

I tend to be more critical of big chains than local restaurants because they've had time to perfect their recipes many times over.

The Restaurant Layout and Menu

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This place is a lot healthier than we originally anticipated. There are several options if you are looking for vegan or gluten-free snacks and drinks. They did not have as many smoothie options as we would have liked, and food was limited compared to the drink options, but that's to be expected. They also have a refrigerated case of snacks and drinks ready to go if you don't want to wait and grab something fresh. Our order took about 10 minutes to prepare, which is saying something as we were the only ones in there and ordered two drinks.

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Luckily for us, they have some wonderfully comfortable waiting chairs. They also have a mini gift shop where you can purchase clothes and glassware, along with tiny trinkets, so we poked around while we waited. If you want to eat or drink inside the restaurant, they have a small counter on the left wall when you walk in, but we decided to drink outside and enjoy the nice weather.

Our Order and Critical Review

My boyfriend ordered their strawberry smoothie, which has strawberries, bananas, and apple juice for $6.50. I ordered their golden milk latte ($6) which had coconut milk, cinnamon, and honey. These prices were incredibly high for what we got. You can get a far better latte at Starbucks for cheaper, and a smoothie two times the size at Smoothie Café (see my review).

The smoothie was decent, but nothing special. My boyfriend complained that the banana drowned out the strawberry flavor, as he isn't a huge banana fan. As a banana fan, I didn't think the flavor was very strong, but it was definitely noticeable. I don't think marketing it as a strawberry smoothie was the right move.

The latte, unfortunately, was disgusting. I had high hopes for it, but it tasted like lukewarm water with cinnamon on top. I was drinking globs of cinnamon and getting no other flavor whatsoever. It has really turned me off coconut milk for the time being, and I do enjoy it typically.

Final thoughts

Overall, we were a bit bummed with our experience at Juice Bar. Our two drinks were ridiculously expensive for what we received. The smoothie was okay, but we could've gotten a better one anywhere else. The latte was terrible. The staff members were very nice and the restaurant was cute, so we don't regret trying it, but we will not be heading back to this chain anytime soon.

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