Tropical Smoothie Cafe Review (Southside Location)

Despite my love of healthy eats and smoothies, I have surprisingly never been to Tropical Smoothie Cafe. When I think of a typical smoothie place it usually doesn't involve food of any sort, more like your basic fruit and veggie blends, so I was surprised when I found out that this place offers salads, wraps, and even Asian noodle bowls!

To view their menu, click HERE



I was particularly intrigued by their new "Unbeetable" smoothie which combines fresh beets, strawberries, blueberries, banana, and cranberries. I'm not gonna lie, it scared me a little. Although I am a huge fan of roasted beets I'm not quite sure what my consensus would be of eating them in a cold, blended form. I very hesitantly asked the cashier what he thought of it and his response was, "well... it tastes like beets" and with that very descriptive response, I decided to go for it. Your palette picks up on all the flavors from the other fruits and then towards the very end of the sip you're hit with a certain sweet beetyness, which was not the least bit unpleasant. In fact, I became increasingly more fond of this smoothie with every sip and by the end I was kinda sad it was gone.

I also tried one of the indulgent smoothies, which had peanut butter, banana, and chocolate. It was creamy, thick, and indeed indulgent but let's be honest, is it even possible to make peanut butter and chocolate NOT taste good? Oh, and let me also take this change to mention how HUGE these smoothies are, each one is 24oz. and believe me, they're a meal in themselves (FYI I was sharing all of this with a friend).

For my main entree, I had to try the Ginger Miso Chicken, which had carrots, edamame, baby spinach, scallions, cucumber and noodles with sesame seeds and Ginger Miso Sauce. Although I didn't see any sesame seeds or cucumbers in mine, it was still delicious. The noodles had a great texture, the sauce was plentiful and had that great little zing of ginger, and the edamame and spinach were two great additions. I was happy to see that it was served warm and not cold (like soba noodle salads I've had before) and like the smoothies, the portion size was impressive!

The Verdict:
Tropical Smoothie Cafe offers way more than the name implies, the portion sizes are more than adequate for the price, and the ingredients are fresh and satisfying. I would definitely return for a refreshing drink or a quick meal.

What To Order:
Definitely give the noodle bowl a try, and even though I've only tried a couple, I am willing to bet you really can't go wrong with any smoothie.