Juuice Bar Review
Written by: Deepa & Meera (Instagram: @eavithus)
Venue Heritage
The concept of Juuice Bar was born 3 years ago at Abbey Sports and Leisure Centre Gym, developed by Personal Trainer Jay and a small team to provide fresh juices, smoothies, protein shakes, health shots such as turmeric and sea moss to health conscious gym goers. Over time they built up a clientele extending beyond the gym. The venue at the gym allows them to host events and provide fresh and fruity libations as an additional package to the venue hire.
In the latter part of 2022, the Team behind Juuice Bar expanded their horizons to a City Centre venue with the view to bring their healthy drinking concept to the wider public of Leicester. They have bagged a prime location, tucked away in St Martin’s Square. The location allows them to source their fruit and veg locally from the famous Leicester Market around the corner.
The unique selling point of the Juuice Bar brand, is that their smoothies are made with fresh pressed apple juice instead of milk, offering their smoothies a vibrancy and fruitier flavour than traditional milk based smoothies, without compromising on texture. The cold pressed juices are also used to make cocktails (and mocktails) through the day into the evening, offering a fresher option to those who are out for evening drinks!
Inclusivity
-Mostly vegetarian, and plenty of vegan options clearly marked on the menu
-Allergens to be discussed when placing your order
-Level access for wheelchair users and those with ambulant disabilities. Cosy space but would be able to navigate a wheelchair in some parts of the space. Bathroom facilities are upstairs.
-No highchairs or changing tables, but all drinks are made with no added sugar – only the natural sweetness from juices.
The Venue
The bar has undergone a substantial refurbishment since being taken over from their predecessors. The vibe is very much ‘Jungle Chic’ with leafy foliage and modern lighting featuring alongside stone and metal jungle animal themed ornaments throughout the bar providing a chilled-out backdrop for the day, and a relaxed aesthetic into the evening for drinks.
The Menu
The Menu is split into subsections, with the headings of ‘Juices’, ‘Smoothies’, ‘Bowls’, ‘Proteins’, ‘Superfood Lattes’, ‘Milk Shakes’, ‘Boba Tea’, Toasties’, ‘Waffles’, ‘Immune Booster’, ‘Three Little Bears Porridge’, ‘Organic Soups’, ‘Fruit Bowls/Platters’, ‘Nibbles’, ‘Cocktails’ and ‘Mocktails’ ranging from £3-9.
We didn’t try any food when we visited so can’t speak directly about our experiences with these, but we have heard that the toasties and the liege waffles are delicious, and hope to try some of the food options on future visits.
Drinks
We ordered a Smoothie each, and there are our thoughts:
Mango Magic Smoothie (£5.45 Regular, £6.45 Large) This smoothie was delicious and naturally sweet. Made from mango, mango pulp and pear in addition to the base of cold pressed apple juice, it was vibrant and refreshing. It was served with a wooden spoon to eat the garnishes of fresh fruit, desiccated coconut, chia seeds, mixed seeds and almond flakes alongside sipping the smoothie which was rich in Vitamins C, A, B6, E and K.
Sunset Passion (£5.45 Regular, £6.45 Large) This smoothie was less sweet than the Mango Magic but was served with the same garnishes. The fruits within this smoothie blend were individually more subtle but combined to provide a fresh and flavourful smoothie. This smoothie promised top up Vitamins A, C, B1, B6, E, K and B12 with the combined flavours of passion fruit, papaya, pineapple, peach, guava, and aloe vera.
Value for Money
We felt as though prices here were really fair – all menu items are priced at under £9. Given the freshness of the fruit and veg used within the menu, you’re definitely going to be packing in a lot (if not all) of your 5 a day quota within one visit.
Overall Experience
We really did enjoy our smoothies. We do like our bubble tea but are actually quite partial to refreshing juices, smoothies, mocktails and cocktails – particularly as the weather gets warmer and you want something more thirst quenching than the fizzies. The cold pressed juice replacing the milk in the smoothies made a big difference to the taste and texture of the smoothies, in a really good way. We are certainly looking forward to trying more of the menu – particularly the smoothie bowls, cocktails and mocktails.
Deepa & Meera
