urban CRAVINGS — Restaurant in Niagara Falls

Some pros and some cons. First things first, I think their smoothies and salads/wraps are delicious. I wish Niagara had more healthy food options like this place, and I genuinely want to see them succeed!

My mint avocado smoothie was beautifully blended and bursting with flavor, giving me the same satisfaction I'd get from a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream. I also loved my pesto BLT salad wrap with chicken, which was well assembled with the right balance of dressing, salad greens, croutons, and veggies. I do think the food is worth coming back for and I'd like to try other menu items.

Good food aside, the Montrose Road location in Niagara definitely has a few opportunities for improvement. I really hope the owners will read what I'm about to say with an open mind.

First, it's very difficult to hear the staff when they speak to you, and even more difficult to communicate loudly enough for them to hear you respond. The music they play is on the louder side, and the open floor plan and metal fixtures don't do anything to dampen the sound -- too much white noise to hear voices clearly. So, while the staff were quite pleasant, I found it overwhelming to have to ask them to repeat themselves multiple times, and to repeat myself and nearly shout in order for them to hear me. They were not busy when I visited, so it's not like I was shouting over other people - it was all because of the overhead music and lack of sound dampening, which are probably more within the restaurant's control than they may realize.

Next, I think they need more visual indicators that communicate to customers where to go in order to stand, order, and wait for their food. A restaurant's design should be intuitive enough that the customer can figure it out quickly and on their own, but that wasn't the case here. They had two signs hanging overhead to indicate where to "pick up" versus "order," but those signs are not at eye level and very easy to miss when you walk in. I didn't notice them until a few minutes later when I was already waiting for my order and glancing around. I think it really threw me off that the front counter (which is the first thing you see when you enter) is not really a place where you can easily browse the full menu. Instead, you have to turn the corner and walk up and down to be able to see all of the different menu items, which are arranged above the food prep area on a gallery-style wall. This is not user-friendly design, and it made the experience feel even more overwhelming than it already was with all the noise. I can't imagine how a system like that is going to work once (if!) they ever get to a point where they're busy with a lot of customers at the same time. It simply isn't efficient and I hope they can figure out a better system and workflow.

Finally, the atmosphere does not feel inviting and it's not a place I'd want to sit and grab lunch with friends. I get the sense they want to be more of a takeout/delivery place. If so, fine. But I think most people would agree with me that loud music, being forced to shout and repeat yourself to order food, not being able to easily access the full menu without walking up and down an entire side corridor, and a lack of comfortable seating feel like hostile design. Too many restaurants lean into the "hostile design" thing these days, and it's clear they do it because they don't want people bringing their laptops and loitering. I don't think that many people do the laptop thing these days, and even if they do, this new location isn't busy enough right now to justify pushing potential customers away. Maybe get a steady customer base first before you introduce hostile design elements to keep loiterers in check?

Again, great food and I'd like to see them succeed, but the ordering process and atmosphere leave a lot...

I am so sad to say this evening’s experience was nothing but a disappointment. I have been coming since they opened and have been getting the Açai smoothie bowl with vegan vanilla protein ( at least 8 times). Today I was told because the service staff is newer that they don’t do that. They blatantly lied and said the smoothies are pre blended, and they can’t add protein powder. My partner and I were so disappointed. When asking about another bowl on the menu that had protein they said that one is old it doesn’t come with protein either, even though the menu mentions whey protein. We just wanted the vegan protein due to my lactose allergy. They were giving a lot of attitude and seemed upset at us. So I thank them for their time and left hungry. My experience before today had always been positive with Carlene the manager accommodating us. No one should ever feel that when they walk away from a business that the employees are gossiping and laughing with their friends because you wanted what you always come for. If you do get a chance to have it.. it is amazing… I guess it’s no smoothie bowl...

Honestly, it saddens me to write this review because I LOVE the location at fourth ave and in port, but I went to this location yesterday and the girl who made my rice bowl was very nice but it took her a good 15-20 minutes to take our order, make the bowl and burrito and cash us out. I gave her the benefit of the doubt because she was new but my sister had a burrito and it had whole tomatoes in it, and my rice bowl was so vinegary. I am not sure what happened but it isn't cheap so it was upsetting when my bowl tasted like nothing but vinegar, I couldn't even finish it and it made my mouth hurt thats how much...