Tropical Smoothie Cafe — Restaurant in Normal

I’ve been to various other locations, and had been to this location a year or so ago with no issues. I recently went back and was very disappointed. Based on the consistently high ratings, my only guess is this location has recently changed ownership. The employees were friendly, however, the food did not even reach the level of mediocre.

I got an açaí bowl which seemed to have been made the night before and then frozen, inasmuch as it had an icy texture and could be cut through with a knife, instead of it being a thicker, yet creamy texture (as is typical). The kale and apple salad was not any better. The kale was soft and wilted, and the apples were mushy and browning. Similarly, the romaine lettuce in the wrap was wilted, soft and a dark green color — again, indicating it was old and going bad.

It’s unfortunate because I’m always wanting to add different restaurants to my rotation for lunches during the week, and I was hopeful this would be a good addition, but after this experience, i will not...

Island Green: Spinach, Kale, Pineapple, Banana, and Mango (8/10)…could have asked for one of the fruits juice to be added but overall good.

Sunrise Sunset: Strawberries, Pineapple, Mango & Orange juice w/ add on of Multivitamin, Chia Seeds, and Wheat Protein. (8/10)…some Greek Yogurt and a little more juice could have been added but overall good.

Blueberry Bliss: Blueberry, Strawberry, and Banana (6/10)…should have added yogurt for thickness and flavor. Lighten up on the bananas since that’s what I taste the most. But overall fairly okay/good.

Amazing...

There's a reason this TSC is 5 stars through and through—it's a shining beacon of service and good quality + reliability in Bloomington-Normal, a metro already packed full of restaurants. I love trying the new smoothies, the non-drink menu is ideal, and I really hope to see more unique entries and flavor combinations in the near future. Huge props go to the team running this location as well—in my years of digesting Google Maps data, I have never seen 5 star consistency retained for this...