Robeks Fresh Juices & Smoothies — Restaurant in San Diego

I had great experience here overall. 1 of my favorite smoothie stores locally, especially for quality & form/type & variety of ingredients, & for customization options, & relatively affordable (medium cost rate, not highly expensive). Staff was helpful in answering my questions & helping me get customized smoothie that I was trying to get to fit my food/diet preference/restrictions. They allowed customized smoothies or create my own custom smoothie from ingredients.

The store indoor public area was small. Small space for standing in line or waiting for order. Arrangement mainly seems for ordering, or waiting for orders or for pickup. Few people when I was there in evenings or nights, so there was no long line or long waiting.

A little seating & few tables outside. A few more seats & tables nearby that may be available in front of other stores. Also, you may find a little more public seating in mall or shopping centers for eating.

Bathroom, no public bathroom. You can find public bathrooms nearby in the mall(s) or other stores or shopping centers, some listed on mall directory signs/lists.

Parking. Plenty of free parking nearby, outside street level, mall parking, & even more underground parking further away in the mall.

Public transit. Nearby, trolley Green Line station, & bus route 6. Further, Fashion Valley Mall transit center, a major hub.

Located as part of Mission Valley Mall, Northwest corner, in separate buildings. Also very much other shopping nearby, several other malls or shopping centers, & movie theaters too (3 movie theaters close by), Hazard Center mall, Fashion Valley Mall, & more. Many specialty & department stores.

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They would customize any smoothie or let me create my own. I guess same for other items like bowls & shots & juices? I have only tried smoothies. The staff seemed somewhat knowledgeable about the ingredients. The staff were helpful in answering my questions, & trying to get me what I wanted versus don't want, & Even asked me about options just in case (like juice versus whole food. Also check the provided pamphlets with info, or online. May need to research online, if serious dietary restrictions or needs. I will even ask if I can look at ingredients on their packages, especially for items that tend to have extra ingredients like powder or boosts or add-ons; unfortunately some will have extra unwanted ingredients, such as protein powder having other non-protein or non-flavor ingredients (carbs, fats, possible...

I’ve been to other locations and always had a pleasant experience, but unfortunately this location was absolutely awful. I ordered online at 3:20 PM and arrived at 3:30 PM to a lobby full of impatient people and only two employees working. After a few minutes I asked one of the ladies how long she had been waiting and she responded “30 minutes.” Eventually a couple people stormed out and one lady told them that they need to let people know if they can’t make an order in under 10 minutes so they can choose somewhere else to go. After waiting another 10 minutes I kindly asked for an ETA on my order, at which point they told me they couldn’t find any record of it. They rang in my order again and said that they needed to charge me again, even though I had confirmation of my previous order and payment…??? At that point it had been 30 minutes since I had ordered and was going to be incredibly late to my appointment so I just agreed in frustration to being charged again just so I could get my smoothie and leave. But then they handed me a smoothie that was clearly made wrong, and not filled up to the top of the cup. I told them the drink is supposed to be brown, not white, because it’s a chocolate smoothie, and the employee just blankly stared back… didn’t offer to remake it. I grabbed a straw and left. Got in my car at 4:00 PM (40 minutes since ordering my drink) only to realize the smoothie was made so thick that I couldn’t even drink it through the straw. I was so mad I went somewhere else and had them throw it away. I will never go back to this location in fear of the same service being repeated. ** I want to point out, that a tip jar was on the counter with a note saying “we’re all students, please tip.” There was no sign of a manager or anyone who seemed to be in charge to ensure the shift was running smoothly. I don’t blame the kids working there for not being able to handle a busy rush or customer service issues when they don’t even look old enough to buy beer. This location needs stable management of some kind, because if every day was like this, they would lose all...

I am a HUGE fan of Robeks, and so I always make it a point to visit if I know there's one nearby. This being said, I've visited ALL Robeks in San Diego. This one-star is really based on the service done at THIS particular Robeks. Either it's always been just my luck with coming on their "weird and off" days, or Mission Valley really does have the WORST Robeks ever!

EMPLOYEES: The employees always come across to me as extremely snobby and unfriendly. Maybe I expect too much from this one because it's a Robeks and I'm used to the friendly service from others (from places like UTC, Clairemont, and MiraMesa), but come on. Do you really need me to tell you I'm ready so you can stop playing Angry Birds loudly on your cell phone in front of the cash register? I didn't even look at the menu. I came straight to the register already obviously READY to order.

SMOOTHIES: A repeat Robeks customer knows that there is some type of texture and a pleasantly thick consistency to their smoothies, especially if it's already their favorites or "usuals". So when I request to have my regular Green Tea Sensation done all over again because you gave it to me in a liquidy and runny form, please don't roll your eyes at me. This happened to me not once, not twice, but three different times with three different employees. And everyone knows Acai Energizer is a dark purple color, not a pale pinkish purple color. It's like they can't get it right each time.

PARKING: There's plenty of parking. The store sits in the middle of a small shopping strip of the Mission Valley mall parking lot in front of Target. Sits with Pei Wei, Corner Bakery Cafe and some other stores. You'll never have problems with parking here.

ATMOSPHERE: Given my review, you can almost guess what the atmosphere is like. Very uninviting, even though the layout of the store is obviously Robeks. A wolf in sheep's clothing is the best way for me to describe it. LOL.

I wonder what the Robeks owner is doing differently to this store that sets it apart in a negative way compared to the other Robeks in San Diego. Such a huge...