Juice Ranch Cafe — Restaurant in Santa Barbara

After giving a 1 star review at the Juice Ranch's Montecito location and receiving a very harsh retort from the owner's claiming I intended to do harm and that my frustrations were misplaced (versus trying to see it from the perspective of someone who is poor) I decided to give them another fair shot. This time I chose the closer venue. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they have discount half off juices. Also when I asked the person working if they had all the half-off juices in stock they responded "Yes" with a bit of frustration in their voice saying if its on the board we have it in stock (OK I can read but that was not what I was asking - I was treated as if me asking that was a dumb question). I then ordered the avocado toast two Johny 5s and a Cashew Milk. Um, guess what - they were out of the Johnny 5 and avocado toast. I guess my dumb question was not so dumb. The person could have been more gracious when I asked, but they weren't. They did profusely apologize. And after their original errant response, they offered an excuse as to why their board was not up to date (haha) So be it. Such is life. Back to the juice. I ended up getting three. I have to say if all the juices were as good as Mermaid and always $5 (or even up to $7), I would give 5 stars. However, the CashewMilk was fair about 4 out of 5 (and I am rounding up since I am not a fan of nut milks but wanted to try it). The Yoda or Yoga juice tasted like what the owners might call flavored water. It was lackluster and really did taste like half juice added to half water. The highlight of the experience was the mermaid juice - it is excellent and the half off price point is so very great. For that juice alone rounds up their score from 1 to 3. Cute location. And again, this was not fresh pressed but recently pressed. And for the record, I used to work my own all natural farm, I have done my own fresh pressed juices, and I also worked with a quaker family in Michigan in a community justice oriented CSA (Sandhill CSA), so I know the difficulty and challenges of the food system we live within. They are doing a fair job. Could be better taste wise, service wise, and logistically. One of the pros (in my opinion) of fresh juice is getting to see, smell, and hear it being juiced. This feels like a stripped down experience - and for that I could just get pre-made juice for much, much less.

To the owners: feel free to attack me for my perspective and opinion and put me down. Or instead embrace it. Maybe if you did that, you might figure out how to get closer to 5 stars...

Honestly, this place has the best smoothie combinations in town. Totally new, different combinations that I haven’t had the privelege of trying anywhere else. From Portland to Hawaiian Islands, I have never had such delicious punchy smoothies. The ingredients are super fresh, in terms of blend and preparation, I’ve had three tremendously excellent experiences. I say tremendous, because the ferngully smoothie felt so healthy and nourishing, the forever young so zappy & awakening. And the breakfast club so friendly and fulfilling. It’s actually wonderful that Juice Ranch is here in SB, because there is no quality or product like it in this area, and likely rare quality to come across overall in this fast-paced world. Service is expedient and the juice specialists / cashiers are friendly and accommodating. Kassidy and a new trainee are super friendly and welcoming and I really appreciated my experience facilitated by these two individuals. Getting on board with Apple Pay would be aligned with seemingly the team’s mission. Is there a mission? It would be nice to see a mission statement when you step in. Price is higher than you’d expect & the sign explaining why is hidden in the corner (which I think is poor choice) but the quality you can taste and feel, so it feels a worthy expense for me. As a consumer of Juice Ranch products and services, I would personally like to know a little bit more about the foundation and mission powering this sweet juicy little café! A must reccomend for locals and a niche place for people passing through. Certainly haven’t been to anywhere like it. Near the beach, perfect for grab-and-go. The quality is above...

Honestly the quality of the smoothies is sadly very inconsistent. I’ve been going to juice ranch every day for the last week and I’ve noticed that some smoothies are just made poorly on a variable basis perhaps based on who’s working? Such as the supplements will be extremely strong and overbearing and there will be little to no fruit taste or clumpy if not more like light jello than a smoothie.... Also, depending on who’s working, the store has either an approachable atmosphere or not. I’ve noticed that some employees are not very friendly or socially gracious. You will walk in and feel like a nussance to them as they would rather continue gossiping amongst themselves and seemingly lack proper social, professional etiquette. It really depends on who’s working, but some employees don’t even ask how you’re doing or greet you properly. On these particular days I wish I could avoid the store completely because I feel so uncomfortable and put off by...