ROM: Juice Reviews

For the Blitz, The Sagamore reviewed and compared three juice bars. Here’s what we thought.

As healthy foods become more popular, juice places around Brookline have begun providing the trendy products. We visited several juice bars to see how they stacked up: Pure Cold Press, located in Coolidge Corner, and Squeeze Juice Bar and Juice Press, two convenient and accessible shops in Chestnut Hill.

Pure Cold Press

Although none of the three restaurants serve full meals, Pure Cold Press offered options ranging from salads and sandwiches to breakfast bowls and cleanses. Compared to the other two, this restaurant had the greatest variety.

We ordered two cleanses, The Hulk ($6.99) and Namaste ($6.99), and an Avocado Smash sandwich ($8.99). Cleanses are healthy blends of vegetables and fruit that are either purchased as small shots or protein juices. The cleanses and juices were made right in front of us in interesting machines that chopped up the vegetables and delivered the beverages directly.  The space had a sleek and sophisticated feel, with wood paneled walls behind a few tables and brightly colored chairs.

The Hulk included a mixture of kale, apple, lemon and ginger, while Namaste featured pineapple, pear, lime, mint and chamomile. The sandwich had slices of avocado, lemon, red onion, lettuce, tomato and sea salt.
The simple meal was incredibly satisfying and calm, and the employees provided great service and delivered exactly what we needed. We watched as they made our food right in front of us, making it a more personal experience. Pure Cold Press is a good place to visit after school or during lunch.

Squeeze Juice Bar

Next, we visited Squeeze Juice Bar, located at The Street Chestnut Hill. The restaurant was a bit difficult to find, without any signs or indicators for the restaurant. After walking down a narrow street, entering the building and going up a flight of stairs, we finally found it. Since it was a small nook placed next to a dimly lit sitting area and closed office booths, the atmosphere of the juice bar was a bit unexpected.

We ordered a simple Grateful Dead smoothie ($8.00) and shot of energy juice ($5.00). Apart from juices and smoothies, there was not much variety. The smoothie was a thick mixture of blueberry, strawberry, banana, hemp seed and almond milk. The hemp seed dominated the other flavors. The shot of energy juice contained a small cup of ginger, lemon, turmeric and agave. 

Squeeze Juice Bar is a great place to have a healthy smoothie or protein shake after a workout, as it provided a calm area conveniently next to the gym. It is one of six Squeeze Juice Bars in Boston.

Juice Press

Lastly, we went to Juice Press, which is also located in Chestnut Hill. The placement of this restaurant is incredible, close to many other food and clothing stores such as Legal Seafoods, The Cottage, Shake Shack, and Lulu Lemon. Like the other juice bars, everything was organic, vegan and kosher.

The seating at Juice Press differed in that there was a single bench that went through the store, with square-shaped tables across from it nailed into the ground. Right as we entered, we encountered a large glass box encasing juices, cleansers, salads and frozen soups.

We ordered a Roasted Veggie Salad ($10.00), Souper Greens ($6.50) and a Dark Chocolate Smoothie ($8.00). Due to a lack of availability of some products, we were unable to purchase the enticing Egyptian Red Lentil Soup ($6.50).

The Roasted Veggie Salad had cauliflower kale, bell pepper, kabocha squash, carrot, zucchini, pumpkin seed, arugula, and yellow onion. It was a very colorful salad, but had lost flavor and freshness, likely due to an extended period of refrigeration.

The Souper Greens was a warm soup: a blend of broccoli, spinach, avocado, onion and garlic. The Dark Chocolate Smoothie had dark chocolate, banana, coconut, chia seed and homemade almond milk: no processed foods. The service was amazing, and we especially enjoyed the creamy soup and great location.

With the variety of Pure Cold Press, convenience of the Squeeze Juice Bar and uniqueness of Juice Press, Brookline provides many juice places for students at the high school to enjoy.