Best Açai in South Florida
Warm weather, tall palm trees, sandy beaches….all that’s missing from this scenic picture is a big and fruity açaí Bowl.
Growing up in South Florida is what S&J like to describe as “Living in Paradise.” No matter where you are in the vast peninsula we call the Sunshine State, you are never more than 2 hours away from the beach and good acai. Fun Fact: 60% of Florida’s population lives within 10 miles of the coast!
Açaí bowls have become a food trend in recent years- and honestly any food served in a bowl; ramen and poke as well! Jamie actually got Shir hooked to açaí bowls in December of 2014, after a day on the boat during our sophomore year winter break!
We’ll start off with the first açaí bowl S&J ever had from a local restaurant Jupiter, Florida.
1. 3 Natives
This açaí & juice bar has been expanding quickly! Just last year, they opened one up in Gainesville for all of us UF students to enjoy in between study sessions, and they recently opened one in Orlando close to UCF as well! 3Natives is all about protecting the environment and serving organic products. All juices are sold in glass bottles and gluten-free options are available. Surprisingly enough, 3 Natives series incredible bagels and tuna salads too.
Locations: Jupiter, Tequesta, Juno Beach, Gainesville, Boca Raton, Stuart, Orlando
2. Saravá Cafe
Translates to in the “Afro-Brazilian spiritual tradition.” This is a relatively new açaí restaurant in Wilton Manors, Fort Lauderdale. If you’re from SoFla and you’ve never been to Wilton Manors, you are doing it all wrong. Shir calls Wilton Manors Florida’s capital of gastronomy. So many unique restaurants have emerged here in recent years, and many were even featured on the Food Network!
Saravá is Shir’s FAVORITE açaí place of all time. Yes, it sounds like an exaggeration, but trust us it’s her first stop when visits home every time! The owner is now a good friend of hers, so if you stop by, mention her name and that she’s “that tall girl with the blog”- he’ll LOVE it. He performed tons of research to find the best ingredients and after months of searching, he decided to import from Brazil and Chicago.
Shir’s go-to bowl: Baiano (Açaí, Almond mylk, raw cacao powder, mesquite powder, stevia. Topped with Fresh banana, raw cacao nibs, granola)
3. JugoFresh
If you’ve been to Miami, then you’ve definitely visited the gentrified art district, Wynwood. This beautiful area is covered in art and graffiti and is where tourists and locals go to take photos, go to nice cafes, famous bakeries, and get their hair done (yes, they have an amazing salon, but that’s for another time).
If you’ve been to Wynwood, you’ve surely seen Jugofresh because it’s located right in the Wynwood Walls in that green covered area with fans (some of you have NO IDEA what we’re talking about but it’s okay because now you’ll just have to visit!). Jugofresh is mostly known for its fresh juices, but it makes delicious açaí bowls as well- heads up, it’s a bit pricier than the average açaí bowl, due to the prime location.
Locations: Most Whole Foods Markets in South Florida (juices only), Wynwood Walls, and Sunset Harbor
4. Raw Republic
This delicious little joint located in Aventura was created by 3 cousins who adopted a raw lifestyle and are strong supporters of juice cleansing. The picture below is one of Shir’s faves, Pretty in Pink. This bowl uses pitaya (dragonfruit) as the base instead of açaí.
For those of you interested in juice cleanses, you should definitely stop by this place because these cousins created the perfect cleanse for you to reset your body while receiving all of the micronutrients that you need!
Locations: Aventura and North Miami Beach
5. DIRT
This wellness cafe is Jamie’s ULTIMATE lunch spot on SoBe! DIRT Eat Clean serves healthy food with a focus on serving quality food in a sustainable way. This cafe serves all kinds of yummy meals, from avocado toast, to breakfast bowls!
Our personal fave, of course, is the açaí bowl, which is a wonderful blend of almond milk, banana, mixed berries, and topped with coconut, banana, blueberries, house-made granola and chia seeds. DIRT is the perfect brunch spot after a long night out in South Beach! 😉
6. Myapapaya
This juicery + kitchen located in Fort Lauderdale serves fresh açaí, sandwiches, salads, soups, and really anything healthy and delicious! It’s a great lunch spot for big groups, because even though we may be açaí fanatics, not everyone is.
S&J will opt for one of its exotic smoothies or the pitaya bowl. A pitaya bowl uses dragonfruit as the base instead of açaí and it’s amazing. It tastes a little less sweet than açaí, but if you have a sweet tooth (like Shir does), you can top it off with honey!
7. Raw Juce
Raw Juce is mostly known for its juices. They offer 7-day cleanse packs, along with a few other packs for those of you looking to “rebuild you digestive system.” Raw Juce has a pretty smart marketing tactic that allows each customer to receive a free small juice with a single Facebook check-in. That even worked on S&J because that’s how we heard of this place!
The açaí bowls are pretty good with a large variety and a huge serving. If you’re really hungry go for the Power Bowl; we promise you’ll be full for the following 6 hours!
Locations: Boca Raton, Palm Beach Gardens, Weston, Coconut Creek, Miami Beach, and Aventura
8. Under the Mango Tree
This place is a bit hard to find, but when you finally find it in the heart of Miami Beach, you feel like you’re walking into a beautiful hut in the Amazon rainforest. The decor is beautiful and the vibes are great.
It has a variety of unique açaí bowls ranging from the refreshing Spicy Bowl with ginger to the sweet Chocolate Bowl with cacao and coconut. It also focuses a lot on its cleanses, some of which include only juices and some juices and smoothies. The silverware it uses is super trendy and calls for a great insta pic!
9. Rock Steady Juice Joint & Açaí Bar
Our final açaí spot brings us back to Jupiter, FL. Rock Steady opened in Jupiter a bit after 3Natives hooked the town on the açaí craze. The flavor of its açaí is a bit different than 3N, and it also features a wide array of toppings for your bowl, like cacao nibs, chia seeds, protein and more!
A local fave is the Candied Apple Bowl, which includes acai mixed with peanut or almond butter and a granny smith apple, strawberries, honey and chopped peanuts! They also sell a big selection of juices and smoothies as well.
Let us know your favorite açaí spots in the comments below!
XX,
S&J
