A new smoothie and juice shop has opened in Madison! Playa Bowls mission is to serve communities high quality and innovative products to support a healthier lifestyle. They provide their customers with a wide variety of flavorful and delicious smoothies and smoothie bowls. Playa Bowls was founded in 2014 by Robert Giuliani and Abby Taylor. It all started in Belmar, New Jersey when they had a dream of spreading the health benefits of açaí and it took off from there. Since then, they have opened up over 200 stores nationwide! 

For those who are unfamiliar with what an açaí bowl is, an açaí bowl is a thick smoothie that has been put in a bowl and is usually topped with a variety of toppings. These toppings include things like fresh fruit, granola, honey, peanut butter, nutella, coconut flakes, and more. They don’t just have an açaí base, but five other flavors: mango, coconut, pitaya (dragon fruit), banana, and greens. They also have a wide variety of smoothie flavors for anyone who just wants a smoothie.

I had the great pleasure of visiting their shop here in Madison, located at 100 Outfield Drive Suite D. I ordered one of their coconut based smoothie bowls called “Nutelloco,” which consists of their Playa coconut blend topped with granola, banana, strawberries, raw cacao, coconut flakes, and nutella. The coconut base has a very subtle flavor and I wish it was a little strong, but the flavors all together were amazing. I loved the crunchy aspect from the granola and the fresh fruit on top. Hana Crockatt, a sophomore at Bob Jones, also tried the shop’s fresh flavors and said, “I got the Nutella Açai Bowl and thought it was extremely tasty. Definitely on the sweeter side, however it was yummy and I would 100% recommend it!! My bowl had strawberries, banana, coconut flakes, a Nutella drizzle and granola added to the açaí! The portion wasn’t too big or too small so it makes a great snack!” Another Bob Jones student, Katie Doughtery, a senior, said, “I got the Goldie Mango bowl and it was pretty good. The fruit was fresh, the service was great, and my bowl came out fairly quickly. I really liked the Açaí bowl over the mango because to me it was sweeter but both were pretty good. I also tried the coconut bowl but I found that the flavor of the coconut was muted. To me the bowls were a little overpriced for the sizing.” 

Overall, Playa Bowls is a great place to visit if you want something that is flavorful and refreshing. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone and, while it may be a little overpriced, I think it is definitely worth it to splurge a little. While there is one store already open, there are plans for another to open in Cliff Farms off of Highway 72. The exact dates for when this location is not out to the public yet, but it is coming to our area soon!