Vitality Bowls Superfood Café | 1880 Mendocino Ave., Suite G, Santa Rosa | (707) 540-0655 | Most entrees under $15
3 of 5 Oak Leaves
Signature Dishes
Vitality bowl, tropical bowl, roasted turkey panini, dragon smoothie, spinach salad
Review
The organic and fresh superfood ingredients Vitality Bowls offers are a breath of fresh air in a location of fatty and processed fast food, all walking distance from the Santa Rosa campus of Santa Rosa Junior College. However, the small portion sizes are not worth the bill you will pay for them.
The spinach salad is a mix of spinach, quinoa and strawberries with a balsamic finish. Salads should be a rainbow of colors from their ingredients and flavors, and the spinach salad is missing its rainbow. Like the salad, the panini lacks an abundance of its fresh ingredients. It is hard to consider this roasted turkey a panini when the bread appears to be only slightly grilled, ingredients taste sloppily put together and the entire sad presentation looks as thin as two pieces of cardboard stuck together. This soulless sandwich tastes like a basic grilled cheese with only hints of white turkey, roasted cherry tomatoes, baby spinach and a pinch of pesto. For being a superfood cafe, the salads and paninis are not as “super” as proclaimed.
The trend of fresh ingredients in all spectrums continues with the açaí bowls, which elevates the mood of the above mentioned menu items. Presentation of the açaí bowls is a significant upgrade, as the portion sizes are finally almost equivalent to their prices. Some of the bowls taste as simple as vanilla ice cream, while others, such as the tropical bowl, taste like a bite from heaven. It’s easy to distinguish the ingredients in the açaí blend even when some flavors overpower others. Toppings on açaí bowls are the strings that pull the entire bowl together and Vitality Bowls completes that, but at a minimum standard.
Vitality Bowls serves only organic toppings, a big plus compared to other locations that make açaí bowls, so chefs need to stop being shy and add a couple more spoonfuls of toppings to give the bowls an extra wow factor. The smoothies are similar to the açaí bowls in ingredients and texture, with a smooth and creamy feeling with every sip. The smoothies do not disappoint, especially on a 90-degree summer afternoon, when every sip is refreshing and leaves you wanting more.
Vitality Bowls is a superfood café for those who don’t run on a tight budget and want to enjoy healthy, all-natural spoonfuls of the cool açaí.
The Breakdown
| Category | What were we looking for? | Score out of 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Packaging | Neat? Sustainable? Did they remember cutlery? Napkins? Condiments? | 3 |
| Hygiene | Was clerk wearing gloves? A mask? Both? Neither? What were the pick up and waiting areas like? Clean/neat? | 4 |
| Speed and accuracy | Food was on counter ready for pickup | 5 |
| Portion size | Was it filling or were you left wanting more? | 3 |
| Leftovers | Were there leftovers and, if so, did they reheat well? | 3 |
| Quality of Food | Freshness, quality of ingredients | 4 |
| Tastiness of Food | Flavor, spice and texture | 3 |
| Customer Service | Friendliness, responsiveness | 5 |
| Overall Rating | With 5 being a perfect score, this restaurant rated: | 3 |
