Juice and Java Restaurant, South Beach - Natural Additive-free Vegan Food and Juices

Juice and Java, South Beach

Walking past Juice and Java on Washington Avenue, South Beach, you might think it was just a juice bar, but it also has an extensive menu of natural food, with plenty of vegan dishes.

Full Meals Served
Although Juice and Java has the feel of a café rather than a restaurant, it serves full meals – soups, salads, main courses and desserts.

Portions are reasonably filling, but not gut-bustingly enormous like in some of the more conventional restaurants in South Beach.

Off the Main Tourist Trail
The stretch of Washington Avenue where the restaurant is located isn't one of smartest areas of Miami Beach, in fact in places it's a little seedy, although perfectly safe.

However, it's not somewhere to go sightseeing, so you wouldn't stumble upon Juice and Java if you stuck to the main tourist routes, such as Lincoln Road and Ocean Drive, even though the restaurant is just a few minutes' walk south of the very touristy Española Way, near 13th Street.

 “No Artificial Anything”
The menu proclaims, “100% pure food with no artificial anything. We guarantee it!

Slightly Hippie
Juice and Java is a smarter version of the hippie cafés than I frequented years ago, and as in most of them the food is good. It's a small franchise, with a handful of restaurants in South Florida.

Holistic Nutrition
On the restaurant's website is the statement that the food is “approved by Monique Stachewitsch, Master of Science in Holistic Nutrition and Dr Inna G. Safaroff, Preventative Med., President of Panacéa Spa, Ilona di Marco, yogi and nutritionist.”

Vegan Dishes
At Juice and Java they understand what vegan means. Here are some options which appear to be vegan, but please check when ordering to be absolutely sure:

• Soup of the day – vegan unless cheese is requested
• Humus appetizer – with tahini and pita bread
• Mediterranean platter – quinoa, tabouli, humus, tahini, greens, tomatoes, red cabbage and pita bread
• Falafel wrap – with tahini and humus
• Tofu wrap – with miso dressing
• Veggie burger wrap – with miso dressing
• Humus wrap
• Spinach tofu wrap – with soya cheese, tomatoes and red cabbage
• Pita bread “pizzas” with various vegan toppings – ask for soya cheese
• Soya quesadilla – with bell peppers, scallions and carrots
• Veggie burger quesadilla – ask for soya cheese – with tomatoes, red cabbage, carrots and spicy salsa
• Falafel or veggie burger platter – with tomatoes, red cabbage, cucumber, carrots and avocado plus a choice of organic brown rice, organic quinoa, steamed or grilled vegetables, baked sweet potato or whole wheat pasta
• Soya pasta – with soya cheese, tofu, scallions, avocado, tomatoes, sesame, cilantro (coriander) and extra virgin olive oil

In addition there is a wide variety of salads, although not all of them are vegan, or even vegetarian.

Combination Juices
Natural juices can be just one fruit or inventive combinations such as:

• Orange, strawberry and banana
• Blueberry, strawberry and banana
• Cantaloupe, orange and pineapple
• Mango, papaya and orange
• Orange, blueberry and banana
• Kiwi, orange and banana
• Watermelon, cantaloupe and pineapple
• Strawberry, pineapple, banana and kiwi

Tea and Coffee with Soya Milk
Organic tea with fresh mint and herbal tea are available. Soya milk can be used for coffee, for example a soya cappuccino or latte.

No Alcohol
Alcohol isn't served at Juice and Java, which is my only complaint, as I like a beer with my meal. I certainly wouldn't want a Budweiser, but couldn't they have just a few natural microbrew beers to complement the natural food?