Bolt Fresh Bar

I live a few doors down from Bolt,
Bought a very mediocre tasting juice that was quite expensive in a well lit dirty setting. That would have all been fine by me (because honestly what I else did I suspect) I wouldn’t be complaining had the service not been so awful.
The quality of their ingredients looked suspect to me as well.
Are the staff being mistreated is that why they are so rude? They all seemed to be more up to flirting and not wiping down the tables instead of providing some form of mild service.
Thanks for the 10 $ smoothie guys.
I only made this account to give you this bad review.

I’ve lived in the area my whole life and have gone to Bolt since they first opened, back when their offerings and service were great, but that was years ago.
Now, this place is just awful. They have increased their prices while decreasing the quality of their offerings. The salads/​grain bowls are disgusting when you consider that the ingredients are not covered at all and the front door is open sometimes. Their stews and soups are small and not worth their price tag. The parfait is what made this place popular and I don’t even like it that much since they switched out the granola mix.
Another thing to add is the customer service, it can be fine sometimes and awful at others. I was used to seeing the same people work here (back when I visited Bolt every week) but now it seems as if i’m seeing someone new every time I go in there. Are they having trouble keeping staff?
Personally, If you are looking for an alternative to Bolt and are near the Queen West or Little Portugal area I highly suggest The Goods, Veghed and The Grow-​Op. These establishments will all blow Bolt out of the water.

I have never thrown food out; I paid nearly $ 15 and threw my meal out half way through because I just couldn’t tolerate the flavour anymore. The miso carrot dressing was bland but the tempeh made this meal inedible. It was sour and not in a good way. Service was poor. They charge for additional sauce. Finally, it was mentioned that they don’t accept the tap function when paying with a card as they should earn tips; the tap function elongates that. That is bold to say when you are a take out spot, with no seating and terrible service. I hated my experience so much that I didn’t post it in my blog as I didn’t want to impact tens of thousands of people from not going here. Bad. Bad. Bad.

Their parfaits are good but salads are mediocre. Everything is pricey. Also customer service is not consistent. On the weekend I had a lovely girl serve me, today an aloof hipster chick gave me attitude as she cashed me out. Not a place I would frequent regularly.

I never post reviews but after my last experience, I need to do so.
I used to go here quite regularly but last week I went and had a really gross experience. They use their bare hands to prepare the meals — no biggie if they’re using utensils to make it, but when they are actually using their fingers to sprinkle stuff on to your bowl its kinda gross. Even grosser when it is the same person who was checking out a customer before and handling their money and then does the same for you.
I emailed them to let them know of my concerns. No response. I wouldn’t have written this review if they had and addressed my concerns but they obviously don’t care about their customers. You’d think after the whole Chipotle scandal restaurants would care more about this sort of thing. I won’t be returning.

I had a parfait, and it was ok.
The space was so cute,
But that point is moot.
‘Cause the service was bad,
And made me so sad,
I’ll never go back,
‘Til they give her the sack.
So, summarize, I had a mediocre, overpriced parfait, and the woman who served me was rude and crusty. Way to live up to the Queen West service stereotype, Bolt!
Will not return.

3.5 stars.
Bolt has made some recent changes and additions to their menu. One of the major changes that they’ve made was add onion flatbread snadwiches (these are decent, but I find 2 pieces of this flatbread too much for me because it is very oniony). They have also switched the strawberries for raspberries on one of their acai bowls (sadface — I know it’s because strawberries are harder to access etc., but still sadface), and also related to the acai bowl they have changed the granola (no longer just oatmeal but also had some seeds in their, dislike…). They also recently started advertising that you can get the coconut whip to go — which is a cool and awesome option that I get sometimes. Overall, I’m not pleased w/​their changes, but am in favour of the many additions, which also include different cookies, salad and sandwich toppings, and refrigerated drinks.

They forgot my shredded butternut squash in my Kelp salad. I’m very sad.

Ugghhh. I am eternally disappointed. I haven’t been around to have an acai bowl all winter, and given it’s warm and summery, I thought «oh hey, I’m gonna get myself some bolt deliciousness». Much to my dismay they’ve changed their prices, and removed the best part: the coconut whipped cream. It’s now 1.50 extra just for that. I mean, come on. Not only was my bowl lacklustre and plopped together with no care, it was made out of order (aka I was shuffled behind people who ordered well after me), by staff who seemed to care less. I never thought I’d see this day, but. Don’t count on me coming back any time soon.

I didn’t really jive with Bolt even before I was barfing my face off from drinking their juice. I ordered some green piña colada smoothie my first time and it wasn’t great. I kept it in my fridge for days afterwards until it developed a composting skin because I couldn’t justify throwing out a $ 9 juice I didn’t like.
Second time I order the beet and whatever else is in it juice. I am hit with the most violent food poisoning soon after. My body did not want whatever was dying inside that juice in me.
I called the next day to let them know, and I was told I got sick from something else, even though it was the first thing I consumed in 14 hours… And considering my barf looked exactly like the juice I just consumed. The red of the beets made my bathroom look like a horror movie, so at least I got a cool picture

I’ve been following BOLT Fresh Bar on Instagram ever since a friend tagged them in a delicious looking smoothie. After weeks of eye catching photo’s popping up, I decided I needed to mission there for something tasty. The Acai bowl was literally the most delicious thing I’ve eaten in a while. It was pricey, slightly over $ 10 but it was filling (it was just a mid day treat after all). I will likely be back, when I feel like treating myself with something healthy and delicious!

Paying $ 7.50 for fresh pressed juice is not for everyone.
If you asked me six years ago if I would add this to my usual routine, I would have laughed you out of the room. However, things change and I am a convert. Do I have time to go to the market regularly for fresh produce? Would I pay money to have someone else clean out my darn juicer? Basically, I’ve just deemed the health-​giving goodness at Bolt worth the price tag.
In the warmer months, I’m all about their Green Pineapple juice and in the winter months they usually bring the heat with their vegan soups.

Unsanitary practices, I was disgusted.
They have this employee who has got to be the most unfriendly and inappropriately dressed food handler I’ve ever encountered (just for pure description purpose, she’s Asian, with facial piercings).
She prepared food for the person ahead of me. Used her fingers to scoop vegetables/​fruits, no gloves, then exchanged money to complete the transaction. WITHOUT WASHING HER HANDS, she proceeded to prepare my order, touched the fruit with her hands, wiped them on her shirt and then took my money. GROSS! Can you imagine the filth that’s on her hands, touching the food that customers are about to consume?!
During the summer, she wears these teeny short short spandex shorts (more like underwear) and half of her bottom hangs out, I AM STARING AT HER BARE AS*!! I think another reviewer commented on this.
Let’s not forget that regardless of how tasty this food may be or how popular this place may be, this is a FOOD joint and certain practices are unacceptable.
Another thing with this place is that servers think they’re too cool to prepare your food. No smiles, barely any eye contact, as if I’m bothering them by being there?
I’m tired of these «cool» places that are popping up, where attitude is on the menu.
Get real. Be nice to customers. Otherwise, you won’t get any. And for god’s sake, wash your hands and at least try to wear clothes that don’t expose your as*.

Okay so Bolt is 100% hype and like 30% truth. Yes the vitamin c bowl is pretty good but honestly all of the smoothies are just okay and the other bowls and salads are also just okay. The most irksome thing though is the service, last time I was in I was unaware that the menu had been changed as it was still up where it has always been and I didn’t see the inconspicuous dry erase board, aka «the new menu» in the shadows next to the «old» menu, a guy behind the counter asked my order and I began to tell him as the girl working there screams –yes, she lookied me in the eyes and yelled at me, it was very odd, there was a new menu, «didn’t I notice the NEW MENU?!» yeah, it sucked.

Entirely staffed by beautiful girls with beautiful faces that have beautiful skin, and beautiful little cherub butts (I should probably go VEGAN right? Because who DOESN’T want to look like a sexy angel… If I looked like a sexy vegan angel, I would wear short shorts all the time too, even to work. Maybe they’re born with it? Maybe it’s Maybelline?)
SHMANYWAYS, Bolt is straight to the point, offering healthy, wholesome to-​go meals that are organic and gluten free. I grabbed a cold pressed Beet Juice, and let me just say, their Beet juice is my top 5 contender for Beet Juice’s I’ve consumed (Number 1 Beet Juice is that one time I worked some Hippie Music Festival in BC and after the night shift of watching teenagers OD’ing on MDMA, and getting schmitty-​faced drunk, Mama needed a refreshing Beet Juice to cleanse her palette. That Beet juice was historical and I fantasize about it to this day)
SO YEA, Bolt has a nice Beet Juice. But possibly not the best ever Beet Juice. I also got their vegan curry on Quinoa, it was hearty and a great filling portion, the curry could have done with a touch more seasoning and it was missing something in terms of flavor, but it hit the spot nonetheless.
My main bish and I initially came here because their Acai Bowl looked like a dish of the gods, it was so intricately beautiful in instagram photos on the official Bolt page that we though it must taste like the food of gods. But we were mistaken, looks were deceiving and the acai bowl (which actually comes in a cup? huh?) was pretty bland and our feelings can be summed as such ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Points for feeling REALLY healthy while eating the whole thing.

Bottom line: Above average, slightly-​pricey healthy lunch takeout joint
Walking in Parkdale, you’d be hard pressed to take notice of Bolt. It’s unassuming without much flashy signage. I walked by a few times before deciding to give it a go because the first few times the whirring sounds made me think they exclusively served juices/​smoothies.
The closest competition I can think of is iQ Foods which also has similar packaging and food offerings.
Based on the tips here, I tried two grain bowls: 1) Quinoa Bowl and 2) Vitamin Sea Bowl.
Quinoa Bowl ($ 10):
This bowl contains shredded kale, green onions, parsley, avocado, tomato salsa and cherry tomatoes on a bed of quinoa. Lots of green popping out when you open the box. Feels very salad-​y and generally quite tasty. If you like fresh shredded kale then this is for you. However, while it was good, it didn’t have quite the flavour punch I was hoping for.
Vitamin Sea Bowl ($ 9):
The Vitamin Sea Bowl was an interesting mix of quinoa, seaweed, carrots, a slice of avocado, a mix of kimchi, red cabbage, sesame seeds and some kelp noodles. There’s a separate creamy lemon tahini sauce. It’s an interesting mix of ingredients and certainly feels very light. The tahini sauce was slightly tart from the lemon but is quite subdued in its flavour. The kimchi really grew on me; I felt that it was a strange addition early on but the combination of foods really hits that savoury spot.
The servings are pretty decent, though within expectations given the price. Ingredients are very fresh too. Would visit regularly.

I’ve been to Bolt twice now. It’s a good spot to grab a quick healthy bite. The bowl servings are very generous. Being a meat eater, I was still full after finishing my quinoa bowl. The downside of this is the salsa mysteriously absorbed into my meal and left it seriously lacking taste. I had the protein bowl the second time and the dressing + butternut squash give it more flavour — I’d recommend this if you’re not making your own. Although, it still had a very «carby» feel to it I often get after eating vegetarian food. I tried the beet juice which was tasty, but a smallish serving for the price. The best part about bolt are the acai bowls. I’ve had both on the menu, and they are like a healthy dessert, although I question how many calories they have. That’s how good they are!
Bottom line is a decent, convenient spot to grab a very healthy, quick meal. Think IQ/​Kupfert/​freshii but not limited to food court hours (aka no weekends).

Bolt is the perfect place to go when you are on a health kick.
They serve vegetarian dishes only and is mainly take-​out
I was feeling pretty hungry so I ordered a grain bowl instead of a salad.
I had the protein bowl which was pretty good and quite filling but I wish there was less grain (brown rice) and more of the other toppings and miso dressing.
I decided to give Bolt a second chance. and tried an Acai bowl. Their Acai bowls are served in a cup not a bowl and they look like parfaits
I had the Acai power bowl which comes with tropical fruits and is topped with whipped coconut. This bowl did not disappoint and definitely satisfied my sweet tooth.
I’ll be back to try their smoothies next.

YES! I have been waiting for a Unilocal page for BOLT to open up because I have been dying to review the newest addition to my neighbourhood’s food scene. Surprisingly, there are not a lot of healthy/​vegetarian options in WQW so when BOLT opened it was like an angel came down from the heavens above and personally blessed us with this beautiful, special and fantastic local offering.
I have inhaled everything I have ever gotten from BOLT, which almost always consists of a «my grain» bowl. My personal favourite is quinoa, kale, beets, carrots, tofu and avocados with the zesty green dressing. If you order this and do not love it then you need to stop trying to convince yourself that you like healthy food. This combination is perfection. Ingredients are always crisp and fresh and the staff is so nice and happy. There is nothing I dislike about this place. They’re local, support local food, support local companies, and are focused on health and nutrition. It’s a fantastic spot and I’m so glad it opened up just down the street from me. I have quickly become a regular.
I haven’t tried the smoothies yet but I have my eyes on the Greena Colada and will make it happen sooner than later.
In conclusion, I love you BOLT. Will you marry me?

Ordered a Spicy Citrus juice which was awesome — the combo of citrus & cayenne was very refreshing. Also tried samples of the Lemon Tart Smoothie — tastes like a dessert! Bolt’s strengths are outstandingly healthy, tasty, inventive blends and I look forward to coming back.