Tropical Smoothie Cafe

The food isn’t the worst so if you don’t care about interacting with people have no fear, you’re in for a mediocre meal.
My problem with this location are the people. I’ve eaten here half a dozen times and EVERY SINGLE TIME I have a lousy customer service experience.
This most recent time I walked in (no greeting or eye contact) and was ordering and told the guy at the register the food item and was looking through smoothie options when I was told the total. That alone is a totally understandable mistake: long pause usually means a complete order. It was when I told him I also wanted a smoothie and he sighed and visibly sagged against the counter that I was put off.
I sat down to wait for my food and when it was done instead of calling my name or the order he walked it out to me (cool!) but tossed it (literally) onto the table without a word and shuffled away.
I get it dude: you hate working in a restaurant. But no offense, NO ONE is coming in. You’re not overwhelmed, you’re not running around like mad trying to satisfy a bunch of angry lunch hordes. Instead you’re alienating the few customers you have by making them feel like they’re wasting your time and are a huge annoyance. At least smile and greet people with a hello, ask if they’d like anything else before totaling the order and deliver food with a simple «enjoy!»

tons of smoothie choices. stupidly delicious.

Lots of smoothie choices. Read carefully. Food is okay. Come here for the excellent smoothies.

In Ann Arbor visiting Mom. Doing some shopping on State St. Looking for something fast and healthy and
Boom this was the spot! Had the Basil and Ginger wrap. Killer. Hot, healthy, fresh and ultra delicious! I live in Hawaii and this made me feel right at home! Smoothies look fantastic. Maybe tomorrow!

Solid Tropical Smoothie Café. It’s pretty much the same wherever you go, and I like that kind of consistency sometimes. I usually get the Island Green and add coconut and the Vitamin C boost.

It’s pretty much a better Jamba Juice with food. Pretty good. The orange finger glow and the acai Betty boost are really good, if you only get one get the acai one.

Their smoothies are delicious (one size only). Fresh fruit and their blenders take it down to a very smooth finish.
Had the pomegranate smoothie. You can also order additives like fat burner or protein.
Great for a warmer day.

You would think things could only go so wrong when buying a smoothie.
Apparently, i managed to exceed those expectations :(
Stopped in with my son on a friday afternoon. There were about 5 people in the store waiting for their previously-​placed orders, and 3 more in line. After a short wait, we placed our order, paid by credit card, and sat down to wait.
And wait.
Over the next 25 minutes, 3 of the 5 people who were waiting when we arrived received their orders. About 7 more placed orders, and finally one of the workers told the people waiting in line that «we are really busy, and it might be quite a while, so you might want to go somewhere else». (Whoever owns this shop, I hope you read that again — he really told your customers to go away).
After 5 more minutes, we were both getting frustrated, but also running out of time as we had an appointments. So i went to the register and asked for a status update. I was told «we are working on it». Five more minutes went by, so i flagged down an employee (they were all in the back section, no-​one upfront by the register) and said that i really needed our order now as we had waited over half an hour and had to leave. I got a shrug.
After 3 more minutes, and nothing coming out for anyone, i again flagged down an employee and told him that we had to leave and i would like him to cancel our order and refund our money. He asked me what we ordered and then went to the register. After about 20 seconds of trying things on the register he came to me and told me he didn’t know how to process a refund. I pointed out the woman who took our order and processed our payment and said «ask her, she knows how to work the register.» He did, then came back and said «no-​one here knows how to do a refund; i’m really sorry.»
I took a business card for the manager, and we left. We didn’t have our order, nor the money we paid.
I called the # for the manager (Jessica Milliken, General Manager) and was informed the voicemail box was full.
I then emailed her at the address on the card. To my happy surprise, she answered pretty quickly. I explained the situation, and she said she would reverse my charge/​refund my money. I was unable to come back to the store (we were just visiting for the day, and they had closed by now), but we agreed to talk on monday and have the refund processed.
On Monday, I emailed her, and she called me back — took my card # and the details, and promised to have the refund processed that day.
Except — she didn’t.
Two weeks later, no refund. I emailed her and expressed my disappointed that i was still having to chase my refund, and said that if it wasn’t refunded that day, i would take it up my credit card issuing bank.
No reply. I contacted my bank, and they reversed the transaction and said they would charge it back to the business.
So — after 3 weeks, i got my money back. Needless to say, this was about as bad an experience as one can have in a shop selling such a simple/​basic product.
There is nothing good i could say about this business. Even the General Manager’s initial attempt to fix the problem fell short, and then she just vanished/​went silent.
Not good.

Pros:
— Great smoothies with a wide selection of options that are decently priced for the amount you’re getting. The peanut butter protein with Splenda is a common.
N.B. — all smoothies are available with Splenda as a sugar substitute
Cons:
— Food is quite pricy
— Environment and design is colorful to the point of kitschy-​ness
— Hours of operation are limited
— Constantly chilly inside and the fact that the smoothies are cold doesn’t help
— As another reviewer mentioned, service quality can be pretty dependent on who’s serving you
Best fit:
— smoothie meal replacements before class or out on a walk with friends

I’ve been to Tropical Smoothie so many times, and think your experience here depends on who is working. I had one girl give me my smoothie, but completely forget about my flatbread until I mentioned it to her after seeing four other people who came after me get their orders. Then I’ve had one delightful guy take my order and let me in on their secret menu of retired drinks, but sadly I don’t think he’s there anymore.
But overall, I love smoothies and the ones at TSC are pretty solid. Depending on who makes it, occasionally you get one that has too much ice or is too watered down, but usually they are pretty thick and delicious. For roughly $ 5, I think it is well worth it for a large smoothie that is practically a meal. Do be aware that their smoothies are pretty high in sugar content (you can look up the nutrition facts online), but you can ask for no added sugar. I do this on days I want to be more healthy, but you can definitely taste the difference.

Very bright atmosphere and wonderful smoothies! They only come in one size 24 oz and are hard to finish so go thirsty or bring a friend to share!

I got their seasonal Very Berry Cranberry smoothie, which consists of cranberries and strawberries. It tasted refreshingly sweet and bright when I first got it. However, I didn’t finish it immediately and after a few hours, even in the fridge at home, the smoothie’s thickness completely disappeared and it transformed into a simple artificial-​tasting juice, with no smoothie consistency whatsoever. So, it made me suspect that some of Tropical Smoothie Café’s smoothies are originally just juice that is frozen into an ice slurry form, instead of real blended fruits.
One pro is that their cups are thicker styrofoam, which I guess is bad for the environment but easy on the hands in cold weather, and I suppose preserves the coldness of the smoothie in hot weather. Another minus is that all their smoothies are the large 24 oz size – I don’t know why they don’t offer different sizes? If they had smaller sizes I probably would’ve finished my smoothie in one sitting and never noticed it melt into pure sugar juice.

If an establishment cares enough to offer fake non-​GMO chicken in their (limited selection of) foods, why do they put sugar or splenda in their smoothies? So many choice supplements but I can’t get a smoothie sweetened with honey or agave? Why would anyone want splenda in their smoothie anyway? If they let their bananas sit sit sit they’d need no additional sweeteners. Then of course in walks in the person who doesn’t want bananas…
That aside, you should ask if you want your smoothie w/​o sugar or it’s chemical nemesis. I did, the green one. Unfortunately, it was pretty undrinkable because after each sip loomed a cloying fake splenda-​y aftertaste.
If you’re looking for tastier (and much healthier) smoothies, head to La Marsa or the place formerly known as Mediterranean Hommus Express. Do yourself a flavor.

best smoothie spot in downtown.
i go all the time.
its true.
acai berry boost. delicious.

Okay, the only thing worse than Tropical Smoothie Café’s name is their interior. The atmosphere is so cheesy and awful and totally wrong for downtown Ann Arbor. I’m always slightly embarrassed coming in, but I do anyway.
The smoothies are good. They’re not super nutritious or anything, and if you want a good fruit smoothie, you’re going to be hard-​pressed to find one in Ann Arbor. This is not a veggie+fruit+yogurt+soy milk smoothie, and if I could find a place that sold smoothies like this, I’d never go anywhere else. But this is good when you don’t want a coffee or a milkshake, but you want something refreshing and sweet. Tropical Smoothie is good for a sweet-​tooth fix, and you’ll get the biggest, best-​tasting smoothies for the price here. They have lots of selection, as well. I’m not super impressed that all their smoothies are made with straight-​up sugar and some sort of mystery base, I feel like maybe they should call these slushies or something, but I like them, whatever they are.
Their food is also pretty good and cheap!
All in all, it’s good. Terrible décor, service is a little slow, but it’s good.

I love tropical smoothie.
Disclaimer: I’ve never ordered food here, I only come for the smoothies.
I’ve tried several smoothies here and I’m always surprised with how delicious they really are. Among my favorites (off the top of my head) are Blue Lagoon, Health Nut, and Peanut Butter Cup.
Yes, they’re sugary, which happens to suit me. However, you can ask them to make yours without sugar. Problem solved.
The smoothies are HUGE. Nevertheless, I always find myself wanting more when mine is gone. Worth every penny, every time.

Their smoothies are big, which in a way kind of justify the price. However, I have to be honest in saying that I only get a smoothie here when there is a good deal. I haven’t had any of their food, but I have tried at least three of their smoothies and each one of them have been yummy.

As the granddaughter of WWII and commie-​occupation survivors, I have been taught to degrade myself with unbearable amounts of shame if I do not lick a plate clean or slurp out the last molecule of a beverage. To waste food is a Polish cardinal sin almost worse than having a threesome with a German and a Russian.
Why this graphic intro? Well, after my comrade and I each ordered a smoothie, and after I took a single sip of each, I promptly threw mine in the garbage can. I would rather spend one hour with my insulting grandmother than eat a full cup of this insult to «smoothieness.» Texture, flavor, and ingredients were all terribly off and this is coming from a girl who will choke down a smoothie made with a bunch of gritty spirulina or hemp protein powder.
I am still searching for the one place I can get a real smoothie out here — one just made with juice, fruit, maybe some veggies, and maybe some powders that aren’t 90% sugar and artificial-​something-​something.

Mindblowing that anyone would pay $ 6.99 (or $ 7.41 after tax) for the little sandwich (plus a bag of chips) that they give you. It’s not bad at all. I am not complaining about taste or quality. But for that price?
Make one at home yourself (it’s just a f#@%ing sandwich! nothing special!). Costs probably $ 0.50 in ingredients, and takes no more time than it does, waiting for them to make it for you (and I was the only one there).
P. S. I went only because I was redeeming a LivingSocial voucher; even with the voucher it was not worth the money (paid $ 5 for a $ 10 voucher).

So happy that their is now a smoothie café in Ann Arbor (near home). Would have been nice if there was a drive– tru like the one in Clawson. Love smoothies:)