Nekter Juice Bar

Like most conversions, mine from smoothie-​side-​eyer to smoothie devotee has been unexpected, swift, and intensely passionate. Unsure what triggered this, other than light thoughts of impending death (obviously) and a desire to make my breakie a little less processed — but regardless — a few weeks ago I fell in love with the idea of blending roughly 40lbs of berries, ginger root, chia, almond milk, and hemp powder together, and now I just can’t get enough.
Thus, you can imagine my delight when after a lonnnnng morning of sitting on every couch that Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, West Elm, and Resto Hardware have to offer, we discovered that Nektar is nestled between these furniture behemoths.
Space is that sparse-​chic look — wouldn’t plan to post up with a laptop — more just a hit n’ run — service is friendly and very willing to explain to an overwhelmed mother exactly every ingredient listed on their menu — a hero’s task.
Smoothies start standard (berry banana burst — as it sounds) and go slightly more intriguing (pink flamingo — dragon fruit, strawb, pina, agave, coconut water; chocolate dream — cashew milk, cacao, carob, dates, avo, agave), ranging in heft from 210cal to 720cal and thereby allowing your pit stop to be either a lil snack or a very real meal.
I’m a sucker for things with the mush texture, so the acai bowls wooed me — and yes, I understand that acai is likely a scam or whatever, but it does taste fairly lovely — and when swirled with banana, strawb, dates, peanut butter, cashew milk and topped with hempseed granola, berries, and banana, it can do no wrong. Other bowls are similarly interesting — acai tropical, which makes coconut the belle of the ball, a berry/​nana bowl not terribly dissimilar from its smoothie sister, and a dragon fruit bowl w all sorts of fun goodies designed to make you feel virtuously sated as you lick the last drops from your compostable spoon.
This love-​fest aside, they also have cold-​pressed juice, which I still reserve some judgement of — yes, I agree that a «ginger skinny lemonade» (water, lemon, agave, ginger) is delish, but I’m not fully committed to its ability to reduce inflammation and boost my immunity — and offer 1, 3, and 5 day cleanses if that’s your jam.
They also have cold brew coffee and a few other raw vegan snacks if you’re feeling munchie. Oh, allergenistas beware — all «milk» used is nut-​based — cashew seems to be the ingredient of choice — but there are peanuts lurking in the wings, though they could be easily avoided. GF options aplenty.
Juices and smoothies are $ 5.95−9.95, with add-​ins (hemp/​whey/​pea proteins, chia seeds) ringing in at $ 1 each — sizes range from 16−32oz — and while I’m usually one to go big or go home, having had the disconcerting experience of getting shockingly full from a smoothie, unless your tum is a monster, 24oz of something w plenty of protein and fiber will likely fill that gnawing in your belly for a few hours, but more power to you if 32oz is what you need. Bowls are $ 7.95. Cleanses are pricey ($ 45 – 225) but in-​line with what is usually charged for these shenanigans. Overall, ingredients are fresh, prices aren’t absurd, into it. Bonus points for helping me feel so effing virtuous afterwards. Like, body, you’re welcome.

I was so surprised how very clean this juice bar is. Plenty of room to sit and the room had a cent of fresh fruits. The manager was very friendly and helpful with my questions regarding on how to use the app. I will definitely be back. I highly recommend this place for your juice stop.

So, the juices are really good here, but the corporate follow up on customer service is really bad. I had emailed them about a problem that I had with using a coupon from the Orange County register in their app and I never got a resolution, much less an apology for their shortcomings.

I’m allergic to cashews so I can’t order most of the stuff on the menu. The drinks are good, obviously overpriced.
Today I waited about 8 minutes standing behind people I assumed were also in line, only to find out that they had already ordered and were waiting for their drinks. There were multiple workers in the front who were working on the juicer so I figured everyone was waiting for them to be free. Anyway, the whole time I was standing there, none of the workers bothered to direct me to the front of the line to order.

I had the toxin flush. Super bomb! I had the 32oz. Also the line wasn’t long at all and my drink didn’t take longer than 3 minutes. I recommend this to anybody even after work. You can drink your Juice while you shop! Thanks Nektar ! I’ve become a customer. =)

Love this place! All the employees are super friendly and I was recommended by Jason to try the PB bowl and my was it delicious. Deff the best juice bar in town! Everything was super fresh.

I’ve always thought South Coast Plaza needed more establishments specializing in beverages (there are tons of cafes and restaurants, but not too many bev only places)– that’s where Nektar comes in!
Although I’m not a fan of juices that contain a ton of different ingredients, I still found something that I wanted to drink. For $ 6, I bought the 16.9 fl. oz. bottle of Skinny (Strawberry) Lemonade which is simply made of filtered water, lemon, strawberry purée, agave nectar, and cayenne pepper (in that order).
It was super sour (which is a sign of a good lemonade) with a strong strawberry flavor. The cayenne pepper left a spicy aftertaste that was both unique and strange– I think it may have actually made me thirstier, haha.
Oh yeah, the cashier was incredibly outgoing and nice! She seemed like one of those cheerful people who can easily find something about you or your choices to compliment.

I really love Nekter! But this location has terrible customer service.
I came in here on a Saturday and I was the only one in here.
It took them over 20 minutes to make the 3 bowls I ordered. The girl who took my order was really rude. There were 4 people working and only one guy making everything while the girls did other things and didn’t offer to help. There’s never any sense of urgency there.
I wish they cared more about their customer experience. If I could give zero stars, I would.

Listen up you all, ’cause this is it
The beat that I’m bangin’ is delicious
SHAUNA-​LIOUS definition make them boys go loco
she’ll gladly squeeze your juices with whatever fruit your heart chooses.
Ain’t nobody JUICE like SHAUNA.

I always love stopping by here. Great juices. Great services too. Everything is delish and healthy

Although I love cold-​pressed juices, freshly made juices win for me! Nektar keeps some of the fiber in their juices to add more substance and texture to the juice. I love coming to Nektar in the morning and getting a juice because their fruits and vegetables are cold and fresh out of the refrigerator.
+ GREEN APPLE DETOX JUICE: This juice is sweet from the green apple, complemented by cucumber, lemon, fennel, kale, and ginger. I got a 24 oz juice and this lasted me all morning, from 9 – 12. It is a lot to drink! I didn’t add ice to my juice, since it usually waters down the taste and texture after awhile, so after shaking every so often the juice looks good as new. If you need to flush out your stomach, this drink will definitely do the trick and is sweeter than the TOXIN FLUSH.
I am a fan of their smoothies as well, but I feel more nutritional value from their juices. They really do kickstart your mornings and help clean out your stomach so I am a huge fan!
TIPS
* Place an order online for pick-​up within 20 minutes if you are in a rush and know that you are driving over.
* If the juices are too potent, you can always add ice to your juice.

I’ve had most of their juices plus their Acai bowl. Everything is fresh and good. They updated this location’s look and is really nice. Parking is ok, they only have a few spots right in front of the store and half the time it’s full. They do have more parking in the back that they share with other businesses. Normally you can find a parking spot there too but sometimes at lunch time it can get tricky.

Help: 10
Cleanliness: 10
Ambiance: 10
Customize your drink: 10
Basically this is a great place to chill for a bit and enjoy a powerful breakfast or pop in and take your rejuvenating drink on the road. My only qualm is that I can’t call in an order. You have to use their app. This doesn’t help me when I’m driving however, I could call using handsfree… maybe someday.

I love this store. It’s right by my house and I’ve never once had a bad experience here. The juices are good and the staff is friendly. I like the greenie if im going for pressed juice. I did the cleanse back in December when i was sick for about 2 months straight. I didnt mind it and didnt have much of an appetite anyways since I was sick for so long, but the cashew vanilla drink i HATED. Also anything with coconut water in it makes me want to vomit. Minus those two drinks the rest were good in the cleanse. I am not sure I would spend the money on it to do it again, although I did feel better for a few days, I was sick shortly after it. Side note, my roommate and I came here before a hike a few weeks ago, and her drink took abnormally long (i think her drink ticket was lost) and one of the employees noticed we were still waiting and gave a free $ 2 off coupon since we had to wait. That was very thoughtful and its little things like that that make all the difference.

Nekter Juice Bar has become a new staple in my restaurant/​juice bar rotation. I always order the toxin flush with light ginger over ice — the smallest size. I appreciate that it comes in a larger cup to account for the volume taken up by the ice. That’s a good value right there! I definitely like coming in here when I feel like I need to clean up my diet a little bit. Maybe it’s purely psychological, but I definitely feel energized afterward.

I love Nekter but the female employees here are very rude. Instead of telling me I could no longer order through the phone due to company policy they lied to me & said They couldn’t take my order due to how «incredibly busy» they were.
I walk in 2 minutes later, & there is no one there.
Lying to customers is not good for business, & when you are called out on it, laughing and once again lying is also not good for business.
Think twice before visiting. Service sucks. Nekter itself is great.

Very yummy. I tried the Toxin Flush. They staff is very friendly. Definitely a fan! The acai bowls are amazing!

Usually only come here every once and awhile since it can be quite pricey. But ever since I tried a pumpkin smoothie at Greenleaf last year I’ve been in the mood for one this California autumn season. Unfortunately, Greenleaf’s pumpkin smoothie hasn’t made an appearance yet but Nekter just recently promoted their pumpkin pie smoothie and I was game. A pumpkin drink that is actually made of pumpkins none of that artificial stuff and is friendly to your veg friends. For me, the addition of the banana helps the drink. Definitely will be back for this seasonal drink.
Parking can be a pain since this place tends to attract that entitled Orange County crowd.

This is my new go-​to place for my green juice fix. Their prices are VERY competitive compared to Whole Foods and any other juice bars I’ve come across. FINALLY, a juice bar that actually isn’t stingy with the proportions and with a decent price list.
The only con was their website. I like to order ahead on my phone but there isn’t a mobile website to work with. Maybe that should be your next venture?
And for those of you who are commenting about the wait, well it logically makes sense. when I juice at home it takes me about 15 min to make my fresh creation from scratch and that includes having to wash, carefully cut, and juice my veggies/​fruit so. what do you expect? Pick up a pre-​made refrigerated one from their refrigerator section instead or take a seat, Felicias!

Love the juices here! Favorite to get is the greenie with ginger! Nektar is pretty affordable too compared to to choices in the area and still tastes great.
I was with my dad and he brought up shoot point though– how often do the juicers get cleaned? Made me curious