Banzai Bowls was my go to spot for when I wanted açaí bowls. I haven't been here in a long time, but I was finally able to stop by recently. Unfortunately, it's not the same. The portions are way smaller than I remember. They only put 2 strawberries, less than half of a banana, and a tiny pinch of blueberries for the topping. Not only did they skimp on the fruit, but the granola was barely noticeable. Even if you tell them that you feel as if their portions are lacking, they'll still up charge you for everything, even for a little bit of extra granola. The only good thing is that their açaí base has always been consistent for me. Their service has never been the greatest. I've always looked past that because the bowls made up for it, but not anymore. Banzai Bowls had an advantage over the other açaí places in the area because they actually cared about their portions and quality, so it's really upsetting to see that they've completely changed. I will definitely be looking for another place... read more

Great and always fresh açaí bowls!! Perfect after a day at the beach or i'm feeling healthy

I've been to this location a couple of times and it has always been great. I went this morning and ordered an OG Bowl and something was definitely not right. The granola and bananas were great but the açaí had zero flavor. It tasted like it was so watered down and diluted that there was not even a hint of açaí flavor. The color was right and the texture was right but it tasted like nothing. Maybe they've switched brands or changed their recipe? I don't know but I really hope they change it back. read more

This is the worst food establishment on the planet. The people who work here are idiots. I have ordered her atleast a dozen times, and they either lose my order (3x's) or you wait for an hour. Only reason I returned that many times is because my daughter doesn't like the healthy açaí bowls she prefers the crap sugar cubes they put in their bowls. Furthermore the place is disgusting they have açaí cubes all over the floor just melting away. I wouldn't go back even if it was free! read more

Bowls are ok. Service is terrible. Don't bother spending money on add ons or additional items bc you won't get them. Ignored when trying to place our order. When someone finally acknowledged that we were standing there he told us it was going to be a 30 min wait which we said was fine but then he turned around without taking our order and ignored us again. At this point I just went online and placed our order. Got my pickup time and waited for it. Meanwhile these two young women who came in 20 min after us immediately got helped at the register and got their bowls shortly after while we are still waiting for ours. Finally our allotted time slot for pickup came and we went up to the counter... sure enough our bowls had been ready a while ago just chilling in their freezer. We get our bowls.. I had paid for extra granola & honey on one of them and extra bananas on the other, neither of which happened. So after spending 45 min in this god forsaken place I would highly encourage you to go elsewhere. read more

Best customer service I recommend this location Elijah was best sweetest best service ever had read more

Amazing customer service ! Very friendly and Da Kine bowl was fantastic! They were very quick on my order as I was rush . Highly recommend.

I had to come here three times before I could be certain how I wanted to rate this. It's literally right down the street from Nekter, which also has great acai/pitaya bowls, but Banzai is more affordable (and different sizes!). The first time I came, my pupukea was absolutely wonderful. It was filled with fruit, delicious mix, and all the good stuff you'd ever want from a pitaya bowl. The second time, it looked a little skimpy, so third time's the charm! This time I decided to go out of my pitaya zone and try an acai bowl (it was also because they said their pitaya bowls were a bit runny today for some reason). As always, there are a good amount of people in the store ordering when I got there (don't be afraid though, people order fast!) My acai bowl was just as beautiful as my very first pitaya experience! Amazing! Definitely recommend a large... Not only does it have a wow factor but it will definitely fill you up! PS: if you're allergic to oats like me (I know, wtf right?) Make sure you check cuz they put granola on the bottom of the bowl. read more

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Ala Moana Price: $10 Rating: I like the mix of the Ala Moana, which includes chocolate hemp milk, pitaya, bananas, strawberries, and almond butter. It was pretty flavorful, and the consistency of the acai bowl was pretty thick. The toppings consisted of granola, bananas, coconut, hemp seeds, and honey. I appreciated that she gave us extra honey! The only thing was that the wait time was about 20 minutes for the acai bowl. I'm not too sure if that is normal, but for the quality, I'm pretty happy for it. There's not much parking, except around the streets. read more

Banzai Bowls - Ala Moana; $10 - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

This place is tasty, but the time it takes to make these bowls is ridiculous. They need to hire more people for better service during rush hour busy times and use more than one vitamix blender for 15 orders in the queue. I mean seriously, who runs a juice and smoothie business with just one blender???? I order a bowl and after he rings me up he tells me that it's going to be 20 minutes for a small OG. He says sorry "Boss". it's gonna be 20 minutes. Ya "Boss", sorry. First off my name isn't Boss, my name is Rob. I gave you my name when you took my order. Secondly, i'm not your boss and if I was, you would probably be fired. Call people by their name and not boss. I waited 20 minutes too long for this one. read more

I love Banzai Bowls as far as açaí bowls are concerned! I love the different flavor combinations that most açaí bowl establishments don't have. Downside is service can be a hit or miss, there can be a long wait and the add ons (if you want them) cost an arm and a leg. Just to add chocolate would be an extra dollar to my large ten dollar bowl. But hey, people must be paying it if they raised prices. Again, flavors are great but be prepared to wait for your bowl. read more

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Gianna and Sarah made my bowl the best I've ever had it and this is my new favorite spot!

I remember coming to Banzai Bowl as a high schooler and loving the acai bowls. I was craving an acai bowl and made the drive over to fulfill my craving. The shop was busy but there was no one in line. I ordered a Maui Bowl for $8.75. I was annoyed that I waited for 20 minutes for a bowl. They looked under staffed at the bowl making section..but they were cranking out acai bowls. Seems like most were called in for pick up. I took my bowl to go and I was shocked to find five small pieces of plastic in my bowl (seen in picture). I discovered the plastic after slightly choking on one - I thought it was a tough coconut piece but after I got it out of my mouth I realized that it was plastic. I understand that stuff happens but when I found four other small pieces I stopped eating my bowl. Don't ever compromise quality with speed. There were lots of children in the shop..it would be terrible to have a child choke on plastic.. Sad to give this place I love a poor review. But got to keep it real as a Yelp elite! read more

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Yummy and fresh with large portion! The bowl size is made fresh on the same day. Stadf is patient and nice.

Very good for the first time having my sister told me about it would would've love too have the big one but honestly it's Cold so l just had the small one but amazing and good read more

What used to be a great little neighborhood spot with a surf vibe has turned into a skanky joint with kids behind the counter who clearly don't want to be working, extremely offensive music blasting (wouldn't want my kids to hear those lyrics) and a total lack of cleanliness. I realize times have been tough but if management wants repeat business they should step it up a notch or two. Don't think I'll be back for awhile. read more

I usually call in so by the time I get there I don't have to wait as long. I understand it's a busy place. I called at 10:30am on a Thursday and was placed on hold. No problem. Then a lot of time went by. 10 minutes. Then 15 minutes. So I decided to drive there while still on hold just to see how long I'd be on hold. I arrived. Ordered my bowl. Got my bowl, while still being on hold. There was also one other person in the store. I'm not sure if the phones aren't working or they forgot about me or they just don't care. But being on hold for more than 10 minutes on a dead day is absolutely ridiculous. The employees really do not care at all. Update: they finally answered after 27 minutes while I was in the unbusy store. read more

Banzai Bowls - How long I was on hold. When I went in and there was no one in there. - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

The best açaí bowls EVER! I've been going here since they opened and it's never let down! The service is always fast and they're all so nice! Don't ever change Banzai read more

This is the only Acai place that I come to in orange county and I have been to many of them. I go to this location and the one in Huntington Beach. The freshness, the flavor, the atmosphere is the best I have seen and that includes Rio de Janeiro and Florianopolis Brazil. They always make me a custom bowl here - I get a large shoyo bowl and add pineapple chunks on top - fabulous! There is no reason to go anywhere else Acai. Will you wait a couple minutes sometimes to get your bowl? Yes you will but that's because the bowls are made fresh one of the time! Does it get a little crowded here? Yes that's because it's awesome! Another byproduct of it being busy at times is the fruit is always very fresh! read more

This will always be my absolute favorite açaí bowl. Probably the least healthy of the options out there but it's the real OG. I crave their bowls randomly and they never disappoint. Sometimes the wait is crazy so recommend ordering ahead. read more

Placed an order on the app and it was incorrect. That's fine people make mistakes, but instead of trying to correct the mistake right away they tried saying that it was correct. I showed my receipt then stated that it was indeed incorrect. They would either take off the toppings and add the correct toppings or add the additional fruit i was supposed to have. Good thing i went with the 2nd option because when i tasted the bases of my two orders they tried to fix the wrong one. I switched the fruits myself, but the additional chocolate chips were stuck all over the fruit. I asked for more on one bowl since i had to fix their mistake. Then the guy working proceeded to look at me like i asked for free product. They charge $1.00 for not even a tablespoon of mini chocolate chips. Of course im going to ask for it since it was their mistake. Then he starts complaining to his coworkers as i was leaving. To top it off it was melted. Owner should teach the employees proper customer service. read more

This is the worst banzai location. It is a complete dump compared to the HB one and that says a lot. The people working have the worst customer service But it kinda makes the experience funnier. Ordered online. I asked for no granola- got granola. Added peanut butter didn't get the pb. Added mangoes for $2 and got 4 cubes of mangoes. Since they forgot PB on both bowls I walked back in asked if they ran out of peanut butter the guy asked "did you get pb?". You tell me ? LOL it's printed on the receipt 2 times. lack of reading orders on the receipt and service. Won't be back here. read more

I drive from far to buy this Acai bowls and they don't even let me use the restroom when have a sign at the door " for costumers only" So upsetting. Besides I asked for a large and they gave me a small, the Acai bowl is completely liquid like a juice. read more

Banzai Bowls - This looks like a smoothie it's more like a juice. this is the new large. - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

I love eating acai bowls and I definitely love eating it at Banzai bowls! I've ate at their other location before in Newport Beach, but there is always a ridiculous long wait time. The portions really very generous in accordance to their prices! Most acai places I've been to are expensive, but Banzai bowls is just right! I ordered the OG bowl which is the classic acai bowl that you'd see anywhere else. It comes in a huge cup where they only fill it up halfway if it's a small size. If you were to order a large, then it would be filled to the top. I would definitely recommend a large if you plan on sharing with a friend especially since it's only $1.75 more! read more

Banzai Bowls - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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Perfect grab and go beach snack. Whenever I'm spending the day at the beach I grab bonzai. It's not my all time favorite but the proximity is worth it to me! read more

Worst service ever at the Costa Mesa location! Also, I was a witness to a situation another Yelp user complained about recently too. After he attempted to calmly resolve the issue the shift leader escalated the situation by making sassy, snarky, and otherwise obnoxious comments to him in response to his reasonable request for a refund. This turned into an unnecessary fiasco when voices were raised and two other testosterone-fueled males stepped in and escalated the matter further by getting in the face of the man trying to resolve the issue with the shift leader. In my opinion, the two additional males were behaving in a physically threatening way towards him and only made matters worse. I was starting to feel scared that something bad was about to happen as that man would've had no choice but to defend himself against those other two. I feel he did a great job, standing his ground firmly and respectfully and those other two eventually backed down when he offered to call the police. He was in his rights to be angry with the disrespect he was shown that day and that shift leader (shifty leader) deserved to not only be fired for his obnoxious and arrogant attitude towards the customer (I personally heard him accuse the customer of lying and used foul language towards him while I was waiting in line next to the customer). No wonder things got heated! If it were me, I'd have chewed him out worse! That shift leader made all of us in the store feel incredibly uncomfortable and it caused people to leave the store and give up on their orders. This is very bad leadership and the owner of this establishment needs to take responsibly for training his people better! read more

I stilk think they have the best açaí bowls but the store is filthy! Splatters everywhere it's so gross why is it so dirty?$ please clean your location read more

They have really bomb açaí bowl and smoothies. My wife love it there, but the parking is not that good. If we are in the area we usually stop by. read more

Banzai Bowls - Acai Smoothie - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Horrible taste in bowls, super long wait and dirty kitchen and atmosphere. Definitely better ones in the area than banzai. They've gone so down hill read more

I have been a customer of Banzai for years at other locations and today visited the Costa Mesa location for the first time. The owner should be shut down as the ceiling and walls were covered in splatter marks from the açaí, the floors were dirty and clearly the store is very run down which makes one think that the food is not sanitary. You should be ashamed of yourself. The health department should close you down. The açaí itself lacked flavor and the store is run by young workers that lack customer service skills which evidences lack of training. Sad to see the Banazai brand represented in such a poor fashion. read more

Extremely slow service (we're talking 30+ minutes for ONE bowl), and rude employees (the person taking orders and calling out finished orders rolled his eyes more than once). This is the second location I've been to, they all suck. Go elsewhere. read more

This place was awesome!! For the amount that you get, you really get your money's worth (definitely go for the large and share it... or eat it all yourself like me heh) I got the Maui Sunrise because I wanted an acai bowl/it had literally all the toppings that I would ever want. They even put granola on both the top and the bottom which was amazing because the worst is when you get to the bottom and have no toppings left. Either way, it was really delicious and super great to take onto the beach with you. read more

Was here for the first time 3/31/21 Wednesday morning. Worst customer service EVER. I'm paying $25 for a two acai bowls and receiving this awful service !? For mediocre acai bowls!? Never again. Not worth your money and this establishment doesn't deserve your hard working money especially with a rude male employee at the front taking orders. Do not come here. Acai bowls are mediocre go to nectar down the street where they are much friendlier and actually greet you and welcome you. If I could give them a 0 stars I would. I just can't believe they have such terrible people working the front. I should have read their reviews before spending my money here.... I'm reading through the reviews and there are plenty attesting to terrible this place is. FIRST AND LAST TIME. read more

Employees decided to close early and not take my order. They were still making orders and patrons were still in the store. With service like this, I won't be sad when this place closes down and something better replaces it. read more

My complaint is with Management understaffing this place, from when we got here to now it's been about 45 minutes and we're still waiting to get our bowls. It's not busy by any means but there's only two people working, they take online orders and it pushes back being able to take orders of people walking up and them making the bowls. I just don't know who would run a business like this knowing the kind of stress this would put on the two people having to work. I feel so bad for the employees here trying to get through this work. With that being said this isn't the place you'd want to come to to grab a healthy bowl for breakfast because What should take 15 minutes will take an hour. I will say thought that the employees were super friendly and awesome read more

I love going to this place when I've indulged a little too much for the last few weeks and I need to have something that's delicious but still more on the healthy side. I love their acai bowls here and my go to is the Maui sunrise without coconut shreds! The large is $8.75 and it's a good portion for what you are paying for. My boyfriend and I share the large and we always feel super satisfied after. It is the perfect combination of acai with other fresh fruit and granola. They add that drizzle of honey and it makes the perfect addition. Check out the pictures because their blueberries are gigantic and their strawberries are vibrantly bright. The acai makes me feel like I'm just eating fresh sorbet for breakfast. Ugh, I love their bowls. I would say the big downside is the wait. I think there is only one blender (supppppppeerrrrrr loud) so it takes a while to get your cup/bowl of goodness. I would say be willing to wait if you come here but clearly I'm willing to wait since I come back for more! One thought I had that I think could make their to go cups even more epic is if they put some fruit and granola in the middle- like layered acai, fruit, acai, and then fruit again instead of just all at the top. People like me end up devouring the fruit right away and not saving any for later bites. For that being said, the acai is good by itself! read more

Banzai Bowls - Maui sunrise- large - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

This was my first time visiting the Costa Mesa location. My friend and I ordered two bowls at 5:14pm and we were the only ones there. The three kids working there were focusing on taking down the signs for 20 minutes. I believe they should have made our bowls first instead of playing with their toy signs. The food was alright, but after waiting 45 minutes I had no choice but to like it. To make matters worse, the long wait time meant that I had no other option but to wait at the dirty sticky tables. I will try to order off my phone next time and arrive an hour later and see if it's ready or not LOL. read more

Ok so I can't stay mad forever and I am one of the biggest fans!! I have one almost daily but I have one request! CAN YOU PLEASE GIVE US CREDIT WHEN WE ORDER THROUGH THE APP??? love their bowl but it's been going from bad to worst. The most inconsistent place I've ever been on. I go there every day and get a bowl for myself in a bowl for my son he gets the small OG the small OG I got today wasn't even worth two dollars the smallest thing I ever seen. Then I asked them and they said that that standard not to mention the other day I got told by one of the managers that the area in the back parking was only for on duty managers excuse me? I'm boycotting this place until they get their act together. Seriously get a manager or someone in there that knows what they're doing and puts out The equivalent of what you chargeORDER read more

Banzai Bowls - How much do you charge for THIS!! I haven't had any trouble till the past two weeks or so so whatever you're doing change it back - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

banzai bowls never fails to disappoint me. i love that you are able to order online now because it makes it faster and more convenient. you honestly can never go wrong with banzai bowl, as it will satisfy your acai cravings any time. read more

Let me start by saying I am a frequent flyer at Juju Bar, which is only about 5 minutes down 17th. I wanted to give Bonzai a try to shake things up a bit... but after my first and LAST experience, I'm sticking to Juju from here on out and here's why: 1. THE WAIT: you guys, how long should it take to blend up some fruit and top it with bird seed? Well, at Bonzai it was a good 30 minutes only to find out that our order had been on the back counter waiting to be called. 2. THE STAFF: (reference above) the kids that work there are aloof and really don't value "customer service". When I went up to the counter to check on our order, the guy went back and searched through the orders on the back counter and came back and said "I'm sure they just finished these" when in actuality I had my eye on them for a while wondering if the two bowls could be mine. 3. VALUE: in comparison, Juju bar is a better value seeing as you get nearly double for the price of a small bonzai bowl. That sums it up, if you're in the mood for a refreshing smoothie bowl, travel down the road to Juju bar. You won't regret it. read more