Playa Bowls was founded by two surfers from Jersey Shore with a passion for nourishing eats. Robert Giuliani and Abby Taylor traveled to Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, California, and Hawaii in pursuit of big waves, but they also discovered many local variations of acai and pitaya bowls.
Abby and Rob started blending their own bowls at home, and eventually began selling them at a pop-up stand in front of a pizza shop in Belmar, NJ. From those humble beginnings, they’ve since expanded to 65 stores throughout the U.S. with a big sweet and savory menu. All locations are mostly dairy-free with ample plant-based items to choose from.
Playa Bowls Blends Unique Menu Options with Dairy-Free Ingredients
This U.S. chain serves a unique array of bowls in the following categories:
- Acai – Their founding based is pure, cool, pureed acai that’s topped with things like granola, fruit, chocolate, and coconut.
- Pitaya – These pretty in pink dragon fruit are a blend of pitaya, banana, pineapple, and coconut milk with your choice of toppings.
- Coconut – If you’re into rich smoothies, then these bowls are for you. They’re made with a blend of raw coconut, coconut milk, banana, and agave.
- Green – I’m not a big fan of kale, but I have to admit this combination of kale, pineapple, banana, and coconut milk does work well.
- Chia – Chia “pudding” is on the bowl menu, and it’s made with chia seeds, coconut milk, agave, and vanilla.
- Banana – They didn’t ignore the sweetest, most basic blend of them all: banana, honey, and almond milk.
- Oatmeal – This option lets you enjoy a bowl of oats with sweet or energizing toppings.
- Poke – That’s right, select locations are now serving poke bowls! At last check, all were dairy-free, which included a few pescatarian options and one un-beetable vegan option.
The staff at Playa Bowls also serves many of these blends in smoothie form and they have fresh-pressed juices. Their flavor selection for each rivals Jamba!
According to Playa Bowls, all of their ingredients are dairy-free, except for Muscle Milk protein, Nutella, and white chocolate. So omit those options from your order and you are good to go. If you are a strict vegan, you might also want to ask them to ask them to hold the honey.
Where to Find Playa Bowls
They currently have shops in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Puerto Rico. See their website below for locations, hours, and more menu information.
Website: www.playabowls.com
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What Others Are Saying ...
Best Ever
Anywhere I go I am always Googling “Playa Bowls near me”. Traded my Starbucks addiction for this healthy and delish treat. I am lactose intolerant so finding a place to accommodate my health was not so easy. But this place offers SO MANY varieties for even the pickiest eater (aka my daughter).
