VERDE JUICE BAR
Neighbourhood: Wolseley
Address: 887 Westminster Avenue
Phone: 204-615-8733
Entrees: $10 – $20
Juice Bar has helped ease the transition to plant-based eating for enlightened Winnipeggers, with its crowd-pleasing bowls and vibrant beverages that are as delicious as they are rich in nutrients.
While tonics and smoothies may conjure veg-head stereotypes, if you are in the mood for an uplifting break in the day, this is the place to do it. Fresh juice fits in on Westminster Avenue, though the charming sun washed space plays host to people hankering to start their day with less righteous wake me ups too. Unlike most juice bars serving Nutri-rich shots, Verde caters to caffeine sippers with equal vigor, serving robust espresso bevvies from local roaster, Colosimo Coffee.
The welcoming space modestly accented with greenery and a single painting on a feature wall provides calm yet lively comfort; solo diners, perched on outward facing stools along the window, watch dog walkers and joggers go by while sipping on a fresh blend or homemade soup. Neighbourly patrons, waiting to order at the counter, mingle, and inquire curiously about the bright hued concoctions going out to tables. Happy hued bottles line the self serve fridge for anyone literally on the run.
When it comes to health-conscious fare that leaves you feeling good, Verde Juice Bar’s array of luscious sweet and savoury bowls stand on their own packed with ingredients like chickpeas and pumpkin seeds that pull maximal flavour out of fruits, grains and vegetables.
Verde’s açai bowl, featuring house made granola, is one of the best smoothie bowls in the city, particularly topped with artfully placed rows of sliced strawberries, coconut and hemp hearts. Each spoonful blends the vibrant flavours of the berries with pleasing medley of crunchy accents.
Savoury options are equally inspired. A burrito bowl, generously loaded with a rainbow of textures, celebrates kale, refried beans, cubes of roasted sweet potato, quinoa, pickled purple cabbage, avocado and radish. Lime and cilantro vinaigrette punctuate the medley, and drizzle of chipotle infused cashew cream adds a kicky flourish.
Another vibrantly coloured grain bowl featuring falafel packs major flavour into a Middle Eastern leaning mixture of arugula, quinoa, beets, parsley, mint, dates and pickled turnips. A classic garlic lemon tahini lends pungency to each bite.
The casual counter is equally deft at crafting smart soups and sandwiches too. Mashed avocado, garnished with array of fresh and pickled greens, sprouts, and seeds hits the spot on a sesame seed Bagelsmith round with fortifying traits but chili flakes and perky shot of jalapeno laced coconut yogurt qualifies it as a stand out.
A bowl of steaming vegetable soup fragrant with its aromatic mixture is so robust it eats more like a robust stew than a light bite.
Though wellness cuisine is de rigeur on coastal cities and with celebs, this dining genre remains a blue ocean space in Winnipeg, an opportunity Verde is embracing wholesomely.
