The Hive

Would happily give this place 5-stars! My favorite acai bowl in Santa Monica yet, next to Nekter. The texture is thick and not lacking in acai. There was TONS of topping! Arguably too much coconut shreds, my husband got the power bowl and didn't love it due to the heaps of topping, but second visit he built his own with added almond butter and it was fantastic! I had the classic acai (w/out bee pollen & honey) and after 2 visits and 4 different bowls I was impressed that the bananas used to top the bowls were RIPE (not slimy or green) every time!! If you prefer a less creamy (like coconut water/apple juice vs milk for a liquid) then this prob isn't the best for you. But otherwise, very happy with this place and their acai claims of being the best! The vegan breakfast burrito is also wonderful. It has a very nice eggy-ness to it, that we both agreed had a more "sophisticated" taste than most tofu burritos we've had. Service was very friendly and vegan-conscious.

We wanted to like this place a lot. It's pretty close to us, you can customize your acai as you like it, the inside looks clean and service is fast and friendly. The acai bowls missed then boat for us though, and my fiancé was so hungry afterward he had to go down the street to Swingers and get a second breakfast. He felt for $10, he shouldn't leave feeling as hungry as he did.

Overall, the concept is good. Pick a base (acai, dragonfruit, greek yogurt, chia pudding), pick two crunches (almond, cocoa nibs, hemp seeds, coconut, etc.), pick two fruits (strawberries, blueberries, bananas, dried cranberries, goji berries, etc.) and pick a sweetener (honey, agave, maple syrup, coconut nectar, bee pollen). For $3 extra, you can choose to "supercharge" it with something like spinach. The bowls came out within 5 minutes, and they were filled with a good amount (though not a lot) of toppings. I went with the acai, hemp seeds, coconut, strawberries, bananas and honey - keeping it to a pretty traditional acai bowl. The texture of the acai was good, a mix between a thicker version of a smoothie but not quite as thick as gelato, and it wasn't the italian ice texture I dislike for an acai bowl. But something was off on the base acai's taste, it was almost licorice tasting, which is not something I like. My fiancé agreed it was off and wasn't pleased with it generally. I'll also note there was a weird hair on the outside of his bowl that definitely wasn't ours.

Generally, it wasn't bad, it just wasn't great. I will say I was full for a few hours. It didn't hit me initially, but then I was solidly full for awhile. We likely won't be back though, given there are many options in this area for acai bowls.

Nothing better than some delicious kombucha! Had a fantastic vegan meal here while visiting friends in LA and was not disappointed. Shared the tacos and some guac with my partner and we were pleasantly satisfied. Would definitely go back.

Peeked in to have a look and saw that the cafe is up and running again after the previous venture, Simply Raw, had unexpectedly shut. The concept is entirely different -- not raw food.

The focus is primarily on drinks and casual bite. Kombucha on tap or mixed with different fruit juices plus lots of smoothies and combinations of fresh pressed juices.

Got a 12-ounce "de-liver" juice that tasted great with a kick though not cheap ($9).