Los Angeles has long been a hotbed for juice bars, but at no time in history have Angelenos been able to find such creative combinations of market-driven, herbal, and purposeful ingredients. Kreation Organic Juicery and Pressed Juicery are ubiquitous - read on and discover a new generation of LA’s best juice bars.
Fruit Gallery
Nina Merced and husband James have been "keeping you juicy since 2005" in Venice Beach with organic juices blended to order. The Taste of Heaven may not actually transport you past the pearly gates, but this frothy orange drink is indeed satisfying, made with sweet potato, apple, carrot, and ginger, an ingredient that “helps boost the immune system.” Other juices include V-7, a V-8 made with tomato, celery, lemon, bell pepper, carrot, and spinach that would no doubt help boost any Bloody Mary. Why get a facial when you can just drink Skin Cleanser, a mix of garlic, tomato, bell pepper, and celery? This is designed to drink, not a topical solution.
Shots include Blue Green Algae, a detoxifier; Ginger, for nausea and blood circulation; and Fire Cider - a "natural antibiotic and anti-inflammatory."
The Juice
Elizabeth Halpern and Melissa Cronkhite founded The Juice in Atwater Village and later opened a second location in Downtown LA.
Instead of punny names, each bottle has a number on the cap that corresponds to a menu description. Options range from the #1 (carrot & coconut) to more elaborate blends like the #3 (apple, celery, kale, parsley, lemon, ginger) and the tangy #16 with orange, beet, ginger and turmeric. Juices are available in 16 oz bottles and "shorties" that are great for kids.
Other offerings include a Ginger Shot with lemon, cayenne and maple syrup; several plant-based nut milks that are made in-house; and housemade organic, non-dairy ice cream.
Juice Budz
"Taste the Wellness" at Juice Budz, located in Sherman Oaks just south of Ventura Boulevard. Opened by friends Anthony Espana, Ephraim Ponce and Marco Anaya in 2016, the sleek space features splashes of color like a mural that depicts a wave of orange juice pouring from a Juice Budz bottle.
Juices are color-coded on the LED menu: green for a kale base, orange for carrot, yellow for citrus, and red for beet. Highlights include the Green Mile ("Immunity" Kale, spinach, apple, cucumber, romaine, parsley, lemon, ginger), Sunday Morning ("Heart Aid" Beet, apple, lemon, ginger), and Charcoalade with alkaline water, lemon, agave, Himalayan salt and activated charcoal.
Cleanses are available in three levels with 2, 3 and 5-day options. Designed for first-timers, the Beginner Cleanse features higher calorie flavors, fruit-based juices with some greens, and a Straight Shooter Wellness Shot.
Juice Crafters
"Live Well and Be Well" with the family-owned Juice Crafters, which has grown to 11 locations across LA, including Westfield Century City.
Maui's Garden stimulates the digestive system and eases stomach irritants with apple, cucumber, lemon, kale, ginger and mint. Beauty & Brains promises a "full body reset" with apple, lemon, ginger and cayenne. For improved athletic performance the natural way, opt for the Beet Biotic with beet, apple, lemon and ginger.
The Juice Parlor
Sarina Tounian worked in environmental science and engineering and suffered from Hashimoto’s disease, a thyroid issue that necessitated a diet shift. She found that juices helped manage her issue, and she was so inspired that she and husband Dima opened The Juice Parlor in the NoHo Green Village strip mall in 2016. As her motto says, “It’s better to feel good.” Every juice is made to order from shelves of produce.
Order from a focused blackboard menu that states desired effects. Put on your Dancing Shoes after downing a digestif of beets, celery, kale, lemon, parsley and mint. Get a Spring in Your Step with the vegetal combo of cucumber, celery, kale, spinach, dandelion, lemon, ginger and cayenne.
Parlor Shots weigh two ounces and have clear purposes. Immunity won’t supply everlasting life, but the spicy blend of ginger, lemon, oregano oil, and cayenne pepper packs a punch. Anti-Inflammatory is less jarring: orange, turmeric, ginger, lemon and cayenne.
Kathy's Kitchen
Kathy of Crenshaw's Kathy's Kitchen uses the skills that made her a success for 30 years in the aerospace industry for the health and wellness of the LA community. Her juices and smoothies are delicious, soothing, and proven to promote health, "...turmeric is a natural remedy to help your body fight inflammation. It’s not debatable. It’s not a discussion. That’s what turmeric does," she writes on her website. Juicing with Kathy's Kitchen is actual rocket science. Don't miss her carrot/lemon/tumeric magic.
Lifehouse Tonics + Elixirs
Jack Latner and Fraser Thompson have created a potable lifestyle brand in the heart of Hollywood with Lifehouse Tonics + Elixirs. White walls with deliberate green stains frame an airy space that focuses on Chinese tonic herbs and medicinal mushrooms, many wild grown, at least as many requiring a dictionary. “Potent + invigorating” wellness shots include a path to Detox with apple cider vinegar, colloidal silver, magnesium, lemon, and cayenne. “Refreshing + hydrating” steeped elixirs include a mushroom-filled riff on the Arnold Palmer dubbed Fungi Palmer featuring cold-pressed lemon juice, Assam tea, cordyceps, reishi, chaga, lion’s mane, and lakanto. “Cleansing + rejuvenating” probiotic tonics all involve coconut water kefir (kombucha’s cousin). Wild orange strawberry also contains maca, eleuthero, astragalus, cordyceps, and lakanto.
Little West
Cass and Andrew Walker founded Little West (formerly Clover Juice) in 2013, using funds they'd set aside for their wedding before they eloped. The LA-based company touts the 2-4 pounds of locally-sourced produce in each bottle, and their 48-hour farm-to-bottle cold-press processing.
Juices include Go Big (Beet, Kale, Carrot, Apple, Wheatgrass, Lemon, Ginger), Detox Greens (Coconut Water, Cucumber, Celery, Kale, Fennel, Parsley, Lemon, E3Live, Spirulina) and Fireball Immunity Shots with Ginger, Turmeric, Cayenne, Lemon and Cracked Pepper.
Visitors will find Little West at hotels like the Millennium Biltmore, Downtown LA Proper, the Ace, Hotel Figueroa, Kimpton Wilshire, Kimpton Hotel Palomar, 1 Hotel West Hollywood and the Sunset Marquis. Locals can shop for Little West at upscale chains including Whole Foods, Gelson's and Bristol Farms.
Moon Juice
One of the neighborhood's favorite feel good juice bars, Moon Juice has become a one stop shop for wellness. Touting an entire line of soap, tonics and vitamin elixrs. Juice not your thing? They also serve a mean oatmilk latte via the coffee bar.
Naturewell
Naturewell's super smoothies are all vegan and packed with a whole fruit bowl of fresh ingredients. The Silverlake location is in the uber chic Maison Kitsune. Other locations include DTLA and Altadena.
The Punchbowl
Christiana Solano and Jonathon Wright previously crafted juices for Pure Food and Wine in Manhattan before relocating to L.A. They partnered with a friend on The Punchbowl, a Zen paradise on a Los Feliz side street. The space features red walls with floral elements, Mason jar chandeliers, reclaimed wood banquettes, and copper tables. They’re unusually skilled with turmeric, the vivid yellow, antioxidant-rich root. Spark Plug combines organic cold pressed juice with turmeric, pineapple, ginger, apple, lemon and cayenne. Healing Turmeric is more concentrated, a tiny bottle with turmeric, lime, coconut water and holy basil. Other compelling combos include Pink Chia Punch, a mix of chia seeds, pear, beet, grapefruit, and ginger. Zeus Juice is a green blend nearly as powerful as the name, with watercress, Roman chicory, parsley, apple, ginger, and lemon.
PURE Pressed Juice
Aided by cold-pressed juice, Dawn Dail lost 170 pounds and now preaches the green juice gospel at PURE Pressed Juice, located in the same West LA strip mall as beloved frozen yogurt shop The Bigg Chill. Consider this counterprogramming. The space features fridges for bottles of cold-pressed juice and snacks, an open kitchen, and a calming photo of lavender fields.
"Don’t panic, go organic" by ordering bottles like Greens, an earthy blend of organic kale, spinach, romaine lettuce, celery, cucumber, lemon and ginger. The rest of the menu expounds a range of health benefits. For instance, Energy combines organic tangerine, carrot, apple and turmeric root. Immunity teams grapefruit with pineapple, organic orange and cayenne pepper. Imbibers will appreciate the Detox with organic beets, carrot, apple, aloe, ginger and cayenne.
Root of Life Juicery
Maria Pacheco and Robert Valdez started Root of Life Juicery at the Huntington Park Farmers Market to serve a community that offers way more health clinics and fast food than nutrition. The partners now run a strip mall brick-and-mortar with a reclaimed wood bar, a painting of Frida Kahlo, and a fridge framed by a tree mural. Juices spotlight produce from farmers market friends like Azteca Farm, Fernandez Farms and Trinidad Farm.
The popular Turmeric Tonic is a moderately sweet juice that combines orange, ginger, lemon, carrot, pineapple, apple cider vinegar and turmeric, a superfood that’s "antioxidant, cardiovascular health, anti-depressant, and probiotic."
Aphrodite features beets, celery, carrot, orange, apple cider vinegar, apple, lemon and ginger root, a "digestive aid, great source of fiber, aids weight loss, and supports immune system health." Paint it Black pairs mint, lemon, chia seeds, blue agave, alkaline water, and activated charcoal, a "powerful natural detoxifier, toxin removal, relieves indigestion, and alleviates gas and bloating."
ROL also rotates seasonal juices like the Summer Sandi (watermelon, lemon basil, ginger, lemon).