Sometimes there is nothing less appetizing than yet another Döner, and with summer in full swing, the vitamin-packed smoothie option is very, very appealing. The simplicity of a smoothie (stick some fruits together in a blender, wizz them up together until they are more or less liquid, serve) should not undermine the artistry of the thing.  Berlin, home of bio-Muttis and more vegans than you can shake a meat-free stick at, has more than a handful of great places offering fantastic smoothies. So please, be our guest and check out our run down of all the best smoothies from organic stores to cute cafes – that make up the Berlin smoothie scene.

Vegan Detox Café – Rosa Luxemburg Strasse 22, Mitte

Near to Volksbühne Theatre, at Rosa Luxemburg Straße, you can find Vegan Detox Café, connected to the Ory Concept Store. This is a tiny place with loads of organic juices and food. These guys offer three types of smoothie (green, fruit and sweet) for €4,20 (we never said smoothies were cheap). Without any real idea as to what I was doing I opted for the fruit one.
Rookie that I am, I’m not sure what’s in it, except for apple, but at a push I’d say orange and some surprisingly refreshing rosemary. It felt like a true “detox” experience – you cannot buy something like this in the supermarket or in an ordinary café. Health attack!

Café Neundrei – Monbijouplatz 2, Mitte

Another vegan café – and a cute one too. Here you can buy a piece of vegan strawberry cake or cinnamon buns, or a delicious smoothie, of course. Every smoothie will set you back a healthy €4,50 and there are four flavours to choose from – orange, breakfast, green and pink (long have we waited for a breakfast flavoured drink).

These guys are not in the habit of keeping you guessing and the menu lays out in detail what goes into each type which is great for those with allergies. After wrestling with it for ages, I decide to take the breakfast type another time and choose pink, which is very pink indeed.
A mix of raspberry, carrot, ginger, cranberry and apple juice, but really it’s the raspberry that’s dominant. Delicious, fresh and straightforward.

The Juicery – Eberswalder Strasse 2, Prenzlauerberg

The Juicery, located a few meters away from the main entrance of the famous Mauer Park Flohmarkt is another example of Berlin’s flourishing smoothie economy. Hands up, I have totally forgotten the names of the smoothies on offer here,  there are six or seven names with loads of ingredients written down and it was too much excitement for me to take in. €4,50 will get you a small smoothie, its €5,90 for a big one and  €3,90 for children. I do remember that I opted for a thing called a Green Detox with spinach, lime, mint and loads of other fresh stuff – and it came decorated with huckleberry, cranberry and a basil leaf. Even after a small portion I felt really full, and these huckleberries… So delicious! A perfect, if pricey spot in the north.

If you’re on a tighter budget (join the club) you can find smoothies which make up for their use of non-organic ingredients by being super tasty and really affordable. Now, for those people I’ve tested two easy and cheap smoothie-like drinks, drinks which you can find everywhere in Berlin, for less than €3. Please forgive the big brands, but really, there is clearly economy in scale.

McDonalds; everywhere in Berlin

That was the lowest price for something prepared right in front of you – if by “preparation” you mean pouring the thing into a cup. From a magic distributor straight into classic plastic cup, the McDonalds version a of smoothie contains loads of crushed ice and awfully chemical juice, but there’s still that unmistakable fruity punch you expect from a smoothie. It wasn’t that bad in fact, was good representation of how shampoo could taste.

That peach and passion fruit shampoo which you always smell when you’re taking shower. Or pineapple-mango shampoo. Or strawberry and banana. Yes, in McDonalds you can choose one of three flavours! But be careful – after five minutes in your hand smoothie begins its metamorphosis into an extremely diluted juice. Our advice is to get it down your neck as soon as possible and ask no questions.

Edeka; everywhere in Berlin

The cheapest one I found! For 250ml of smoothie, you need only 99c, although frankly “smoothie” in this case is something of a misnomer. I’d probably term this a “thick juice with some fruit pieces” instead, although that’s not to say it wasn’t tasty. But as a €1 item it was pretty good, and somehow a touch less chemical than McDonalds’ idea of the same and at least not so sweet. Also, Edeka’s smoothie is healthy – or so their food experts claim. Edeka has more complicated and interesting flavours, from five to seven ingredients mixed (like mango, banana, apple, orange and passion fruit), but still – it’s more interesting than Maccies’ strawberry and banana.