Juice and smoothies in Palo Alto

Palo Alto runs on coffee, but a lot of it also runs on green juice. Between workouts, early meetings downtown and long afternoons at a laptop, the city supports a steady set of juice bars, smoothie shops and acai bowl counters. Most belong to West Coast or international chains, a few are local and one sells smoothies from a stall at the Saturday market.

This guide sorts them by type: cold-pressed bottles to grab and go, juice made to order in front of you, smoothies and frozen acai bowls. Every shop below was confirmed through its own website, the farmers market's 2026 vendor list or a verified page in our business directory in October 2026. Menus and hours change, so check before a special trip.

Juice and smoothies at a glance

Cold-pressed juice

Cold-pressed juice is made by crushing fruit and vegetables and squeezing them under a hydraulic press rather than spinning them through a fast blade. It is bottled and sold chilled, which makes it the quickest option when you are in a hurry.

Pressed has a juice bar at Stanford Shopping Center. The chain began in 2010 as a tiny juice stand in Los Angeles. The menu centers on cold-pressed juices and wellness shots, including one the company says is 70 percent ginger. Plant-based foods round it out. Pressed says its recipes avoid added sugars and preservatives and that it uses fresh turmeric rather than powder. It lists long hours, from 7 a.m. into the evening every day. A membership program offers member pricing. Our Stanford Shopping Center guide covers parking.

Juice made to order: Joe & The Juice

Joe & The Juice, founded in Copenhagen in 2002, has three Palo Alto stores, more than any other juice brand in town. Juices and shakes are blended to order at the counter, alongside coffee and pressed sandwiches. The stores share a menu, an app and a list of services: app pre-orders, delivery, Wi-Fi and outlets. That makes them a common stop for people who want to work for an hour.

• 508 University Avenue, on the main downtown street.
• 240 Hamilton Avenue, next to City Hall a block south of University.
• Stanford Shopping Center, for shoppers who want to park in the center's lots.

The two downtown stores are only a few minutes apart on foot, so check which one is selected in the app before you pay.

Acai bowls and smoothie bowls

An acai bowl is a thick, frozen blend of acai berry pulp and fruit, eaten with a spoon and topped with granola, fruit and nut butter. Three shops in town build their menus around it.

Bare Bowls, Emerson Street

Bare Bowls at 530 Emerson Street is the only independent acai shop downtown. It says it never uses artificial sweetener, acai sorbet or fruit juice and does not use sweetened acai. Bases are made with nut milks the shop makes in house every day. Most bowls start with acai and two use pitaya, the bright pink dragon fruit. The Powerhouse adds blueberry, almond butter, chia and maca. The Gorilla adds peanut butter and banana. It also blends smoothies and caters with a build-your-own toppings bar. The shop keeps daytime hours, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Vitality Bowls, California Avenue

Vitality Bowls is a franchise superfood cafe that opened on California Avenue in July 2015. It describes the store as about a mile from Stanford and within walking distance of Caltrain. Besides acai bowls and smoothies, it promotes Harvest Kitchen, a second menu of sandwiches, salads and protein bowls for people who want a bigger meal. It offers free Wi-Fi, dine-in seating and outdoor tables. Our California Avenue guide covers the street.

Palmetto Superfoods, Town & Country Village

Palmetto Superfoods is a Bay Area chain that started at Third Avenue and Clement Street in San Francisco. Its Town & Country shop makes build-your-own acai bowls and superfood smoothies. The company describes its menu as plant based, vegan friendly and naturally sweetened. Online orders go through the Palmetto rewards app.

Smoothie shops and cafes

Jamba, the chain formerly known as Jamba Juice, has its Palo Alto shop at Town & Country Village. The store page highlights Mango-a-go-go, an Acai Primo bowl and Peachberry Blast. The full menu adds juices, bowls and snacks. Jamba opens at 7:30 a.m. on weekdays and caters smoothie packs and fruit bowls for offices and teams. Note that the former Jamba at 3990 El Camino Real has closed.

Palo Alto Cafe on Middlefield Road in Midtown is a family-owned coffee shop that has roasted its own beans since 1996. Its menu also lists juices and smoothies alongside breakfast and sandwiches, which makes it the neighborhood choice if one person wants coffee and another wants a smoothie. Our Midtown guide covers the area.

Smoothies and cider at the farmers market

The downtown Saturday market on Gilman Street lists several drink vendors on its 2026 vendor list:

• Devil's Sweet, which sells smoothies and musubi.
• Smit Farms, an orchard from Linden in the Central Valley that sells fresh-pressed apple cider along with apples, grapes and cherries.
• Wise Jun Kombucha, kombucha brewed with tea, fresh fruit and honey.

Bring a reusable cup or bottle. Our farmers markets guide has times and parking.

Where to go by neighborhood

• Downtown. Joe & The Juice on University Avenue and Hamilton Avenue, Bare Bowls on Emerson Street and the Saturday market on Gilman Street.
• California Avenue. Vitality Bowls, a short walk from the California Avenue Caltrain station and the Sunday market.
• Near Stanford. Pressed and Joe & The Juice at Stanford Shopping Center, plus Jamba and Palmetto Superfoods across El Camino Real at Town & Country Village.
• Midtown. Palo Alto Cafe on Middlefield Road, with easy parking in the shopping center lot.

South Palo Alto has fewer choices. If you are near Mitchell Park or El Camino Real south of Page Mill Road, Town & Country or Midtown is usually the closest stop.

How to choose

1. Watch the sugar. Fruit-heavy smoothies and sweetened acai can carry as much sugar as a soda. Ask for no added sweetener or choose a green blend.
2. Add protein for a meal. Most shops add protein powder or nut butter. A bowl without it is a snack, not lunch.
3. Ask about allergens. Nut milks, nut butters, bee pollen and dairy turn up in many recipes.
4. Order ahead at busy times. Joe & The Juice, Jamba and Palmetto all take app orders.
5. Drink it fresh. Juice made to order loses flavor within hours. Cold-pressed bottles keep longer in the fridge, so check the date on the label.

Frequently asked questions