Oakberry – The fresh açaí bowl and smoothie shop which got its start in São Paulo, Brazil in 2016 – operates roughly 600 locations across 30 countries including China, Saudi Arabia, Portugal and Malta.
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They recently opened a spot on the UES, and now they’re up and running at 166 West 72nd Street, between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues (the space was previously home to My Pie, which closed in 2021).
Touting its product as “healthy fast food,” Oakberry says, “Not everyone has enough time to eat healthier and fill up on energy, so our mission is to provide a delicious, natural, and nutritious experience quickly, changing the way fast food is perceived.” Oakberry also states they use no food colorings, artificial preservatives or guarana syrup in their recipes.
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The açai berry can be found in South and Central America in places that include the Amazon Rainforest. “They’re smaller than grapes (closer to the size of blueberries), and range in color from a deep reddish-purple to shades of green, depending on the maturity of the acai berry,” writes WomensWorld.com. In terms of their health benefits, açai supports weight loss and fat burning while the fruit’s versatility “allows for working it into everything from smoothie bowls and juice blends to a sweet puree. It can even be added [to] dark chocolate and ice cream for extra flavor and color.”
At Oakberry’s Upper West Side outpost, açai bowls and smoothies come in three sizes: Classic (12 oz), Works (16 oz) and The Oak (24 oz).
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Bowls are respectively priced at $11.50, $14.50 and $19. You can choose from an unlimited number of toppings which range from $1.50 to $3.50.
Smoothies are respectively priced at $9.50, $12 and $16.50, and can come with up to three toppings.
Sorry about the glare.
Currently, Oakberry has about 10 seats inside if you’d like to park it. During our visit they told us they plan to install tables soon too. The same goes for hanging signage outside; they’re working on it, so keep your eyes peeled.
Oakberry is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week. Follow them on Instagram here.
I don’t know if I’d call it healthy. According to their website, the açaí mix alone (before toppings) is 110 calories and 16 g of sugar for 100 g. The smallest size is 12 oz which is 340 grams. That ends up being (and I’m rounding down) 330 calories and 48 g of sugar with almost no protein (again before the three toppings are added in) for the smallest serving. It’s probably better than a quarter pounder but I wouldn’t exactly call it a healthy meal with that much sugar? To each their own but make sure you look at nutritional facts so your eyes are wide open to what you’re ingesting.
There should be more good people like you, Lora! (A) Thanks for noticing and (B) special thanks for getting the word out and doing the calculations to determine how much sugar is really being peddled by these alleged “health food” start-ups. For example, all these “impossible” beef and meat substitutes warm the heart of vegans until you find out about all the ersatz ingredients, e.g. additives, chemicals, emulsifiers, coloring agents and finally, the extra salt and MSG that go into getting soy, bulgar, chick peas, et al. tasting like what they’re supposed to imitate.