When this little magic berry from the Amazon began to appear in our lives around five years ago, who was to know how much we’d fall for this little antioxidant-packed gem?
It’s safe to say, superfoods have taken off in a big way and are the perfect ingredient to mitigate the strains of a fast-paced twenty-first-century lifestyle – and all those cocktails, naturally. Since we first began to see açai bowls appear in our cafes, they have been elevated to an adored status, with serious attention to detail and quality ingredients making them a stock standard staple on our breakfast menus across the Gold Coast.
Whether you choose to munch yours at the office as you read your emails or scoop your way through a bowl with a few friends on the weekend: the love is real. Handily for you, though, we have compiled the spots that dish up soe of the best of this South American treat — all in the name of good health!
The Shack Superfood Café
This OG of superfood and tasty treats is part of the very fabric that makes Nobby’s Beach so damn cool. If you haven’t been and experienced their taste-filled goods, then, where have you been?!
The pick: Choose your adventure between top-quality Amazonia Energiser and Pure Açai, then take a stroll down to the beach and enjoy your bowl with a fantastic view.
Where: 2221 Gold Coast Highway, Nobby Beach
Cardamon Pod
If all you can eat gorgeous vegetarian food sounds like music to your ears, then might we suggest you take a look at this insta-famous cafe? With some of the most eye-catching ‘extra’ food around, you won’t be disappointed with anything you order here.
The pick: The Pod Special Acai Bowl is nothing short of a piece of art, with blue spirulina crème making this a one-off colour sensation!
Where: 1/2685 Gold Coast Highway, Broadbeach & 3/3 Brolga Ave, Southport
Niche & Co
This Tugun-based delight is the epitome of what a Gold Coast cafe is all about. Great coffee, an incredible menu of hot and cold delights, laidback village vibes, and a place where all the cute dogs miraculously seem to converge. If you know, you know!
The pick: The selection of Acai at Niche & Co is nothing short of mind-blowing. Sideline your order of coffee and pick the Mocha Acai Bowl, with lashings of raw cacao protein and mocha coconut chia mousse – perfection, folks!
Where: 4/449 Golden Four Drive, Tugun
Goji Granola Bar & Café
When you see people pour nothing but devotion and passion into their work, it shows, right? Step inside Goji Granola Bar and Café, and you’ll feel this sentiment straight away with lavish-looking dishes aplenty and chirpy staff to guide you through their brimming menu.
The pick: Their acai bowl is already a marvellous thing; however, we suggest you add on their unique and rotating flavour Coco Fluff – vegan coconut soft serve – to really up the ante. (You’ll thank us later).
Where: 7/60 Santa Cruz Boulevard, Clear Island Waters
BSKT
What this little Nobby Beach café doesn’t know about healthy eating isn’t worth knowing. Asides from epic eats for breakfast and lunch, this is one of the most prolific doggo hang-out spots in the city — just saying.
The pick: Their standard Acai bowl features whipped Brah acai and all of the trimmings you’d expect, like goji berries and shredded coconut for days. Perfect fuel as you pat ALL the dogs.
Where: 4 Lavarack Road, Nobby Beach
Little Mermaid
This corner-side hangout spot has long been the locals’ favourite place to grab a coffee and a bite post-swim/surf – and it’s easy to see why. Dreamy décor and fantastic breakfast and lunchtime menus mean this is the kind of place you want to visit on the regular with salty hair and sand between your toes.
The pick: Get the Beach Lover Acai Bowl and don’t look back! All of the bright and zesty additions you’d expect but with a healthy dollop of peanut butter as its crown of glory.
Where: 2557 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach
Oakberry
Should you find yourself gallivanting around town or just coming in after a morning on the beach, either way, Oakberry at Burleigh Heads, Surfers Paradise or Coolangatta, is a great option for some wholesome fuel. You’ll find this café spot perfectly positioned on James Street, Cavill Ave and Marine Parade – all prime people-watching territory!
The pick: Where do we begin! Your options are utterly limitless here, so let your imaginations go wild and customise a bowl to your heart’s content. What we do love here though, is that the bowls are tall, so they actually fit inside your car cupholders, oh the dilemma.
Where: Various locations (Burleigh Heads, Surfers Paradise & Coolangatta)
Tugun Fruit and Flowers
Your one-stop-shop for all the significant essentials you need, and of course, some pretty darn good acai bowls! Whilst you wait for the bowl of your dreams, you can grab yourself some super fresh fruit, a candle or two, or even an epic-looking dried flower arrangement to spruce up a space at home.
The pick: The Choc Acai Bowl for us – this overflowing bowl is blended with raw cacao and almond milk and is topped with ALL of the seasonal fruit imaginable.
Where: 4/467 Golden Four Drive, Tugun
Blendlove
For vegans, this Southport café is a dream come true – and a whole lot more. When it comes to good plant-based eats that taste just as good as they look, these guys nail everything and will leave the everyday carnivore scratching their heads.
The pick: With ten smoothies you can have served as a bowl, but we can’t go past the standard acai with a spruce up of additional chocolate buckinis: delicious and nutritious.
Where: 1/253 Ferry Road, Southport
The Salt Mill
Acai bowls need to be consumed with an incredible backdrop: it’s a fact, and we’re sticking with it. So, what better distraction do you have than the gorgeous Currumbin beach? The Salt Mill is a complete haven of tasty treats and is hands down one of the Coast’s best beachside cafes.
The pick: If you go with their standard acai bowl, you’ll struggle not to spill anything as they come overloaded with mulberries, cacao nibs, passionfruit and the works. Insider tip: you can ask for a dollop of peanut butter on any of their bowls as an extra #justsaying.
Where: 785 Pacific Parade, Currumbin
Words by Alex Mitcheson.
