Bora Bora Smoothie Cafe

Description: A tropical-themed smoothie and dessert café with turquoise booth seating, decorative wall panels, greenery accents, and a broad menu of sweet and savory offerings. The selection includes smoothies, fresh juices, specialty coffee, açaí bowls, crepes, waffles, croffles, sandwiches, and elaborate desserts. Middle Eastern influences appear throughout the menu, including fruit drinks with Lebanese cream, labneh-and-za'atar croffles, halloumi sandwiches, Adeni chai, and kunafa desserts. The colorful interior combines booth seating and tables for casual meals, conversations, and desserts.

Comments: I was overwhelmed by how expansive the menu is here. There's no way they can make all of this stuff well. Smoothies, hot and cold coffee and tea, ice cream, waffles, crepes, sandwiches, acai bowls, milkshakes, juices, souped-up sugary soft drinks. Like fam, there's nooooooooo wayyyyyyyyy they make all of those things well. I've had tea and a sandwich here, and it was good. Nothing to go running across town to buy, but it was good. There's a Middle Eastern connection here too. The original franchise was founded in Kuwait, and the menu retains Middle Eastern items like Adeni chai and labneh with za'atar.

The name of this place doesn't accurately convey the menu or the vibes. It's more than just smoothies, more a general purpose cafe. So same vibes as coffee shops and other cafes around town. Free Wi-Fi, booth-style seating, counter service. If you've been to Melt n Dip in the Arboretum, it's kind of similar to that. The space looks great. Turquoise-colored booths, black tables, and some bar-style seating by a window. Plenty of space to spread out despite not having a huge footprint, square footage-wise. I've brought my laptop here to work and have seen others do the same.

It's within walking distance of Haraz in Plaza Midwood, but it has a different parking lot that's paid, which really sucks. However, there's free street parking in the area, and you can park in the lot behind Haraz, which is usually packed and shared by a bunch of businesses, and walk over. I personally wouldn't ever pay for parking to visit this place. It's not worth it. I mean, it's alright, but not worth paid parking. The business likely validates parking if you ask, but I just park down the street so I don't have to worry about it.