Where to get a proper açaí bowl, a green smoothie or a fresh juice in Santa Teresa after a surf, with 2026 prices, portion sizes, opening hours and the vegan options at each spot.
The best açaí bowl in Santa Teresa is at Ani's bowls and salads on Calle Cobano, and a good bowl anywhere in town costs 7,000 to 9,000 colones (about $13 to $17) in 2026. For smoothies and juices, Kaukau and El Patio Café are the reliable morning stops, and FRUIT WORLD is where you buy the fruit to make your own.
The short version
Ani's is the top pick for a bowl: thick, cold, big enough to count as lunch, and open from 7am so you can eat it after the dawn session. Aroma, across from the Megasuper, does the second most consistent açaí in town and pairs it with a proper breakfast menu. Kaukau in Plaza Royal is the pick for a specialty coffee and a smoothie in a small, quiet café. El Patio Café and The Bakery are the fallbacks when the first three have a queue, and Zwart Café is the choice if you want a smoothie with a side of local art.
Ani's bowls and salads
Ani's bowls and salads is a small open-air café on Calle Cobano at Galeria Zeneidas, just past La Lora Amarilla on the north side of town. It opens every day from 7am to 5pm, per its Instagram, and the menu is bowls, salads, wraps, baked goods, coffee and smoothies. The açaí bowl is what the 540-plus Google reviews (4.6 stars) keep coming back to, along with the "nice cream" bowls, which are blended frozen fruit served thick with granola and fresh fruit on top.
Expect roughly $6 for a breakfast item and $10 for a lunch bowl, per a food blog that priced the menu, which lines up with the 7,000 to 9,000 colones you pay for the açaí. Vegan options are on the menu and you can add tofu to any bowl, but ask about the granola: HappyCow reviewers in January 2026 note it contains honey, so order without if that matters to you. The honest caveat is the wait. Tables fill from about 8:30am in high season and service runs at island pace, so come straight from the water rather than at 10am.
Aroma Santa Teresa
Aroma Santa Teresa sits on the main road opposite the Megasuper on the Playa Carmen side and opens at 7am, with breakfast served until 11am and the kitchen running until 9pm. It is a full restaurant with a 4.9 rating from nearly 500 Google reviews, and its smoothie bowl list is one of the longest in town. The açaí bowl is around 7,900 colones (about $15) as of 2026, and the portion is generous enough that people split one.
Who it suits: anyone who wants a bowl and eggs in the same sitting, or a group where one person wants shakshuka and another wants fruit. The caveat is the breakfast cut-off. Arrive after 11am and you are ordering from the lunch menu, which still has smoothies but not the full bowl list.
Kaukau Café & Beach Food
Kaukau Santa Teresa is a couple-run café in Plaza Royal, local 1, a few steps from the beach access near Super Costa. Its own site lists hours as 7:30am to 4:30pm every day, and the menu is fresh breakfasts, healthy lunches and specialty coffee. Reviewers single out the tuna poke bowl and the smoothie bowls, and the space is small and clean, with a handful of tables.
Prices are in the standard Santa Teresa band: budget 6,000 to 9,000 colones for a bowl or smoothie plus coffee. It suits people who want a quiet table and a good flat white with their fruit. The caveat is size: with only a few seats, a group of six will not fit at once.
El Patio Café
El Patio Cafe is 200 metres north of La Lora Amarilla on the main road and runs daily from 7:30am to 4pm, per its Instagram. It calls itself the town's most authentic café and the menu is specialty coffee, bowls, smoothies, burritos, sandwiches and taco salad. Tripadvisor reviewers mention fresh fruit, smoothie bowls and a good iced coffee. It is a straightforward stop for a smoothie on the way to or from the north-end breaks, and it takes cards. The caveat is that it is a café first and a bowl shop second, so the bowl list is shorter than at Ani's.
The Bakery
The Bakery is 30 metres north of the Banco Nacional near the cruce and opens 7am to 10pm most days (9pm on weekends). With more than 2,300 Google reviews at 4.6, it is the busiest café in Santa Teresa, and alongside the croissants and shakshuka it serves açaí bowls and smoothies. The fruit is fresh and the portions are large, but this is the place for a bowl when you also want a pastry and a table with wifi, and the price is at the top of the band. The caveat is the crowd from 8am to 11am in high season; the kitchen keeps up, but you may wait for a seat.
Zwart Café
Zwart Café is half art studio and half café on the Santa Teresa side, white walls hung with work by local artists, and a resident dog. The menu covers breakfast burritos, smoothies, sandwiches, fish tacos and a golden milk that reviewers keep mentioning. Tripadvisor has it at 4.2 from 315 reviews, which tells the story: most people love the room and the smoothies, and a minority find the service slow or the prices high for what arrives.
FRUIT WORLD
FRUIT WORLD is the fruit and vegetable shop on the main road in Santa Teresa, open 7am to 6pm Monday to Saturday and 8am to 5pm on Sunday. It is not a juice bar. It is where you buy a week of papaya, pineapple, bananas, mango in season, and the frozen fruit and greens to make your own smoothies in a rented kitchen, at a fraction of café prices. A blender's worth of fruit costs 2,000 to 4,000 colones. If you are staying more than a few days, this is the cheapest bowl in town, and the grocery shopping guide covers the other supers.
Also worth a message
Prana Real Food is a small plant-based operation at Cabinas Miraflores that lists afternoon hours (3pm to 7pm, closed Sunday) and only a handful of reviews, so check its Instagram before you go. In Montezuma, Frutos de mi tierra is the fruit stand next to Mocha's Monchis and opens from 7am, useful if you are down there for the waterfall.
Two names you will still see in old blog posts: Earth Café closed permanently (it announced the closure on its own Instagram), and Néctar Tropical on the Las Piedras road was listed as temporarily closed at the time of writing.
How to choose
| Spot | Best for | Bowl price | Hours | Vegan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ani's | Açaí and nice cream bowls | 7,000 to 9,000 colones | 7am to 5pm daily | Yes, ask about granola |
| Aroma | Bowl plus full breakfast | About 7,900 colones | Breakfast 7am to 11am | Yes |
| Kaukau | Smoothie and specialty coffee | 6,000 to 9,000 colones | 7:30am to 4:30pm daily | Options |
| El Patio Café | Quick smoothie, north end | 6,000 to 8,000 colones | 7:30am to 4pm daily | Options |
| The Bakery | Bowl with pastries and wifi | 8,000 to 9,000 colones | 7am to 10pm | Options |
| Zwart Café | Slow morning, smoothies | 6,000 to 8,000 colones | Mornings, confirm | Options |
| FRUIT WORLD | Make your own | 2,000 to 4,000 colones of fruit | 7am to 6pm | Yes |
Practical notes
Timing follows the surf. The dawn session ends around 8am, and that is when Ani's, Kaukau and Aroma fill. If you surf at 6am, eat at 8am. If you surf the afternoon, most of these places are closed by 5pm, so a late bowl means The Bakery or a smoothie at a restaurant.
Cards work at all of the cafés above, but the connection drops in rain, so carry 10,000 colones. FRUIT WORLD is cash-friendly. Nobody needs a reservation for a bowl; WhatsApp is only useful for checking whether Prana is open that day.
Green season, right now, means fewer queues and the same prices. High season from December brings a wait at Ani's and The Bakery by 9am. For the rest of the morning menu, the best brunch guide covers eggs and pastries, the best coffee guide covers the roasters, and the vegetarian and vegan guide goes deeper on plant-based lunches and dinners. Browse every café in the /directory/eat hub.
FAQ
How much is an açaí bowl in Santa Teresa?
Between 7,000 and 9,000 colones, or roughly $13 to $17, in 2026. Aroma's is about 7,900 colones. That is more than in San José, and about what a good bowl costs in any beach town with high tourist traffic. Smoothies run 3,500 to 5,500 colones.
Where is the best açaí bowl in Santa Teresa?
Ani's bowls and salads on Calle Cobano, next to Galeria Zeneidas. The bowls are thick, the fruit is fresh, and it opens at 7am. Aroma is the most consistent alternative if you want a full breakfast menu alongside the bowl.
Are there vegan smoothie bowls?
Yes. Ani's, Aroma, Kaukau and The Bakery all offer bowls without dairy. At Ani's, ask for the bowl without granola if you avoid honey, because reviewers report the house granola contains it. Prana Real Food is fully plant-based but keeps short afternoon hours.
What time do the smoothie spots open?
Ani's and Aroma open at 7am, Kaukau and El Patio at 7:30am, and The Bakery at 7am. Most close between 4pm and 5pm, so post-surf bowls are a morning and early afternoon thing. The Bakery is the only one running into the evening.
Is Earth Café still open?
No. Earth Café announced its permanent closure on Instagram and Google lists it as permanently closed. Its old address near the north end is not a place to go for a bowl. Ani's and El Patio Café cover the same part of town.
Can I buy açaí to make bowls at home?
Frozen açaí packs turn up at the larger supers on and off, and FRUIT WORLD covers the fresh fruit, bananas and greens. For a week-long stay, a blender and a trip to FRUIT WORLD costs less than two café bowls.
