In many ways, LA does fulfill its stereotypes. We do juice cleanses. We love a good smoothie bowl. We pay insane amounts of money for wellness shots. There are dozens of local and regional juice bar chains and raw vegan joints. And then you have the local little gems like The Punchbowl, quietly thriving around the corner of Vermont since 2011.
The Punchbowl is endearing in many ways, including the fact that their website is hosted on Tumblr. And that they sell their juices in iconic, hefty glass jugs. Everything on the menu is made with 100% organic, seasonal produce. Their smoothies (or shakes, as they call them) have cute, creative names, and unexpected but delicious flavor combinations (and no fillers or ice!). Sure, you might second guess yourself when you order an $11 smoothie, but hey if you were gonna spend that at Erewhon anyways, at least you can support a small business owner here!
the details
| Address | 4645 Melbourne Ave, Los Angeles |
| Website | https://lapunchbowl.tumblr.com/ |
| Yelp | https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-punchbowl-los-angeles-los-angeles-6 |
| @lapunchbowl | |
| Hours | 7am – 8:30pm weekdays, 9am – 10pm Saturdays, 10am – 8pm Sundays |
| Price | $$ – most juices and shakes range from $9-11 |
| Aesthetic | a little hippy, in the way you’d want a local juice joint to be, kind of the antithesis of the overly branded new wellness chains |
good to know
Go here for: juice with bottle envy
Order this: their menu changes seasonally, so go with your gut based on the ingredients (btw the bottled juices are not labeled so ask!). They also have delicious shakes (aka smoothies) – Honey Bee, Matcha Strawberry Mucana and The Golden Idol are some favorites
Amount of time to spend: 10-15 min, a good grab and go spot, though they do have some seats inside if you want to stick around
When to come: whenever you’re in the area
Parking: is never easy on Vermont, but try your luck in the residential streets, you can usually find one within a couple blocks. If you’re stopping by in the morning, it’s usually easy to find a metered spot out front.
Other things to note:
- They also have a new location in Redondo.
- Most things are vegan, save for the few items that include bee pollen or honey (which you can ask to substitute)
Last visited: January 2022
Last updated: September 2022
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