Lemonade: Cafe Review

Today, after getting a pedicure with my friend, Michele, at Bellacures in Los Angeles, we decided to investigate what good food was in the area. We ended up stopping at a little cafe called Lemonade and I have to say, I was really impressed.

When you walk in, you feel like you've walked into a summer scrapbook; the room is filled with flowers, colorful lights, and picnic-esque chairs. You get in a line, which may be long considering the popularity of this little place, and grab a colorful cafeteria tray. Behind the counter are about a dozen different kinds of very eclectic sounding salads. The salads are bright, colorful, and fresh looking, which was right up my alley since I couldn't get any of their tasty sounding sandwiches or any chicken tortilla soup :( Oh well. You, then, get to order a "portion" of salad and in that portion you can mix salads! They also have about six different kinds of lemonade on hand and they're really nice about letting you sample them. I got to try cucumber-mint lemonade and watermelon rosemary, which were definitely a new experience. Their dessert options are also really, really tempting!

I ended up ordering a orecchiette shell pasta salad that included asparagus and mozzarella tossed in a really mild but flavorful vinaigrette and an Israeli couscous salad with mushrooms and parmesan cheese. To complete my lunch I ordered a blood orange-lemonade and a carrot cupcake. It was a staggering amount of food and it only cost 9 bucks! Michele ordered a mushroom soup, which included a bread stick, as well as a sweet potato-pistachio salad and a Thai noodle style salad. We shared a little bit of everything and really got a taste of what this humble, little place had to offer. With good food and good prices, I would definitely describe our trip as "Good Times"!

Overall, I really enjoyed Lemonade. The orecchiette salad was delicious which made up for the fact that the couscous salad wasn't what I expected. It had a really strong truffle oil and stinky cheese taste that didn't leave me wanting more. Even the disappointing couscous couldn't ruin the experience though because the lemonade was refreshing, the customer service was on point, and the decor of Lemonade makes you feel so relaxed and youthful that it's hard to have a bad experience there. I don't give the couscous my recommendation but Lemonade in general is definitely worth a visit to. They have more than one locations! I know that I definitely want to go back and try all the salads that I missed out on today. Lemonade definitely has a repeat customer now. I think Michele had a good time too ☺

RATING: ★★★★★