Nestled between a cafe and barber shop, on the perimeter of Prospect Park’s 15 Street entrance, is Baya Bar. The small shop seats about five people at once at a bar-like table. Over half of the store is taken up by fruits and vegetables, blenders, Nutella, and granola that is used to create all of their products. How did this popular food chain come to be? The founder and CEO Bill Loesch, had been working in the film business in New York, before deciding that that life wasn’t for him. He had noticed that açai bowls were becoming increasingly popular on the West Coast, so he decided that it was going to be the next big thing for the East Coast. Açai bowls are thick smoothie bowls made from blended açai berries and often topped with fruits, honey, or peanut butter. The first Baya Bar location opened in Bay Ridge in December 2016, and since then, there have been many locations opened nationwide. What are our thoughts?
The menu leans into the store’s tropical vibe, with the most common ingredients being coconut, mango, acai, and banana. To get a range of their menu, we ordered one coconut bowl, juice, toast, and two smoothies.
Priced at $11.00, the small size of the ‘Coco Nutella’ bowl was perfectly filling and flavorful. This menu item includes a coconut base, coconut shavings, banana, strawberry, granola, cacao nibs, and Nutella. Its ratio of base to toppings was exactly right; down to the last bite, the spoon held a balance of smooth coconut and textured complex topping combinations. The second food item we tried was their ‘Fresco’ toast, listed at $8.00. The toast has an avocado spread, everything bagel seasoning, sea salt, and lemon, differentiating it from the classic avocado toast. The avocado spread was fresh, and the hint of lemon elevated the flavor. Although one might not suspect everything bagel seasoning to compliment this dish, it added just the right amount of taste and texture to the toast, which was delicious.
Moving to beverages, we tried three in total, starting with smoothies: Baya Blues and Mango Tango, each costing $11.49. Aside from the fun alliteration of the beverage names, the colors and flavors of the smoothies bring excitement to the experience. The Mango Tango is a blend of mango, strawberry, banana, coconut milk, and honey. The first flavor to hit was the mango, along with its bitterness it seems like pineapple, despite its absence. After this first shock, it quickly began to taste like a standard strawberry and banana smoothie. The Baya Blues smoothie is a thick mixture of mango, blueberry, pineapple, coconut milk, and apple juice. The variety of fruits surprisingly complimented one another, making a flavorful combination of sweet and sour tastes. The last beverage was a simple ‘Fresh Squeezed Apple Juice,’ priced at $9.99. While apple juice is a typically basic drink with little variety, this apple juice is incomparable to any other, not only thanks to its great flavor but its unique use of what tastes like a green apple rather than a red apple. Although the potent flavor was addictive and wonderful at first, by the time ¾ of it was gone, the sour aspect became overwhelming to the tongue.
After tasting menu items from one of the most well-known açai restaurants in the Poly Prep community, we decided it was definitely worth the visit. The service is quick, and ordering one of their toasts and a smoothie is a filling and easy snack to grab on the go. Baya Bar’s Bay Ridge location is a short, five minute drive from Poly, making it especially convenient for students to visit during free periods or after school. Given their amazing service and wide variety of food options, we encourage students to try Baya Bar and even consider studying at their bar-style seating with friends after school.
