Located across the street from the College of Marin Kentfield campus, Rio Rock Açai Cafe is the perfect place to grab this cool treat. Rio Rock is a small cafe with a good amount of seating and friendly employees, and is open every day from nine a.m. to six p.m. Along with a variety of toppings and bowls costing between 10 to 20 dollars, the cafe also sells a variety of packaged drinks, snacks, sandwiches, and smoothies.
The Sam Bowl No. 12 arrived quickly, topped with fresh strawberries and bananas, along with granola that added a good crunch and Nutella that added a hint of smooth sweetness. Though delicious, the açai tasted more like a berry smoothie bowl than authentic traditional açai, which has more earthy, tart, and tea-like flavors. Nonetheless, with their speedy service, fresh toppings, and welcoming cafe environment, Rio Rock Açai Cafe earns three out of five feathers.
Situated in the heart of downtown Fairfax, Mana Bowls is a popular smoothie and açaí bowl restaurant, offering an excellent option for a refreshing bite to eat all season long. Immediately upon walking in, the customer is welcomed by the overwhelming scent of fresh fruit, and the restaurant’s atmosphere immediately is noticeably homey. Mana Bowls’ layout features plenty of outdoor seating, including various picnic tables and chairs, while the interior has a convenient, cozy couch where customers can comfortably wait for their order to be ready.
Their bowl prices vary from nine to 15 dollars, depending on the size that customers order. In a small Mana bowl, the açai itself lacked flavor and was a little icy; however, the toppings were extremely fresh and enjoyable, making up for the açai’s underwhelming taste. Along with the fresh, overflowing fruit toppings, the bowl sits atop a bed of granola, resulting in a great ratio of topping to açai throughout the entire bowl. Overall, Mana Bowls is a great central, homey location that is perfect to grab an açai bowl anytime, and earns a final rating of four out of five feathers.
Found in the downtown area of Larkspur, World Green Açai Bowl-Juice is the best place to go for açai in Marin. World Green Açai’s atmosphere is lively, with the restaurant offering various seating options both in the front and back of the building, as well as indoor seating. The cafe’s pleasant atmosphere shines through with plenty of lovely decorations, including plants, photos, mirrors, and hanging Brazilian footvolley balls, complemented by the constant games of Brazilian footvolley being played on a TV hung behind the ordering location.
Inside the cafe, customers will find places to order your açai along with beverages and other snacks. The bowl prices range from 12 to 30 dollars, making it a more expensive option, but offers a range of different food options available for order. The cheapest açai bowl option at World Green is the Student Bowl, which is 12 dollars and only offered to students. It features açai and a buyer’s choice of four different toppings, which make up the bowl. World Green Açai is a Brazilian-owned store, making it the most authentic açai option in the area by far and offering the best-tasting bowl, earning them five out of five feathers.
