Bare Bowls

I literally just walked in right before 7pm and both girls working said they are not making bowls anymore.
Mind you, there was a family of four waiting to place their order. So your telling me you can’t make one more damn bowl?
This place looked promising for a healthy dessert option after dinner, but this was ridiculous.
Wanted to like this place but after tonight’s service, I’m glad I didn’t bother ordering here, place looks overpriced with mediocre reviews.

The owner has since reached out to me and will inform her Staff of the serious nature of a nut allergy.
…
Zero stars if i could, but 1 star for Danni, the person in charge when i went into Bare Bowls the morning after my daughter was sent to the ER as they had inadvertently placed nuts in her bowl, when she said twice she was allergic to nuts. The cashier asked «a nut allergy?» Again, my 13 year old confirmed she was allergic.
At the suggestion of the Person in charge, I wrote an email to the owner. That almost a week ago and I have not heard back. Perhaps, its sitting in her SPAM folder?
Below is the copy of my email:
Hi Sarah,
I am emailing you to inform you of an incident that occurred at the Burlingame location on Tuesday, May 10^th at approximately 3:40 PM.
My daughter ordered a mini acai berry and specifically informed the counter person twice that she is allergic to nuts. My daughter had eaten there before and she was given the coconut milk version and was fine. The Staff person even asked if she had a nut allergy and my daughter replied yes.
She took one bite of the acai berry bowl and immediately felt an itch in her mouth. She always carries her epi pen and benedryl and immediately gave her bowl to her friend and took 2 benedryl. She was not given the non nut free acai bowl.
I was 2 blocks away, and from the minute I saw her I knew something was wrong. She looked distressed. We got into the car, I took her friend home and knew I had to get to the ER imemdiately. My daughters stomach started to hurt, she was feeling lethargic. Numerous times I tried contacting your store to see what exactly is in the bowl, besides cashew milk. It seemed like it was a cell phone and I never got through.
My daughter was at the Mills Peninsula ER for almost 5 hours. Her whole body was covered in hives, her airway mildly constricted, and eyes swollen shut. She had 3 rounds of epi, 2 rounds of benedryl and 1 round of morphine for the pain in her stomach. I will send you photos from my phone.
My daughter was lucky. Believe me, it does not escape my mind that children and adults who have a nut allergy can die of these instances.
Please, please inform your Staff that a nut allergy is REAL. This is not to be taken lightly. My daughter kept saying to me «But, I told her, I told her I was allergic». The counter person even acknowledged it by asking if she had a nut allergy.
I spoke to Danni, the person in charge of the Burlingame store, the very next morning. She was kind and apologetic. I gave her actual prints of my daughters hives, so that your Staff can see what happens when a person allergic to nuts, accidentally consumes them.
Feel free to email or call me if you have any questions.
Best,

Delicious and healthy. I always get the cardinal bowl. Little expensive since the largest size is $ 12 but that’s what everything’s at these days

Although the price is kinda high, I actually really like this place. Their bowls taste really good and both times I’ve gone, they weren’t watery. They both had the consistency that I love. There’s one girl (not sure of her name) that I saw both times I went in and both times she was super nice.

I am a HUUUGEEE fan of Bare Bowls in Palo Alto so I was thrilled when they opened a second location closer to SF! Bare Bowls is definitely on the more expensive side (it costs as much as a meal, but I eat it as a snack) but I’ve never had better acai! The toppings are on point (lots of granola, nuts, and fresh fruit) and the acai is really good texture, though I thought the bowls in Palo Alto were a little better — not sure if it was just an off day, but the Trailblazer at Burlingame was more icy and less creamy than the other location. It was still delicious so I’ll be back to try another!

First time here and it’s a winner! I got the Rincon Bowl– small. It was delicious and just the right size. If I would have gotten the regular, it would have been too much. The ingredients were fresh and yummy.
The wait was a bit long. We ordered on order ahead and picked the soonest time that we could pick up– 9:15am– even though the store opens at 9am. We walked in at 9 and let them know we were there. Multiple people got their orders first even though they came after.

It was hot out and I got the Sunrise. Acai/​pitaya bowls are a new thing to me, so I am not critical about them.
The pitaya blend was great. Goji berries a necessary addition. Coconut bits were refreshing. Banana and strawberry were very fresh on top. The server gives you the option to put honey on top. Why not?
It was fairly empty, so service was quick. We took our bowls and sat out on the benches in the sun. It’s spring right now, but this refreshing bowl made it feel like summer.

Fairly priced. Great acai consistency. Fresh fruit and kind help. I got a small, but wish I got a regular. I highly recommend the Rencon bowl.

TL;DR — You’ll definitely lose weight eating here because the portions are pathetic.
I had a hankering for a snack and (against my better judgement) chose bare bowls instead of driving a little bit to go to sidewalk juice.
The interior is clean and minimal. So far, so good.
Service:
Cold and kind of un-​inviting. After taking my order, the girl just disappeared into the back and started chit chatting with her coworkers.
I also asked about the sizing and instead of telling me (by oz) the girl pointed at the cups and said, uh, those are the sizes. So silly me assumed that the bowl would be filled. For 5 bucks, you get two golf ball sized scoops of watery acai mix. ¼ of a banana and 1 cut up strawberry with 4 – 5 blueberries. The cup wasn’t even half way filled.
If you are going to give puny servings (which other places would be ashamed to even call a serving and charge for it) at least indicate how the bowl will be filled.
Save the trouble and head to any other place that serves acai. Even Jamba Juice is better.

Whenever I want a healthy, fast, and filling meal, I go here. I’m so glad they finally opened one in Burlingame, so I won’t have to commute all the way to Palo Alto for a bowl. Parking in this area consists of meters, and it is easy to find a park.
Every time I walk into Bare bowls, I am instantly greeted with a smile and friendly hello from one of the employers. I always get the largest bowl, about $ 12 or so, because they are soooooo good. The bowl I always order is the cardinal bowl. It’s a blend of acai with fresh bananas, strawberries, blueberries, and choice of honey drizzle on top. I love that the bowls are always so filling and fresh. Also, I love that the employers always give you a good amount of acai and fruit.
The thing that sticks out most about this acai place is that they layer the base of the bowl with granola. Next comes the acai, more granola, then whatever fruit comes with your bowl. The two layers of granola make the bowl amazing because the granola has a honey taste to it, and the first layer always run out faster than the fruit remaining in your bowl. Therefore, it’s nice to know that there is an extra layer of granola that makes the portion of the granola perfect in the bowl.
In conclusion, the food is filling, fresh and great to eat. The atmosphere is refreshing as well. It’s not as spacey as the Bare Bowls location in Palo Alto; however, it is very neat and clean inside every time I walk in.

My first acai bowl experience and I totally love it! I’ve been hearing all about these acai bowls so when I saw they had a place in Burlingame I decided I had to give it a try! I tried the cardinal bowl in a size small. It has berries, banana, granola, and honey on top. LOVED it! I had it for lunch and I feel full and healthy!
They had 3 different sizes and about 7 different acai bowls. It’s a little pricey ($ 8 for a small) but you definitely get what you pay for. You can’t beat fresh yummy food!

3.5 stars.
The small Cardinal bowl was alright, but for $ 8, I’ve had better versions at home. Since berries aren’t in season, it wasn’t a big surprise that the blueberries were extra tart. They were also ice-​cold, which didn’t exactly feel amazing on my sensitive teeth. The granola tasted decent and retained its crunch, but I prefer less sticky clusters.
The layering technique deserves a shout-​out. Granola lined the bottom of the bowl AND on top of the acai, which ensured consistent crunchiness down to the very last bite.

The first time I visited Bare Bowls it was at the Palo Alto location sometime last year and I got the standard cardinal bowl. This time my dad was craving an acai bowl and I mentioned that Bare Bowls had a location near us in Burlingame at the time. We ordered ahead on the online application they offered and even paid ahead of time. He got the powerhouse regular which was $ 13 and I got the unplugged which was $ 12 for a regular. Both quite pricey but we were looking forward to this treat. Upon arrival they put toppings on our bowls and asked the standard questions of if I we wanted honey etc. This location is extremely difficult with almost no parking and absolutely nowhere to sit inside. I took the bowls away in the bag and we hurried our way out of the area.
We pulled over a few miles away and decided to dig right in. My dad was immediately disappointed. He said his base wasn’t sweet even in the slightest. He had to mix everything up to even make it palatable. My bowl while not sweet either was not the worst part of it. The worst part for me was afterwards I decided I wouldn’t want anything with chocolate for a very long time. There was cacao powder in the base and then topped with loads of cacao nibs. My biggest mistake was actually eating all those cacao nibs. I felt so sick afterwards and still a few days later don’t want chocolate at all.
The positives I see with this place are the standard that I have for my reviews; they are 100% gluten free and 100% dairy free. Even there granola is locally handmade specialty blend for them. Overall though with my dad so disappointing and really in flavor me as well I can only give 3 stars. They are only getting that many because they are so celiac friendly.

Tried the Cardinal on a day I wanted to be healthy and thought it would be nice to try this new place out on Burlingame Ave. This wasn’t my first Acai Bowl so I know when my bowl is being skimped out on. And they definitely did not pack my bowl with as much fruits as they could. The service was ok, nothing really special. I would come back here if it wasn’t so overpriced.

I’ve been to the Bare Bowls in Palo Alto and was excited to see one open up closer to where I live in Pacifica. This is a pretty straightforward acai bowl place, and has all the standard mixtures and toppings that most other places have, with a little more authenticity. I always seem to get the Rincon, because it has all of the flavors I’m looking for. The small gives you a pretty big portion and is enough to fill you up for a few hours. I’d definitely pick this place over going to Jamba or even Sidewalk Juice in San Mateo.

Their Gorilla which is blended acai, peanut butter, banana, cashew milk topped with granola, banana, hemp seeds and honey was good! I had the small size and the ratio of ingredients was good because you can taste everything in one perfect bite whereas it’s hard to do so in a regular size.
The bowl was sweet and creamy, just the way I like it!

Quick Review: Better than other places I have tried, decent acai but over priced for the size
Food Ordered: The Cardinal — Large ($ 12)
Customer Service: No complaints
Ambiance: Modern healthy flare
I like this place! I came here today with my mom for a post workout snack and attempt to be healthy. This is the second time I have tried it. I have high standards for my acai because of my college days in San Diego but I would rate this place above others I have tried in SF. The fruit has that firm ripeness to it and is sliced to order. There were only 2 people working at the time but they were pretty efficient with the rush that came in after us. The only reason why I am hesitant to come here consistently are the prices. Last time I was here I got a small for $ 8, it was super small and it didn’t really satisfy me. This time I got a large and though it was good I wouldn’t say $ 12 worth good.

Yay! Third time’s the charm. Today I ordered the small Cardinal with all the fixins that go with it. The portion was just enough to tide me over to dinner.
At first I thought it was too sweet, but when you dig in to the bottom layer of granola, and have some tart berries in the bite, it actually tastes ok.
Will definitely be going back…

I love this place’s business model and simple decorating, but there acai bowls are just okay. Coming from SD where acai bowls are plentiful, this place doesn’t really stack up against others I am used too.
Some of my issues with BB–
Most the people working now nothing about the acai bowl concept.
The base is often really bland.
The bowls are ridiculously small for 8 bucks.
I will go here if I need a quick acai fix, but prefer Sidewalk Juice’s bowl by a landslide.
*note– The PA location has much better costumer service.

I was so excited when I heard they were opening up a location in Burlingame!
The girls at the front were super sweet and welcoming!
The Acai bowls are really yummy and satisfying (maybe not for a meal replacement though). They use quality, fresh ingredients and the the bowls are beautifully presented. Great for a small breakfast or after workout snack. I had the small size of the Cardinal. It was really tasty! Love the honey that they drizzle on top! It was a pretty decent size, but a bit over priced. However, I will still be back to try some of the other varieties.