HLS Juice Bar & Grill

Rude — I was placing an order and I thought I was disconnected. I called back and the guy said «well you said that was all you wanted so I hung up». Really? No «Thanks’ or «OK» or anything to let me know you heard my order, you just hang up?

Delicious and semi-​healthy food options here. Came here on a Sunday afternoon, and it was pretty easy to find with ample street parking.
The service was great– everyone seems so happy here. They have refreshing cucumber lemon water for all customers which I thought was nice.
As for the food, I was pretty happy with my bbq chik’n wrap. I didn’t realize the vegetarian wraps are not 100% vegan so you have to ask for no sauce or no cheese (if your sandwhich comes with cheese). They do have tons of veggie options (wraps, salads, rice dishes) so plenty of options!
They also have smoothies, milkshakes, etc. If youre vegan, I would ask to make sure they don’t use cow milk!

Checked out this place on a Sunday afternoon and it seemed like a pretty nice, neighborhood friendly restaurant. There was plenty of parking on the street and it was easy to find. The restaurant has interesting décor with paintings all over the restaurant.
I ordered the cheese and spinach chicken wrap and my girlfriend ordered the bbq chicken wrap. I liked he’s ore than I liked mine because I thought my spinach and cheese wrap was with mozzarella but I guess I should’ve read the ingredients. I personally don’t find the American and spinach combo to work that well. Both wraps also came with a side salad and they had free cucumber and lemon water in the back, which was a nice plus.
I’d come back to check out their other food options and their smoothies as well. If you are in the area, it’s worth stopping by.

I’ve had mixed experiences with this place. Their juices and wraps were good, but I didn’t care for the entrees as it tasted way too salty to taste good or be healthy.

Food is always good just order before you get there, the wait could be long. They’re cooking that food to order

A local and small place usually means great food and limited service. That’s what we got. Nice people and yummy shakes and entrees but I think for Sunday afternoon, they had more work than what they expected. Overall though, I’d return. The music and surrounding just felt so chill.

Cajun salmon salad is ridic! Wraps are awesome. Daily juices and lemonades are great. Love this spot

HLS use to be one of my favorite places to eat in maplewood, went last week for brunch and was sad to see it’s decline in satisfaction. My good was okay but I had a pretty basic meal sweet potato fries and a turkey burger… Usually I eat and I’m in such a good mood I get a health drink but this time I tried there mango lemonade which was good… My food was cold, the customer service sucked… But the bathroom was clean and the décor is still really chill

I’d like to go 3.2 but I’ll round up for their idea and effort. Inside was edgy and trendy and industrial. The theme is a cross between St. Marks & Dumbo BK. A place where you can be yourself no matter how dorky, nerdy, weird, short, tall, fat, ugly, pretty, wealthy, impoverished, gay, straight, kinda gay, kinda straight, you are! Vibrantly loud artwork, extremely high counter, legacy bicycle suspending from the ceiling, it all works. It was very admirable all the community support they seem to get. Folks just kept walking in for one of their island fruit concoctions. Well it is also a juice bar. I’m dubbing this place Tropic Thunders. Sorry owner (s).
Tasty bites and Fruited Beverages:
Brown Rice Dish — Soy Citrus Spareribs sauced with Honey Jerk with brown rice (duh), and Spinach Leaf (sauteed spinach).
Soy Chic’n Thai salad w/​Ginger Dressing
Fresh Cut Fries
Pineapple Banana Banger (Banger, not in the sense of bad fruits that joined a gang. Also not in the sense of a dope hip hop track. It is in fact a custom juice they make.)
Let me preface by stating I’ve been eating soy based meat subs for over 10 years so I like to see restaurants give this a try. And not only does this place try, they lead with these meatless meats.
Verdict:
5 Stars for Idea & Effort
5 for Technique & Execution
3.5 for Taste
2.8 for Service (not sure how long they’ve been open but they will get the hang of things)
The Brown Rice Dish was one of the better vegetarian meals that I’ve had in a restaurant. The Soy Citrus Spareribs were tender, juicy, and proper char points as BBQ should have. In Soy meats that char is key in adding a layer of flavor and texture so they have this down to a science. The portion was huge so you will get your fill of veg life. My only feedback in regards to taste speaks to the Honey Jerk sauce. I didn’t get honey, more like cane sugar or agave even. Very sweet but not honey. And drowning in this sweet bath were no notes of Jerk. This would be more enjoyable if the Jerk took the lead. Also wish the sauce was a bit tighter. The Spinach Leaf was really nice. So comforting and warm. Lightly spiced. Maybe just salt, pepper, garlic. Reminded me of how my Grandmother would make it. Best spinach I’ve had in a restaurant. I will always order this side here. As for the Brown Rice it was Brown Rice. No place will ever get this right so you have to treat Brown Rice as a vehicle to carry a topping. Like other food vehicles, rice cakes, pasta, and such. You can’t just have a plate of plane pasta and why would you harm yourself by eating a plain rice cake (Unless Look Who’s Talking is in theaters then in that case the rice cakes go with that time). Now I have to speculate as to the heritage of the chef/​owner/​menu originator. I would say either Jamaican or maybe even Haitian. If so, both of these cultures have top notch rice dishes. The Jamaican Rice n Peas made with coconut milk and meat is phenom done right BUT GOD MC of all the Caribbean rice dishes has to be the Haitian Black Rice aka Djon Djon — sounds spooky but it’s just spook fricken good! This stuff causes fights until the last grain is consumed. What’s a rice King to a rice God? Sorry to go off topic a bit but the point I am coming to is use Brown Rice as you would use White Rice and make something of it. You can do this and still keep it healthy.
Salad was nice but Chic’n also had an overly sweet sauce with minimal spice notes or any other notes.
Fresh Cut Fries to over 30 mins to come after we had the other food. They actually forgot and did some type of internal audit to verify that I did pay for them. I think I seen some Deloitte auditors back there for that. Anyway we would wait an hour next time and not mind because these Fries were groundbreaking. Just Perfect in every way. Super crisp, tender, uniform cuts, thicker than a normal fry, kind of like Five Guys fries — hold the greasy bag. Top 5 fry in my opinion.
Pineapple Banana Banger was incredibly refreshing. Takes you right to swaying palm trees and sanded toes.
I am very much a fan of this place and will return. Often.

Food is good. They’re consistently over bearing with the sauce though. I’d grade their service a D as well. Sub par.

At first glance, it wasn’t obvious from across the street this place was even open on Sunday morning, but they were.
The oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins hit the spot. Just the right amount of brown sugar so that it wasn’t overly bland or overly sweet and the portion size was fair for $ 5.
The spinach and turkey bacon wrap — two things I don’t go out of my way to order separately– combined quite well together with the egg. This was very filling for $ 6.
The fact that they do their fries hand cut blew me away, and so did their taste. Kudos to HLS, whatever that stands for.
The pineapple mango tango smoothie and mo’ bay smoothie were both pretty sweet, but nevertheless tasted like they both incorporated fresh fruit. For an extra $ 1.50, you may as well get the large for $ 6 versus small for $ 4.50.
Depending on how you like your food to come out, you may not like their style of bringing it to you as it’s ready. Personally, I’d rather this than the food get cold.
Overall, great food and service in a casual, art gallery-​themed establishment.

The food — always amazing 5 stars
Service — subpar 2 stars
I ordered over the phone and came in about 20 minutes later. I was informed that my food would be right out. Waited almost 30 minutes and finally my food was ready however I was missing my Mobay smoothie (without strawberries because they ran out of them that day I might add). The man at the front counter said it would be right out. After waiting for about 5 more minutes I ask for my money back and then magically here comes my smoothie out the the freezer, it had been sitting there the whole time! *rolls eyes*
I understand it was a busy night but there definitely needs to be more organization behind the counter!

Checked this spot out yesterday for lunch. I’ve been begging my friend to take me since I’ve heard so much about it.
Cute lil spot in Maplewood with some dope artwork and vibe overall. The wait wasn’t terrible. maybe 5 – 10 minutes. You order at the counter, they give you a number and they bring the food to you. (Sorta like SmashBurger)
I ordered a Thai Chicken Wrap w fries. The wrap was great. Sweet & Tangy. The salad and carrots were fresh. The fries were mediocre; slightly burnt Prob won’t get them again, but I probably shouldn’t have got them to begin with! But overall, I’ll be back!

So unique and such a wide selection — from breakfast to dinner and from vegan to things for everyone.
I recommend the wheatgrass shot.

i Had a very sub par experience here, first off i had to repeat myself multiple times to the lady at the register to get my order straight.
Then they only bring my girlfriends order out first. i waited 10 min then asked the waiter if my order is currently out and he stated yes. 10 minutes later the waiter comes out and asks what i had ordered, i explained to him what i ordered and he went off. 5 min past and once again he asked what i ordered.
When i finally got my order it was missing the cheese i specifically asked for to be on my food. The food we ordered was ok but i will definitely not be coming back here, i feel a egg sausage and cheese wrap isn’t rocket science to understand the first time i order it.

I really love this place. Food is consistently fresh, delicious, health-​conscious, and the smoothies/​juices are omg incredible. Not to mention the place is always clean and the nicest people work here. I am in Maplewood/​SO about 2−3x/month for work, and I always look forward to stopping in.
My favs:
Mo-​Bay and Mixed Berry smoothies
Grilled salmon wrap
Chicken Caesar wrap

Ok. There is one thing that may have kept me from filing this place such s great rating and that is that it’s somewhat self serve; order at the counter, get your own silverware; BUT the meals that we had were so delicious that I really don’t care about any of that other stuff. I had a salmon brown rice dish with spinach and I can’t say enough good things about it! My wife’s meal was dynamite as well. You can tell that food is prepared with love here! The place has a soulful urban vibe. Check it out if you’re in the area… Or even if you’re not!
Please move this business to Red Bank! We would eat there every day!

So… I tried this trendy yet healthy place a week ago and I can definitely say that i wasn’t disappointed!
I had the egg, spinach and sausage wrap with fresh apple juice! YUMMY!
My wife had the sweet potato home fries, scrambled eggs and sausage. Very filing and satisfying.
They have my vote! I try to eat from home as much as possible but when out and about, this is a «quick and healthy go-​to spot».

This was a pleasant surprise. Atmosphere was pleasant, upbeat and the place was clean.
Food was good and vegan friendly. Portions were a nice size too.
Plus, the people are noticeably kind here. You feel that they care and it absolutely enhances the experience.
Great for lunch or dinner… This place will succeed. They have «it.»

I loved the outpost in Montclair (which is now closed) and I just like this one. This one could use a little bit of a touch up, looks wise. Really great art on the walls, but the walls themselves are looking a bit run down. Just as a first time customer, I wasn’t feeling all warm and cozy.
The food. The smoothies are great and the menu is plentiful and filled with healthy items from fresh juices, to sandwiches, wraps, and rice platters. I’ve been thinking about that soy chicken, rice and broccoli dish from when I dined in Montclair and immediately knew that’s what I was going to get. You can bet on my surprise when this dish came out and it was deep fried (and sadly flavorless). This was more like general tso’s chicken without the spice and seasoning than the light and healthy sauteed dish I was expecting. It was good, but it was deep fried, so much so that you couldn’t really taste anything but the crunch. It wasn’t bad by any means, but by no means memorable.
I’d come again for smoothies and juices and try the various salads and wraps, but my first time didn’t live up to the high expectations I had from my previous experiences in Montclair.