I am a sucker for well lit restaurants with an array of clich health foods and green smoothies. They are my favorite places to eat not only because you’re almost guaranteed fresh food, but the atmosphere is light, happy, and relatively positive. So when I walked into Freshii for the first time, I was overjoyed.

The first thing I noticed when I walked in was the “periodic table” on the wall. It was made up of all the fresh ingredients Freshii has to offer, so instantly, I knew what I was getting myself into. The restaurant itself was well lit with one wall covered in a fake vine, (although it looked impressively real) with a branding of the restaurant’s name in the middle. The booths were made to look like white picnic benches and the whole atmosphere was very comforting.

The setup for ordering food was similar to that of Subway, although you don’t actually go down the line telling the employee what you want; it’s more of a way for you to see the ingredients, proving that they are fresh and ready to be used in a way that isn’t in your face. When my friends and I walked up to order, the young girl at the cash register greeted us with a smile, but warned us that they were a little backed up and we would be waiting for about 15 or 20 minutes for our food. While this wait isn’t outrageous and almost to be expected of a restaurant where all food is made from fresh, I thought it was extremely considerate of her to give us a heads up. She looked fairly overwhelmed, but still had a smile on her face and provided excellent service.

The first item to come out was a green smoothie, and while it was okay, I wasn’t too impressed. It was incredibly thick and kind of tasted like you were drinking applesauce. Thankfully, it wasn’t my drink. Next to come out was a strawberry banana smoothie; it was much better. It was not nearly as thick and tasted as exactly as it should, but then again, it’s pretty hard to mess up a strawberry and banana smoothie. The next thing to arrive was my Mediterranean bowl and I was nothing but pleased. It was the perfect mix of quinoa, lettuce, tomatoes, and kalamata olives, which is exactly what I was looking for in a light but filling lunch.

The only con was the last bowl we ordered. They forgot to serve it to us. After 20 minutes of waiting, we finally had to go up and remind them of what we had ordered. But as soon as we did that, they had it out right away. That last bowl was a pesto pasta with rice noodles. Rice noodles are very strange; however, it was the perfect blend of pesto and chicken.

While my experience with Freshii was not picture perfect, I will most certainly be going back. For a relatively inexpensive new health food restaurant, they do a very good job of ironing out the issues as they go, and providing good food and a good atmosphere.