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Juice Dudez: Ottawa's Must-Try Fresh Juice Bar
- Miranda Caley
- Oct 18, 2024
- 4 min read
I’ve heard about Juice Dudez as an Ottawa favourite, and with their business booming across the city—including a location on Bank Street and several more planned for the near future—I was eager to try it.
Location: Juice Dudez, 91 Richmond Rd A, Ottawa, ON
Craving: Sweet
Drinks: $6 - $13
Food: $6 - $17
Customer service: 5/5
Specialty: All things sweet and chocolatey.
I visited their Westboro location on a sunny Saturday afternoon. I was greeted with bright, playful murals on the interior walls: one displaying the popular Rainbow Dude beverage (which I ended up trying — more on that later) and another projecting the business’ slogan: “We love what we do!”
I was expecting the space to be packed with university students. Surprisingly, it was rather quiet, although I later learned that Juice Dudez is typically buzzing in the evenings, especially with their weekend hours extending until 1 a.m. That being said, I didn’t mind, the atmosphere was perfect to appreciate the space.
The sounds of fresh fruit getting chopped filled the gaps of silence between upbeat music and greetings from staff and customers. I heard multiple “it’s nice to see you again!” signalling that Juice Dudez may not be a one-time-visit sort of place — it's a community.
This sense of community reflects the passion behind the brand, something that Juice Dudez’s owner, Nasr Nasr, emphasized when he told me that the experience of enjoying the restaurant’s menu is as important as the taste.
It’s not just about drinking a beverage or eating a dessert, but rather about connecting to the food and everything that comes together to make the final product.
Experiencing the Bright and Colourful Menu
Colour is all over this place — from the menu hanging above the bar to the fresh fruit for sale at the entrance. With such a bright atmosphere, it only made sense to order the Rainbow Dude.
This thing could be a breakfast on its own. It’s served in a large cup with two distinct layers of fresh juices: mango and strawberry. Blended in are bananas, grapes, and blueberries, along with diced mangos and sliced strawberries. Topping all of this is a blend of pistachios, almonds, a gorgeous fruit salad arrangement, ashta (a Lebanese cream) and a drizzle of honey — the amount customized to your preference. Literally, they will not stop glazing with honey until you say the word “stop.”
This fresh juice is not meant to be sipped with a straw. Instead, it is served with a spoon, to encourage customers to savour each component of the Rainbow Dude.
Eating this with a spoon instead of stirring it together and drinking it through a straw was a different experience for me. I’m someone who is always on the go, so I don’t typically have time to sit down and slowly enjoy a drink like this, but the Rainbow Dude is popular for a good reason — it’s a different kind of treat. The fruits are fresh, the nuts are crunchy, and the ashta was very unique. This drink was sweet but balanced, and it was overall fulfilling.
Although I could have easily left feeling satisfied after that juice alone, I couldn’t resist trying the San Sebastián Cheesecake, which was an entirely different experience.
Nasr brought over a rather plain-looking slice of cheesecake to my table, accompanied by a small cup of melted Belgian chocolate. He poured the rich chocolate over the slice, noting they do this upon serving as the cheesecake itself isn’t sweet on its own.
As someone who has only recently started enjoying cheesecake (I know, but hey, better late than never!), this was a pleasant surprise. It was very light, reminding me of a Japanese-style cheesecake with its dense but melt-in-your-mouth kind of texture.
The flavour? I get easily overwhelmed by an overly cheesy-tasting cheesecake, and this was nowhere near that bar for me. The Belgian chocolate was rich and provided the sweetness the cheesecake needed to fully taste like a dessert.
Over time, the chocolate did become a hard shell on the cake, which made it a little difficult to eat if you’re a slower consumer like me — but the taste was still excellent.
Final Thoughts
Overall, if you’re looking for a place to sit down and enjoy fresh fruit juice or a unique dessert in Ottawa, I would absolutely recommend Juice Dudez.
The vibes are great, the staff is friendly, the atmosphere is vibrant and the menu is diverse but not complicated. Plus, everything I tried tasted high quality without breaking the bank.
It’s clear that a lot of passion goes into everything they serve, no wonder Juice Dudez is Ottawa's must-try fresh juice bar.
Special for PTGO Instagram followers: this weekend we will be choosing 20 followers to try the new Dubai Crepe at Juice Dudez, for FREE! Leave a comment in this article and you would be added at the top of that list!
Love that they keep adding new exciting menu items!
juice dudez deserves all the hype
This has been one of the most genuine local business growths I have seen in a few years!
It’s so lovely to see people genuinely enjoy what they do and do it well! Can’t wait to try it out!