Today was my first visit to one of three Tropical Smoothie Locations in the Wilmington area. Today's location was the TSC on College Rd. I arrived to pick up my curbside order around 1 pm with an open mind and no certain expectations. Without further ado...here is my personal review. FOOD: Caribbean Jerk Chicken Wrap with a Kale & Apple side salad with a Sunrise Sunset Smoothie. Since TSC contains the title of "Smoothie" in it's name, I'll begin with the Sunrise Sunset smoothie. This beverage is definitely smooooth. The first flavors to hit my tongue were fresh pineapple and mango, followed up with hints of orange. The smoothie's consistency was just as it should be...not too thick, not too thin. On a very hot summer day, this is a perfect drink to indulge in without much guilt. The sweetness of the smoothie was well-balanced, although it appeared there may have been some added sweetener (perhaps a small amount of added sugar or natural glucose from the orange juice blended inside?) but it did enhance the tropical flavors overall. I thoroughly enjoyed it!! The kale & apple side salad was the pleasant surprise to me. Fresh, grated carrots, diced apples and TSC's house dressing over the chopped kale gives the side salad a sweet and tangy flavor...similar to a gourmet cole slaw. Within 1 minute, the salad was devoured and it will be a go-to for me in the future. As for the Caribbean Jerk Wrap, I thought it was good...but not exceptional. The wrap was served hot off of the grill. The chunks of chicken breast were juicy, plump and grilled well. The rice and beans added some nice texture inside and the Jerk seasoning sauce was wonderful with it's light, subtle spices and heat. The areas of opportunity I would recommend to help make this wrap exceptional would be if the grilled chicken breast included a light layer of Jerk seasoning rub, eliminating pieces of stalk from the romaine lettuce and reducing the amount of grilled pineapple salsa by approx. 50%. A few bites taken of the wrap included such a large punch of pineapple sweetness, it overpowered the chicken and Jerk seasoning. I believe if the pineapple-to-chicken ratio were to be reduced, the jerk sauce (along with the rest of the ingredients) would be the highlight, then followed up by the sweet and juicy pineapple. But...overall, I did enjoy the wrap and I consumed it all. SCORE: 4.0 STARS!! SERVICE: For my curbside pickup, the order was ready right on time, each young lady was very pleasant and friendly and you could see the smiles on their faces, covered by their masks. Each employee were wearing masks properly, wearing sanitation gloves and practiced safe, social distancing throughout our interraction outside. I was thanked for stopping by and the overall customer service experience met my expectations. Well done TSC and staff!! SCORE: 5 STARS!! OVERALL SCORE: TSC delivers good flavors, very fresh ingredients and a superb smoothie. I was impressed with the service, safety measures and the kale salad! I look forward to visiting again to try a new smoothie concoction and a different lunch selection to see how it all stacks up against today's meal. Thank you again for the tasty meal and a delicious smoothie! See you again soon. 4.5 STARS!! read more

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Great selection and courteous staff. Menu is eclectic and nourishing. Humus wrap is a favorite.

Absolutely disgusting I have ordered three smoothies in the 2 weeks all have tasted just like ice, go to the one in Leland, this store absolutely sucks, this place use to be fine but clearly something has changed read more

All of the smoothies I got from there have been amazing and so is the staff. One of my favorite places to go when Im near one

Soooo this is the 3rd or 4th time trying this tropical smoothie and it's been absolutely rancid. I'm sorry the staff seems sweet. But my gosh the food is awful. read more

Tropical Smoothie Cafe - This is supposed to be the Thai Chicken wrap - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

Very fresh food. I had a chicken wrap of some sort. The wrap was so fresh that I had to drink some smoothie to cool the food down after a bite. The smoothie was disappointing but only because I am accustom to organic vegetable smoothies at my usual smoothie shop. The smoothie here just tasted like a sugar drink. Maybe try offering Sea Moss add ins. read more

Ordered a three cheese quesadilla and got the Santa Fe... whatever that's fine but the first slice I picked up was this. Kinda super disappointing since I paid $8 for whatever this is read more

Tropical Smoothie Cafe - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

It smells absolutely terrible in there. It smells like trash and mold, someone needs to buy them fabreeze because I'd rather wait outside in the cold than be in there. read more

Ripoff!!! In town for business. My associate ordered a smoothie and a couple chicken wraps for us. Only the smoothie was delivered!

just paid $12 for a açaí bowl topped full of spoiled pineapple . attempted to be kind and give staff a heads up and basically had eyes rolled at me and was clearly an annoyance. will be stick local, instead of chains.... read more

Was on our way to South Carolina and had plans to stop by at a nearby bakery (which was closed). Super bummed but still wanted to grab something so I mentioned to my boyfriend a tropical smoothie we passed that was close by. So happy I did! I got a peanut paradise smoothie that was to die for.. sooooo delicious and filling. We also grabbed a Buffalo chicken wrap and a quesadilla to share. The food was really affordable and it came out quick. They even have an app that makes it super easy to order and pickup. FYI They are currently doing curbside due to the covid-19 pandemic. This place is perfect for a quick bite and a smoothie to take you through your day. read more

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Doordash was very fast was very fast and efficient. But for the first time ever, i had to throw away the 2 smoothies and the bowl. I have never had a complaint with tropical smoothie cafe in the years I have been buying at the store in person.The smoothies I ordered were not made the same as usual. I will never order from a delivery service from tropical smoothies. No fault of Doordash. Only in person. I called the cafe when i received my order and left a message with my name and number but have not received a call back. read more

This business used to be so good but now it's absolutely awful. There is no care in there food. I've consistently gotten the wrong order and been given foods I am allergic too. I've now wasted $30 on food that I couldn't eat. Get your shit together. The smoothies are okay half the time they aren't blended the entire way. read more

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I came in here with my girlfriend who had a BOGO free coupon and I was super surprised at how good my smoothie was. I ordered a green smoothie with avocado and some fruits and it definitely tasted delicious. I was also surprised to see just how big the servings are. You really get your moneys worth here. The service was very good as well which stuck out for a smoothie place where usually they hire disaffected youth. I also happened to check out the bathroom and it was surprisingly clean and fresh. I will be coming back for sure. read more

Service was a total mess...the cashier had no personality, they were out of things and it took forever. On top of that, everyone in the kitchen was wearing dirty shirts- not very appealing. read more

Worst service ever!!! It took 25-30 minutes to get my food. They had 2 making smoothies and only one making sandwiches for online and in person. Don't come if you want something quick read more

This place has a time mgt issue I've order my food and paid for it in store dinning and they had giving my order to someone else and didnt even apologize for it instead I had to ask them about and look crazy .... just sad that you can't even apologize for the service wtf... stay away from this place better off going to another place for food read more

I absolutely love this place. I probably go about 3 to 4 times a week and honestly could go everyday if my budget allowed. The smoothies are so good. I love that you can substitute ingredients. I've never had a bad smoothie. The breakfast and lunch wraps are great as well. They have a great app. For every $55 bucks spent you get $5 back. The staff is amazing and always friendly. They know all the regulars by name and that's great for business. Some can even remember your usual. I've got friends hooked and they can't wait until the Leland store opens. read more

2/16/2020 @ 7pm- I come to this Trop Smoothie all the time and I absolutely love it, never had any issues. But tonight my husband and I walked in and there was a woman in line waiting and we didn't see any workers. She looked at me and said that she could see them sitting in a circle on the floor, she was shy so I have no idea how long she had been waiting but I wasn't going to. I looked and they were all sitting on the floor, about 4-5 workers, all on their phones. I said excuse me once loudly and no one even looked up, so then I said excuse me once more really loudly and they finally looked up and definitely didn't rush to get to the register and we received slight attitude. I work in the food industry and we're taught to never have our back to the door, busy or slow. Our smoothies were still delicious, other than tonight I've never had any issues but tonight's incident was not ok. read more

I have no qualms about this place but I feel like their marketing is deceptive. Tropical Smoothie adds sugar to their smoothies, so if you were to assume that you were getting a whole fruit, no additives smoothie, you'd be mistaken. That being said, you can ask for a Smoothie without sugar or artificial sweeteners but you have to ask. It's a little thing, but it bugs me enough so that if I want a smoothie I go somewhere else. read more

Took forever and the girl had a horrible attitude when I asked what's taking so long on the phone. She stated she didn't know where I was when I told her on the phone. I'm in a Ford truck and I'm the only one out here in a truck! Unfortunately my food was cold. read more

I ordered their Island Green and I loved it. Next time I'll have to order it without any additional sweetener. Tried their new Caribbean Jerk Wrap and I would recommend it. It was fresh, packed with ingredients and flavor. Just watch out for that kick (I love spicy, but I can't handle the spice). read more

I love to make smoothies at home and do on a fairly regular basis for breakfast. A frozen banana, some berries, some coconut milk, and a handful of greens and I'm good to go and pretty full until lunch. Such was my plan yesterday until I realized my husband hadn't washed our blender and I was in too big of a hurry to wash it myself (though I did make the time to stop my car on the way to work and pick up a smoothie...but that's beside the point!). Enter Tropical Smoothie Café. I did some research ahead of time regarding calorie content (again, not sure how I had the time to do research AND stop for a smoothie but not to wash a blender...) and wasn't surprised to see that some of the smoothies have more than half of the calories I should eat in a day. While smoothies have a rep for being "health food", it's pretty easy to go crazy on oversweetening, putting in gobs of nut butter, etc. So I found a smoothie that was just slightly higher-calorie than my normal breakfast and ordered. Firstly, 24 ounces is a whole lot of smoothie, and I sipped on the Island Green pretty much all morning. For $5 that's not a bad deal in my book. I was pleased with how quickly it was served, thought the dining area looked cute and clean, and it tasted great. So today I woke up craving a smoothie again. The blender was still dirty (I know, I know) so I made another stop and got the Totally Green smoothie. It sort of reminded me of the taste of a Pixie Stix (is it "Pixie Stick" if it's singular? Anyway...) which isn't entirely bad, but is a little strange to drink, particularly when ordering a "healthy" smoothie. About an hour and a half after drinking it I realized I was STARVING and crashing hard. A coworker commented that I looked really tired. Then I looked at the rest of the nutritional content, past the calories, and realized that's because this "healthy" smoothie had more than double the sugar of what's in a single can of soda. Yikes! Sure, some of that's from the fruit, but given the Pixie Stix taste and the HUGE difference in calories between the Splenda-sweetened version and the turbinado sugar-sweetened original, I'm guessing there's a good amount of added sugar in there. Hence the fact that I'm now sugar-crashing and contemplating a nap under my desk. And babbling on yelp. Anyway, I'm supposed to be reviewing. These smoothies are a great treat - tasty, reasonably-priced, have some decent vitamins and minerals and all that good stuff - but do your research and know what you're getting into. Your options are to drink artificial sweetener (gross, in my book) or drink a ton of sugar. Next time I go I'll ask for mine unsweetened altogether and I think I'll probably feel much better for it. Or maybe I'll just wash my blender. I'm giving a solid three stars because 1) Super clean 2) Nice staff 3) They do a great job of disclosing nutritional info on the website 4) They seem more than willing to modify 5) LOTS of awesome vegetarian and vegan options. read more

First time coming here and I was super excited but my smoothie tasted like watered down pineapple juice. None of the employees were friendly. I'm not impressed. The chicken chipotle flat bread was okay but kind of bland, the sauce and flatbread were good ,but that's about it. read more

Got there around 9 (they close at 10) and this is the conditions that my food was prepared. Luckily I just got a smoothie and was able to watch the whole time, but was embarrassed at how disgusting the work conditions were and how no one who worked there cared. Where are the expectations and management??!?!? read more

Tropical Smoothie Cafe - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

DELICIOUS!! This was our first time trying this hidden gem and we are so satisfied with the food and smoothies. The workers are super nice and quick! We will definitely be coming back and recommending to our local friends. Can't ask for more, it's healthy, tasty and reasonable. read more

Tropical Smoothie Cafe - Asían Wrap - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

Used to be a great place, not anymore. Last few times order was wrong and wait time of over 25 minutes for a simple sandwich. Would not recommend read more

Came here today on my lunch break because my throat hurts these drinks are huge thank goodness! I love the atmosphere here and how clean everything is and the food is so good! Wish there was one near Mayfaire! Thai chicken salad was so good last time I got it again! read more

Tropical Smoothie Cafe - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

Great little smoothie and sandwich shop. Quick service, reasonable prices, and all around good eats. It felt like a chain, so I hope they get out there and start expanding to other cities. read more

This place was filthy dirty! Staff looked dirty and unkempt. Smoothie was awful. I won't return

Great smoothies and the food is actually really good for a cafe. Even if your not a smoothie or fruit person these smoothies will actually surprise you on how good they are. Should go and try! read more

Tropical Smoothie Cafe - Sausage egg and cheese classic breakfast sandwich. Super cheesy - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

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I was able to place a to-go order for pick up for lunch. I will say the girl taking my order had a very hard time punching in the sandwiches, and she wasn't sure what they were called. The place was busy when I arrived. There are several sandwiches to choose from, as well as smoothies. It was a bit hectic to get through the line, even in the 'pick up' lane. When I arrived home and ate my sandwich, I liked it. I didn't think it was extra special. If you're going to to order from here, I definitely recommend calling ahead. read more

Great new place to grab a healthy smoothie and a fresh wrap! Loved it and will definitely be back! read more

Tropical Smoothie Cafe - I had the Blimey Limey! - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

Great fresh smoothies! They are made fresh so you can customize it. I personally like the island green detox with a B12 boost. My son loves the watermelon smoothie (seasonal). Food is good too! read more

Perfect day for smoothies for the family. The bahama mama, mango magic, and the avocolada. For under $20 its worth the price. While I was waiting I notice the hosts work area is not too clean. The doors were open so I don't know if the a.c. is broken or what, but flies were everywhere. I always get my drinks to go. Other than that the food and drinks are always good though. read more

I love Tropical Smoothie Cafe! The Blueberry Bliss smoothie is the only smoothie I've tried so far, because I like it too much to try another flavor. I wish they had a 'tester' size of the other smoothies so I could eventually try them all, lol. This place is getting so popular they may need to expand soon because it's not very big and the lines are sometimes long. Every food item I've tried has been excellent, and the smoothies are fantastic, so it's definitely worth your time to give it a try. BTW, they have a senior discount if you are 55 years or older. :-) read more

My favorite smoothie place! I love that I am able to get something quick and HEALTHY and they have Food!!! This place is amazing highly recommend it. read more

Tropical Smoothie Cafe - It was so good I couldn't wait to take a bite - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Wilmington, North Carolina

The wait time was surprisingly long last time I ordered at the counter. In my experience, ordering online/phone/app is the way to go. Every time I call ahead they have it ready in just a few minutes. read more

REPOST (they've removed this twice now) Since they decided to remove this review, I'm gonna repost it...... this is from December when I had just quit I used to work at this restaurant, and to put it nicely it was mediocre. There were multiple occasions that not only I but my co workers were mistreated, as well as cases of general unprofessional behavior. -No one is trained the same, but we were all expected to know the right way to do things. -There was a time I came down with stomach bug, and didn't feel comfortable coming in. I got my shift covered for that night, and received this text message from my manager, "Hey Zach! If I don't have a doctors note for your shift tonight you'll be written up. I'm aware ***** is covering your shift. With how you were completely healthy yesterday. Too many people are calling out of shifts and just getting away with it. So if I do not have a valid note you will be written up." Now this would be pretty understandable, if this rule had been enforce equally. NC state law states that an employer should "Notify employees in writing, or through a posted notice maintained in a place accessible to employees, of any changes in policies and practices before those changes are implemented." The text I received was during the time of the shift in question. I was then asked to work an added 3 hours on my shift the next day because I "missed my hours last night". -There were multiple times that I saw an expired day/dot (sticker with exp. date), mentioned it to one of my higher ups, and was told to print a new sticker and use it anyways. -On another occasion me and a coworker discovered approx. 4 bags of chibatta bread that were covered in mold being stored with the other buns. -Me and other minors working here did not always receive our required 30 minute break. Along with this, there were many times that me and other coworkers would have to stay so late that I and any other underage coworkers would have to leave, and leave our other coworkers to finish by themselves -I also had a shift lead that was younger than me (by one year) that was made to stay past the time we were required to leave by. -I only had a problem with one of my managers. She was the main manager of the store, and she intimidated a lot of us working there. I got accused of "talking shit" about my managers, and was taken out back and basically put on trial for something I didn't do. I literally cried after they berated me 5 minutes before my shift. R -For the entire first month working I was terrified of being fired, due to the VERY HIGH turnover rate. -There was favoritism with our managers. Something my coworker would do, I could get lectured for. -There are some really great people working here, and I feel bad for them honestly. The amount they ask of you if outrageous. They expect you to stop whatever you are doing and hop onto something else, and then back and forth. -We were severely understaffed while I worked there, and when fall hit, they made us start closing with one less person, even though business didn't slow down, and closing would take an hour plus more. read more

Thank you for your response Brandon. The discount I was referring to is through the app on my iphone (which hasn't been working). The coupon I usually use is for a .99 smoothie with the purchase of a sandwich but I have used this one many times. In any case I wanted to pay $1.99 today rather than .99 offered usually everyday, giving you the better deal! I have come in many times and used the $1.99 offer on a breakfast sandwich. For a restaurant to offer breakfast all day/any time of day, there should not be stipulations set forth especially when the offer is misleading as I noted in my first review. I will still continue to frequent your establishment out of convenience but I seriously hope you reconsider your policies and try to be more empathetic towards what the customer is seeing vs what is really intended. Thank you again for your time. Since it seems that I never have anything positive to say, I just want to say that the service today (15jul) and the classic breakfast sandwich were spot on! read more