Vale Food Co. is a great option when you're looking for healthy food in a hurry. I like their açaí bowls the best out of all their food options. The açaí is really smooth and their granola is delicious! Their hot food bar is good too with lots of different options, including vegan and vegetarian choices. I would go with their ancho chicken, but skip the BBQ chicken (it was very dry). I like their green beans for a vegetable option by they're not always on the menu. The restaurant has great lighting (perfect for taking food pics) and is always super clean every time I go in. The staff is really nice and always lets you sample anything you want to try. read more

Vale Healthy Kitchen - Gainesville - Acai Bowl - Acai Bowls Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

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I popped in here on a road trip to fuel up on some healthy eats. This is usually one of my options when passing through Gainesville, and on this particular Saturday evening, there was no line. I ordered a regular bowl with teriyaki chicken, cauliflower, sweet potato noodles, balsamic mushrooms, the brown rice, turkey meatballs, citrus vinaigrette and the tomatoes. I had very high hopes for this combo - priced at $13.99, it's a little more expensive than similar options at Fresh Kitchen. However, I was let down when everything was lukewarm and the flavor was one- note. And that note happened to be spice. So much spice! I could barely eat it. The noodles, meatballs, cauliflower, and teriyaki chicken were so spicy that they overpowered everything, and I can usually tolerate quite a bit of spice! I took it home and added some fresh avocado and sour cream, which helped take the kick off. But overall, I felt the meal was overpriced and overspiced. read more

I really wanted to give this place a high rating because I love the chipotle-style concept and the atmosphere of the restaurant. The food tasted mediocre. I got the regular bowl (~$9) where you can choose 2 bases, 2 veges, and 2 proteins. The turkey&spinach meatballs and cauliflower were delicious. It was everything else that brings the rating down. Keep in mind I tried some of my friends' foods too. The braised beef was overcooked. The brussel sprouts, green beans, and broccoli were undercooked leading to a rough texture. The mac and cheese was the bland (maybe on purpose to keep it "healthier." The hardest thing to eat was the rice, which was clumpy and almost had the texture of mashed potatoes. The food had definitely been out for a while. The service was good. The guy at the front was very helpful in understanding how the restaurant works. The employees behind the counter seemed to try very hard to count how much of each item they give you. On top of that, they almost gave me the tiny bit of leftovers they had left instead of refilling the portions. I asked for something else as they came close to pouring that tiny portion on my plate. At least they agreed with me on that move, and offered my friend who went after me to bring some out when they finished cooking. Overall I was mainly disappointed about the food. On the bright side there is a lot of variety. I'm still hopeful about the other items (poke bowl and acai bowls) that may boost my review of the place. read more

Vale Healthy Kitchen - Gainesville - Regular bowl with two bases, two veges, and two proteins. (~$9) - Acai Bowls Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

The concept is neat and similar to a few other places such as Fresh Kitchen. The interior is nice and hipsterisque (an indoor herbal garden!) The juicy bit: overall, was very hopeful at the concept but the delivery was just not there. The food itself was subpar in my opinion, the brown rice and quinoa were overcooked and mushy, the green beans and brussel sprouts were undercooked, and the meats were for the most part dry. The sriracha meatball was pretty good but not enough to salvage the other components of the dish. Some of the other dishes I tried were under seasoned such as the mac n' cheese (perhaps for a healthy meal.) On a side note, there was only a few protein choices that didn't cost extra and wished to see at least one more option as opposed to two premium proteins. All in all, was disappointed in the actual preparation of the food but willing to give a second chance for the acai/poke bowls when they come around. I expected better for just recently opening so I have my doubts that the food will be any better later on but I'd recommend checking it out for yourself to form your own opinions bases on your experience. read more

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Great health food stop close to campus. All healthy choices. Start with selecting your base carb, then veggies, then protein, then your sauces. Got the large bowl which had choice of 2 of everything. Great siracha chicken meatballs. Not dry and really tasty! Steak looked great but trying to cut back. :) They also had a superfood bar that looked like a step up for your healthy fix. Not a ton of tables but people move through fast. Great quick meal. Plan on $11-15. read more

Vale Healthy Kitchen - Gainesville - Siracha chicken meatballs. Yeah! - Acai Bowls Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

I had a pretty good experience here..my medium Açaí bowl was fantastic, I got Just the right amount of açaí and the fruit was fresh. I will be back for another açaí bowl very soon! I gave 4 stars only because they are on the pricy side. read more

Vale Healthy Kitchen - Gainesville - Acai Bowls Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

I've already been here three times since they've opened! Their interior is very clean and modern hip, while their outdoor seating is also a great addition. Healthy eating seems to be a trend lately, and Vale Foods fits right in! At first I was thinking it would be more of a vegetarian place, but they have plenty of meat proteins too! So how it works is you go in and choose either a small (1 base, 1 veggie, 1 protein) or regular bowl 2 bases, 2 veggies, 2 proteins). I've had both the small and regular and I'd say you should just choose based on how hungry you are. The quinoa base is definitely a fav for me, and they also have brown rice, mac and cheese, daily greens. For veggies it differs from day to day but I like the curry cauliflower and sliced Brussels sprouts! And for protein my fav is def the sriracha meatballs but they really are pretty spicy. And I'm on the higher tolerance end for spices. After you get your bowl you get to choose a complimentary sauce for your bowl. I like the avocado one so far, because the chipotle ranch just tastes like ranch to me. Besides all of this, there's also a variety of "health" drinks in a cooler next to the register so you can pick one up if you'd like to add it to your order. For this location they're doing 10% off with a Facebook check in so I'd definitely do that. It takes off a dollar or two. The small is around $6.95, and the regular is $8.95 which is not bad for Gainesville price standards. Overall I would recommend! I have yet to try the pokebowls and acai bowls but I'll be back to try that! (Also they have a meal plan system you can set up if you know you'll purchase long term. And they deliver that to you as well! More info should be on their website!) read more

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First time hear lI've the selection s . will definitely see me again. Josh was the best!

So many yummy looking, healthy options! How's a girl(and guy) supposed to choose? Their helpful staff come in there, great recommendations, and they were happy to help. Sweet potato noodles and meatballs are the favorite. Thank you for a healthy place to get some quick food! I would have liked to have tipped the great employees.....maybe next time? read more

I give them 5 because of healthy food. Clean and staff are nice and friendly. They don't accept tips. I think the owner take good care of the staff (so, staff are not depend on customers' tips) Vale food co has a great deal about healthy food for its customers. Bravo ! Ps. Parking on Friday evening can be nighttime, just be aware read more

The meat selection is simply gross looking. Only two choices, looked edible, and only 1 of the 2, was actually swallowable. Seems like fast food. Vegetables were not fresh, and they didn't seem to have good combinations. BUT they do have $5 bottles of kombuca (spelling?) to help you digest their food. (Very pleased that the owner later reached out to make things right, and make sure his restaurant was operating at a high standard). read more

Just meh. Ordered a custom bowl. Quinoa, sweet potato noodles, broccoli, southwest chicken. Bland quinoa with no veggies like description says. Didn't receive any protein in my bowl. Nothing exciting, probably won't order again. read more

Many people made a point that none of the food is paired, true. Nothing really matched so it was hard to make my decisions until I treated it as a tapas menu. I went around 10pm, so selections were limited and the mushrooms were all gone. I went with salad greens, coconut curry cauliflower, shrimp (can't remember the name but they were seasoned), feta and avocado dressing which is delicious. The food was similar to WholeFoods Salad & Hotbar in flavor and varieties. I like the set price and size rather than the per pound for sure! Service wasn't great from the line server, but it was late and I can only imagine the rush crowd chaos. I did let her know it was my first time but I figured it out as I went down the line and she gave me the category while I read the choices and made decisions. I would have taken a picture but I finished the bowl while typing this! My bad. read more

I love going to Vale when I want something filling but healthy. The savory bowls are consistently good. The food has great flavor and some of the options have a nice spicy kick. I just tried their acai bowl and was super impressed. It was just perfect. It was $9.99 for the regular size but it's a shareable portion. I also opted for almond butter which was $1 extra. (but trust me, it's worth the splurge) I'm def going to continue dropping cash here. read more

Vale Healthy Kitchen - Gainesville - Acai bowl - Acai Bowls Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

I had the açaí bowl and it was really good!! the actual açaí was a little runny tho which was kinda a bummer :/ it was almost like soup

As a busy working college student I was looking forward to treating myself to Vale Food Co meal plan. After heavy deliberation and budget crunching I opted for the Weight Loss plan at three meals a day, breakfast included w/ extra meat. After my first day I'm sad to report the portion sizes are inadequate. If I truly received "extra meat" as selected I fear for others who picked the latter. Weighting in at 115lbs and 5'6 I'm by no means a big eater. But I'm still famished after eating these meals. The only redeemable quality is the taste. But that won't satisfy my angry growling stomach. I called customer service and got the answering machine. It's been a full 12 hours and yet no return call. My bf chose the Maintain meal plan and his meals are exactly like mine. Small portion size and no variation in meals. At $170 for the meal plan the portion sizes should justify the price. Considering I could spend $150 at the grocery store and prep quality food (3 meals per day for 7 and have left overs after prep. Unless the portion sizes change, as well as increase in quality of customer service, I can't foresee another order from Vale. Why pay for convenience for a subpar service when a competitor may fill a consumers needs? -Gainesville location Attached is a picture of my 'lunch'. Too bad I didn't snap 'breakfast'. It consisted of one thin tortilla w/ what tasted like peanut butter and a extra small side of blueberries. Update: still no return call. read more

Vale Healthy Kitchen - Gainesville - Acai Bowls Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

Vale is so good and I get it for lunch all the time after workouts. Way better than Bolay.

VEGETARIANS LISTEN UP!! I'm impressed with how well made the food was considering it is a chipotle style restaurant. Everything seemed clean and was yummy but slightly under seasoned. I wish I had more of a taste for earthy flavors because if I did then I would lv e this place. I'm not in love with it, I don't crave it, but it is worth checking out. Especially if your vegetarian!! The tempeh and other meatless options were my FAVORITE part!! Cheeeck it ooout :D read more

Good for a quick meal, but not my favorite. I've been here a few times now and it really depends on the specific menu items you order. Some of their options are okay but some aren't my favorite. My boyfriend likes heir sweet potato noodles and I like their broccoli, but we both prefer other restaurants. read more

Vale Healthy Kitchen - Gainesville - Acai Bowls Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

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After waiting 20 minutes for a smoothie that esentially only contained banana, protein powder and peanut butter, I saw him prepared it without the banana. He actually served me the smoothie and when I mentioned he didn't put banana he said they didn't have it. He wasn't planning on telling me. I consider this very dishonest behavior towards clients. It was my first time and won't be coming back here. read more

I was sitting on the fence between 2 & 3-stars. We recently tried Grill Fresh and wanted to see if there was a place like that but, not across campus & a little closer. My girlfriend and I went here for the first time and felt all the food we had was bland, I think a pinch of salt would do wonders for this place. The thing that pushed this over to 2-stars was, we got it to go, we only live a minute away, and we needed to toss it into the microwave because it was all lukewarm. Disappointed. read more

Came here today for a lunch with my best friend. Very impressed. Got the Poke bowl and she got the Acai Bowl. Loved it! 10/10 would go again! read more

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Great food, amazing employees, and excellent service. Owner is the nicest man ever!!!

It's a tad spendy for my "go to" place to eat but you're paying for good quality. If you're vegetarian or vegan, this is a good spot but if you aren't either but looking for a healthy place to eat, this is a good choice! The gentleman there greeted my friend and I, and took the lead explaining everything and how it worked without making us feel rushed even though I could tell he was busy. Good costumer service! I think it's pretty cool you can follow on Snapchat and they list deals and such on there. :) read more

Vale Healthy Kitchen - Gainesville - Acai Bowls Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

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Vale Food Co has a great Açaí bowl! They have more variety in toppings than I've ever seen. It was awesome! I'll make sure to make this a stop anytime I'm traveling along I-75 through Gainesville. Also, the guy taking my order was very knowledgeable and helpful in picking out my toppings. The design of Vale was clean, neat and attractive. Overall it was a very pleasant experience. read more

Stopped by tonight for another try and was informed that this joke of a "restaurant" has no Poke bowl ingredients of any kind and no Acai bowls available. Not sure how they intend to stay in business . Restaurants on both sides if them are lined out the door with customers. read more

I stopped by Vale today because I was craving an acai bowl and had yet to give theirs a try. I ended up ordering the regular size acai bowl with strawberry hempseed granola, banana, strawberries, and pb as my toppings. The bowl was pretty standard in price ($8.99) and I got to use my GCM app to get $2 off. The consistency of the acai was thick and exactly how I like it. My one complaint was that it took quite a while for them to bring out the bowls, but luckily I wasn't in a huge rush. Overall would recommend giving it a try! read more

Vale Healthy Kitchen - Gainesville - Acai Bowls Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

Love the concept and food at this place. However, each time I have come here, my food has made me sick because it was served cold (the food that was supposed to be hot) & dry. I love all the food options here and I wish the service was a little better and the food was a little fresher! read more

Tasty, I guess, but it's hard to look over: Undercooked sweet potatoes DRY, crunchy, pretty much inedible brown rice in the poke bowl. Lukewarm food (not the poke, obviously) Here's the thing: I ordered delivery, it was 9ish on Sunday, I can see that it might not be best time to order things (things stay out/dry out, whatever) but I'd rather someone call me to tell me that they're out of brown rice instead of getting what I received. I am not a picky person-- the chicken was tasty, as were the balsamic mushrooms, but no one should receive undercooked or ill-prepared food. read more

I decided to check out Vale and choose a healthier option for dinner, but ultimately I was not exactly impressed. I must admit that I have been to Grill Fresh before and wanted to see if Vale was a comparable restaurant that would ultimately be closer (distance-wise) for me to visit again. I ordered the regular sized dish with veggie quinoa and roasted sweet potatoes as my base, then added roasted broccoli and green beans as my vegetables. The meats that I chose were Italian chicken and Sriracha chicken meatballs. Lastly, for the sauce, I chose avocado caesar and curry honey mustard. The food tasted so bland and seemed as though no types of herbs or flavoring were added to anything. Even when adding the sauce on top of the items, I did not think anything tasted savory. For the price I paid, I expected more food. I liked that the veggie quinoa had onions and corn in the mix, but the other items were not as tasty. If I had to choose between Grill Fresh and Vale, I would definitely choose Grill Fresh due to the flavor and amount of food given at Grill Fresh. I do not think that I will be back to Vale for dinner. read more

I love this new addition to Gainesville and wish we had one back in Jacksonville. I would give the hot food here a 4/5 and the acai bowls a 5/5. Seriously delicious!! When you enter the establishment, you see seating to the left and two counters to the right. The farthest counter back is for the hot food (choose your carbohydrate, protein, and vegetable) whereas the counter nearest to the entrance is for acai bowls and toasts. I cannot recommend the acai bowls enough. The small, ringing in at about $6.50, is a full meal. My favorite toppings are strawberry, blueberry, and peanut butter (you can choose three from an ample amount!) Do your body and your palate a favor and stop by this healthy yet delicious new joint. read more

Compared to other fresh food restaurants, I got a very small açaí bowl for what I paid and I was disappointed with the flavor. I've had way better açaí bowls with fresher toppings. Staff was friendly and food came relatively quick! read more

Disclaimer: I'm a devout Grill Fresh patron, so a lot of this review is based off comparison. If I had never experienced Grill Fresh, I would say I love this place and they have such a novel idea. Even though Vale has a more colorful array of fresh-cooked choices, the prices and proportions are expensive and smaller than Grill Fresh. At Grill Fresh, you can spend the same amount of money and leave feeling full or with leftovers. The brown rice at Vale was fine, because you know, it IS brown rice, but Grill Fresh adds rosemary to theirs and makes it more tasty. Overall, Vale has a better presentation and cool choices, but Grill Fresh offers a better bang for your buck. read more

Seems like there's a Grill Fresh vs. Vale Food Co conversation going on, which is completely understandable seeing as though they have similar style food. In my bowl, I chose the: 1) Chipotle mac & cheese 2) Whole grain brown rice 3) Coconut curry cauliflower 4) Ancho pulled chicken The main issue I had was the food was either at room temperature or slightly cold. Perhaps that stemmed from their heating system, pans on an electric stove (I think that's what the pans are placed on) but it just contributed to an overall mediocre food experience. The mac & cheese wasn't cheesy and I couldn't detect and chipotle flavor. It's difficult to mess up whole grain brain rice so there's that. The coconut curry cauliflower was probably the redeeming factor of my meal and the ancho pulled chicken was dry and in my opinion, overcooked. When chicken is dry, the texture is less than ideal. I like the concept of having healthy food more accessible, especially in a college town, but for the price and value, I'll stick to Grill Fresh. read more

What a nice surprise from the standard highway junk food. Healthy, well presented and FRESH! I will definitely be coming back

I have been to Vale on several occasions, but this is my first time doing a review. The first two times I got the bowls and today I purchased an acai bowl. I didn't give them a full 5 stars because when you order online sometimes what's on the website may not be available in store. Which I don't mind but it can be frustrating if you have your heart set on a certain foot item. Their acai bowls didn't wow me but they do have other ingredients that other acai bowl places don't have. For example, they have sunflower seed butter which is . Also they were similar to Elixir because they don't give as much acai. I feel that 3 Natives gives a lot of acai and toppings which is worth the price. read more

I tried the poke bowl. The tuna was not fresh. It tasted fishy, which is a telltale sign that it is too old to be served raw. I ended up throwing out most of it because I didn't want to get sick, plus it didn't taste great. Really disappointed because I had hoped to make this place a regular lunch spot. read more

GOOD NEWS. Gainesville can finally get some healthy, tasty, and QUALITY food in a customizable format. Obviously competing with Grill Fresh, I'd have to say, Vale is about 100 times better. They actually care about the quality of the food, and not just the concept that the food is healthy. I went in on a monday night for dinner with a friend who had already been several times, and had rave reviews about Vale. When we arrived, an employee (maybe a manager, not sure) was waiting at the door to greet us and show us around and made sure we understood how it all worked. Personable and considerate, I was left feeling well taken care of and we hadn't even started ordering yet! I got a regular bowl, so you get 2 bases, 2 veggies, 2 proteins and 2 sauces. So if you really like something, you could just get DOUBLE which I totally didn't think about until I had already gone through the line, and is probably what I'll do next time because I get overwhelmed putting potentially 8 different flavor combinations together. Overall, the flavors complement each other so it's not really a big deal. Portion sizes are extremely reasonable, especially for the price. I ended up getting the veggie quinoa, sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, mushrooms, tofu and chicken siracha meatballs. I also got the curry honey mustard sauce (which is SO GOOD) and the avocado caesar, which I didn't really like honestly but that's the benefit of getting to try two things. And to wrap it all up, it started pouring as my friend and I were leaving, and the exec chef came and gave us two huge metal sheets to cover us so we could run to the car and stay dry. It was honestly the nicest thing a restaurant employee has done for me in a long time, and was so kind and unexpectedThe only down side of this was the location, mainly because I hate archer, and so it might take a bit of a push for this to become a regular dining location for me. Despite that, I will 100% be back (to try the coconut cauliflower) of course. read more

Vale has some truly unique dishes that are absolutely incredible. Whenever I go, I always get the veggie Quinoa. It's a beautiful, savory blend of quinoa, veggies and spices that are out of this world. The orange chicken or turkey meatballs are also amazing. However, what keeps this place from getting five stars are 2 things. 1) The spicy food is almost always too spicy. 2)They charge you extra for their "premium dishes" whilst already being on the pricy side of things. In addition nearly half of the proteins are premium items. So if they have spicy and premium items only I just go to the bento next door. read more

Got the small bowl ~$7 which allows for 1 base, 1 meat, and 1 veggie, with choice of sauce. I ordered the chipotle mac and cheese, "spicy" braised beef ($1+ up-charge), and roasted mushrooms with the sriracha honey sauce. I'll start with the biggest grievance on the plate- the chipotle mac. The name would imply that it's bursting with flavor so it was almost ironic that it was the stark opposite; It honestly tasted like cardboard. I couldn't even detect a flavor of cheese, let alone chipotle. I get the healthy concept, but healthy doesn't [or at least shouldn't] = tasteless. The braised beef was tender, but definitely on the dry side and carried very little flavor. The mushrooms had a good flavor but sorely lacked the nice, brown char that you'd expect of roasted veggies; Also, they were served in their juices which made for a slimy texture. I honestly didn't even bother with the sauce as I gave up on the meal pretty early on. Overall, I much prefer Grill Fresh in Midtown [and Fresh Kitchen in St. Petersburg above and beyond both of these establishments- but I digress]. While the price point at Vale for healthy stuff is appealing to college kids, there are far too many other excellent healthful, affordable places around Gville [Grill Fresh, Big Island Bowls, Root and Pecker, 3 Natives, Cali Chicken Grill] for them to be serving up mediocre stuff. Step it up, Vale. read more