The smoothie tide has splashed into Bankside. Crussh has opened another branch of its hugely popular smoothie stores in the capital with a variety of original fruit concoctions, soups and wraps.

The Venue
Hungry Banksiders queue beneath enormous, blown-up photographs of fruit and sandwich fillings. Reminiscent of the garish studio of a children’s television programme, the walls, signs and staff uniforms are a mix of loud oranges, greens and purples. Spring bud green leather benches and white whicker chairs make up the seating area whilst a significant number of busy staff members flitter behind large orange counters taking orders and reducing fruit to mush with intimidating blenders.

The Atmosphere
As you would expect, the place is a hive of activity as soon as the clock strikes one so expect the queue to spill out of the contemporary glass entrance around this time. Luckily, the sheer volume of staff means the queue shifts along efficiently so don’t let this deter you. The atmosphere tends to suffer a little with the noise of the smoothie machines which rise above any other sound when they’re in full grinding, whirring mode - including the piped-in jazz music.

The Food
In the morning, Crussh provides an enticing yet modest porridge menu which includes organic porridge, cinnamon porridge and a marvelously healthy Summer Porridge creation which includes traditional oats with added natural yoghurt and delicious berry compote. Other options for breakfast include fruit salads, pastries and muffins.

There are four soups of the day in different categories consisting of Classic, Organic, Gourmet and Chilli Stew. Lunchtime provides a fabulous array of colourful and healthy options ranging from creative toasties such as jalapeno and spinach melt to a number of enticing sushi boxes. The latest creation is a crayfish and chorizo sandwich which promises to be an explosion of taste, but unfortunately the abundance of crayfish outweighs the impact of the strangely mild chorizo. It’s a satisfactory addition, nonetheless, and another step towards world domination for the Spanish sausage.

The Drink
The menu of smoothies is printed with an informative sentence of what each smoothie will do for you and your body running alongside it. For instance, one smoothie will boost you in the morning, another will burn fat, one will cure a hangover, etc. What the extent of the scientific proof is behind these claims is unclear, but one thing is certain - they’re yummy.

The new addition is the Supernatural Smoothie, a delightfully refreshing mix of banana, blueberries, pomegranates, acai and goji berries. The blueberries and pomegranates tend to win the battle for flavour in this heady fusion but as with other Crussh concoctions, it’s a thinner-textured smoothie which feels more like a drink and goes down easier. A lot of smoothies on sale in the capital tend to have a feeling like paste in the mouth and to finish them is an achievement – that is not the case at Crussh.

The Last Word
With a fast and efficient service, an extensive menu and a fashionable location behind the Tate Modern, Crussh is a healthy alternative to your usual city sandwich fare.

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