Fresh Healthy Cafe Buffalo

I have been here twice and the food was good, but the service both times was not worth coming back for anymore. No smiles and very curt answers. It’s too bad.

This place is basically an externally located gym juice bar. Their small, self-​proclaimed ‘healthy’ selection of food consists merely of items you would find on a steakhouse’s ‘cop-​out’ vegetarian portion on a menu: salads, panini sands, and wraps. Definitely not someplace a serious vegetarian would make a point to stop at unless they were using the discount or were at the nearby gym.
For a place with healthy in the name you’d think something (food wise) would be pre-​printed as vegan. Nope, like so many restaurants (that don’t claim to be healthy) you have to custom your vegan meal.
Disappointed 1 Star

The girls they have working there are just awful. Walked in today to get a bowl of soup. I asked what the soup of the day was and the girl responded with «we ran out» and then immediately asked the guy behind me if she could help him. Didn’t even ask me if she could get me anything else. I know this wouldn’t have happened if the owner was there. The food is pretty good, but I won’t be back.

SO GOOD. Seriously. There is no other place like this! Sometimes I just want something… literally fresh and healthy. Aptly named. They have the most amazing smoothies and their paninis/​wraps/​sandwiches/​salads are so awesome. Everyone that works here is happy to be there and they are all very knowledgeable on the products. Such a nice place and it’s very cleanly, which I appreciated.
X’s and O’s!
J

The food is delicious and the prices are very reasonable. If they were rated on this alone it would be a five star review.
The wait times are rough but they are trying to improve. I’ve been there ten times or more easily, so this isn’t an isolated incident. I’ve waited 45 minutes before for a sandwich and smoothie.
All the potential in the world, in a market almost entirely void of competition (healthy options in the burbs? Step it up restaurant bizz).

Today I walked in to get my son a smoothie. The wait for one smoothie to be made was ridiculous. 3 people behind the counter working. One making food, one cashing and the other lady I have no clue what she was doing. The place was not busy only people at 3 of the tables. This place went down hill! So sad… I did at one time like this place. I waited 15 minutes for 1 smoothie… Not worth the wait.

Only had a juice with carrot/​celery/​spinach and lemon and it was excellent! I have been «juicing» this whole week and gone to several places. They were very friendly, very fast and the product was solid! Also cheaper than the Williamsville and Downtown spots!

Felt the place lived up to its name. Everything seemed fresh and healthy. Even had antibiotic free meats. Nice, varied menu for lunch or a quick dinner. A little outdoor area too. Enjoyed my pannin. Husband enjoyed his wrap.

I come here for one reason only and that is the food. See I’m a simple minded person, give me good service and better food and I’m a happy customer. This is where the problem arises. Average customer service. Personality is vague here, as if the employees are reading a script. Good work ethic for making drinks and sandwiches, but other than that you might as well be talking to a stale, cold cup of coffee. The interior of this place is very clean and very comfortable, however you will almost always smell of (i think fried?) foods when you leave and my gosh is it lingering. If I go in for a delicious smoothie, id rather not walk out smelling like a panini (smoothies take at least 5 minutes to make even with no wait). Being its own type of business in the area, I would say give it a try, by no means is the food quality disappointing, ust don’t come here and expecting good customer service.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect to write a review about this establishment. I ended up actually getting lunch from here as a punishment for my know-​it all daughter. We had some errands to take care of and only one vehicle to accomplish all. After listening to her whine and moan about various things I dropped her off at Fresh Healthy, checked the menu and told her what I wanted. I knew full well that nothing would appeal to her.
My order was simple. Veggie Fest Crêpe and Beef, barley & veggie soup (pre-​fab by Kettle Cuisine). After numerous calls from my daughter complaining about how long it took to make this simple order up I told her to cancel all and I will pick her up and we are finished interacting for the day. She requested the cancel and the manager came out to apologize for the delay saying that the crêpe making process was causing the hold up and that he would make the crêpe.
And make the crêpe he did. DELIGHTFUL! Perfect amount of sweet to counteract the savory contents! Absolute heaven! For real! The flavors just perfectly combined to make a most appealing mouth pleaser! I must stop here lest I obsess.
The soup was good, as expected by Kettle Cuisine. What went from a crappy start turned into a perfectly executed lunch — and healthy!!- from a purveyor that I never anticipated patronizing.
I guess I learned a lesson… don’t discount what you don’t know. This is my next «must have» lunch place. It also will cost me less because I know that my daughter won’t eat anything from here. Nirvana.

I am very disappointed in this place. I had high expectations, mostly because I was excited that a place with healthy in mind has opened up!
I ordered a Power Protein smoothie, which sounded tasty — notably it included both soy milk and whey protein. It was very good!
Then what’s the problem you ask…
Well, I had noticed that while making my shake, the worker was training a new girl on how they make shakes, fine. It took a few mins linger because of this, but I was in no hurry. What really caught my attention is when I over heard her tell the trainee to add more almond milk. I double checked the menu, thinking ‘that can’t be my shake, there’s no almond milk on the menu for that.‘
They called my name, and I had to inquire… is there almond milk in here? She responded, «we use almond milk instead of soy milk because it blend better.»
What!!!
I immediately responded, to the shocking looks on their faces, «you should change your menu then… I PID for a shake with soy kill in it. Also, it’s prob a good thing I’m not allergic to nuts.»
The whey protein only had 10g of protein per scoop to boot.
I won’t be going back.

Love Fresh Healthy Café! It’s so nice to see a healthy place like this in the Depew area. Their smoothies are really fresh and delicious; tonight I had the Mango Mania, which tasted like they used real fruit… no pre-​mixed sweeteners. Also had their turkey/​bacon/​avocado panini which was really good!

What a great place to grab a healthy meal and or juice/​smoothie. The staff were all very friendly and helpful. The girl who took care of me made great recommendations when I asked. My sandwich and smoothie were excellent. A nice clean and fresh place. Also, I saw a sign that if you go to Catalyst Fitness you get 10% off.

Delicious healthy smoothies, drinks and sandwiches. If you are a member of the catalyst fitness club they give you a ten percent discount. That’s pretty cool. It’s a little pricey but I think it’s definitely worth it to get some quality healthy food.

This is my favorite new place! The atmosphere is gorgeous and I’m digging the outdoor patio with the weather getting nicer. Just the other day I had a carrot ginger soup and an Asian chicken wrap outside and man was it good! The employees are so nice and knowledgable about the food and products! One gentleman in particular told me about the kale pineapple smoothie and how super smoothies incorporate either veggies or more berries into the smoothies. My favorite spot in the restaurant is the area in the back which I was told can be rented and has been rented for business meetings or casual meetings/​events. I like it back there because it’s enclosed and sound proof so I can work on my computer in peace. Oh! And They also have free wi-​fi! If you haven’t been here definitely go! The food is healthy and you’ll love it there.

I was in line and started to listen to the cashier tell people the wait time would be 15 minutes, then 25 minutes, etc and then heard people in the waiting area talking about how they had been waiting over a half hour for their lunch. This made me decide to leave and go somewhere else instead since I only have a 30 minute lunch break. There was 1 cashier and 2 people making food/​smoothies during the lunch rush. I was really excited about trying this place since it is close to my work and I try to eat pretty healthy but probably will not be returning due to the long wait times. Yes, sometimes you may have to pay extra staff even if you’re not sure how busy you will be, but it might be worth it at the times they are really needed, in order to not lose customers and/​or potential customers. Unfortunately I can’t comment on the food because I never got to try it.

Visited twice and first time the food and smoothies were really good. Went back two days later and the panini and wrap were a little skimpy — not a big deal but what was annoying is my friend was completely done eating before my food even came out. A suggestion would be maybe get two panini makers so you can keep up with orders. On both visits the girl at the counter did not smile at all — she just sort of stared at us the whole time– didnt offer any information when we were unsure of the menu and I dont think she wanted to be there– didnt want to answer any questions or just didnt know — not sure — either way, we didnt feel welcomed — it was almost an uncomfortable experience. The smoothie machine was broke on 2^nd visit so was offered to be made with water or soymilk but no discount offered– the smoothie was disgusting with water so I left it there. Overall very clean and cute set up and they offer healthy options– could be successful if they work on the people working the counter and got a backup smoothie machine and a 2^nd panini maker– unfortunately probably wont bother for a third try.

Stopped in last night to check this place out after Catalyst Fitness. I got the Caesar Salads to go, dried veggie chips and their green kale smoothies with mango, pineapple and banana with the wheatgrass booster. The salad tasted fresh, not bagged, chicken was excellent and it was the right size rather than supersize and a flavorful dressing. The green smoothy was delicious, a good balance of fruit to greens. Trying the dried veggies is a must, I like the Trader Joe’s dried beans and love these, stronger flavor and crunchier texture. This is a chain, but it is a healthy chain and Buffalo needs more options like this. I am cutting them some slack on the learning curve of opening a new business with new employees, the service was a tad unorganized but they were sincere in their eagerness to please and I hope they do well as they grow. I intend to patronize them regularly as I strive for healthier choices. Fresh Healthy is a fitting name and I look forward to trying more menu items there.

I live in the area and saw the sign for Fresh Healthy Café up in the plaza (where Kmart used to be and now the main tenant is Catalyst Fitness) about a month ago and did a little investigating online. Saw that they were doing a soft opening on Friday the 20^th through social media and decided to stop by in the early evening.
Really like the layout. It is bright and roomy with different tables and chairs including a little conference room area in the back for meetings, etc. They offer a variety of smoothies mainly focused around different fruit combos with healthy «shot» additions available, fruit juices, a selection of coffee/​espresso, and then a food menu with different combos that can be selected as a salad, wrap, or panini, as well as some breakfast sandwiches and other morning food items.
I went for the Asian Chicken wrap and the Pineapple Paradise smoothie. The wrap was tasty, but not huge. The veggies were fresh, I liked the crunchy noodles, and the dressing was very flavorful, but not salty or overpowering. There wasn’t a ton of chicken on it but what was there was good. I am guessing all the chicken is just plain for the various items they have and the seasoning came from the dressing. It was just on a basic whole wheat style flat tortilla. Would have liked more almonds and mandarin oranges on it too, those were yummy!
The smoothie was really good and made me feel like I was back in the middle of summer rather than less than a week before Christmas. I don’t usually like my fruits mixed up, except for what was in the smoothie, pineapple and strawberries, my two favorites. I could tell the fruit was fresh and plentiful as I could taste it throughout. It was nice and thick and not watery from too much ice. It had coconut with it, but I did not taste that as much as I would have liked. They are in the $ 4+ range, but I rather stop for something like this compared to a milkshake.
Everyone was very friendly and the food came out quickly and packaged well. They take all cards except AMEX and unfortunately do not have gift cards yet (someone behind me came to ask). Looks like they offer a discount for people who belong to the Catalyst Gym next door as well. I look forward to coming back and trying some other items!
EDIT JAN 2014: I stopped back in about a month after my first visit. I had actually tried to go one early morning, but after advertising they were open at 6am, that now has changed for the winter to 8. I made it there when they were open and got the same smoothie as before, but the lite version and a panini.
It does seem there could be some after hours service training as the clerks were still figuring out the register and I watched the girl hold a card to know what to put in the smoothie as well as not knowing where everything is, so it took a while. I really couldn’t taste much difference from the original version of the smoothie that I had before. This time, they offered me a free shot in it which didn’t happen the first day.
The panini I got was good but strangely had the romaine lettuce on it. Lettuce is marked as not being on a panini on several items on the menu, and it was sort of wilted after being heated through. Seems like everything is hyper-​measured out. I had like 3 small slices of sweet pepper on each half. Just could use a little more of the toppings like how I mentioned with the wrap I had previously.
I was the only one there at like 11:30 in a Sunday and I still waited about 10 mins for my food. It is a good option to have around, but people want to get things quickly at this sort of restaurant.