Find Fancy Fresh Smoothies and Teas on Beretania Street

Photo courtesy of Maddy Chow

Frolic’s new intern, Maddy Chow is a third-year marketing and international business student at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. She grew up in Seattle, where cooking with her grandparents helped instill a passion for food and where her favorite restaurant is Din Tai Fung. Maddy’s ongoing immersion in O‘ahu’s diverse food and culture (check out her food account @maddychowdown) means she’s always looking for new places to try.

Off busy Beretania Street, you’ll find a hidden gem. Fancy Fresh Food Shop, which moved next door to Dew Drop Inn when ‘Ohana Hale Marketplace closed last year, sells fresh smoothies and fruit teas made not with artificial syrups, but fresh fruits only. I’d never noticed the tiny shop until I recently visited Dew Drop Inn. I can report that Fancy Fresh exceeded my expectations and I would not buy a smoothie from any other place.

Photo: Maddy Chow

The interior transports you to your favorite old-school candy shop with items like crack seed, li hing gummies and dried fruits. There are abundant displays of fresh fruits, which you can buy whole or freshly cut. And the sweet smells of just-blended fruit are so powerful they make my mouth salivate. I approach the counter and ask which drink is the most popular. Owner Jessica Li immediately hands me a sample of a Mango Strawberry Kumquat smoothie she has just made for another customer. It’s so delicious I have to order one for myself.

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Photo: Maddy Chow

The most popular choices are the Mango Strawberry Kumquat smoothie, the Power Green smoothie, and the Papaya Mango Milk Smoothie. Their blended beverages come in two sizes: $7 for 24 ounces and $10 for 32 ounces. For the best deal, I suggest you opt for the $10 drink—it comes in a Mason jar and when you bring it back on your next visit, you get $3 off your next purchase. And you will want to go back. Trust me.

Fancy Fresh owner Jessica Li. Photo: Maddy Chow

Besides my smoothie, I also order the Power Green smoothie and the Liliko‘i Mix Fruit Tea. The Power Green is similar to a ginger shot. If you are not a fan of fresh ginger’s aftertaste, this may not be your drink of choice. However, with the combination of kale, papaya, mango, lemon, spinach and mint, this is my favorite. Maybe because it makes me feel energized, but the combination of sweet and spicy soothes my cough and is extremely refreshing as I study outdoors on campus.

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The Mango Strawberry Kumquat smoothie has a little tang that perfectly matches its sweetness and like the Power Green, has a perfect smoothie consistency. The Liliko‘i Mix Fruit Tea has notes of every fruit—strawberry, watermelon, blueberry, kumquat, lemon and the list goes on—because it includes almost every fruit at Fancy Fresh. Because the flavors are so strong, Li tells me to mix it with some water when I get home. But even without extra water, it’s just as delicious as their fruit smoothies.

Photo: Maddy Chow

Along with these top sellers, Li offers customizable fresh fruit smoothies or teas of your choice. You pick two fruits and she will incorporate them into your drink. Boba fans, take note: Boba and jellies are also available when in stock! If you are not in the mood for a beverage, the shop also sells shave ice in flavors like mango and lychee, with toppings of fresh fruits, jellies, taro and red beans.

Parking can be a little tricky—there’s a tiny lot next to the shop, otherwise it’s street parking, which is free after 6 p.m., so you have time before the shop closes at 7 p.m. on most days. Parking is easier when Dew Drop Inn is not busy, which would be around dinner time.

Open Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., all other days from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., 1092 S. Beretania St., (808) 450-9958, @fancyfreshfoodshop