The entire state of Hawaii is notorious for its cornucopia of trendy smoothie/acaí/etc. establishments. All are somewhat pricey, all boast to be “healthy”, “fresh”, and other enticing adjectives that create allure for the lifestyles cravings of the island’s locals and tourists alike—however, more often than not, many places overuse unhealthy/controversial additives, lots of sugar, and/or not-so-fresh concentrates and much more. This is where the underrated Miko Refreshments deserves recognition—Miko Refreshments is the best smoothie place in Waikiki.
Inconspicuously set up in the 24/7 Grab N’ Go on Kuhio Ave. in Waikiki, the unpretentious Miko Refreshments smoothie stand is different. In fact, it’s the best—this statement is coming from someone who has fallen for many smoothie marketing tactics and has spent a shameful amount of money on consuming smoothies throughout her lifetime. In addition to ensuring the use of fresh produce and all-natural ingredients, and no added sugar entirely, Miko Refreshments journeys away from basic outdated flavors with exotic and unique medleys of fruits, nuts, etc. that I guarantee no other smoothie store on the face of this planet has dared to conjure…
The “Black Amanda”: black coffee blended with coconut meat;
The “Ginger Mix” with lilikoi (passionfruit), turmeric, ginger, and limes (personal testament—this drink has alleviated headaches and colds of mine!);
Look at that fresh, succulent passionfruit fruitporn. Passionfruit—known as ‘lilikoi’ here in Hawai’i—is a must try local favorite.
The “Four Seasons”, which consists of ripe aromatic wild guava fruit, strawberries, orange, pineapple, and honey (are you looking up one-way tickets to Oahu while drooling on your keyboard yet?);
and just about anything else—if it’s not on the menu, you can be your own smoothie artist and the owners will happily blend a custom smoothie catered to your own personal taste, you trend-setter, you! In fact, it just so happened that the day we visited Miko Refreshments to take pictures for this article, there was a spontaneous daily special available for order—behold, the “Tropical Jungle”! Although we did not keep record of the exact ingredients in this wild drink, we do remember that it consisted mainly of kale (health freaks, rejoice!), mango, lilikoi, kiwi, and mint.
Aside from offering adventurous new flavor creations and being open to personal customizations, the owners of Miko Refreshments are super nice and will have you sample your drink and be more than willing to tweak it if you aren’t completely satisfied. More often than not, the owners will give you an entire extra cup for the leftover smoothie that didn’t have room to make it into your main smoothie cup (that’s basically two exquisite smoothies for the price of one! Broke college students, take notes.) Look at all the glistening extras we’ve acquired from this one trip alone! (You have my promise—these cups were full to the brim before Kristine and I lost all self-control and started gulping them down.)
Have I mentioned that each sizable cup of smoothie is $5? (This includes the extra leftovers, samples, and ohana-friendly service!) This sweet aunty is just one of the friendly faces you will be greeted and served by upon visiting Miko Refreshments. You can also request a stamp card—one free drink for every seven purchased—which will serve you well if you end up falling in love and stopping by during every trip to Waikiki. (Guilty!)
As has been noted, in the bountiful land of tropical Hawai’i, Miko Refreshments remains a humble, transparent, and underrated little smoothie stand in the midst of the many other overpriced and often deceptive smoothie/juice stores that dominate the limelight of social media marketing.