Review of Youjuice

Anita Drozd of Youjuice in Hove

As anyone who knows me would readily attest, I possibly don’t have the healthiest of diets. In fact, having worked in food and drink for decades, I’ll never be found too far from a bottle of Gaviscon. But – as its January – I guess putting in a little effort to improve my dining choices wouldn’t go amiss and there’s only one place in Brighton that truly puts the fun into fruit and vavoom into veg.

Youjuice – located in a former garage tucked away on Brunswick Street East – is the brainchild of Anita Drozd, a familiar face on the city’s food scene and certainly one of the happiest which no doubt is testament to what she puts in it. A talented and creative chef, the focus of her café is cold pressed juices although there is a lot more on the menu.

For the uninitiated, cold pressed juices are the best you can get in terms of vitamin, mineral and enzyme content. Unlike mass-produced, pre-packaged juices that you’d typically find on the supermarket shelves, cold press juice is made with fresh fruits and vegetables and hasn’t been pasteurised nor adulterated with additional sugar and preservatives. It’s literally the holy grail of antioxidant food.

Anita’s cold press juice menu consists of around a dozen concoctions themed around ‘green’ and ‘roots and citrus’. As a sucker for all things zingy, I opted for carrot, ginger, lemon and apple which was certainly a wake-up call to the palate at 11am on a chilly winter morning.

As the opening hours are 9am-3pm or thereabouts, the food menu revolves around a decent choice of brunch plates of varying sizes ranging in price from £6.50 to £12.90, alongside a few lunch-y soups and a couple of hearty mains. The portions are overly generous and the colourful plating is as much a feast for the eye as the belly.

Eggs on Toast at Youjuice in Hove

Whilst the menu is a dream for vegans, Anita isn’t adverse to the odd bit of dairy or meat protein so I opted for Eggs on Toast.

The plate was piled high with all manner of deliciousness – roasted tomatoes with capers, homemade hummus, avocado and salad leaves, Omega-3 rich seeds and an impressively tangy twist on sauerkraut. Although the dish typically comes with sourdough bread, I went a little off-piste with gluten-free fermented beetroot crackers – again made in-house – which hand-on-heart were one of the most moreish things I’ve ever eaten so will be added to my shopping list in 2024.

The venue is somewhat quirky in terms of design – for a start there are only 8 stools inside spread across a table and a high bar plus a bijou outside terrace. Safe to say that all the seats were occupied with a steady stream of hungry locals, all very happy to sing the praises of Anita and the impressive food on offer. There was no shortage of people popping in for takeout juices and smoothies, and even one customer who’d pre-ordered a nut roast to heat up for Sunday lunch at home.

If you’re considering a full juice cleanse this month then Anita has various packages available starting at £119 for a three day gut cleanse featuring all manner of cold press juices, shots, soups, smoothies and broth. Anita tells me that people are more than welcome to swing by for a taster of juices and discuss what package meets their objective.

January is the perfect time to pop in and acquaint yourself with the impressive food and drink – and friendly bonhomie shared by both staff and customers. Youjuice really is a perfectly packaged Brighton and Hove hidden gem offering superb food and drink prepared and served with genuine passion and a big heart.

Nick Mosley

Youjuice, 48 Brunswick Street East, Hove BN3 1AU

01273 204 003 • www.youjuice.co.uk