A Guide to summer shakes and smoothies in Brighton

With summer on its way and temperatures on the up, in UK terms, it's time to grab an ice-cold quencher at one of the smoothie making stores to suck on while you mooch about town or for chilling with on the beach.  

Moo Moo's

With such a bewildering array of options from the healthy fruit and yoghurt sort to the calorific ice-cream blends there is a choice for everyone.

Moo Moo's, 

Brighton Pier, Tel: 01865 200025

Located on the pier Moo Moo's has prime positioning for the teaming tourists who make their way to this Brighton landmark and in summer it would be difficult not to be tempted.  They have two locations on the pier and a whole host of combos to try, like their Bananarama - a blend of banana, chocolate honeycomb, whipped cream and choclate syrup or The Teaser - blending vanilla ice-cream with Maltesers Toffee Crumble and choc flake.  After trying a few, general impressions were that they tasted good if a little watery and surprisingly, the pier prices are not much more than other establishments.

Price: £3.70

Score: 3/5 a bit watery





Scoop and Crumb, 

Brighton, Sussex BN1 1HP Tel: 01273 202 563

A mere twenty strides (possibly) from the sea, which twinkles at the bottom of the street, Scoop and Crumb is in perfect proximity to the beach.  Specialising in ice-cream, Scoop and Crumb serves an assortment of the most delicious, creamy and tantalising flavours such as peach, raspberry, meringue ripple and a rhubarb crumble and custard combo. If you are struggling to decide they're happy to let you try a few.  However, and more importantly in respect of liquid refreshment they also turn these iced dreams into shakes.  A'right, I nod happily.  I'll have one of those 'uns thanks.  And if your waist line is really being ignored then go for whipped cream on top.  I'm not saying it's exactly slimming, but when the sky is blue and you're by the seaside, an ice-cream shake can't be beat.

Score: 4/5

Lick at Night



Lick

Lick, 

Brighton 

No longer at their popular North Laine location, Lick is still in operation and worth keeping an eye out for. Serving up the antithesis to the traditional and calorific is the pared down brand at Lick situated in the heart of the north Laine area.  Selling fat-free, probiotic yoghurt, Lick smoothies are made with fresh  yoghurt from a local Dairy in Sussex. The farm follows organic farming practices, which means no nitrogen is used and their pastures are clover rich. As a sign of their success they have now added local stockists to their repertoire, collaborating with other stalwart Brighton institutions, like the Bagel Man, Duke of York's Picture House, Red Roaster and Infinity Foods, all of which deserve posts of their own.  That said back to their smoothies, I had raspberry puree with fresh strawberries and natural yoghurt, simple and so nice.  Lovely guys too. 

Prices: £2.99 / £3.69

A-summer Lick-ing good queue



Shakeaway

Shakeaway man

Shakeaway, 

8 Bond Street, Brighton, BN1 1RD 01273 711179

Shakeaway, probably the most popular in Brighton, it is also the most brash branding with their gaudy yellow and blue stripes. There are often queues out the door so they are getting something right. The staff are friendly and offered an alternative when the strawberry option I wanted wasn't available. Choosing a raspberry ice-cream shake instead I headed out into the sunshine to taste their fare. It was disappointing, oh well. But as I was walking along the main street I was stopped by a kid who saw the gaudy bright yellow and blue cup and wanted to know where Shakeaway was located. The girl in the store told me their best seller was their Oreo cookies shake. They have a huge array of options including vegan and lactose free listed on their website alongside photos of celeb fans, a downloadable app, calendar and fun stuff to get involved in.  As well as this and their comprehensive list of ingredients they have Named Milkshakes, which could have you opting for the likes of Dave, advertised as, Everyone knows a Dave: Ferrero Rochers and Kinder Bueno forming a perfect couple with a Flake crumble over them.  With such a following I'll have to go back for a second tasting.

Prices: £2.80 / £3.80

Score: 2/5