Sejuice - “Right, who ordered the Pussy Galore smoothie?”

56 Gardner Street, North Laine

Those who know me will see from these two pictures why I would be seduced by Sejuice. I’m a bit of a sucker for anything that involves a retro feel, especially pin-up girls. I can remember when Sejuice was first breaking ground. Straight away I knew I would be checking it out based merely on the fact that the new owners must have style.

My intense research (aka Google) into Sejuice’s beginnings have revealed that owners Sarah and Stephen Mulheron chucked it all in to open their own business and were invited to take part of Channel 4’s Risking It All. Adventures like this really move me. I believe there can be nothing better than to be your own boss. Long hours, lots of responsibility but at the end of the day it’s you who’s in control of your own destiny. Not to get all “Tom Cruise” on you or anything but it’s true. So many people have had enough of the fast life in the big city and slip down to Brighton to pursue their Mom & Pop-owned dreams. Does my heart good, it does.

Can’t be a bad thing when you like what you ordered the first time so much that you order it again on your next visit. (I do know that I need to break up with the gorgonzola and spinach gnocchi at Carluccio’s though. I think 5 times is enough.) So when I took the Girl Wonder with me on my second visit I opted for the yummy Greta Garbo wrap that has warm, roasted butternut squash, cranberry sauce, goat’s cheese and roquette. YUM. The GW opted for the Thai Green Chicken wrap (forgive me, I don’t remember the name. I knew I should’ve nicked a menu!) and both were served with a side salad (read: garnish) and some Doritos. I have to say, a place such as Sejuice should really go upmarket with the crisps; perhaps some lovely veggie crisps? Doritos are way too common for wraps as lovely as theirs.

Other goodies include homemade soup o’ the day, salads and other light-lunch type goodies. Might not be the best place to take the menfolk. It strikes me as very yummy-mummy/ladies-who-lunch-lightly. Sadly, they’re also perpetrators of my newest culinary faux pas: the Spiky Lettuce. I can never remember what the hell it’s called but I do know that kitchens use it to bulk up salads and it’s just really unpleasant on the palate. My last salad at the George-it was ENTIRELY composed of Spiky Lettuce. I was so not impressed. Since here it’s only a garnish, I’ll let it slide.

Above all else Sejuice is a juice bar. That makes about 4 total I believe on Gardner Street and Bond Street alone. With such competition they best have an edge that will lure in the local juiceheads. I think that their design/vibe/decor definitely gives them an edge:

They very nicely have all the smoothies arranged by prime ingredient. So for those of you (my husband) who whinge about bananas always being in the foreground you can see for yourself whether or not your smoothie will be ‘nana-free. Me, I had the Indian Summer smoothie which was listed under the Mango offerings and included some chilli jelly for a bit of zing. It was very lovely but I’m afraid I didn’t get any zing. I felt a bit bummed but I got over it.

(Note to self: next time, ask for more zing.)