Acai takes on a DIY attitude at these three shops in Melbourne’s trendy inner south-east. Taking its cues from fro-yo’s world of building your own cup then weighing and paying at the counter, Blitz Bar offers a colourful line-up of the usual topping suspects (hello, Nutella and strawberries) along with compelling add-ons like the house-made raspberry chia jam, hemp seeds, pistachio butter and lychees. Expand your wellness horizons further with build-your-own smoothies rocking optional extras including collagen, vegan protein, sea moss and power-packed mesquite. blitzbar.com.au

So you’re in the mood for table service, excellent coffee and cosseting touches like complimentary sparkling water? In their whitewashed, minimalist space on top of Northcote’s High Street, Team Tinker turns an acai bowl into an upstanding member of the brunch brigade with the help of macadamia and apricot granola, their locally renowned house-made peanut butter, seasonal fruit and coconut yoghurt. Chase it with a turmeric or matcha latte, if you can resist the siren song of caffeine, and spare a thought for the chocolate and sea salt cookies in the front cabinet while you’re there. tinkernorthcote.com.au 235 High St, Northcote

Taking over the inner suburbs of Melbourne one Nutella bowl at a time, these Instagram-bait venues know how to soup up a superfood menu. Put on your best athleisure wear and head along for a comprehensive list of fruits, spreads (pistachio or Biscoff for us, thanks) and crunchy bits. A range of junior bowls is also on offer to indoctrinate younger members of the family into the acai cult. Special collaborations with local heroes such as Pana chocolate and guest appearances by exotic ingredients like ashwagandha, a medicinal herb with powerful health benefits, are designed to float your acai bowl boat even further. greencup.com.au

Follow the glow of the wellness warriors to this popular corner spot in Elwood Village. The southside’s superfood haven, Combi delivers the goods with an OG organic bowl that blends acai blended with banana, coconut water and blueberry, then turns it into a textural party with ingredients including pistachios, cranberries, apple and chocolate bukinis (those addictive activated buckwheat kernels). There’s also a peanut butter version, and power-packed smoothies that straddle the drink/meal divide with consummate ease. Grab an al fresco table to enjoy in the sun. combielwood.com 138-140 Ormond Rd, Elwood

Come for the antioxidants, stay for the design. modl office is behind the design of these two schmick shops: Fitzroy North’s Queens Parade is artfully minimalist in the way of an Apple store, while its little sibling on Camberwell’s Burke Road, which opened at the end of 2024, is a tactile vision of limestone tiles and acai-referencing purple wall panels. Also new: the peach crumble flavouring featuring Biscoff crumb, coconut, peach, raspberries, yoghurt, honey and cinnamon. Lovabowl does a cracking takeaway trade, but grab a seat to soak up the artful mise-en-scene. lovabowl.au

If you’re thrifting lunch, the ‘feel-good fast food’ of these cheery, yellow-branded shops is your go-to. Start with the building block of premium organic acai blended with banana. You can choose to stay right there, or accessorise with goodies like chocolate granola, salted coconut flakes, chia seeds and natural peanut butter. Or maybe a captivatingly purple acai pop smoothie is more your style. You do you… bowlsbaby.com

Are you in an acai bowl or acai smoothie kind of mood? Take your pick at Oakberry’s four outlets, where the Brazilian berry is the unchallenged hero of the menu. Small, medium or large acai bowls get their glow-up with the help of unlimited toppings – repeat, unlimited – starring things like honey-toasted oats, coconut chia pudding, natural yoghurt, peanuts and cacao nibs (a splash of condensed milk is $1 extra, but why wouldn’t you?) If you’re going the smoothie route, choose your base (water or organic coconut milk), and your recipe (the ‘Amazonian’ mix with protein powder, LSA and the house peanut butter gets our vote), but they’re equally happy for you to make up your own off-menu masterpiece. oakberry.com.au

A hipster temple dedicated to undoing last night’s damage with conspicuously clean eating, this sibling to Northcote’s Tinker will realign your chakras. Peanut butter, fresh fruit, coconut yoghurt and granola jazz up the house acai bowl, and you can widen your wellness parameters further with build-your-own wellness bowls mainlining the virtues of brown rice, quinoa and cauliflower rice. Drinks? You can add a power-packed mushroom supplement to your coffee, or get stuck into a yerba mate soda, but thankfully they’re not above dishing up a tequila-charged Bloody Mary to really rev up recovery mode. terrortwilight.com.au 11-13 Johnston Street, Collingwood

Lygon Street might be better known as Melbourne’s Little Italy, spiritual home of the cheesy pizza, but Drip Bar is here to bring the yin to its yang. Topped with all the granola and fresh fruit a gastroenterologist could recommend, the acai bowls are a popular energy hack for students at the nearby University of Melbourne to get through lectures (just add a sprinkle of M&Ms to really feel the buzz). There’s also acai soft serve, a Melbourne first that’s intent on interrupting the superfood messaging with a lusciously creamy take on Brazil’s favourite berry. dripbar.au 147 Lygon St, Carlton