Keri Halperin
I love Bean Bar!! It is exactly what Northbrook needed and offers a warm, welcoming, friendly neighborhood atmosphere, with excellent service, delicious coffee, and a wide variety of yummy food.
I go there on a regular basis and I’m greeted by name by all of the baristas and staff. They are friendly, have zero attitude, and are always happy to answer questions about the menu.
My favorite beverage is the cold brew with vanilla cold foam. I’m also a big fan of their pastries, lox scramble, salads, as well as their yogurt parfait and avocado toast.
… moreJoe King
We stumbled across this place by chance, and it’s definitely one we’ll be coming back to. Bean Bar isn’t just about coffee, it’s a solid spot to meet up with friends, kick back, grab some quality coffee and snacks, or even sit down for a decent meal if that’s what you’re after.
There’s plenty of seating, with some cool glass-enclosed spaces that have a more private, laid-back vibe, perfect for chatting or getting some work done.
The espresso’s strong and the baklava’s on point. Service is solid, and the prices are fair. Looking forward to the next round.
… moreEithne McBride
This place is always crowded, even though there’s plenty of seating! Why? Because they have absolutely nailed food & drink quality, space, and vibe. Once you stop in, I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t want to come back over and over again. They have hot drinks, cold drinks, sandwiches, pastries, booths, sofas, working tables, and even several conference rooms of various sizes.
My friends and I found Bean Bar serendipitously a couple of months ago while trying to find a centrally located coffee place to meet up at. One of us is the next town over, one (me) is about 30 minutes away, and two drive up from the city. We loved it so much that we decided to make it a weekly thing!
… moreTiffany Zarletti-Passe
Food and drinks were outstanding. The space is also amazing. There are plenty of places to sit both indoors and out with space to accommodate various group sizes. There are a couple areas separated from the main area that would be perfect for meetings. The fireplace and coaches looked so cozy too! Can’t wait to visit again!
… moreKeely Conrey
Bean Bar is the absolute best! Spend several days per week here, meeting clients, working in between appts, meeting up with friends. The owners/management are wonderful and pillars of the community…they also own Eataco and the next door lounge in downtown Notthbrook! Both equally different, bringing all the vibes! Love the style of Bean Bar, the local art they feature throughout the space, and the layout with varying seating options and even private conference room spaces for privacy: just a beautiful, cafe lounge that I cannot get enough of! Perfection!!!
… moreAndrei Jaume Willenska
The interior is really nice. This place used to be a bank, and they turned it into a great little coffee shop. They have tasty coffee and drinks and it’s in a great location. I loved that you can always find people studying and playing board games sipping on their coffee. The indoor seating is nice, but they also have plenty of sitting outside. Def a great find.
… moreTimothy Aines
Great cozier alternative to Starbucks at an easy-in easy-out location. Nice comfortable decor with a variety of seating options, to even include closed door private spaces. The staff is especially friendly and courteous and provides constant table service that leaves Starbucks in the dust.
My only two complaints is there is no Sweet and Low option among the many other choices of sweeteners, and that is very irksome to us life-long lovers of the pink packet. Also the iced tea is only available in ridiculously small sampler-size cups that you constantly have to ask to get refilled. They sorely need a large 30 Oz. cup for cold drinks like are found at Dunkin and the Trenta size at Starbucks. The iced tea is already priced as if it is that size anyway.
… moreKim Nguyen
Edit: Visited on a Wednesday morning and the place wasn’t super packed. We ordered our usuals. The staff seemed short compared the last visits. Our foods came out and the croissants were cold, not toasted. There was almost to taste to the mushroom. I got a little disappointed as this is a new restaurant and the quality is already not consistent. Hopefully it will be better on our next visit.
So happy that BB didn’t disappoint. Came here twice within a week. Two best and must try things are the macadamia latte, and the egg and truffle croissant. This is such a great spot and can cater everyone’s needs. BB offers quiet rooms or corners with tall bar stools/bench, or sofa near fireplace, or outdoor seatings. You order at the counter and grab a number for the table. The food comes out relatively quick. This is a new staple for the Northbrook community. I can’t wait to show my out of town friends when they visit. It has a west coast vibe to it. Perfect place for a chill morning coffee.
… moreGoodDay
This was a nice find. I happened to be in Northbrook and stopped by Bean Bar. From the outside, it almost looks like a brewery—it just has that kind of feel.
They have outdoor seating (not in use right now because it’s winter), and the inside is quite spacious. There’s a mix of high and low seating, high-tops, low-tops, sofas, and even meeting rooms along the side. I didn’t love the fluorescent lighting in the meeting rooms, but overall the layout felt different from most coffee shops you find in Illinois. The slightly elevated seating areas were visually appealing, and the classical music added to the atmosphere.
Even though the space is large, it still felt cozy. The coffee and dessert were good. It was my first visit, and it won’t be my last.
However, the bathroom could use more attention—there was no soap available. The pastry display could also use some improvement, as the lighting and presentation were not very appealing and felt like an eyesore.
… moreLisa Landsman
We were excited to try Bean Bar as it has been a long anticipated opening in our town. The food was fantastic, the space was warm and comfortable. It lived up to the hype. We had the truffle egg sandwich and the chicken, bacon egg scramble. Highly recommend both. There are a million more things we want to try so we will be back. A few pieces of feedback to make the place even better. 1. There is no signage at the entrance so as we sat at our table, we watched every single person walk past and then figure out that it was an entrance. It only shows a handicap sign. They would benefit from a logo or decal on the door. 2. It got very crowded, very quickly. We loved all the couches, but they might benefit from a few additional two top tables to accommodate more people. 3. We dined in and were surprised that our espresso was served in a paper cup. Not a huge deal, but would have loved a mug. As mentioned, this place is definitely worth going and we hope it continues to be a huge success!
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