[joset2]

MMMMMm Bean Bar. I love this cafe because they serve the best coffee and delicious cakes. I did not get good customer service and the waitress was always in a hurry but I still came back for the good food. They are famous for busy lunch hours but personally, I like the busy buzz while having lunch. Food is delicious and creatively decorated. A good place to have a group lunch. It might be a little pricy for some but definitely check this place out in westdale.

[lorend]

I have only ever taken out dessert from Bean Bar. It was some sort of chocolatey cake thing...and it was amazing. BUT I had to wait 15+ min to get it...it just needed to be cut and placed in a container. I'm not entirely sure if it was worth that long of a wait. It was VERY good...but...looong time.

I have heard that dinner here takes about an hour after you order...

[joset2]

u r right lorend............... ........

[opensky]

I've only been to Bean Bar twice, but it's been a pretty good experience both times. I went during late evenings and it's usually very busy and you have to wait for a table.

Drinks here... pretty expensive. $7 martinis, but if you don't mind the price tag, they have a huge selection, an entire pageful of just martinis. They also do shots, wine, other drinks - both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.

They have a huge selection of cakes, and you can request a cake tour where a waiter/waitress will tell you the names of each cake and what's in it. With all the options, it can be hard to choose, but the waiter or waitress will suggest their favourites or something suitable for you if you tell them what kind of cake you're looking for (ex. minty, chocolate, caramel, cheesecake, etc.). I've gone with a group of friends where everyone got a different cake, and they were all ridiculously yummy.

They do have a food menu, but I've never eaten lunch or dinner here so I don't know much about it.

Really good atmosphere and service.

[summer]

The food here is EXCELLENT! Considering this restaurant has a great atmosphere and selection, the prices are surprisingly do-able on a student budget. I have never been disappointed with anything I've ordered, and I've eaten here several times. I cannot recommend it more.

[feonateresa]

I just went here tonight to get dessert after dinner somewhere else, and the cake I got, Fusion, is delish. It took FOREVER to get served though. :/

[lawleypop]

Originally Posted by feonateresa

I just went here tonight to get dessert after dinner somewhere else, and the cake I got, Fusion, is delish. It took FOREVER to get served though. :/

I went with a group of friends once... there was about 6 or 7 of us. It took us 2 hours to get seated. For about the first 50-60 minutes, we waited at the front door... Then after we all stood around bitching about how ridiculous it was, one of us finally grew the balls to say something...

They then said they would place us in the "lounge." Turns out the lounge was essentially a hole in the wall with some cushions. While we sat there, we were given the stink eye by literally every waiter/waitress/patron that walked by. So at the 2 hour mark, I got up to a waitress and said, "Look, this is silly. You've literally given a table to at least 2 dozen parties so far, and no one has even acknowledged our presence, asides from the dirty looks given by every one of your coworkers." Turns out the lady owned the restaurant (or was the manager for that evening) and we pretty much got seated immediately.

Sounds great, right? Progress is being made. Wrong. We got a table RIGHT beside the door. It was FREEZING that night. Normally it wouldn't be so bad and I wouldn't have complained if we had been seated within 30 minutes. BUT IT WAS 2 HOURS. So, someone else in my group complained and we had to wait for a party of older women to leave their table (fair enough). We got their table. It was great. Right in the middle of the restaurant, we weren't freezing, and it was roomy.

Food was great. It was incredible. It also took 2 hours to arrive. We saw our waitress ONCE and that was for our first order of drinks. A different waiter came by for our food orders. We never saw him again either after receiving our meals. So, I essentially had one drink the entire night. -rolls eyes-

Also, the cakes were good. When we had asked to be given the tour of the cakes (which is OFFERED, we weren't being demanding), we got the stink eye AGAIN and the most unenthused description of the cakes.

Finally, 5 hours later... We were out of the restaurant.

So yup. Good food, horrible service.

And to top it all off, a friend of a friend started ripping on me because I refused to leave a tip. Pfft.

[feonateresa]

Woooww... That's reaaaally terrible. I went with a group of five, maybe they just have a thing with big groups? I don't know. Yikes though.

[joset2]

That is terrible. I can really understand why you went through the mess. I am a regular visitor. When I go there from my work place, we were really taken care of. But when I went with freinds, we were once seated right by the kitchen door and the waitress was flirting with the guy I was with. Most of the time we had this semi old lady who was really nice and gave us a cake tour and all that. If you dont like the waitress, ask for someone else. I know its mean but I dont want to deal with attitude while I eat. =). These days, I really prefer monfort next door. It is really cozy and romantic and people are really nice there.

[lawleypop]

Yea, I think they have a problem with the younger crowd. It's a vicious cycle though. They have a problem with younger people because they're probably used to us not tipping and therefore don't care about giving us quality service (like in my situation), but I refuse to tip unless I get quality service.

[joset2]

Yes me too...another thing that bugs me is that when you go as a group but billed separately..how do u guys tip? I tell my friend to pool in and give. Isnt it a bit too much to get 7 separate tips?

[lawleypop]

Originally Posted by joset2

Yes me too...another thing that bugs me is that when you go as a group but billed separately..how do u guys tip? I tell my friend to pool in and give. Isnt it a bit too much to get 7 separate tips?

Nope, it should add up to the same.

[Lois]

I've never had a problem with service. The servers are usually busy, yes, but they're quite friendly. And if you're concerned about waiting, there's always fast food.

The food is delicious, the service isn't as bad as people are making it out to be. Maybe with big groups who don't tip there's an issue, but I've had nothing but good experiences and I go to the Bean Bar often.

Yes me too...another thing that bugs me is that when you go as a group but billed separately..how do u guys tip? I tell my friend to pool in and give. Isnt it a bit too much to get 7 separate tips?

It's the same whether it's pooled or separate.

[joset2]

I have been to bean bar well over 10 times both at peak lunch hours to mellow evenings. Some waiters are really good and some are pretty rude ( usually the younger ones). I like the food and cakes but they need to improve on seating. the seats near doors are really odd.

[Alvand]

I came here last week with my dad and we both enjoyed our food and had a good time. I ordered the steak on garlic bread and it was amazing. They put green, red, and yellow peppers on top of it, along with cheese and some other nice stuff. It tasted really good. My dad got the veal and he enjoyed that as well. Our waitress was also nice and helpful. It looked like the place you could take your parents, friend, girl/boyfriend, or even grandparents and you would have a great time in the environment. It is a bit pricy but if you are going to have some fine dining once in a while, it's a great place to go.