The Sanibel Bean

The Bean a 4star review in my mind because it lives up to the nostalgia.
Ever since I’ve come to Sanabel the shop has been open. It moves a little slower just like an island coffee shop should. I don’t much care for the brewed coffee, I think island water is mixed with it. But the Italian cappuccino, along with other espresso based drinks and the ice coffee, are fantastic.
Also, I ordered a fruit cup thinking it was going to be fairly small and I was met with a gigantic bowl of very sweet fruit.
After my typical morning jog on the beach, I shower off and head down to the Bean for a coffee for my wife and me. During the day, I will frequently stop in and read a book for about an hour.
I do wish it was a little cheaper, though I think most of that is island prices. Also, I wish it was open later than 3 PM. Other reviewers have commented on rude employees, but I have not yet encountered them in five years.

The Sanibel Bean used to be my favorite place on the whole island. My family goes to Sanibel for several weeks most summers, and I’ve been going to the Bean since I was a little girl. We have spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on food there. We have become friendly with some of the people who work there and recognize them across the years. (Hey you, Bean employees — you know who I am.) I have so many happy memories from there, and I’m so sad to say that my recent experiences have soured my opinion of this beloved place. It feels like something drastic has changed about it – like either management has changed altogether, or like the staff has gotten out of control while management hasn’t been watching. First of all, they’re playing some kind of strange game there these days. They don’t keep consistent hours. They say they are open until four every day of the week, but we’ve tried to stop by the joint and found it closed at both three o’clock and on Sundays. They are also pretending like, at the moment, they have some kind of weird, limited menu that has only a few items on it. My family has been laughed at – actually laughed at – by the staff during this particular trip when we’ve asked for items we’ve always gotten there, and it has been embarrassing for us, even though we’ve done nothing wrong. When we’ve brought up our concerns, they have waved us off by saying that this is always the way they operate during the off season. Okay. Well. That’s fine, if that’s the way they want to run their establishment NOW, but they are pretending like that is how it’s always been, and that isn’t the case. I was there, guys. I know how you used to operate. (My family always comes during May or June, «off season» on the island, and I KNOW that it used to be different at the Bean.) Thirdly, I would like to point out that, even during this «off season» they’re so concerned about, it always used to be a crowded, bustling, cheerful establishment, and that hasn’t been the case recently. Each time my family has tried to give them our business, we have been the ONLY people in the restaurant. That says to me that other people have noticed the Bean’s issues, too. My second major concern comes from our trip to the Bean today specifically. My family and I tried one last time to salvage a happy experience there before we leave to go back home. We arrived to find an empty restaurant. (Tip-​off right there.) We tried to order — being very careful to stick to their bogus «limited menu» — from the woman working the counter. Now. This woman was one of the major problems today. She’s petite with cropped grey hair, a loud, obnoxious voice, and extraordinarily awful customer service skills. (I recognize her from last year, and my family couldn’t stand her then, either.) Management should fire her immediately. She began the interaction being rude, aggressive, and pushy with us, and it only got worse from there. She laughed cruelly at my father when he ordered (I’m not even sure why) and scolded my mother when she ordered — twice. My mother had made the apparently inexcusable mistake of asking a very simple question about how a specific item was prepared and if she could ask for a little bit of extra cheese on the thing, and the woman at the counter virtually bit her head off. First she said that she, the employee, «wasn’t allowed in the kitchen,» so she couldn’t possibly be expected to answer that. (Which is ridiculous, by the way — it’s a tiny, open-​air establishment and you can see the «kitchen,» or the grill, rather, from the cash register. It’s all part of the same counter.) Then she scolded my mother for asking to speak to the woman who was actually preparing the food (and who we could see watching us from where we were standing), actually preventing my mother from speaking to the cook. It was incredible. Shocked and utterly cowed, my family limped back to the tables to wait for our food and attempt to stay cheerful and save our visit to the Bean. The counter witch then proceeded to flounce through the kitchen MULTIPLE times (huh, that’s funny, I thought she wasn’t allowed in the kitchen) and into the back room and in and out of the bathroom, randomly, several times and back through the kitchen (surely a health code violation), all the while cackling and carrying on in a phony-​cheerful shriek to the other two employees. .. GLARING AT MY FAMILY WHILE SHE WAS DOING SO. When we couldn’t stand her treatment of us anymore, we asked for our food to be put in to-​go containers and left. The experience left such a bad taste in our mouths that we couldn’t even stand to eat the food we’d paid the counter witch for, and we tossed it as soon as we could. Bean, I don’t know what’s going on with you right now. I’m so sad that this trip has left such a strong negative impression on me of your establishment. I used to love it here so much. :(

4 stars! For a worthy caffeine Sanibel stop-​off — you just have to tell your internal AM caffeine clock to hold off till after the morning rush!
Passed by in the AM on our way out to the Sanibel beaches, but there was quite a line and there was no way we were going to waste quality beach time for a measly cup of joe. So we put the caffeine craving on hold and made a return visit at 3pm, which was a crowd-​less success! Picked up a much needed cold and refreshing iced coffee and iced cappuccino and grabbed a seat outside to cap off our awesome beach day!
So overall, here we go!
The ups:
— quality coffee
— fair pricing (from $ 3-​$ 6 small to large)
— good variety of blends as well as specialty coffee options
— nice light bites and treats menu available that are fairly priced
— ample indoor and outdoor seating under cover, as well an additional courtyard with larger table seating by the side of the café
— right off the main Sanibel drag, so easy location
— friendly service
The downs:
— tight entrance and ordering area, which only exacerbates crowding
— limited parking
— polite dogs rule
The «polite dogs welcome» rule is super bizarre! Are you really going to tell a customer that they have to leave if their dog is misbehaving? Or have a customer complain about another customer’s dog? Way too much room for interpretation as to what constitutes a polite dog or not. Dog’s are like children to many people and the last thing you want to do is create that kind of conflict at your business. It’s a recipe for disaster if you ask me. Yikes!
Man’s best friend or foe and lines aside, their ups far outweighed their downs. Most importantly, their coffee hit the mark, so it is very likely we will be making a Sanibel beach day coffee pit stop here again (we’ll just keep it to the PM)!

Great coffee! Terrible service rendered by Heather…
Cranky… Rude… And asked us to leave because she needed to lock the door after we had purchased our food items

Try the Café Cubano, one of the best I’ve ever had! Good coffee, reasonably priced friendly service and free refills! What’s more to ask from a coffee shop?
I’m sure this place is really busy during spring break, I came after Spring Break in May so there wasn’t much of a wait.

This place is ok if you’re looking for basic bites to eat and coffee. Nothing really to rave about. I occasionally stop here if it’s convenient, but I mostly stay away because you end up smelling like bistro if you’re in there too long.

I have been an occasional customer of the bean for 5 years. It has always been expensive and slow, but today I went in to grab a quick drink. Three dollars for a can of Coke? When I brought it to the attention of the owner, Marcel, his reply was «So, the bottled water is four dollars.» The attitude is unacceptable and the pricing is an insult. Will not be back.

Here’s the deal — overhyped.
The coffee wasn’t great, long lines, and the server had no idea what was going on. I had an iced coffee, and sausage egg and cheese bagel.
Bagel was tiny, and around 6 $. While I get you’re on an island, and prices will be higher, it’s a joke. I paid $ 27 dollars for 2 bagels, and three coffees. Should’ve saved the money and gone to the movies.

I’ll start with the rating… Should and could have been a 5star review… The coffee was excellent, I had Americano with extra espresso, my wife had the tropical blend, both of which were fantastic… Add to that we had a fresh bagel breakfast sandwich…
Where «the bean» has an opportunity to gain an extra star is timeliness, they were clearly under staffed, and though I appreciate things moving a little slower on the island 25 – 30 in line for morning coffee is extreme.
Regardless we will be back for more coffee, definitely worth a stop.

I have come to the Bean for years for solid espresso. The last two years though (I’m only here 3 – 4 times a year), this place has not only gone downhill but down right sucked. The food is still good but coffee is not. Orders wrong all the time. Sorry Bean but you done died to me…

Youre on vacation. You’re in flip flops and sandy shorts straight from the beach. The Bean is what you want. Nothing fancy, no fine wines or pâté. They have, hands down the best tabbouleh-​hummus plate I’ve ever had, chocked full of veggies, and warm pita bread. The place is laid back, the staff can be indifferent, but NEVER rude. Go in bare feet, order the hummus and veg plate and an espresso milkshake, and enjoy island life.

We go to the bean every time we come down. I like the coffee, breakfast bagels, and atmosphere, just casual nice place to sit a friends.
however
Service is sketchy. Taking our order just never is consistent. A couple of employee’s that have always been there are wonderful, but a few make u feel your putting them out. I almost walked out yesterday.
When we order, the food is good, but it will sit on the counter until I get it. and when their busy. or big group, there’s no number so it’s all mixed up who’s order is on counter.
Sooo
We are testing other coffee shops to recommend to our renters.
Improve service… glad to recommend the bean again, but someone else is going to get our recommendations for now.

Expensive little coffee place on the island, but worth it. I come every time I come to Sanibel and get a blended mocha.

Pesto, sun dried tomato, olives, pine nuts, asiago, artichoke, spinach. Been eating this for years. Still awesome!

Best coffee shop on Sanibel — friendly staff, big selection of coffee and teas. Great place and atmosphere.

Great place to stop and grab breakfast or lunch. Decent coffee as well. Prices are a little high and service is average, but will continue to stop there for the food. I recommend the breakfast burrito — it’s enormous!

Surprised at the negative or middling reviews… this place is great! Great coffee, breakfast sandwiches are awesome, good muffins, great outdoor area (go out back) to relax, good service, etc etc. We went every day!

A Sanibel classic. Coffee is barely okay-​ish considering how much they hype it (although I do have high standards), but the food is great. Service seems to range between perfunctory and great depending on the time of day and who is serving you.
I love the breakfast burrito and the sandwiches, but have also been known to stop by in the afternoon to grab a cheeky scoop or two of their fabulous ice cream. The terrace is great to sit on and watch people go by, but it looks out onto a parking lot so don’t go expecting any breathtaking views (unless you’re *really* into generic rental cars).

Meh, not impressed. We stopped in for ice cream while riding bikes. The ice cream was good and reasonably (enough) priced. The staff was ok. Best described as functional and uninviting. Better and more outdoor seating would be a nice upgrade. Couldn’t tell if this place was a bakery, coffee shop, ice cream shop, or something else.

Was really looking forward to visiting the Sanibel Bean because I pictured a cute, quaint, cozy local coffee place. Not as I imagined and not very charming at all. Still: I’m not here to rate things on how I imagined them to be, it’s about taste and service.
Unfortunately, it took 15 minutes for an overpriced latte that was just OK. There was only one person ahead of me and he had already ordered when I walked in. I’d hate to see them when they’re busy!
On the plus side, they have soy milk!