Bean Bar

So glad I found Bean Bar while recently staying at the Bayfront Hilton for the weekend. I walked to Bean Bar from the hotel with my kids in tow, it was a nice walk around Petco Park. The atmosphere was kid friendly, and we found a nice open booth in the Pinterest perfect corner of the coffee shop. I ordered some pastries (muffin and croissant) and chocolate milk for the kids… the hot chocolate was the PRETTIEST hot chocolate I’ve ever seen. I ordered a vanilla latte and slice of savory bacon cheese bread for myself. The latte was legit, I wish I had ordered the large size instead of small. The only reason I give this place 4 stars instead of 5 is the savory bread… it was stacked next to banana bread so it had a strange tinge of banana flavor with the bacon and cheese flavors… which was kind of gross. The savory bread was also pretty dry, I was just completely underwhelmed by it. But overall… great little coffee place. I’ll definitely visit again

I’m so happy I found this place! It’s close to my work so I can walk up real quick. I’ve been a couple times and the coffee is always delicious and fresh. They also have pastries from other local businesses. I saw cravory cookies today which I managed to resist. The service is always super friendly. They also offer almond milk which is a biiiiiiig plus XD

By far the best Latte in SD. Perfectly steamed and not bitter.

I come here maybe twice a month and like everything. They serve great beverages and have a very nice atmosphere. They recently remodeled and added more seating room with a bench which I think was a great idea. They are also conveniently right outside the library and are a much better alternative to the library’s coffee shop.
I would give it 5 stars but it can be so hot in there. I don’t know what it is but they don’t seem to use AC for some reason. Maybe I’m wrong about why, but there is quite a bit of greenhouse effect in there in hot days and I tend to avoid as a result.

Great place to grab a coffee! The space itself is beautiful, warm, and inviting. The coffee is fantastic and the service is great! Highly recommend — much better than Copa Vida which is around the corner.

A true gourmet coffee shop with nice knowledgeable staff. It’s a pleasant environment and has outdoor seating; decent people watching too.
The glowing reviews are spot on.

Great little café across the central library. It is a kind of modern and comfy décor. The best Americano I’ve ever had:)

Both the coffee and atmosphere of café were average. I encountered and heard many good things about this shop so I walked in with excitement, but I was quite disappointed. The tables were small, café was relatively dark (yellow lights), and it wasn’t necessarily a study-​friendly environment. Overall, it was an «okay» experience — I definitely don’t think I’ll be going back

WARNING: The following review contains excessive «Internet slang». Overconsumption may result in gastrointestinal upset, uncontrolled snickering, or loss of bladder control. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Why slang? DAFUQ? AYFR? You ARE reading this on the Internet, aren’t you? On the web you don’t want a long-​winded FLUFF piece. You want something that’s precise, HELLA EZ, and fits on your tiny screen.
ANYWHO here’s the 411 on Bean Bar {BIG UPS for not reading ahead to the *translation key* below…}:
Out with BAE today. Bean Bar is a new craft CS in EASTVILLE across from the LIBE.
Get a drip, cold brew, v60 pour over, or SPRO from the VINTAGE MWB that makes foam art with a dash of irony. ICYMI, we’re in the ‘third-​wave’ of coffee appreciation — TGFC.
BAE likes hers CWMAOS but I take mine black. My Guatemalan pour was THE SHIZNIT! ALL THAT and a bag of chips. DA BOM DIGGITY!
There’s also NOSH available from Sugar and Scribe. Our pastries seemed a bit PIP. YMMV.
The décor is DAMN SKIPPY — natural wood finishes, VINTAGE furniture. Cool place to get your CHILLAX on. Owners Jason and Sandra are ex-​Portlanders and bring it FO SHIZZLE .
Tip #1: It’s too bright here to GEEK OUT on a laptop — so if you’re here ‘to study’ DET. CMAR. LIBE’s across the street.
Tip #2: JSYK, you can park your SHIZBOX for free across the street at the LIBE for 2 hours. CHYEA!
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — -
Long AZZ *translation key* (this is why we slang)
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — -
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ — shruggie; whatever; «whatevah»
411 — information
ALL THAT — everything and more
ANYWHO — anyway; anyhow
AYFR — are you for real
AZZ — your arse; booty; bum; junk in the trunk; money-​maker; show-​stopper; elephant-​in-​the-​room; badunkadunk; Thursday-​night-​special;
BAE — my love; ‘before anyone else’
BIG UPS — to acknowledge someone or something
CHILLAX — to chill or relax; often at 4:20PM
CHYEA — yeah; YES!; Allright, Allright, Allright
CMAR — cry me a river
CS — coffee shop
CWMAOS — coffee with milk and one sugar
DA BOM DIGGITY — off the chain; balls to the wall
DAFUQ — WTF
DAMN SKIPPY — very good; awesome; CHYEA
DET — ‘don’t even trip’; or ‘don’t even try’
DWI — deal with it
EASTVILLE — East Village. Just made it up. {DET}. {DAFUQ}.
FLUFF — unnecessary padding
FO SHIZZLE — for sure
GEEK OUT — doing non-​Yelp stuff on a computer
HELLA EZ — easy; not difficult; also: Amy Schumer
ICYMI — in case you missed it
JSYK — just so you know
LIBE — library; a place with thick Kindles on shelves
MWB — machine with benefits
NOSH — food items; snacks
PIP — past its prime; e.g., Betty White’s lingerie
SHIZBOX — SH*TBOX; STUDEBAKER; car, truck, or other means of transport
SPRO — espresso
TGFC — thank God for coffee
THE SHIZNIT — see DA BOM DIGGITY
VINTAGE — classic and retro
WTF — what the fudge; DAFUQ
YMMV — your mileage may vary

I’m sorry to do this to my local coffee shop, but I was seriously disappointed by this place. Not only did I pay $ 4+ dollars for drip coffee (literally out of a push thermos), I paid $ 2+ dollars for a cold, tasteless bear claw (that looked like it had been there for days) — I took a couple bites and threw the rest away. I must have gotten the WRONG things here, but I was sorely disappointed after my $ 8 breakfast went straight to the trash.
Oh, and a coffee shop with very little places to sit… I’m not really sure what they’re going for — just hipster perhaps? Give you mediocre stuff for a higher price because we display art? If that’s the case, then you’re doing a great job.

Perfect café to walk into on a random day. The barista was super nice to us and made us fee welcome. We got the mocha latte and the honey latte– both were superb! Their place is really cute and quiet. Probably not too much seating but hope it stays that way. Definitely will be back. Plus the library is right across from this place so if you get bored you can walk on over and read some books!

The folks at Bean Bar are my favorite. Always nice, informative and caring. You really taste the quality and love they put into each cup. I also appreciate how they continue to enrich the neighborhood with good local art and events.
Try the Pumpkin Pie latte before it’s gone.

Ugh, it’s been almost 2 months since visiting Bean Bar and I still remember my cup of coffee from here! Prior to driving back to Arizona, I got to spend my last moments here in California with a loved one before heading back so it is definitely a bittersweet memory as well.
Bean Bar is a lovely, corner shop with natural wood, retro chairs and a pop of aqua/​tiffany blue color. There’s a good amount of seating, natural light and has a wonderful, calm vibe to it. The baristas here are amazing at what they do and full of knowledge.
As always, I always get a latte and since it was on the warm side I went with an iced one. I was recommended that it’d be an Iced Vanilla Latte, though I am not a huge fan of sweetened and flavored ones I was sold with the barista told me they make their Vanilla syrup in house. Absolutely no regrets with this one, it was refreshing, not sickly sweet and had a wonderful Vanilla flavor! The latte was so smooth and still had a caffeine kick. It came in a tall glass with big chunks of ice and I could’ve downed 2 more if I could! I tried Anthony’s cold brew and it was great, though simple it wasn’t too diluted nor too concentrated– good flavor for a cold brew as well.
Such an amazing place, definitely a spot I would want to study or read at for amazing coffee.

Very attractive, clean, hip, spacious interior. The guys working there were nice and the cold brewed coffee was tasty. But the main reason I frequent coffeeshops is to try to find places to work on my laptop for a while. I understand this is a different goal than a lot of people, so take this with a grain of salt.
So, for working – it’s not great. Even though the space is large, there aren’t that many tables. And most of the tables were right next to the window with super bright, hot sunlight shining on them, making it difficult to see your screen. I had to wear my shades. (I know this is very specific feedback for my purposes, but you never know – maybe someone else out there is looking for a place to work, too.)
A big benefit was that there appeared to be A/​C! It can be hard to find places with A/​C (aside from Starbucks!) on a hot day.
Overall, an aesthetically pleasing, nice place for a coffee, but not really a great place to work unless you can snag the 1 – 2 small seats in the corner.

Unreal cold brew! I definitely recommend this coffee shop. It’s also GORGEOUS on the inside.
I’m from Montréal so I’ve seen a handful of beautiful cafes but Bean Bar is definitely in my top 3. Kudos.
— @Hanaer

Cute little coffee shop with great coffee and delicious pastries!
We stopped here to grab a cup to go and the staff was very friendly and helpful in making selections. My partner ordered a house brew coffee that was bold, flavorful and sweet. My latte was the perfect temperature, creamy and full of deep espresso flavor.
We also ordered bear claws that had tasty marzipan inside with crunchy almonds and flaky layers of pastry dough. We fondues them before we made it out the door.

Stopped in briefly before a scheduled haircut down the street. Friendly staff, gave me a run down on their menu, and they suggested a cold brew drink. Threw in a muffin for my order as well. The cold brew drink was really good considering it was a warm 80 degree day in town. Prime location spot for downtown as well. I would definitely come back for more coffee when I stop by downtown again!

Really good Beans! I mean really good! Great-​knowledgable Baristas, ready to talk it up & «buzz» the process of what is being brewed.
Their quality is top-​notch and their selection should plz ALL with their note to detail.
They also subscribe to Sugar&Scribe as their baked goods provider, which is a Great decision on their behalf. Let S&S do what they do well so that Bean Bar can do what they do well– Provide a Great Cup-​O-​PourOver :)

I’m glad that San Diego is finally opening up places with coffee art. The only other one I’ve been to here is Village Café, from what I remember, it was good. I think Bean Bar is comparative to Coffee & Tea Collective (both «hipster» with similar art, etc), but I’ve never been… Yet.
I took my boyfriend, the coffee connoisseur, to this spot because I know he loves coffee and I wanted to check it out. He rated it a 3.5 and I rated it a 5, so it’s about a ⁴⁄₅ star rating. His perspective: It’s supposed to be a hipster premium shop, but it was just on par and not too special. He liked the environment and loved their espresso machine, though. By the way, he got the Colombian pour over!
As for me, I don’t really care much for coffee at all, but I thought my latte was good. Also, the art was pretty. I loved the whole setup! The dude who was working was really cool, super chill.

This place is a great addition to San Diego’s roasted bean collection scattered around town. Its coffee from temperate Pacific Northwest, in Vancouver, British Columbia, 49^th Parallel, is sure to put a smile on your face after your first taste.
That being said, I had a large cup of their expertly made cold brew, secrets that I can not divulge, and a cranberry orange muffin courtesy of Sugar and Scribe (
). Let me be blunt, the cold brew iced coffee was one of the best I’ve had here in San Diego. Its flavor was not doubt robust, smooth, rich, and had a hint of chocolate especially at the end. Another thing I like about the cold brew, was that even though it was iced, the coffee still retained its flavor and strength.
The Sugar and Scribe muffin was great and I commend them for provided baked goods from such a great bakery. The muffin had that perfect golden brown crust and had more than enough sweet dried cranberries and bits of orange (
). Great muffin.
They offer free WiFi with comfortable seating. Sandra and Jason are both great and not only provide friendly service, but are quite knowledgeable of the trade they find themselves in. Great people and great coffee bar.