Melinda R.
Yelp
I wish I had not gone last week so I could remember it for what it was in past years.
I have been a customer of Bean since it opened in 2012. I have never had a bad experience there until I had lunch there with a friend. However, this was the most disappointing experience dining out I have ever had. We went around noon and were surprised to see a very empty parking lot. A woman hostess sat us next to the only other table in the restaurant. It was a tight fit. We scooted the table away from the other one so we weren't so close. We sat for at least 5-10 minutes while the hostess loudly talked to a man working in the kitchen. I had to raise my voice to ask if we could order an appetizer so she could hear me. She walked over and rudely told us,
"I'd thought you'd need more time with the menu. Most people do."
Instead of taking our drink order, she told us to "put the table back in case a party of 6 comes in".
We had moved our table closer to an empty table for 6. All of the tables were empty except for ours and the one table of 2. We asked to move to another table to have more room.
Later when arrived at our new table we were allowed to order our drinks and appetizer. As we were waiting several others came in to pick up or place take out orders. The other table asked for their check. The hostess took the check over, without telling those in the register line she would be back. Then, she started talking to the table about astrology or something like that, loudly and for a very long time.
A man waiting to place a take out order at the register, which was near our table, looked at us, looked at his watch, pointed to the hostess still talking and not acknowledging him, and walked out. I don't believe she ever noticed he was there and didn't see him walking past her.
A few of the people that walked in were treated well, however we assumed she knew them. She spent a lot of time talking with them one on one. The other table had to get up and take their check to the register. The diner stood there while the hostess kept talking to a woman on the other side waiting for her take out. It took an abnormally long time for the hostess to finally acknowledge and her check out.
It was obvious this hostess did not want to be there, so I tried to remain polite by making sure I said please and thank you with each interaction. I was unsure of her reaction otherwise. We got our food, and I had asked for a side of bleu cheese dressing, which she didn't bring so I mentioned it again, nicely. She mumbled and walked off. When she returned she brought tea refills and I mentioned again that I had asked for the dressing. Her reaction was, "Well, I've only got 2 hands! I put it in and the kitchen has to get it and it is not there yet!!". The reaction was so uncalled for.
We ate and finished our food. By this time it had become obvious why there were no other customers in the restaurant. The atmosphere was hostile to say the least. From the time we walked in we were treated as an inconvenience.
In the hour we were there, a take out customer and 2 seated tables did not receive adequate service. If this happens each week, as some of the previous reviews have mentioned, it will not take long for those people to talk to their friends, and so on. This leads me to believe that Bean Management either does know or maybe they do not care anymore. Their menu has shrunk. The food kept on the menu can be bought frozen, such as Impossible and Gardein products.
The food was not terrible, but anyone could make it at home. I am sad to say that after today's experience, I will never return to Bean.