Joe Bean Roasters — Restaurant in City of Rochester

UPDATE: After the owner responded to my original review, I have added another star to my review for two reasons: 1. Kathy's response was prompt and sincere and that's what customer service is all about and 2. I have no interest in hurting a well-intentioned small business with a two star review when there is plenty of good things going on there. Kathy, thank you for your offer. I appreciate it, but I'm not going to take you up on it. If I but a ticket to a movie and don't end up liking it, I don't think I'm owed anything.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: I like coffee. Alot. I know more about which coffees I like and why than the average coffee drinker. But then there's the next level of understanding coffee as a science that I'm not quite at. Which is why I have to approach this review of Rochester's Joe Bean from two sides. On one hand, Joe Bean is expensive, isn't that rewarding a coffee experience and opens too late in the morning (9 a.m. when I was there) to be of any real use as a coffee place. On the other hand, it's a quirky, independent, (perhaps unnecessarily frustrating) nerdy deep dive into coffee. Like I said, I know a good deal about the subject, but there's always the chance I wasn't nuts about the place because some of it was over my head. Doubtful, but I'm putting that out there for consideration. The staff is nice, but clearly either don't know as much about the coffee as the menu implies it would (guests pick their coffee and their brewing method, all of which are supposed to have subtle, yet discernable effects upon the finished brewed cup of coffee and none of which is discernable from the menu alone) or is simply tired of explaining the source material, which is a shame, because it is precisely this type of insight and technique that the Joe Bean business is built around. I have tried three types of coffee in several different brewing methods and found each cup to be a disappointment. Frankly, I get a richer, fuller coffee experience from Dunkin' Donuts or Starbucks for half the cost (typically $2 compared to Joe Bean's $4 brew). The coffee is served in a glass decanter with a small glass... let's call it a cup. Here's the problem: I like my coffee hot. Really hot. And glass is not the best insulator as compared to, say, ceramics. In these uninsulated glass decanters and cups, the coffee cools too quickly for my taste. I'm sure there are coffee science wonks out there who say that certain flavor profiles develop at certain temperatures and that everyone else is wrecking the subtlety and nuance of their coffee by overheating it, but too bad, that's how I like coffee. Which brings me to my last, petty needling against Joe Bean: strength. The coffee is weak. At $4 a cup compounded by the fancy brewing options led me to expect (or rather I always expect) a deep, dark, rich, plumbing-the-depths-of-the-abyss coffee experience. In this respect, Joe Bean certainly does not deliver. The coffees were weak and watery, even those coffees from regions traditionally known for rich and dark coffees. Honestly, each cup may just need more coffee grounds. On the complimentary side, Joe Bean is a nice place. The menu looks good and the food offerings are reasonably (ish) priced. What I saw come out of the kitchen looked better than good. Go there. Check it out for yourself. As for me, Joe Bean just wasn't what I hoped...

Based on my recent experience here, this is a good place to go for drinks and friendly service, but a horrible place to go to for food.

For drinks we tried the beer, hot coffee, and hot tea. They w're all excellent and perfectly prepared. The staff was also very friendly and accommodating.

As for the food, it was terrible. My husband and I both ordered the gnocchi, one with meatballs and the other with fried tofu. The only edible part of the meal was the meatballs since my gnocchi was still raw and my husband's was completely undercooked. The sauce that it is served with is also not very flavorful.

The other two people in our party ordered the falafel, which was bland and also undercooked, and a salad, which was missing multiple ingredients.

The apologetic server did offer to have the gnocchi meals made again, but due to time constraints we declined that option. He then decided to comp all of our meals and we were only charged for our drinks.

Overall, it was a mediocre place. There are other places that offer tastier teas and coffees that aren't much farther away. This isn't a place I...

We found Joe Bean from their Verified Venue listing on Untappd. Judging by the well curated beer selection, their small but excellent home-roasted varietal coffee selection and choice of brewing methods, and an eclectic dinner menu, we were very excited to have dinner here. Our beer choices were very nice, with choices from Jack's Abby, Mikkeller, Voodoo, and other excellent craft choices. All served well. Coffee was outstanding. I was thrilled to see Brewing choices from Hario pour-over to syphon. Great stuff.

Unfortunately, our dinners were awful. Every entrée was poorly prepared, exacerbated by waiting a very long time for them. The two servings of gnocchi at our table were under-done, with most of the gnocchi being raw in the middle. My salad was missing key ingredients (e.g., almonds), and the felafel on my wife's Mediterranean plate was also undercooked. Given the nature of the place we were incredibly surprised and disappointed.

Our server was great and did his best to make things right. We will, however, not be back...