Bean & Bean Fort Lee — Restaurant in Fort Lee

Edited: To be honest, there are many places to have a cup of coffee in this community. There's a Paris Baguette next door, a Starbucks down the street, a Cafe bene one block over. Increase the radius just a little bit, and you can have a cup of coffee at a different location every day for a month without having the same cup of coffee. And this is what I've done for years. Going to different spots was a hobby of mine, but things drastically changed once Covid spread.

A cup of coffee means so much more in this day and age. It is an excuse to go into town, to get out of the house, and to relive what life used to be. And Bean&Bean is at the heart of Fort Lee. With its large windows, the high ceilings, and decor, this place is certainly not a cozy place. However, Fort Lee is not a cozy place. This place reflects the community that it is in. The community that comes in reflects the population. Just stop by for one hour, and you can celebrate the diversity of this town through the staff and clientele it attracts. It's always a treat to run into your friends who come in for the same reasons. Ultimately, I found my self coming here more and more often to the point that this is the sole coffeeshop I visit in this area.

If Covid precautions are a concern, I can confidently assure that the staff is using all the precautions necessary to ease customers. The staff is strict with masks, and a temperature check is near the door.

I have tried the different drinks and food that Bean&Bean has to offer, and they are all made with fresh and high quality ingredients. They have limited selection of pastries and gelato as well which your children will love.

There are 2 staff members who are in charge any given time, so service time could take longer. But each staff member cares about you, and will do their best to make you satisfied.

For me, I do not order anything too fancy. A medium coffee with oat...

It pains me to write this review because I LOVE(D) this cafe as a Fort Lee resident of 4+ years. Kate, Mike, Jerome, and a few others have always been friendly faces to walk into, greeting their customers with kindness as if they were the owners themselves (which is rare)!

Coffee is good, environment is nice, so I’m not writing this review to bash on the cafe; I simply want to let my voice be heard as a customer who spent at least $2,000 (probably more) at this establishment.

Recently, a new “GM” came in. My love for this place went downhill when he sarcastically asked whether my 4-lb Maltipoo is a “service dog.” I bantered back, replying, “haha… my emotional support puppy!” I honestly thought he was joking.

Then he turned stark and proceeded to say that my puppy, whom I was carrying in my arms, is not “permitted.” You can run your business however you’d like—who am I to object—but here are my grievances:

If you’re going to implement a policy, do it correctly from the beginning. Don’t have your customers rely on your cafe to drop by to grab a cup of coffee and then overnight change your policy without a warning. My little fur baby has been welcome at Beans for months, and I never let her loose on the premises.

If you want to implement a rule strictly, do so directly. Don’t put a smirk on your face and sarcastically ask whether a 4-lbs pup is a “service dog” and then proceed to render me and my dog wholly unwelcome. It’s confusing— and more disappointing.

Lastly, I concede this is not my prerogative, but what’s wrong with letting your customers grab a coffee on the go while carrying their little fur friend? Do you know how many dog lovers are in Fort Lee? I don’t mind paying $7 for coffee (just to add a little oat milk and honey powder) but do I really need to tie my dog to a pole outside just to order a coffee?

I’m just so sad that I can’t be frequenting this place while taking a...

So the food and drinks at this place were amazing and I would definitely recommend to come here for both; HOWEVER, THE SHORT MAN WITH GLASSES AND A CAP WHO WORKED ON JUNE 11 AT 1 O CLOCK AT THE REGISTER WHO ALSO MAKES DRINKS WAS EXTREMELY RUDE AND CONDESCENDING. I will never walk back into this place if I see his face here. I am extremely disappointed because the food and drinks were amazing, making me wish this could become a new staple, but with this man here, absolutely not. From the beginning, he was so rude for absolutely no reason. We started off by ordering our drinks and we asked what syrups they offer. He proceeded to give an attitude and say “Is it not on the sign?” Like… no, obviously not, that’s why we’re asking, and even if it was, is it that hard for you to tell us? 😭 And then, me and my cousin fought to pay because we are Arab and that is what we do. Anyone who works in customer service would know that it is normal. My cousin who was with me also works as a barista and she was appalled by the situation. Anyway, as we are arguing, we did not even touch anything at this point, and he was being condescending and rude and saying “This equipment is very expensive, be careful” and already we were like … but okay we let it go. Then, we are both trying to put our phone on the screen and it tilts EVER SO SLIGHTLY and you can run the footage back to prove it. He goes “THIS IS A 3000 DOLLAR SYSTEM I NEED YOU GUYS TO STOP” and i said “Bro calm down it’ll be okay” and he goes “Oh miss, no need for that attitude” AND OOOOOOO HES LUCKY I DIDNT GO OFF BECAUSE THE AUDACITY IS CRAZY!!!!! I said “No need for you to be rude, you see we’re clearly both trying to pay and we barely touched it” He mumbled something after, I did not hear him, but moral of the story, he has a stick up his ass and someone needs to...