Bean About Town — Restaurant in Honolulu

Tucked behind the perfume counters of DFS Galleria like a caffeinated afterthought, Bean About Town Waikiki presents a fascinating case study in retail psychology gone awry. This isn't just a coffee review—it's an examination of how design decisions can hijack our brains.

The moment you enter, your nervous system receives mixed signals. The dramatically low ceiling—adorned with an Instagram-worthy circular nature mural—should create intimacy. Instead, it triggers what behavioral economists call "choice architecture confusion." The elaborate overhead design fights against the compressed space, leaving visitors unconsciously stressed about whether to linger or flee. The central circular counter exemplifies this tension. Circles psychologically suggest community and conversation, yet the surrounding concrete floors and wire furniture scream "efficient consumption." It's premium waiting room syndrome: high-end materials that somehow feel temporary.

Standing in line becomes an exercise in decision paralysis. The circular service island offers no clear visual cues about where to order versus where to wait. Combined with scattered seating options—sleek wire chairs, wooden communal tables, random poufs—customers face too many micro-decisions in an already compressed environment. This violates a cardinal rule of behavioral design: reduce cognitive load when you want people to relax and spend money. Instead, Bean About Town inadvertently creates the mental equivalent of a traffic jam.

The actual coffee justifies the confusion. Their Shakarato—a shaken espresso drink that's become their signature—delivers the kind of complex flavor profile that would make a Seattle coffee snob weep with joy. The baristas, all serious-faced artists with steady hands, treat each pour-over like a religious ceremony. But here's where behavioral econ gets interesting: the exceptional coffee quality creates cognitive dissonance with the space's sad institutional vibe. Customers expect artisanal coffee to come with cozy atmosphere, not corporate mall aesthetics.

Being inside a duty-free mall amplifies every psychological quirk. The carpeted floors that should absorb sound instead feel like luxury hotel hallways. The subtle fragrance from nearby perfume counters—which could be pleasantly sensory—instead reinforces the shopping-not-lingering mindset. Most tellingly, the space succeeds brilliantly at generating Instagram posts but fails at building the emotional attachment that drives daily habits. It's architectural spectacle over coffee sanctuary.

Bean About Town Waikiki is simultaneously too ambitious and not ambitious enough. The coffee itself deserves praise—rich, complex, expertly crafted. For travelers seeking a quiet refuge from Waikiki's chaos, this works. The low ceiling does create an unexpectedly peaceful bubble, and the sound absorption is genuinely impressive. But for anyone hoping to find their new daily coffee ritual, the space's psychological confusion ultimately undermines its culinary achievements. It succeeds despite itself—exceptional coffee served in a space that can't decide whether it's a gallery installation or a...

Everything you'd expect from a 3rd wave coffee shop that's 'sourcing' their own beans, doing their own roasts, bringing in their pastries fresh from local bakeries, etc., which is of course lovely, but it delivers also everything you'd hope for too, which is no guarantee: and that is that it's actually comfortable, really comfortable, broadly comfortable for more things than you'd expect from coffeeshop (it does more than just accamodate.)

A variety of unusually well cushioned and interspersed (for some unexpected privacy given the circular floorplan) seating and tables and nooks (and power outlets!) surround the barista's station in the center, which altogether feels incredibly well furnished for just about anything: casual scrolling (there's free wifi!), sustained/focused remote work, one on one meetings, lively conversation with friends. I've seen all such things happening concurrently in a given afternoon, as admittedly happens at most coffeeshops, but they rarely feel this well integrated; usually, these things feel like they're happening on top of each other, not so subtly fricative, and not agreeably alongside each other, as they do at BAT. And so my feeling ultimately is the the space acts a bit more like a nicely designed corner of a library than just a cafe, which in my book is a top honor.

Relatedly to the matter of feeling more like the best of a library or bookshop than mere cafe, is that for all its perils, the fact that the entirety of DFS is carpeted, including BAT's location at the back, means there's a lot of sound absorption, way more than any coffeeshop with a hard floor (all of them), and thus it also astonishingly quiet (or at least not projective) for a cafe with an open floor plan that technically is seeing a lot more foot-traffic (given it's open to the rest of the galleria) than people who are actually there to order.

Oh, and one more note about the benefits of being apart of the DFS remodel: there's something to be said for being a bit downstream from a variety of upmarket perfume counters like Jo Malone and Tom Ford, where you do occasionally get very very very soft and luxuriating notes of fragrances intermixing with the fresh coffee smells in a way any other cafe would be unable to reproduce without being instantly overwhelming. It's so so gentle here, and over the course of any hour, gives a slight atmospheric dynamic that feels like there's a little extra vitality literally in the air.

Final verdict--great coffee and little bites, but above all, without peer in loud, touristy, attention-seeking Waikiki as a place to actually be able to enjoy them (and...

Please note that this review is for the wine class that was held at the Waikiki location on 6/14. We were lucky enough to secure a seat at the first wine class held at Bean About Town Waikiki and it was simply amazing! Olivier, Jay and Léa planned a beautiful program with carefully curated wines and delicious pupus laid out in a presentation that was a delightful mix of playful and elegant.

Jay, from Honolulu Wine Company, started us on the adventure—learning more about wine so that we could not only more deeply appreciate all that is wine, but to also help us to recognize what we each, individually, find appealing so that we can make better, more educated—and ultimately—more enjoyable choices. There is a lot of information, but it’s presented in a way that makes sense and there are study aids for when we venture out on our own!

Jay herself combines her expertise with a comfortable rapport that embraces her deep love of the subject. Olivier, our host, is a lively, joyful soul who immediately feels like an old friend. And Léa is the mastermind who artfully arranges the special events. For the participants, it turned out to be not so much as a class, but a party where you just made a bunch of new friends with a common interest in wine.

If you’re interested in learning about wines and see an advertisement for a class here—I would highly encourage you to jump at the chance! Because seats are limited and the price is a very good deal for the experience. And it will leave you wanting to know if you can reserve a seat for...