The Bean — Restaurant in Oriental

Cute little place near the water. We stopped here twice while visiting family. My husband wanted to show me the area, as his mom lives near there. We grabbed some coffee and walked around. There were locals sitting on the porch with pups hanging out and chatting. The building overlooks the water, where there are some boat docks.

We ordered the same coffees both times we stopped by. The first day, the girl was very nice, and prompt. The second day, the girl behind the counter (a different girl) seemed less than enthused to be there. The customer in front of us was clearly a local who had seen her several times, and was trying to chit-chat. She was basically telling him that she was starting college and leaving that town. She sounded very happy to be doing so, and like she could not wait to not be there.

I am lactose intolerant, so I ordered almond milk. She gave me oat milk instead. When she gave it to me, she said it was oat milk. So, I asked again what it was, and she said oat milk, although that is not what I ordered. I drank it anyway, and didn't say anything. I hate wasting food. It was just very obvious that she heard the wrong thing, and made that intentionally, which just makes me think she was not really paying attention. Oat milk has a very distinctive taste, which I do not care for. It makes your coffee taste like oat milk, rather than coffee. I just really did not care for this girl's whole demeanor. Although, it does sound like she's off to college now. Good luck to her! The other girl was very pleasant.

I thought this was an adorable spot, with good coffee. They use paper cups, which is better for the environment. It felt homey, but fun. I gave it a good review despite the wrong order because I think that was an isolated incident. I would love to be able to come hang out on the porch and have a coffee here a few times a week. What a location and what...

The Bean is small two story coffee shop located near the harbor of Oriental. If you look carefully, you might spot one of the town’s dragons that to reside within the pond near the shop. There is a non- covered elevator located on the left side of the shop for customers who cannot climb the stairs. Drinks and pastries are served in multiple varieties and some items run out quicker than others due to popularity. I especially liked their tea which was loose leafed then prepared for steeping within a paper sachet.

I have one word of caution for someone not familiar with the area. When the rain has been heavy or when the tide is high; make sure you have the proper shoes. The road leading to the shop has a small...

We had an amazing experience at The Bean!! The young lady behind the counter was the only one on shift and when we walked in there were easily 10 other people also wanting a treat. She was so kind and even though I know it had to be stressful, she handled it with grace and knocked out all the specialty coffee drinks without breaking a sweat!! I ordered a super extra specialty coffee - iced latte with almond milk and sugar free salted caramel flavoring...and I am not kidding when I say this was the best iced latte I have had in about 17 years (I managed a coffee shop back then so obvs mine was the best ;) ). It was so good and the customer service was awesome. We will definitely go out of our way to return...