Kool Beanz Cafe — Restaurant in Tallahassee

Had my last meal here...(Tally local of 10 years) This place positions itself as an eclectic fine dining place with average price of $50-70 per person (a meal, 1 app or salad, 1 alcoholic beverage) is absolutely crazy for the lack of value/experience they provide and I'll paint that picture for you so you dont have to waste your night or money on this place. Heres the setting: You pull up to a parking lot already full and have to park down the street. No valet. God forbid your party of 4+ drive separately. What looks like a funky lowkey old time hippie coffee shop/cafe on the outside AND inside is well overdue to be remodeled & rebranded OR they need to slash their prices in half to match what they really are - A CAFE. The table is a stainless steel table that wobbles (multiple times different tables) and you receive your cutlery on a cheap thing paper napkin. No cloth napkin for your lap... and if you need more napkins you will have to ask. Servers are in relaxed attire tshirt/jeans and they are not well-trained. Atmosphere is loud and lacks sound proofing - open kitchen style. The menus are on old dirty clipboards and you will quickly be surprised to see all the apps range $12-18 and entrees are $30-40 considering the experience you're receiving and the atmosphere is poor. Its not that we cant afford the price - its more that what you receive DOES NOT meet the value! Many places you can go and spend basically same amount for way better ambiance and food.

I got lamb skewers and was shocked to see grounded patty meat on a wood stick that looked like two turds on a plate with pickled onion and "quinoa granola" sprinkled on top. Idk who thought granola on top of lamb would be a good idea for fine dining at $17... but it tasted horrible. All the entrees seem to be meh now and when I pay $30+ I dont want 2-3 of the limited entree options to be some form of rice, beans, and meat... Might as well go to a lowkey authentic Caribbean place for that type of meal half the price considering the atmosphere & service is practically identical...

Hate to see them go off my favorites but Ive stopped recommending this place... I use to look past the obnoxious and poor decor for the food because it use to be really good but I have accepted reality is they dont really change much on the "daily updated menu" anymore and the quality of food has gone down. I hope they reevaluate whats happening on the backend and make changes to ensure the quality & experience matches the value of the prices...

I have lived in Tallahassee for more than 10 years, and every time I passed by this colorful building in Midtown I wondered, but it never went farther than that.

Finally, after receiving a gift card, we decided to give it a try. Our family of 3 (to parents and a kid) was seated outside on the patio. I noticed immediately that this place has a very laid back feel. There was a mix of dressed up people and dressed down folks. Everyone was happy, and the various conversations from the surrounding tables blended into a pleasant background buzz. Once we were seated we were given menus and we proceeded to look over the offerings. I was pleasantly surprised at the menu, very quirky and eclectic. Not many entrees on the list were things you'd see anywhere else. Beans paired with a protein of some sort, local veggies. Every entree had an interesting combination. The only downside I saw to the menu is the lack of kid's items. We ended up ordering the hummus plate for our daughter, because it seemed like the only meal that would be near the amount she'd probably eat.

I ended up ordering a walnut crusted trout paired with beans and potato wedges, topped with aioli. We also ordered an appetizer and a beer. The craft beer menu is decent, but the selection is not as large as I'd hoped. Certainly better than most restaurants.

Once we had placed our order, we ended up waiting around for quite a long time. Don't expect your meal to be quick about coming out. The waitress was very nice, keeping us updated and refilling our drinks as needed. She had a great sense of humor as well, so the waiting wasn't so bad.

Once the food finally came out, it was worth the wait. The portions were ample, the the food was delicious. I was not disappointed.

So overall, I would highly recommend. It's a little spendy, but for a special night, a date, or birthday it's a great place to try. Not as kid friendly as I'd hoped (menuwise), but the environment is certainly family friendly and the wait staff is very friendly and accommodating. If you are looking for something a little different than the normal chicken, fish, or steak with the same old sides, give this place a try. Just don't...

Food wise: Starters: The calamari didn't look like traditional calamari, but it was delicious.

Yucca fries: By themselves, good, standard yucca fry. The sauce tasted like the bitterness of a broken heart and I have absolutely no other way to describe that. But they were good yucca fries. Without the sauce.

Flank steak: Three of us have ordered this multiple times, and all agree that this dish didn't hold up to previous expectations we had of it. There was less mash potatoes and an inconsistency in steak size between each plate, and the steaks were tougher than previous times. I will put half of the blame on us for ordering medium-well instead of medium-rare, I will say that is definitely on me. I also don't want to be too upset about the lack of mashed potatoes because restaurants are doing their best to work with inflation just like the rest of us. But man, I was bummed.

Desserts:

Ginger Crème Brulee: This saved my night. After the entrée I was feeling a little bummed, but this crème brulee was delicious. I normally try to save some dessert for a take out box but it was impossible to ignore this delicious delicacy. The ginger was a weird kick at first but ginger has the power of cleaning your sinuses, which was a major plus to the end of my dining experience.

Baked Alaska: I was excited to try it because I'd heard about it but didn't really know what to expect. I think I've only seen it as a dish in the Sims 4, so I went in with an open mind. It looked beautiful and delicious. I did not enjoy the taste, but my dad loved it, so to each their own on this Baked Alaska.

I am leaving Tallahassee so this was the last time I could eat at Kool Beanz, so I chose this to be the one time I reviewed. I normally would've given it five stars, but the experience did fall a little flat.

I think the owners should consider relocating the restaurant to a larger space with a bigger kitchen. I sat in front of the kitchen the entire night and realized it was a small kitchen with only 2 chefs (that I could see.) I think relocating to a bigger space, or opening a second location, could help with wait times and help the current employees have a more...