The Beantrees Cafe

We have been hearing a lot about the Beantree Cafe in Cold Lake from a few sources. So we picked the coldest day of the year to check it out. We arrived mid-afternoon. We weren’t sure if it was counter-order or table service at first.

The decor was Christmas…with alien snakes on the ceiling (Don’t look up!). The cafe is also an art gallery so there is a variety of art on the walls- a lot of different art, most of which shouldn’t be in a cafe. There is also gift items, and Christmas trees (I counted 6) and a stage and…. alien Christmas snakes on the ceiling.

Onto the food. Jan ordered the Reuben Panini and I ordered the Minestrone soup (gluten-free) and a gluten-free Three cheese Sandwich. Both sandwiches came with chips. I had a regular coffee as my beverage while Jan ordered a teeny tiny Cappaciano. We were given a number and sat at a table. Our coffees were brought to us, however I had to take mine back to the counter for cream and sugar.
Our sandwiches were brought out one at a time. I waited for my soup, and waited and waited. I finally caught the server as she was at another table. She brought my soup which was worth the wait. Delicious with quinoa and lots of veggies. Very flavorful and a perfect amount of spiciness. It was the best part of our visit.

Jan was disappointed with his Reuben. It 2 slices of corned beef and a bit of sauerkraut plus a small slice of swiss cheese. It was overdone in the panini press. My sandwich was a simple cheese sandwich done in the panini press. And mine was underdone, soggy and the cheese barely melted. The sides of chips turned out to be cold veggie chips. These were hard and flavorless. A dip might have helped.

I know this is not going to be a popular post, however, this was our experience. We have a few suggestions for Beantrees. Get rid of the Alien Christmas snakes. Limit the art gallery to a few well chosen pieces. Train your servers to carry more than one plate. Watch your panini press timing. And portion accordingly. Oh, and the cold chips….blah! Get rid of them. Or find a different product and add a signature dip. Your soup is awesome. Use that, in a smaller portion, as a side.

Atmosphere 2 out of 5
Service 2.5 out of 5
Food 3.9 out of 5 (The soup saved the day).

We’ll come back after Christmas to see the real decor and have some soup!