Beanbah Espresso

Off to Shan's b'day lunch at her favourite brekkie cafe. You might remember my musings about this place before, so I was looking forward to testing out their lunch menu.

Food

It's very typical cafe fare, with lots of combos of sandwiches, wraps, melts. What caught our interest was the Specials board. This shows the daily soup, pasta, meat specials. Shan and Slokky both opted for the Beef lasagna with salad ($12) - Which arrived with a very tomatoey layers of pasta (great quality!) filled with beef mince and very sweet tomatoes. This one was quite light on the bechamel sauce, which is a good thing, but the cheese topping was strong enough to lift the tomato sauce. The side salad was interesting and fresh. I ordered the Chicken and mushroom risotto ($12) - a very dark-coloured risotto (from the mushroom no doubt) arrived, topped by fresh herbs and cheese. It was flavoursome, but not quite to my liking. In terms of risotto, it's not quite well cooked, but then again I haven't experienced many great risottos at cafes. (Note to self: must stop ordering risottos at restaurants). I thought they could've been more generous with the mushrooms and the chicken also.

I've been to Beanbah a few times since, and they've changed their coffee brand from Grinders to Segafredo. I don't know if that has anything to do with it, but Slokky's Skim cappuccino ($3) was quite bitter. I think their coffee is actually getting worst, but Shan actually likes them like that, so maybe it's all a matter of preference.

Rating - 6.5

Atmosphere

It's a small cafe, with only a few tables inside and a few more out (which you can't really use in winter as they have no outdoor heaters). You have to get very cozy with your neighbours. The cafe has a very relaxed vibe, decorated in white, with glass cabinets displaying the food, a help yourself drink fridge, and newspaper and magazines rack. The turnover is quite quick and there are always people stopping off for coffee.

Rating - 2.5

Service

In a city full of cafes, you can compete on a few different points, where Beanbah excels is in their service. When we arrived, there were no tables for 3, the staff went out of their way to make us feel comfortable while they tried to source a table for us. They gave us more time for the menu when needed, and enquired about how our meal was going. Shan is a winter regular (she's a huge fan of their porridge), and she told us how they remembered her preferences from last winter the first time she came in this winter, how she liked her coffee extra strong, and for it to arrive after she had finished her meal. I certainly felt special at this place, and that's the reason I would be going back.

Rating - 5

C-factor

In a city full of similar cafes, Beanbah is certainly cheaper than all the other cafes around Martin Place. Their prices are on par for what they offer, but too expensive, yet not that cheap. I think they certainly know their clientele.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 15

Info

Shop 1, 235 Macquarie St
Sydney
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9231 5555