Bean There Bistro

A fresh, new cafe/bistro option that is new to an area that’s part of old Dubai, Bean There Bistro is a great new addition to eateries in Dubai that is a great hang out spot. A concept brought about by Abela & Co. This up-and-coming cafe has breakfast options, great coffee and interesting and creative dishes on their menu. They also have shisha and being a part of a hotel, it is licensed to serve house beverages as well. Not to mention that the venue itself is quite instagrammable! A must visit for sure.

Bean There Bistro opened up in August, so its a fairly new place. As with any new restaurant they are trying something different. They have a lot going for themselves and we think they have great potential. It might just become a regular place for us since Bean There Bistro caters to all our moods.

Our verdict: great new, modern hang out spot in Garhoud with affordable prices and a great vibe. Definitely a place to catch up with friends over some coffee.

The Food

Buffalo Chicken Spring Rolls [AED 28]: Shredded medium spiced buffalo chicken spring rolls with blue cheese dressing. We had high expectations with these. We thought we would be getting a big spring roll with a sufficient amount of filling, unfortunately they were four smaller sized portions of pastry with minimal filling. The flavour was good, but just barely enough sadly. We had to compensate the dish by dipping it in the blue cheese sauce with every bite.

Travellers Chicken [AED 55]: Curried chicken, spiced chickpeas, light slaw and a fresh paratha served with Caribbean hot sauce. We honestly weren’t sure what to expect with this dish, the description was a tad bit misleading mentioning Indian influences but once we tried it out it was quite unexpected. The presentation was splendid, beautiful bright colours with the strands of cabbage and coriander leaves topping a gravy of chickpeas and boneless chicken pieces, served in a small red casserole dish with a paratha on the side. The dish overall was very flavourful, though you might not want to associate it with an Indian curry more like an Indian-inspired gravy with touch of Caribbean influence (not sure where the hot sauce was but we guess that’s what they meant by ‘Islands’).

The Drinks

Hazelnut Cafe Frappe [AED 25]: A bit too sweet perhaps and it was more hazelnut syrup than coffee, but well presented.

Mochaccino [AED 20]: Good mix of chocolate and coffee, and not overly sweet as most places tend to serve. A slight addition of more unsweetened chocolate would make it perfect. Served in a cute little tray with a small biscuit on the side.

Mocha Cafe Frappe [AED 25]: Once again, their frappes are well presented, the little bits of chocolate were a nice addition, not too sugary which was great.

English Breakfast Tea [AED 15]: Their tea is served in a clear insulated cup as opposed to a mug. Something different to make note of. It’s just warm water along with a Twining tea bag flavour of your selection. Since it’s a warm beverage it was also served on a small tray.

The Dessert

Chocolate Mousse Cup [AED 22]: Creamy dark chocolate mousse. Unfortunately even though stated on the menu, this was more of a milk and dark chocolate combination rather than primarily dark chocolate itself. Nonetheless we loved the texture and the orange rinds were a nice touch and added an underlying citrus flavor.

We were given a tasting tray of dessert shots which included the chocolate mousse, mango & coconut pana cotta and rice pudding. As mentioned before the mousse needs more dark chocolate, the pana cotta had a great balanced flavor of both mango and coconut, reminded M of a fruity drink in dessert form. The rice pudding was quite tasty as well, good texture, could maybe do with a bit more pistachio crumbs to top it off.

Service

When you arrive at Bean There Bistro, the staff are very welcoming. The initial order that we gave was for the drinks, however they got the order wrong and gave a mocha frappe instead of the mochaccino. On realizing they made a mistake, they left the mocha frappe on the table saying it’s on the house. T thinks this is the right thing to do, as most places would take the drink back and throw it away. Outlets should leave the dish with the customer along with an apology, we think it was a good way to handle the situation.

We visited at a time when it wasn’t very busy. The staff are attentive and not over bearing which is great. They also provided us with recommendations and explained the dishes well.

The Venue

Bean There Bistro is split into two parts. The outdoor seating allows you to have shisha while the indoor seating area provides a warm cafe vibe. The outside seating is a bit of a double edged sward, as you also have to put up with the droning of cars on the main road nearby. Unfortunately there is no view to speak of.

The indoor seating however is really well done. The lighting is ample and the decorations are very modern with wooden panels and funky decorations, bags of coffee, books and frames of colorful artwork adorning the walls. Bean There Bistro is a great place for all kinds of crowds as its got a chilled out atmosphere that also serves house beverages. It’s got something for everyone.

To Book or not to Book

Bean There Bistro does take reservations, their contact information can be found below. As this is a new place it probably isn’t very busy, but it doesn’t hurt to be safe. We see Bean There Bistro getting popular soon.

How to Get there

By Car: Valet your car at the main entrance to the hotel (no validation is required) as it isn’t available at the new extension. At the time of this review, you will just have to walk from outside of the hotel to Bean There Bistro, its barely a 1 minute walk so pretty decent. No stamping of the valet card required.

By Cab: Ask your driver to take you to Millennium Airport Hotel in Garhoud, the venue is in the new extension of the hotel, right next to the entrance of the Garhoud Ballroom.

Public Transport: The closest metro station is GGICO on the red line which is roughly a 10 minute walk away. Its a very practical solution for days when you are drinking and when the weather is good.

Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/oE1SK2TdtfK2

The Entrance

As mentioned before, the entrance to Bean There Bistro is right next to the main entrance to the Garhoud Ballroom which is part of the new extension to Millennium Airport Hotel. There’s signage on the front facing facade of the hotel, it’s hard to miss.

Restaurant info

04 7028735

 

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