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Bean & Leaf Cafe
Category: Restaurants Sandwiches Sandwiches [Edit]
20 Custom House St(between India St & Well St)
Boston, MA 02110
Neighborhood: Financial District
(617) 261-4727
- Nearest Transit:
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Atlantic Ave @ Milk St (4)
Atlantic Ave @ State St (4)
Atlantic Ave @ State St-Marriot Hotel (4)
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 7 am - 3 pm
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
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$
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
17 reviews for Bean & Leaf Cafe
17 reviews in English
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Review from Amada W.
Boston, MA
Updated - 8/4/2011
I'm going to have to knock this down a star from my original review. I intially let this slide a few times but I went today and same thing happened--there is a woman who works there, and although she is very polite she doesn't make the salads with any love.
It happened twice before--I get a large and she puts a handful of lettuce and throws some other veggies on the top and then dressing and it ends up being about the same as a small but more expensive. It happened again today and she kind of seemed annoyed with me when I asked for scoops of chicken. I always get scoops of chicken but today she just took my large (very small large) garden salad and brought it to the register without asking. I followed her over and asked for chicken so she walked back and I asked for a certain type of chicken salad that wasn't out so she had someone bring more out and she stuck a glob on it. It was a sad salad. I'm actually sill eating it. It is delicious, don't get my wrong, but it isn't the usual lovely salad that I get positive comments on when I'm sitting at my desk. It makes me soul sad.
There are usually 3/4 people behind the counter. Another woman with glasses who often runs the register and two gentlemen. Next time the love-less salad maker asks if I'm ready to order I'll just say no and wait for one of my buddies to be ready.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/1/2011
Time to review this place because I go here atleast once a week.
I work right in the building… Read more »
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Review from Kelly M.
Cambridge, MA
6/19/2011 1 Check-in Here
In terms of food, Bean & Leaf is my go-to for soups during the work week. They always have at least 4 different, yummy, core-warming soup options, from the consistently delicious turkey chili to the familiar goodness of your standard chicken noodle. Sometimes there's wedding soup, sometimes there's dumpling soup, but there's always soup for a cold winter or rainy spring day.
The salad selection is the next point to make. They have a variety of cold salads, like a chicken/salsa/avocado, chicken curry, or pasta and white bean. Any of these can be made into a wrap, and they have regular or spinach tortillas. There is the obligatory make-your-own salad bar, but really, why bother when they've already come up with a lovely and inventive option for you to try? Or mix several together! The possibilities are endless.
The daily specials are also worth noting: although a little more expensive, sometimes it's nice to treat yourself to slice of homestyle meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, and a good-sized side salad. Bean & Leaf is homey comfort food away from home.
Which brings me to the most important part of Bean & Leaf: the brownies by the register. Oh. My. Goodness. The brownies. They put them on a raised cake stand, directly in line to pick up your order as it's handed to you. Sometimes they put out a plate of brownies crumbles for you to sample, and then, you. are. done. for. They're fluffy but dense, chocolatey but not overly gooey, and almost [almost!] bittersweet. No nuts; why do that to a perfectly good brownie? I don't know what recipe they use but I'm glad it exists.
Bean & Leaf: a fan favorite for all the right reasons. -
Review from Yelp Z.
Salem, MA
12/30/2010
"Don't you wish your lunch was hot like me!"...this is what the menu reads. I'm not kidding.
I thought it was funny, so I went in to see what they had - its a slow week so they are running a semi-limited menu and were out of the first 3 things I asked for. They push the 5 types of chicken salad HARD - but you know what? In the end it was worth it. I ordered the rainbow chicken salad wrap - which consists of chicken, very little dressing (good), huge chunks of green and red apples, corn niblets, parsley and dried cranberries. SO GOOD. They have a nice selection when it's not a holiday week, are fresh, not to busy and are really nice. What's not to love? -
Review from Lauren T.
Boston, MA
6/16/2011
I work right across the street from Bean & Leaf and it's a great place to go when you're hungover/needing an overpriced large coffee.. Coffee is of great quality, dark and robust and doesnt taste super watered down.
My favorite thing so far has been the Avocado and Chicken salad...PHENOMENAL! It's super fresh and has ample amounts of chicken and avocado running through the sandwich (best in a wrap). Great flavors and really distinct quality of chicken. Great place for a quick/ moderately cheap for what you get lunch. -
Review from David M.
5/7/2008
Sorry Bean and Leaf... but you're going to have to try a bit harder to get 4 stars from me. The service was friendly, and there was a great selection.
The star was lost because of the Falafel wrap. I asked about the Falafel, and the guy behind the counter strongly recommended it. The falafel itself (6 bucks)was moist... but not great, and not a heck of a lot of flavor. The Tahini sauce was also largely flavorless. There was no option for hot sauce. In the end, I would have been happier if the guy hadn't built it up, or even suggested the Middle Eastern Rollup (7.50) which includes grapeleaves in the sandwich.
Might be worthwhile to go back to try some of those avacado sandwiches or for breakfast. At 5 to 7 bucks for lunch it weighs in as being inexpensive for boston with a good selection, I'd try it again. -
Review from Chris k.
Boston, MA
9/10/2008
This is a decent place with a pretty big selection. I have only had breakfast and the falafel here;
Breakfast is good, I am a big fan of having iggy's bagels (my favorite!) so that was a major plus.
The falafel wrap is pretty good, my only qualm is that the falafel is definitely not fresh, microwave = not fresh, in my opinion.
Other than this, it is a nice little place with a good selection, definitely worth a try because you might find something that you love, also, it's just a nice break from the usual suspects of the financial district @ noon. -
Review from JohnnyFoodface ..
Boston, MA
Updated - 9/25/2009
I regularly have lunch here because it's one of the few places to find quality veggie sandwiches in the Financial District
They have wraps but I've moved on to Iggy's bread, particularly the multigrain.
Hummus, lettuce, tomato, sprouts, carrots, onion, cheddar, avocado... great every time.
The guys who throw it together are friendly and patient.
A work week staple!1 Previous Review: Show all »
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4/3/2008
Their website menu is not accurate, but you get the gist.
I had the mediterranean plate, which is… Read more »
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Review from Wendy R.
Boston, MA
Updated - 8/23/2010 1 Check-in Here
I just had the world's most disgusting iced latte. Tasted like dishwater. Egg and cheese was average. There are so many better places for breakfast in the Financial District!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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4/8/2010
Got the falafel and hummus wrap. very soft, flavorful falafel, smooth hummus and tahini, fresh &… Read more »
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Review from Sara M.
Foxboro, MA
10/26/2010
I'm a vegetarian and sometimes I just want a cheese sandwich. I found it! For $5 I choose my bread, cheese and veggies. So good. I've been by here a few times for my cheese sandwich fix.
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Review from Jayashree P.
Boston, MA
5/7/2006
Awesome lunch spot. Great selection. I usually get the Avocado and Swiss on focaccia - really good! Great selection of drinks and if you like barbeque chips they carry Miss Vicky's. Grab a sandwich and head over to the Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park and contemplate all the reasons not to back to work. Don't miss the eccentric dog walker.
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Review from Julie C.
8/11/2008
my co-workers and i are now making a pact to try a new lunch spot every week. i picked this place because when we had dined at the vintage lounge, this place caught our eye.
yum! the hot lunch was pretty good i had the buffalo chicken pasta and it was tasty, altho it was kinda of mac and cheese but with ziti pasta and chicken. it did come with salad and pita bread which was nice. my other friends got wraps and they said they were good but too much celery and not enought cheese choices!. altho we want to come here again to try other stuff cuz they have soo many choices and good stuff. the chips there are really good too. -
Review from Andrea C.
Boston, MA
3/25/2010
The food here is fresh, filling, and simply delicious!!! This is my favorite place to order from for lunch in the office. The have great combos, my favorite is the the Filling Five with assorted sandwiches served on a variety of Iggy's Breads with garden/pasta salad, chips, beverages, and dessert. All of that for less than $15/person. The best part about placing a delivery order from Beamn and Leaf is that the person placing the order gets a free sandwich. My favorite things from Bean and Leaf are their avocado chicken wrap, tarragon wrap, greek pasta salad (refreshing without a heavy mayo sauce), and all their baked goods are delicious. Everytime we place in order there are never left overs. Bean and Leaf also has a nice selection of veggie options.
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Review from Mina I.
Boston, MA
5/16/2007
I am on a mission to try as many cappuccinos this week as I can .. I stopped in at Bean & Leaf for the first time after walking by it a million times. The cappuccino is good but the woman behind the counter, though very lovely doesn't seem to really listen to what you say very well - I know, it happens.. but I ended up with a large that cost me $3.25 (which rivals Caffe Vittoria in cost) instead of a medium that would have been cheaper $2.38.. so a little bit of confusion there. Maybe I will check it out for lunch today and get back to you (-: The "classic cheese" sandwich on the menu looks yummy & is only $4.05!
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Update; I did go here for lunch and my wrap looked like it had pine nuts in it? .. but I hadn't looked at it till I was already far into my lunch time walk - I had to toss it because I am allergic to nuts and I can't take the chance. Tragedy.. Mayyyybe I will try again another time.
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Another update? In almost refusing to accept that I really don't like this place, I tried it for breakfast.. I got an egg, spinach & feta on an english muffin. I didn't expect it to be a little omelet on my english muffin but that is how they serve it up and it was OK. I also noticed their pricing for hot beverages is not correct on either the website or menu @ the place & a min. credit card charge of $5. Three strikes - sorry Bean & Leaf -
Review from Bill J.
Somerville, MA
5/2/2011
big fan of this lunch spot. Food is always fresh and the staff is friendly. It's nice to have this option in town when there are so many sub places. They have fantastic wraps and chicken salad concoctions. Check it out.
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Review from Jonathan M.
Boston, MA
1/21/2010
Good soups and tasty sandwiches, turkey chili is my usual pick, a tad salty but pretty good overall
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Review from Jill L.
Brighton, MA
4/9/2010
Five stars for Bean & Leaf! I eat out almost every day during the work week and after recently having tried B&L we are going to include this into our normal rotation. B&L offers a more healthy alternative when compared to the other financial district choices. I've gotten the falafel and grape leaves wrap twice and it's delicious! I have yet to try one, but all of the chix salads also look amazing. Everything here is fresh and made to order. The staff is friendly and it's never over crowded. I highly recommend it!
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Review from Marena H.
Reading, MA
7/14/2009
I like Bean & Leaf. I love their Turkey Chili and their sandwiches are pretty good. I wish their curry chicken salad had more kick in it, the chicken salads suffer a bit from blandness. I like also that they offer catering and can be a serious healthful eating option for when we have those with dietary restrictions eating with us. Very friendly and nice staff.
