Tucked away on the corner of two busy shopping streets, this franchise of Bagels & Beans is proud to have won the infamous test of a Dutch national newspaper on cappuccino back in 2008. Back then, this reflected upon all other franchises of Bagels & Beans as well, but as I’ve experienced later on, quality control sometimes failed to keep such high standards for all outlets.
Passing by and looking for lunch, we decided to go in for a bagel and coffee. Inside, there’s hardly any room. The cornerhouse is small, and the bar takes up over half of the store, even though it’s one of the smallest bars I’ve seen at any Bagels & Beans outlet. Spread over every inch of available floor space, there’s perhaps seating for some 20 people. The obvious result of this is waiters being hardly able to reach our table, and after the first waiter told us a colleague would be with us shortly on a haughty tone, the second got our order wrong. Ordering a large espresso machiatto, I received a single latte machiatto. Not feeling like a cup of hot milk, I kindly asked her to take it back and bring me an espresso machiatto instead, as I ordered, she reluctantly took it back, never apologizing for their error.
Instead of quickly remaking the order, so I could enjoy my coffee together with my tablemates, it was just added to the back of the queue, and as I’ve nearly finished my bagel, my remade drink was finally served. Admittedly, it wasn’t bad. A little sour, and the foam was scooped on, where I’d prefer it to carefully poured to avoid creating a solid layer of foam on top of an espresso.
All in all, this is probably one of the best places the city has to offer in terms of coffee, but I’d suggest taking your coffee out, instead of finding a seat inside, for you will at least be able to drink and enjoy your coffee without the haughty staff looking at you disdainfully.