Romancing the Bean

marty morris

Since moving to Burbank in May my wife and I have made Romancing the Bean a favorite spot for brunch with friends and family. It's walking distance which adds to it's attractiveness but the atmosphere, food and service are just the best! We also frequent The New Deal but that's for a different review. I shot some photos while waiting for my mocha and their baked goods are amazing. What a great find. Photos by Marty Morris @mpm_photo

Madison McRhoads

Delicious food and drinks! Great place to meet up with a friend. The bagel with lox, and blueberry scone were amazing

We love romancing the bean! Great coffee and staff. We bring our toddler here most weekends and the staff love her. The atmosphere is very calm and “romantic,” feels like a French cafe. Highly recommend, especially for families!

My favorite coffee shop in LA! I’ve been coming here regularly for around a year now, and it’s the best place to come place to come if I need to focus and get work done. All of the staff is so friendly, the drinks are delicious, and their food is really good too! This is the coffee shop I always take people if they want to try somewhere new!

My go-to place when I need a break from vintage shopping. Excellent Smoothies, sandwiches, and sweet treats. Decent prices and kind staff. Sometimes I have to climb over or work around several people on their laptops to get seating but it’s worth it. Beats standing in line at the cafe around the corner any day.

The food (and coffee) is delicious. We had breakfast. The pastries look wonderful. We messed up our order and they very kindly accommodated us. You can sit indoor (it's generally busy so a bit noisy) or outdoor.

My absolute favorite cafe in Burbank. Christina, Lucy, Jada, & the entire staff make my day every time I go in! Also just really pretty/comfy atmosphere and delicious food/drinks. Be sure to stop by while you’re thrifting or hanging out in Magnolia Park :)

Coffee is amazing! The food is outstanding; you can tell it's made in-house and fresh! Great customer service.

Fast service with some great food options, including some amazing cakes and pastries. Large interior spaces with smaller sidewalk seating area. A great alternative to those larger cafes nearby that seem to always have you waiting long periods of time.

Jodi Breneman

We love romancing the bean! Great coffee and staff. We bring our toddler here most weekends and the staff love her. The atmosphere is very calm and “romantic,” feels like a French cafe. Highly recommend, especially for families!

Nicole Yessler

My absolute favorite cafe in Burbank. Christina, Lucy, Jada, & the entire staff make my day every time I go in! Also just really pretty/comfy atmosphere and delicious food/drinks. Be sure to stop by while you’re thrifting or hanging out in Magnolia Park :)

Brendan Patterson

My favorite coffee shop in LA! I’ve been coming here regularly for around a year now, and it’s the best place to come place to come if I need to focus and get work done. All of the staff is so friendly, the drinks are delicious, and their food is really good too! This is the coffee shop I always take people if they want to try somewhere new!

Cheryl Futterman

The food (and coffee) is delicious. We had breakfast. The pastries look wonderful. We messed up our order and they very kindly accommodated us. You can sit indoor (it's generally busy so a bit noisy) or outdoor.

LS

My go-to place when I need a break from vintage shopping. Excellent Smoothies, sandwiches, and sweet treats. Decent prices and kind staff. Sometimes I have to climb over or work around several people on their laptops to get seating but it’s worth it. Beats standing in line at the cafe around the corner any day.

Charles Collier

Fast service with some great food options, including some amazing cakes and pastries. Large interior spaces with smaller sidewalk seating area. A great alternative to those larger cafes nearby that seem to always have you waiting long periods of time.

Sonja Midtune

Great lunch spot! This is a great place for a quick dine-in bite. So many healthy options for salads and sandwiches. I got the Italian sandwich and an oat milk latte which was fantastic. The vibe is great to hang out and do work, or catch up with a friend. It's not too quiet or too loud - just right!

Romancing the Bean is a great space- plenty of seats to eat it, love the decor, and a cool counter where you can watch dishes be made. Found the croissant I got to be a bit stale despite it being the morning. Service was great!

I came here for a nitro cold brew because they are generally strong drinks but this was so weak & watery as you can tell in the pic. The butter croissant was delicious.

Jon

I came here for a nitro cold brew because they are generally strong drinks but this was so weak & watery as you can tell in the pic. The butter croissant was delicious.

Cute place, but the sandwiches do NOT include a protein, yet are still 10 dollars (15 for the burrito!!) and if you want a protein its an extra 4 dollars. Not including a protein is bad enough, but charging the equivalent of a pack of protein at the store to add it to an item that should include it is insulting. They take a while, and the employees seem unhappy so I can’t imagine that the gains from robbing hungry people over protein are going to them. There are plenty other options for food on Magnolia, stick to pastries and coffee.

NarwhalNel

Cute place, but the sandwiches do NOT include a protein, yet are still 10 dollars (15 for the burrito!!) and if you want a protein its an extra 4 dollars. Not including a protein is bad enough, but charging the equivalent of a pack of protein at the store to add it to an item that should include it is insulting. They take a while, and the employees seem unhappy so I can’t imagine that the gains from robbing hungry people over protein are going to them. There are plenty other options for food on Magnolia, stick to pastries and coffee.

I want to like this place but every time I’ve come I’ve had to wait so long for my food. This last time they even forgot to put my order in all together. I sat waiting for 25 minutes after ordering until finally someone asked if I was waiting for food. They had to look through the register orders to find mine. Disappointed in service. Food was just ok.

Terrible name, worse service. Don’t walk in within the last hour of closing to buy a can of Coke. In fact, don’t walk in.

Mari

I want to like this place but every time I’ve come I’ve had to wait so long for my food. This last time they even forgot to put my order in all together. I sat waiting for 25 minutes after ordering until finally someone asked if I was waiting for food. They had to look through the register orders to find mine. Disappointed in service. Food was just ok.

The place is pleasant enough, but $5 for a single bag of tea? We know that existence on earth is hard, but do you all really want to make it harder, especially when someone just wants a lowly cup of tea? If you’re going to charge that much, at least sing a little song as a bonus. Ironically, by the way—my tea variety was literally called “Happy”.

Gabriel

The place is pleasant enough, but $5 for a single bag of tea? We know that existence on earth is hard, but do you all really want to make it harder, especially when someone just wants a lowly cup of tea? If you’re going to charge that much, at least sing a little song as a bonus. Ironically, by the way—my tea variety was literally called “Happy”.

Ordered a pour over coffee. Waited 8 minutes. They’d forgotten about it and left the Pyrex in the metal counter just sucking the heat out of it so now I’m resigned to Luke warm coffee. I’m standing under a sign that says ‘to go order pick up’ and I hear ‘pour over’ from the far end of the counter. So I grab my stuff and head down there. The girl looks confused and then realizes SOMEONE ELSE took my order. There is a reason Starbucks (which I hate otherwise) puts names on cups. Get your act together. I didn’t have another 10 minutes to wait so went with the drip coffee which was not good.

One of the worst experiences I’ve had at any café. We came on a Sunday afternoon — all the regular seating was taken, and the only spot left was a narrow bench by the window with no back support. Definitely not a place where you can sit comfortably and relax. We ordered a salmon bagel (asked to put it on a croissant instead), a warmed almond croissant, a cappuccino, and an iced latte. I also asked if they had anything that wasn’t sweet or pastry-based. The staff looked confused and offered me a plain croissant. That was it. Even though salads were on the menu, no one mentioned them or made an effort to help. They gave us a table marker so the food could be brought outside. Five minutes later, the salmon croissant arrived — on a cracked plate. That’s unacceptable in any food service environment. Cracks trap bacteria, and in some cultures, serving food this way is not only disrespectful but considered bad luck. Also, if you’re hoping for even basic elements like fresh cucumber in your lox croissant — forget it. Not here. Then we waited… and waited. 15 minutes, and still no drinks, no almond croissant. I went inside and found the rest of our order just sitting on the bar — cold. When I asked, they said the table marker was “only for kitchen food.” That would almost make sense — except that a few days earlier, I’d been here and had my entire order, drinks included, delivered to the table. So either they change their system daily, or the service is completely inconsistent. I asked about the almond croissant — the staff member didn’t say a word, just walked to the microwave. No apology. No explanation. When it finally arrived, it was dry and clearly reheated too late. And the cappuccino? The foam was terrible — loose, airy, and nothing like the creamy texture it should have. Even Starbucks or McDonald’s get it more right than this. Not a single apology for the delay, the forgotten items, the cracked plate — nothing. Just blank stares and indifference. There are too many better cafés in this area to waste your time here. Skip this place.

Jason Schmid

Ordered a pour over coffee. Waited 8 minutes. They’d forgotten about it and left the Pyrex in the metal counter just sucking the heat out of it so now I’m resigned to Luke warm coffee. I’m standing under a sign that says ‘to go order pick up’ and I hear ‘pour over’ from the far end of the counter. So I grab my stuff and head down there. The girl looks confused and then realizes SOMEONE ELSE took my order. There is a reason Starbucks (which I hate otherwise) puts names on cups. Get your act together. I didn’t have another 10 minutes to wait so went with the drip coffee which was not good.

Илья Максютов

One of the worst experiences I’ve had at any café. We came on a Sunday afternoon — all the regular seating was taken, and the only spot left was a narrow bench by the window with no back support. Definitely not a place where you can sit comfortably and relax. We ordered a salmon bagel (asked to put it on a croissant instead), a warmed almond croissant, a cappuccino, and an iced latte. I also asked if they had anything that wasn’t sweet or pastry-based. The staff looked confused and offered me a plain croissant. That was it. Even though salads were on the menu, no one mentioned them or made an effort to help. They gave us a table marker so the food could be brought outside. Five minutes later, the salmon croissant arrived — on a cracked plate. That’s unacceptable in any food service environment. Cracks trap bacteria, and in some cultures, serving food this way is not only disrespectful but considered bad luck. Also, if you’re hoping for even basic elements like fresh cucumber in your lox croissant — forget it. Not here. Then we waited… and waited. 15 minutes, and still no drinks, no almond croissant. I went inside and found the rest of our order just sitting on the bar — cold. When I asked, they said the table marker was “only for kitchen food.” That would almost make sense — except that a few days earlier, I’d been here and had my entire order, drinks included, delivered to the table. So either they change their system daily, or the service is completely inconsistent. I asked about the almond croissant — the staff member didn’t say a word, just walked to the microwave. No apology. No explanation. When it finally arrived, it was dry and clearly reheated too late. And the cappuccino? The foam was terrible — loose, airy, and nothing like the creamy texture it should have. Even Starbucks or McDonald’s get it more right than this. Not a single apology for the delay, the forgotten items, the cracked plate — nothing. Just blank stares and indifference. There are too many better cafés in this area to waste your time here. Skip this place.