Caffe Bene

Great hangout place awsome interiors, the vibe is chic and hip… younger crowd in the evening but not that loud… great food… and one of the greatest customer service iv seen in a very long time… will definitely be back again!!!

Good dessert choices. I’m partial to Tiramisu but the the Bingsu has always grabbed my attention. If you’re not familiar, it’s basically a giant parfait with another piece of dessert right on top! Waffles are warm with a touch of crisp so the addition of gelato makes a delectable combination. Mocha is my go-​to coffee but here it isn’t chocolatey enough. Café Bene is very asian so bubble tea is an option. Inside is quite pleasant and the cozy seating and décor makes you want to sit and chill all night.

This is a very nice coffee shop with ample space to work or get together with people. It does get EXTREMELY loud so I don’t prefer to study here. I usually drop by to grab a quick cortado. This is the only place in the suburbs (that I know of) to get my cortado fix. I tried three of their macaroons: chocolate, coffee, and vanilla. They were mediocre. I would not recommend these flavors. I think next time I’ll have to try their honeybread. It looked delicious!

This is a great place to grab a coffee and chat with friends. I loved the seating with wooden chairs and benches. It’s also a big place with lots of tables and chairs if you want to have a nice conversation with your friends without bumping into the table next to you.
I had the caramel cinnamon frappé which was delicious. My friends got hot coffee drinks which they said were good. We also split a banana walnut honey bread which was huge! It tasted okay though. If you like bananas then you would really enjoy this.

Yes, I was at Caffe Bene for two consecutive nights. Guilty. The first night, my son and I were too full from the AYCE sushi we’ve just had before stopping by Caffe Bene that’s why we only had the bubble tea and a smoothie. We came back tonight with a vengeance. My son and I shared a Green Tea Tower, my daughter and her friend shared a Cookies and Cream Tower, and also four macarons (they finished that so fast that I didn’t stand a chance of taking a picture). These towers are what they call the Bingsu. Here is a short breakdown of the Bingsus we’ve had:
GREEN TEA TOWER $ 11.95 — consists of crushed/​shaved ice, green tea ice cream, red beans, walnuts and whipped cream on top
COOKIES & CREAM TOWER $ 12.95 — consists of shaved/​crushed ice, cookies & cream ice cream, a lot of broken down Oreo cookies, topped with whipped cream
One order of Bingsu is enough to share for 2 to 3 people. I liked the Green Tea tower better than the Cookies & Cream one because there were too much cookies on the C & C tower that it was kind of dry even when all the ice melted.
The place is neat, clean, with ample parking and they have a variety of products to choose from. They have gelatos, coffee products (they serve Intelligentsia coffee), frozen yogurt, cheesecakes, macarons, honey bread, frappes, smoothies, bubble teas, waffles, and a few more.
My cons for this place would be first: their prices. I think their products are over priced. Second: the staff and/​or customer service. The ladies behind the counter are all about business. You tell them your order, they tell you how much you owe. That’s it. Maybe they could work on «Is it your first time here?»…“May I recommend this or that?”…“Our bestsellers are…” And… «We will call your name or stand on that corner to wait for your order». When our order was at the pick up station, nobody even called out the order or at least said something. My son was on the look out that’s why we got up from our seats and got our orders.
Will I go back? Maybe, if and when I want to try their honey bread products but for smoothies or bubble teas, I’ll go somewhere else where I can get my money’s worth.

Nostalgic for patbingsu after returning from a trip to Seoul, South Korea.
This is not at all like what they sell in Seoul.
Patbingsu is a dessert made with shaved milk, red bean syrup, fruit and ice cream. It’s awesome. In Korea they served it in a half cup size for around $ 4.00.
Caffe Bene has an okay patbingsu, nothing to write home about, in a GIANT size for $ 12.00! Their strawberry gelato (which topped the patbingsu) was nice. The milk ice was not shaved as finely as it was when I had the dessert in Seoul, which killed the pleasure of having this dessert. (Think of it as a table salt vs. kosher salt sizing distinction).
Atmosphere was really nice, looks like a great place to hang out for a few hours.
Prices for things that are not patbingsu are less expensive, but still costly.
I might go back, but would probably never order the patbingsu from this café again.

Turns out this place sells ice… in your cup of bubble tea. I should have sprung for the extra $ 0.20 for a smoothie instead of a latte. I paid $ 5 for a watered down Taro Bubble Tea Latte and after 4 sips it was but a distant memory.

Had the strawberry cheesecake bingsu. Probably the best bing I’ve had so far. It was more pricey than the bingsu I’ve had at other places (I paid $ 15), but I think it was worth it and you can always put it in a to-​go bowl and bring it home. It was also a big serving so I recommend sharing with someone if you do order one. The place is really cute, and if you like kpop then you’ll love it here. Great place to study– I went in the morning when it wasn’t so busy. I look forward to trying more off of their menu :)

Places like Caffe Bene are getting harder and harder to review. You can see it in the various up and down reviews of coffee shops and bakeries across the board. Are we judging the coffee, the service, the amount of sit-​down space, etc. One of the reasons for this is probably the fact that coffee shops have evolved from being a place to grab a quick pastry and coffee on your way to work, to a place to hang with friends, to a place to sit down and work on your laptop. And even today, coffee shops and bakeries sit at different points in that evolution. When reviewing, you really need to think about what purpose this establishment is meant to serve and how well do they provide that service.
With this in mind, I honestly feel like this place gets everything right as a place to work. They’ve got nice long tables for laying out your coffee, notepads, and laptop. as opposed to tiny ones at a Starbucks or Barnes and Nobles. The place is spacious. The customers, for the most part, are here to work. There seems to be plenty of outlets if you’re ever running low on power. The restrooms are clean and there’s free wifi.
I really like their iced coffee which I drink plain… no milk no sugar, so it’s got to be somewhat bearable right? And I also like their whipped cream and strawberry waffle. Though I wouldn’t compare it to what you’d expect at a Elly’s across the street. Rather, try imagining the best funnel cake you’ve ever had. A little chewy, a little crunchy, and sort of sweet.
Note: I’m not a big fan of the stuff in their display case. Have yet to try a slice of cake that I truly enjoy here. Orders can also take a while to be prepared.

Finally made it to Café Bene!!! After hearing so much about this place from my friends, I was so excited to finally come!
I ordered the Strawberry bingsoo and shared it with my friends. It was delicious!
#dreamcometrue

Very yummy coffee shop.
Great environment to study or get some work done.

Final a coffee place that doesn’t take ideas from Starbucks in really any way.
The food and coffee was great.

Our second time here! Brought some friends to have desserts with us.
I like the place… it’s spacious and has a lot of seating.
We’ve had the mango shaved ice, strawberry shaved ice, Gelato and the banana & walnut honeybread! So good!
Staff is nice and efficient.

Caffe bene is a place I visit often enough (once a month or so) considering the drive it takes for me to get here from where I live.
First & foremost, the space is a decent sized open space cafeteria kind of deal — long wooden tables with decent, mostly comfortable seats. It is usually busy whenever I go, but I’m able to find seats with my friends (about 3 to 4 of us).
How it works is you place & pay for your order at the register. The staff is generally friendly, but they don’t always seem to be interested in answering questions. There’s a good amount of drinks & desserts you can choose from — from hot & cold beverages to bingsoos of all sorts.
If I had to mention a con, it would be that after you’ve placed your order, there’s really no way of knowing whether your order is ready or not. You have to keep on looking over by the register/​counter area to see if your order is ready or not.
Now onto the important part — the actual taste of drinks & desserts. I personally would have to say it has always been a hit or miss for me. My friends & I have tried the honey bread/​brick toast desserts which have always been delicious. Drinks, however, have almost every time been a fail for me. Either they are out of the drink I want or they are overly sweet, too bland or just straight up gross. I don’t know if I’m ordering the wrong drinks, but I have yet to find a drink I thoroughly enjoy at Caffe bene. As for bingsoos, they’re generally good — a large enough portion big enough for 2 to 3, some times even up 4 people to share.
I will continue to try different drinks until I find one I like, and I do enjoy coming here with my close people to catch up & have dessert. If you’re looking for a spot to chill or kill a couple hours, Caffe bene would be alright.

I’ve been to Caffebene several times. The first time was when it first opened over a year ago. I was so ecstatic to hear that there was a place near me that had brick toast! I went there with my best friend and we got the strawberry cream cheese – which is a whopping $ 8.
Now, I’ll give this place major props for its great interior design and unique products in its location. It’s a great place to study with outlets everywhere!
My problem with this place is the high prices – I wish I found something that wowed me enough for the prices to be worth it.

Like it!!! First time here. 8pm on a Sunday and the place was packed. Lots of big tables full of Korean ajummas n ajussies. (Older men n women)
What we liked…
–Chocolate n cookies n cream gelato
–Mango sober… tasted like the froze a mango n put it in a cup. Was delish!
–cookies n cream frappé
–iced green tea latte
–Strawberry patbingsoo with mango sorbet (on the house for a coffee order mix-​up)
–regular coffee… delish. Just the way I like it. Not too strong n like freshly brewed pot!
What was just ok…
Frozen yogurt. Machine was acting up n came out a bit runny. Frozen skim milk texture. Not as creamy as I like my froyo.
Service was great! Considering how busy it was n only having 3 young guys behind the counter, I think they did a super job keeping up! Plus they were nice enough to give us the free strawberry patbingsoo for the mixup on our coffee order. Win for me! Plus if what you offer is good I can put up with lack of great service! Based on the situation think service was great!
It’s a big place! Big tables (as well as little tables) so great for big groups and they have free wifi!!! Think they have a leg up on Starbucks in my book!
Can’t wait to go back again (when I’m not so full) n try the waffles! And misugaru (10 grains ground up into powder) drinks!!!

I was stunned at the size of the interior as the restaurant does not look as big from the street.
I ordered toast with honey walnut and it was delicious. kind of pricey if you think of it as toast, but it was dessert for me so a little bit more acceptable to me.
Seems like a great place to catch up with friends, enjoy a dessert after trying some of the korean restaurants in the area, have a cup of coffee and study till the place closes down. I sense a community in this café.

I was in the area with my friend and we were trying to wait out the traffic before heading back to the city so we ended up going to this café. It is such a nice little Korean surprise in the burbs.
They have plenty of seating here, and very tall ceilings, so the café is super bright and airy. The décor is all wooden which makes it feel even homier.
The café was pretty empty when we came so we were able to order right away.
I ordered a regular milk tea, and my friend got a bean latte. The regular milk tea was pretty average tasting, but I enjoyed the bean latte very much. It tasted like a warm three bean barley drink. They also have a delicious looking selection of shaved ice, waffles, and other desserts to choose from.
Prices are a bit higher than average but that’s expected since they are one of the few Korean style cafes in town.
Free macaron with check in! I got the coffee!

Very spacious and clean café that serves coffee and dessert. By the way, I went on a weekday (3pm), therefore it was very slow. Everything looks soo good! I think it’s reasonably priced for $ 6 dessert that is generous in portion. Cmon, most European bakeries charge $ 6 for one tiny slice of cake. I had the strawberry cream cheese waffle which was made fresh. The waffle was flavorful and the cream cheese was very light in flavor (it’s not the thick heavy American cream cheese).
The banana walnut honey toast was really good and generous in portion. The walnut was honey toasted and the toast was soft and tasty. I will definitely go back if i’m in the area. THe summer medley specials looks so attractive!

It’s an alright pit stop if you’re in the area and have all of the below:
a) a craving for a solid Liege waffle (dense and chewy)!
b) time to spare because each of the 3 or 4 times I’ve been here, it’s taken quite a bit of time to get my drink and/​or food.* Service is slllloowwww.
c) some extra cash money. The drinks are not cheap here. A 12oz latte will be just about $ 5. A non-​alcoholic mojito will be more than that.
I am curious about the honey bread, but wouldn’t rush back here to give it a try. Cozy ambiance though!
*In fact, the last visit, our party of 4’s food was served in the reverse order of how it was placed. It literally took over 15 minutes to have a cold ham sandwich put together. That is ridiculous. The staff realized it and brought over a plate of macarons to compensate.