Cool Beans Cafe

Such a cute little café in Hillsboro, playing encouraging music and offering yummy treats and filling food! I’m glad I checked Unilocal,I thought I’d never find a good coffee shop in the area. I have to waste time sometimes between clients, and this is a perfect place to do it!

Great alternative to Starbucks. Cool Beans coffee is fresh and brewed to perfection. Their pretzel bread sandwiches are amazing! My wife and I make it a point to stop in here every time we are in Hillsboro.

I tried Cool Beans in an attempt to find my own little St. Louis Bread Company-​esque type place in Hillsboro, where I spend a good chunk of my time, working. Did it measure up to St. Louis Bread? No, not really. Was it good? I’ll say … yes. It was good. Not great, but good.
Upon entering, I made my way to the small line and waited about 10 minutes for service. Once my order was placed, it was an additional 10 minutes wait for it to be filled. Not as speedy as St. Louis Bread, by a long shot, but as I’ve said in other reviews, this is Hillsboro, and in Hillsboro, with its small town vibe, speed is not a priority.
The sandwich and soup combo I ordered was good. I was impressed by the quality of their deli meat, in that it’s real meat, and not sliced lunch meat. The turkey was from a real turkey breast and the ham was thick, like it had been sliced from a real ham, not purchased in a packet like Subway, etc. HUGE points to Cool Beans for doing this. It’s a rare find in most restaurants these days.
The salad was good. I chose the classic chicken café salad, and it had large pieces of chicken, very fresh, very green lettuce, etc. However, the dressing selection was disappointing. I am a honey mustard fanatic, and this place doesn’t have honey mustard. Really??? It’s a pretty common one, but no, it’s nowhere to be found at Cool Beans. Sad, because sometimes a girl doesn’t want ranch or Italian. Going back to work and smelling like garlic-​laden salad dressing the rest of the day, and into a date night later, just isn’t a good idea in my eyes, but hey … maybe I’m just nutty that way. So, with no honey mustard in site, I settled for the poppy seed, their only non-​garlic-​laden dressing offering, but it just wasn’t the same.
I did order a cupcake from Cool Beans. They differ the flavor each day. On the day of my visit the choice was a chocolate chip cupcake with cookie dough frosting. It was a good cupcake, but the icing was grainy, like it was made from granulated white sugar, versus the finer powdered sugar that most frostings are made of. I wasn’t a big fan of it. But then I will admit I’m somewhat of a cupcake snob, so keep that in mind when it comes to trusting my judgment on Cool Bean’s baked goods.
I didn’t sample their coffee offerings, but I’ve heard good things. I will return to try them someday, as well as a different sandwich, and/​or salad. I will skip the cupcakes though, and bring my own honey mustard dressing.
So what’s the verdict here? Well, while this place is not St. Louis Bread Company, it is pretty good, the staff is friendly, and the place itself is quaint, clean, and inviting. If you’re in Hillsboro and get a hankering for a good salad or sandwich, stop by. I think you’ll like what you find.

Awesome Coffee! In and out Service, Love it!

Great new little coffee shop in Hillsboro!