Nola Beans

I loove this place for eggs … the breakfast wrap is delicious, but they are sooooooooooooooooooo slooooow. Even when I’ve only gotten a coffee it seems that they can’t get it together. Nola Beans, please figure it out because you’re deterring me from delicious breakfast!

A cute coffee spot/​restaurant in Lakeside. They had a wide variety of food options including all different kinds of salads. I will definitely come back to try lunch since the avocado half salad that comes with either egg or chicken salad sounds amazing. This visit I only grabbed an iced coffee and Chobani Greek Yogurt which happened to be a few days expired. I still ended up eating it and it was perfectly fine, I could tell they were keeping it well refrigerated. There was plenty of seating but unfortunately not many conveniently located outlets.

I stopped in today for the first time, waitress was nice. They seemed pretty busy. I ordered the Vanilla bean frappé. It tasted good, but they ice chunks were not blended nearly enough. Literally half of my cup was still full with dime size chunks of ice. I ordered it around 1 o’ clock and there is still large chunks of ice in the cup. I just wish I could have actually drank the drink. For a $ 5 Frappé, I would like a full cup, not ½ ice.

Got a latte and a mocha and both tasted terrible. The milk wasn’t steamed properly and the espresso was bitter and burnt. Neither were bearable so we went across the street to starbucks.

I came back this morning, just to make sure my memory served me correctly before writing a review. I have been here several times in the past, alone, with others, and once to participate in a study group and have food available. There are many tables to sit and dine, read, study, whatever, and one large table that is perfect for a group to sit together. It is very cute. There is parking in the neutral ground that is readily available.
They have decent prices, good service, and despite a very slight stickiness to the tables, it is awesome for breakfast and lunch. Free refills on soft drinks and tea!

Horrible coffee. I’ve came here multiple times and today was last straw. The service was rude and the coffee was again horrible. I got a white chocolate late and all the syrup was at the bottom of there drink… not sure how the food is but for coffee your better off going to starbucks. Or if u have time to sit down another broken egg that’s down the street.

It’s hot. I don’t have to tell you that. You can tell it’s hot by the sweat that renders any white shirt transparent and any shower futile. And when it’s hot you need special beverages, beverages that Nola Beans promises to provide. Like «frozen lemonade.» Oh wait, that’s not ready yet. Or maybe frozen mocha? Oh, not ready either. Fine then – an iced coffee. Ew in one of those mushy styrofoam cups? Ok. And a piece of strawberry bread please. Oh. From a mix? Fine I’ll take it. But now I’m too disappointed to do anything but lie on my couch and sweat some more.

Awful. God awful. I ordered a mocha cappuccino and a salted caramel latte, both with extra espresso shots. The ‘mocha cappuccino’ tasted like hot chocolate, (nothing like a nice cup of hot cocoa in New Orleans in July…) absolutely no coffee flavor whatsoever. The latte tasted like burnt milk. No trace of coffee OR flavor syrup. At this point I’m thinking there’s no possible way it could get any worse, until I bite into my chocolate chip cookie only to find… Oatmeal raisin.
Oatmeal. Raisin.
The Hispanic lady working the counter either didn’t understand a word I said, or flat out just has not even the slightest idea how to work an espresso machine. It’s not rocket science, and neither is distinguishing a chocolate chip cookie from an oatmeal raisin.

Very cute business set in the heart of Lakeview… I’ve had better coffee other places… i ordered the mocha frozen coffee and it was not very good. The chocolate syrup was stuck in the bottom of the cup and not mixed well at all. I couldn’t mix it up with my straw so it kept getting stuck in the straw, which made me drink only syrup. I wasn’t very happy with my visit here. Not sure if I’ll give it another chance.

Food is always good. Sometimes the staff is a little lost. Today I watched as three separate customers become aggravated with the service and the wait for help. The food just sat on the counter for a long time. Finally guests had to get up and go grab it themselves. One guest tried relentlessly to get an extra salad dressing. Only to end up sitting and staring at his food. Luckily it was a salad so it didn’t get cold. Maybe they are just short staffed today. Whatever you do. Don’t order the burger.

This café is a local gem. Debbie does doberge full cakes in the case, a substantial and reasonably priced breakfast and lunch menu, cozy seating, colorful local art on the walls, and clean. Friendly, professional. My poached eggs and bacon were cooked to temperature and proper texture and everyone’s breakfast came out quickly.
The only issue: Their iced coffee is cold brew but tastes incredibly bitter, as if it were hot brewed. Confusing. I will update once I try their espresso. Also, not a very wide selection of pastries. But the environment is so sweet and the food so quality that it makes up for even second-​rate coffee and pastries! A real neighborhood place to study and relax.

Is it wrong to say when starbucks is too crowded this is a great option. Really this is a great option if you need to camp out with wifi for a bit but you want to eat. The grilled cheese that I had there was sooooooo yummy. Bread & cheese perfection. The only thing I would suggest is that they use Lighthouse Lousiana cups.

Cute neighborhood café in Lakeview. Super cheap yummy breakfast sandwiches (I bought a bacon and egg on 15 grain bread that was 3.85)
Friendly staff, definitely Sysco supplied but they offer raw sugar, honey, and stevia.
It’s not craft coffee. Come with basic expectations and leave happy.
The actual rating is 3.4 stars.
YOU CANT BOX ME IN Unilocal!

Good food in a cozy coffee shop. Great selections for breakfast and lunch. Friendly staff and a neighborhood feel.

I’m a fan of NOLA Beans mostly for it’s vibe and location. It’s in a great area of Lakeview, and the place is very open and airy. The coffee is okay. I tend to get the flavored iced coffees. There’s a wide variety of flavors to choose from!
Typically, I come early AM during the weekdays. They’re not too crowded, and I pick up a coffee and breakfast sandwich. Quick and reasonably priced. They also serve lunch which I’ve only had once. They’re closed for dinner.
Free wi-​fi, just ask for the password. You order at the counter and they bring it to your table. A couple of tables are outside if you want to sit out on the sidewalk.
If you’re looking for somewhere not-​Starbucks with some food and caffeine options, give it a try! Note, on Sundays the get a large after-​church crowd so keep that in mind.

I love coming here mid-​morning during the week. It’s never crowded at 9AM. The staff are very friendly. The atmosphere is relaxing and bright. I love the school coasters they sell at the register.
The biscuits are so yummy!
Much better experience than the starbucks down the street.

This little place in Lake View is a really good coffee shop! The dining room is comfortable and well appointed and the coffee and pastries are fresh and delicious. They also have a nice selection of lunch items that I have yet to try, but look good. It is a welcome alternative in the area to the Starbucks down the street.
BOTTOM LINE: Best coffee shop on Harrison!

Bright, open space with lots of seating. Love the quick, easy, café vibe. Believe it or not, its been hard to find around here. Places either just serve coffee and stale muffins, or its a sit down restaurant experience.
I love places like this. Good coffee and food in a quick, casual way. I had the biscuit bacon egg and cheese sandwich. The biscuit was perfectly moist and crumbly. Everything a biscuit should be. The bacon was thick applewood smoked. Although I do wish it were cooked more.
Can’t wait to try some of the lunch items.

Cute little coffee/​lunch spot on Harrison Avenue. There was a good selection of menu items and my service was pretty speedy and the place was pretty jammed.
My only disappointment was that my egg salad sandwich did not include pickles… but this is a pretty universal lack. I mean what is an egg salad sammie without pickles. Also, hot sauce is not a good substitute, but really I just tried that in the interest of science.
I cannot comment on the coffee, but did enjoy my free ice tea refills.
Parking is across the street in the neutral ground lot.

It pains me to not offer greater praise to Nola Beans. I have tried it out on at least five occasions and I’m just so disappointed every time.
On some level Nola Beans is great. It has a cozy type atmosphere. It’s cute. And it has cute graphic art around the store, the menus, etc. Basically, it has great branding.
But what it doesn’t have is atmosphere and good food. The restaurant is marginal at best. The food is usually dry, feels cheaper than the prices you pay, and I just cannot recommend it. I have ordered a wrap sandwich on one occasion only to receive what amounted to rouses pre-​made chicken salad on a wrap with nothing else. No tomato. No lettuce. No nothing. I was so disappointed but there was a child working at the counter and I just felt bad complaining to him.
And that’s the main problem with Nola Beans: the workers are terrible. They are friendly but they have no idea how to make good food. They just get the job done. Need scrambled eggs? They can do it… but they will overcook the eggs every time. There is just no love for food or atmosphere in the place. The workers yell constantly. The atmosphere is that of a noisy cafeteria.
And this brings me to the coffee, which I assume is what the place is named after. The coffee is just not tasty. Worse is if you order a specialty coffee. Get ready for a pile of foam on top of your burnt espresso.
Overall, the restaurant features an uninspired menu that is actually the same thing repeated numerous times. Simple is good. The same thing 10,000 times is pointless.
I want to love Nola Beans. I may never like their crappy wicker furniture but the big windows are so inviting that I can overlook some things. But the owners either need to get better workers, implement better management, or take on some of this harsh criticism and make some changes.