The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

I was eating yogurt in the store when my friend ordering coffee and the cashier was so rude to me and tell me to eat outside. We were not planing to stay in store but the attitude of the cashier was so inconvenient.

My fav. Coffee shop! Fast and friendly service! Very busy and still super clean. Someone’s always speeding around cleaning after anyone making a mess.

I ordered a sweet tea and it was actually too sweet for my taste. To be honest, I probably would have thrown it away because it was just too much sugar in my opinion. However, I just asked if they could dump some out and add some water. They were more than happy to fix it for me and had me try it out till I was satisfied. I hate being «that» person and hopefully I wasn’t too annoying lol. But they were very nice about it and didn’t mind adjusting it for me. I really appreciated that so kudos for hiring great staff.

I think Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is better than Starbucks. Their location in Santa Monica is on the main promenade and is popular with the locals. I typically order straight espresso to judge the overall quality of a location. Coffee Bean serves an excellent shot of espresso with a flavor similar to a specialty shop.
It was funny that Coffee Bean still has holiday decorations on their paper cups in comparison to the much more controversial Starbucks holiday cups. Not that you need a reason to come here instead, but Coffee Bean still has snowflakes on their cups — which makes perfect sense in Los Angeles!

One of many great Coffee Bean locations, this one serves my coffee needs when I’m perusing shops on the SM promenade. It’ located right on 3^rd street, a few blocks north of the mall.
Parking is best found in the lots adjacent to the mall, as it is only about a 3-​block walk from there. There is also street parking, but this can be a hassle at times.
The staff keeps the line moving, which is especially great in a time of great demand (summers and weekends). I’m in and out in less than 5 minutes. Kudos to that.

So slow. They just understaffed and slow. No customer service at all. Manager has unprofessional attitude they are horrific 1 – 2 customers means 15 min wait. No hello and always same coffee. not happy customers

Izzy the barista is why I continue to go to coffee bean on the promenade! She is always super friendly engages in conversation with me. And seems like her and her co workers enjoy doing their job. She remembers my order every time I come in, and when she is makes my caramel ice blended with an added shot with whip, spot on!

There is a Coffee Bean by my office in NYC, but I couldn’t leave LA without stopping by one, of course. I asked the cashier if the California branches have any drinks that New York wouldn’t have, just out of curiosity, and she had no idea. So I got my usual extra hot no-​sugar-​added vanilla latte and it was just right. I adore that they have outdoor seating. It was perfect for people watching, my fave pastime.

I was raging; ready to post a 1 star review. I sat down furiously under their awning angrily sipping on my tea ready to go off on Coffe Bean once and for all. How dare she question me?! I go to Coffee Bean ALL the time. Screw this chick… and then before I started writing, it hit me… I am wrong. I am actually wrong and thankfully it hit me before the bad review went up. I almost want to go back in and apologize to the poor cashier girl, but I won’t; because I think she hates me for my poor attitude this morning. Because let’s face it; when things don’t go my way I get bitchy, definite personality flaw, but this is the way I am.
Long story short; I wait in line to get an iced tea. After a bit of a wait; a not so smiley girls asks me what I want to order. It’s ok, I’m not mad. I don’t smile much at work either. So I tell this frowning girl I want a green ice tea, easy on the ice, easy on the sweetener. She replies to me they don’t put sweetener in their tea, its premade, and the sugar is over there (pointing at the little kiosk with sugar and straws and napkins and such). Well I go crazy. What do you mean you can’t sweeten it for me??? You ALWAYS DO!!! I drink ice tea more than I go to the bathroom. You gotta be kidding me. She gets red, and tells me all coffee beans are the same, and they have always done it this way. I shout even louder, I go to Coffee Bean next to my job ALL THE TIME, and they alway sweeten my tea for me. She, not wanting to call me a liar, tells me ok maybe you are right, and send some off.
After I paid, I angrily walked over to the kiosk, mixed my sugar in my tea, while the whole time dogging her and cussing her out in my head. Oh I will show her, I will write the angriest review she has ever seen calling her out… and then let’s rewind to the beginning of the review to how it all started; it hits me… they do always sweeten my iced tea… at STARBUCKS. I go to both, but all my iced teas have been ordered from Starbucks next to my job. Embarrassing to say the least.
So I gotta say, girl who doesn’t smile at coffee bean, I can see why you don’t smile… most likely because of piss pour attitude having clients like me. I am sorry. 4 stars, because hell you deserve it for serving crazy local Santa Monicans like myself.

I go to this location probably 5 times a week, today I guess they hired someone new and the female new hire ruined the drink I order every single time I come in… It tasted awful … I couldn’t even drink it… Chunky powder, Bitter expresso, and very light flavor … I didn’t want be rude to anyone so I just calmly walked to the cashier and asked to buy another coffee and to see if I could have anyone else make it so it turns out okay. The manager noticed I walked back up to the cashier with my drink after trying it, she then asked me if everything was okay and I told her my drink tasted terrible but I get that she’s new and I don’t mind paying for another one if you’ll make it for me and she INSISTED that I didn’t pay or continue to wait inline any longer. she then rushed to go make my drink and it came out perfectly. This location is getting a five star because of the customer service skills, not a lot of people are respectful when that kind of stuff happens. The manager name was Kat, Thank you so much for a minute I never wanted to come back and then you saved my coffee bean addiction. I love coffee bean … Id marry this coffee branch …

Always great service! Always friendly person at cashier, and if it’s empty, always have a great interaction. They know their drink menu, and every time, whatever it is (of late, it’s the Caramel Ultimate) it comes out perfect. I like my specialty coffee shops, but it’s because of the staff here that I’m reminded why «Coffee Bean» is my favorite of the mainstream chains! I am hooked on that drink item and attracted by the friendly feel of this location! #fistpumping

This place had the worst customer service I have had at a coffee bean. Waited for out drinks and watched others come and go bit when I inquired about it the barista said they’re coming right up. After a few more minutes of waiting I finally got back in line to ask what had happened. The lame ass barista was just blowing me off because someone had deleted the order and she was too damn lazy to look over her and see that there was nothing I asked about was cued to be made. It wasn’t even that busy. The lack of effort was what made me give this place a bad review. The drink was fine once we finally received them.

Order the medicine ball, it will help fight off cold in a flash!

This review is specially for Anna.
I first came here on my birthday a few weeks ago, and left in tears. Anna was literally the rudest person I’ve ever met, and having her on register was a big mistake. Regardless if you’re having a bad day, there is no way you should treat costumers this way. I told her it was my birthday and I wanted to know if she could check if I could use my birthday beverage. She didn’t tell me happy birthday at all (what kind of a person doesn’t say that?), and instead proceeded to tell me I didn’t have my birthday beverage when I checked it that very morning and it was there (I just wanted to use it later). She tried to up sell me in such an aggressive and short manner, I honestly wanted nothing more than to leave than order a large anything from her. She then almost proceeded to argue with me about ordering a regular instead of a large. I actually planned on buying a nice sized order, but felt so uncomfortable that I got a latte and left immediately. When I ordered a coffee cake she gave me a broken piece and SLAMMED it down onto the counter and shuved it towards me as if to get it away as soon as possible! I asked her to heat it twice and she ignored me. I asked for a fork and she ignored me. My boyfriend is allergic to espresso so he ordered an ice blended, slowly, with very specific details, and the order was wrong. She didn’t repeat the order back to make sure she got it right, and my boyfriend ended up getting sick (even though he mentioned his allergy specifically). Over all it was a terrible experience, and I doubt I’ll ever come in here if I see Anna working. My suggestion is the manager having a serious talk with her about her people skills, or not having her on register — ever. When you’re working the register you’re the first impression a person has of the company, and if I didn’t already love Coffee Bean, I would have walked down the promenade to Starbucks in a heart beat after encountering Anna. My boyfriend agrees, and so do some of my friends who have experienced this same treatment by her when I told them what happened to me. I left in tears by her rudeness, and it was not a very happy birthday.

We were so tired after walking along the beach and so thirsty. I couldnt find anywhere close to buy water so we just went to this coffee shop. The green tea latte i ordered was light in flavor and very refreshing. I opened the lid and the latte was actually white instead of black. Not very strong. I also tried the blu berry smooth, very sweet

This coffee bean is always clean, has a decent sized patio area, and is right on 3^rd street which offers great people watching and entertainment as you sip on your beverage of choice. This location also has a much better selection of pastries and baked goods than the one on the corner of Santa Monica Blvd and 2^nd Street.
This location is a bit small though and the layout is a little weird, making it difficult to get from the cashier, to the pick up counter, to the service counter.
I’ve also been to this location several times and as odd as this sounds, all of the female workers are always rude and give mean looks to their customers, where the male customers seem to be friendlier with warmer personalities. However, the employees here are still far from the bubbly ones who work at Starbucks just a few stores down.
My advice:
If you are looking for a warm welcoming environment to go back to time after time, maybe try Starbucks, Café Bellagio, or another local coffee and tea shop. BUT, if you just want some good coffee/​tea and delicious pastries or baked goods, then definitely stop by here :)

My first time stepping into this place because Texas doesn’t have it. It’s really nice and very similar to Starbucks. It was a tiring day after hanging out at the beach so I wanted something light and fresh. I decided to try their pear berry tea. I was very intrigued. It’s really light in sweetness and really refreshing.
Really a nice place to go to other than Starbucks. Plus it’s in a good area to people watch.

Not the friendliest service around, but Santa Monica is a tourist trap. Plenty of crazies around that could annoy anyone working retail on Third Street Promenade.
The bf and I both got Ice Blends. I got the vanilla, and he got the chocolate. Really sweet, which is good! It means that this Coffee Bean is consistent with flavors/​textures of other ones. I definitely loved the whip cream. Mmmm…
It’s not a place we’d try and go to all the time, though. Super busy, super crowded. No seats to sit, so we just took our drinks, went outside, and strolled some more on the Promenade.
On the northern portion of Third Street Promenade. Bathrooms are behind the building.

Just another typical Coffee Bean, but conveniently located on the Third Street Promenade if you are craving a caffeine boost or refreshing Ice Blended drink while walking around. The space is a bit cramped, but I generally get the drinks to go, so it’s not a huge deal.
Oh, and they have free wifi (code on the TV screen), which is a nice plus.

After a nice lunch off the Promenade, it was time to set back off on our journey toward Hearst Castle. I needed some caffeine for the road and had a gift card burning a hole in my pocket so my girlfriend and I ducked into CBTL for a cup of deliciousness.
I got a large hazelnut blended drink which was delicious as expected. I know for sure it’s not good for me but I’ll drink that stuff all day! I only wish Starbucks offered something similar, or that there were more CBTL’s in the Bay Area since I’ve been sitting on my gift card for about 2 years now.
Service was disorganized and the barista was sending drinks out independent of order number. It’s super busy at this location since it’s right on the Promenade and it’s really cramped inside. Luckily there’s benches outside where you can enjoy your drink with your dog while people watching but other than that it’s pretty much a free-​for-​all in there. Overall I really enjoyed the drink, but I suspect the experience is what keeps people going back to Starbucks instead.
Food: ⁸⁄₁₀
Service: ⁶⁄₁₀
Price: $
Atmosphere: ⁶⁄₁₀