The Village Bean

Went there for two lattes. The coffee was so weak in both that it just tasted like sweet warm milk. Tried to talk to the staff about it but they got very defensive and didn’t offer to remake the drinks even after saying they didn’t taste right. Made us pay them again for them and even then they didn’t remake them just added another shot. The latte still tasted awful so I went outside and thew it away. I also have to say that it’s a little weird that the barista works behind this strange false wall next to the register that you can’t see behind. Not very friendly staff that shouldn’t work in customer service. Never going back.

I’ve had nothing but great experiences here! I don’t think people realize the intent of this place… it’s a PLAY facility. They charge a few dollars admission to the play room. Three bucks to keep my child happy and entertained in a safe indoor space? Totally worth it. The food and drinks are, to me, an added bonus. It’s not a café with a general seating area, it’s a child’s play facility that also serves food. You pay an admission to use a swimming pool, a museum, a zoo… you don’t just go there to eat and then expect to use the facility free of charge. Sorry, but I’m disappointed that more people don’t understand this, because I think it would be shame to see this place go out of business. I highly recommend it for kids under 5.

I think this place is great. I love the décor and seems clean. A great place to play. Don’t come here for the food, the options are limited and portion are itty bitty. There are some basic options for kids meals but I usually have to get two sandwiches for my kid, sandwich size is really small, not kidding it may be just one slice. I thought my latte was pretty good.

Went w/​my mother & toddler. The servers/​baristas are nice, but over charged us on our sandwiches. They asked if we would like a refund or take some of our sandwich away (after they served it to us, mind you). Also they were going to charge us $ 3 to let my daughter play at their restaurant. Come again? You want to charge me to let my daughter ‘play’? Yeah, no. Also, they don’t make salads, but instead, they give you cheap Costco tortilla chips. Yep. In the end, it seems I paid way too much for a sandwich I can make for myself.
My recommendation for VB:
1. Let kids play for free, you’ll get more business
2. Make a few simple salads & buy produce from the farmers market when it’s open a CV
3. Don’t serve Costco tortilla chips, at least give the folks some Lays or Tims

One star for a great turkey berry sandwich but $ 3 «activity fee», never heard of such a thing in a kid friendly coffee shop. And… they charge you for using debit. So many little signs of charges it’s mind boggling. Not dog friendly, even outside. Bathrooms are not in building. Time to update the toys if you’re charging! Kid food options are not good
Keep trying!

I really want to like this place but I think it’s really dumb you have to pay $ 3 to play in this «play» area. At least have a minimum (free play with any $ 5 purchase, etc.)
Also, I am by no means a coffee connoisseur, but their coffee here is absolutely terrible!

A year ago I would have raved about this place. I don’t mind paying for a fun play area (which it used to be) and simple but healthy food (which I felt like it was). But today the play area seemed really run down… there wasn’t much to keep my kid’s interest, the floor was dirty, the fish tank slimy, room was stuffy and too warm. And then the food came out and she brought out two meals when I had only ordered one to share and a steamed milk but my daughter started eating it right up so I was fine with it (should have realized my total was way too high when we rung up but I was tired and well there you go). Then I overheard the table next to me, two dads and four kids, and they received and had paid for several items they didn’t actually order. I don’t know if employees just realized that tired parents with squirmy kids don’t always notice these things… or this is how they make it through the slow season… but I’m seeing a pattern. Check your bill before you pay. I’m pretty sure I won’t be going back. :(

Fee to play is $ 3 along with a terrible offering of used and broken toys and even more terrible food at ridiculous prices. A tiny peanut butter sandwich with a tiny bottle of water, a few carrots and stale Costco chips. Add that to a 12 oz Americano and the total is over $ 12!!! Terrible we won’t be coming back, there are better places to spend my time and money with my kids.
And there was something incredibly wrong with the taste of my Americano. I am disappointed in the lack of care and consideration the owners take in their business. This place could be great, but it absolutely is not

I took my one and a half year old granddaughter to The Village Bean on Valentine’s Day and she had a wonderful time playing with the toys. She especially LOVED the kitchen! And for most of the time, we were the only people in the play area which was also nice. It was a beautiful day so I think most people were enjoying the sunshine which we did prior to checking out this place (after she wore me out) and I needed to rest a little.
To me the coffee was just fine — I ordered a double tall mocha and thoroughly enjoyed it. And they told me it was fine to let my granddaughter eat her goldfish crackers and water inside the play area which by the way, it quite lovely, comfortable, and clean!
Country Village is overall a great place to bring little ones to walk around and look at the animals and play on the equipment there as well. We had a great day on Valentine’s Day!
I would have given five stars if they didn’t charge you for using your debit card. Overall my experience here was wonderful and I will be back for sure!

I’m sitting at the Village Bean right now at 3:30 PM on a Thursday, and my 15-​month-​old and I are the only people here. Granted, it’s a sunny day in January, so maybe people are playing outside, but I see no evidence of the throngs of children or dirty play space that others have described. When I came in an employee was tidying up the space. I’ve been able to get some work done using the free wifi while my kiddo plays happily. And the coffee tastes pretty good to me. So I don’t get all the one-​star reviews here!
The reason this is not a five-​star rating from me is because the play fee has increased to $ 3.00, though as others have noted, many indoor play spaces are more expensive. And because the toys are a little worn and need batteries replaced.

I’ve been to country village numerous times, and the first time I noticed the village bean, I stopped in for a quick drink and relief from the heat. I sat down and let my toddler play then went to order a drink. I noticed the fee to play and was completely shocked. $ 3? It’s not like this is a play center than HAPPENS to serve coffee. This is a COFFEE shop that HAPPENS to have a play area! And I was told than rather then rest my legs and enjoy their food, I could go back out into the blistering August heat with my toddler if I didnt want to pay to play. There’s no where else for a family to sit in there! So they kick you out. It’s ridiculous! Anyone with marketing knowledge knows that you need to offer incentives. For example:
Playtime is $ 3 per child without a purchase
Playtime is $ 1 per child with one $ 5 purchase
Playtime is free up to 2 children with a $ 10 purchase
And or
Happy hour: ½ price play or $ 1 play m-​f, 10am-​noon (you know, the hours you probably don’t have heavy traffic and NEED to draw in more customers and revenue)
There you go. Simple marketing. I have to tell you, I’m a member of several moms groups and leadership planning committees and we are always looking for lunch and play spots since we are always with our kids. So far mcDonalds and starbucks wins every time simply because we are welcome in to sit comfortably and not adding $ 3 or $ 6 or $ 9 (yes some of us have 3 kids with us during the day!!) to our already $ 10 – 20 EACH food Bills we ring up over the 2 – 3 hours we meet and play/​plan.
And every time I do wander in during the day, midweek, and just take a peek, it’s dead. Maybe one paying customer every hour. Sad. What a waste of a FANTASTIC business concept. I only wish I felt welcome to spend my money. But I, like many, many of your reviewers, cannot and will not pay extra «play» aka to sit and eat, after I pay for expensive café food.
PS, we all know it’s Costco food, so toss the bland Kirkland tortilla chips and buy the yummy multigrain chips Costco sells. They go great with hummus and sandwiches. And add snap peas (cheap at Costco) to your veggie offering.
I sincerely hope you can take the time to improve your play pricing structure, because I want to find that perfect place I can go every week for treats and playtime and meetings Etc, with healthy yummy food. But $ 3.95 happy meal with healthy choices and a free play area, I guess here I come.

Disappointed that the toys are dirty, broken, and batteries dead in the toys. Your a business that offers a playarea, invest in keeping the area clean and toys new. Such a disappointment because the space is great inside and location. I agree with the other reviewers the coffee drinks are terrible. The other food items aren’t bad. I hope the owners please read the reviews and update/​invest in your business. We have never seen a staff member clean the playarea either just drop off food and leave back into the kitchen.
We want to come back and play. We’ve visited three times in the past two months hoping it was just a fluke or maybe the toys will be cleaned. Really disappointed.

I’ve tried to like the shop. It’s close to home and kid friendly.
The coffee is some of the worst I’ve tasted. With the activity fee, my 12oz. drink was $ 7.
The play area is nice, but doesn’t make up for the low quality, overpriced food and drinks.
Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but my son has always come down with a cold a few days after playing there.

Way over-​priced, bad atmosphere, poor portions, charges you per kid to play with their reject toys. Stay away. I wan’t my money back.

I love this place! Healthy lunch options for myself and my son, relaxation while he plays (priceless), and coffee while I sit back and don’t have to chase after him making sure he isn’t breaking things or bothering people.
My vegetarian plate had assorted crackers, two kinds of hummus, cucumbers, carrots, Granny Smith apple slices, tomatoes, Havarti and Swiss cheese slices, and pita chips. My son got apple sauce and carrot slices with his sandwich which came with a little bottle of water. I really appreciate healthy food options like this!
Great concept and friendly service. Perfect for meeting friends with kids too. Highly recommend for parents with small children.

This place is so cute, and has a good staff; but the quality of the products are horrible.
I think this is the worst coffee I have ever tasted. It was bitter, left an unpleasant taste in my mouth and was expensive. My 12oz latte was almost $ 4.
The coffee menu is no where in sight, you just have to ask if they have something. It also takes about 5mins to make one crappy cup of coffee.
The food menu is also very expensive. I couldn’t believe how much the sandwiches were, and the stuff that’s inside them are probably ordered from costco or a grocery store; so you’re paying way more for something you could make at home for cheap.
This place has potential; just start investing in some good coffee beans, a good grinder and machine. Some popular brands around Washington you could start using are Zoka, Peete’s, Seven, Café Vita, etc. It would be worth the money to invest in ordering any of those.

Dude. I really want to like this place. It’s a great idea with a few major problems:
1. Everything is overpriced, particularly for the quality of the items served
2. .45 transaction fee?
3. Activity fee
4. My kid got norovirus here. Dude. NOROVIRUS. Now, I realize that it would be virtually impossible to scrub down every toy all day long to prevent the spread of illness and, in all likelihood, even if the toys were laminated and stored in disinfectant, the possibility of picking up germies from the kids/​parents who visit is still a possibility. But dude, norovirus? Really? So not worth the .45 transaction fee.

I’ll start off by saying that the outcome of this review could have been avoided by me not even going I & wanting an iced coffee. When I walked up, the gal behind the counter said a cheerful hello but I couldn’t understand the rest of her rambling. She offered one of their fall creations & I decided to go for a 12 ounce White Chocolate Pumpkin Latte. First mistake. I didn’t ask how much it was since there weren’t any prices listed. The board that has their regular drinks had prices but not the one on the coffee maker. I had friends waiting outside so I was also in a bit if a hurry… after the $.45 fee (unreal!!!) I ended up paying $ 5.50 for an iced latte.
Its actually against the law to charge a debit card transaction fee & it should be illegal to charge $ 5 for a latter & not advertise that price.
Again, totally my fault.

Really… 5.25 for «Soup of the day» which comes out of a can?
The cashier even had to go to the back to see what the «Soup of the day» was. Apparently, they must take the can from a variety pack so it changes day to day.

This place is packed, especially in the rainy season, but still very worth the drive. They have those cool pipe things on the wall that you can arrange and send balls through, a great train table (or was it two?) and tons of other toys and kids to run around with.
The down side is not VB’s fault, but as with any other child-​friendly place, there are the parents who don’t bother to supervise their demons from hell at all, resulting in chaos and hurt feelings, sometimes even tears.
That aside, come in here for a bite, coffee, and a little peace and quiet after riding the train, playing on their playground, spending too much money on their toy shop at Country Village, and avoiding insane animals mucking about on the grounds.