Black Bean

I would not know how the food tastes. Not how it looks. I first came through the drive-​thru and got coffee and a coconut water. Coffee was ok. Coconut water was in a can — so can’t really mess that up.
Decided to come back through on the way from the beach and order breakfast burritos for my entire family and take it home to them. Opted to go inside and use the restroom before placing my order and that’s where it all fell apart for me. The bathroom was filthy. There was even an unflushed turd in the toilet but I know that might not be on anyone but the jackass pig who did that. Anyhow, the bathroom toilet was splattered with feces and yellow dripped with aged, dried on urine. At 9:30 in the morning, no restroom in any respectable establishment should already have a dirty bathroom let alone a filthy disgusting NASTY bathroom.
So what did I do? I walked up to the counter and asked for the manager. The young lady behind the counter asked what I needed and I repeated that I simply wanted to speak with the manager. After a couple minutes went by, a young woman came out and introduced herself as the head chef and manager. I explained that I had come in to place a rather large order to take out and that it was lucky that I saw the restroom first. Then I spelled out for her that the restroom was filthy and disgusting and appeared to have not been cleaned in a long time if ever. Due to this, I would not be ordering their food because after seeing the bathroom, I couldn’t imagine the state of their kitchen. Guess what her response was? This is exactly what she said:
«Really? Really? REALly? REALLY…»
And by the fourth or fifth really, I looked her in the eye and said, «Yes, REALLY.» Turned on my heel and walked out as she continued to simply repeat,“Really???”

Ok Black Bean, what is going on? I used to love this place, I went to the one in West Ashley for a while, and it was great! Clearly, that one is gone now, and I moved to James Island so I frequent the James Island location. I go here a good bit, because it is a healthier option for a fast meal. However, the food has gone downhill and so has the customer service. I really like the breakfast wraps, but the way they are made is very inconsistent. Sometimes I will get one that is on point, which lately has been rare, other times it’s so tiny I’m left hungry after paying $ 6 for a breakfast wrap and a coffee. The reason for this review is because of inconsistency with the quality and quantity of the food, and because the last 3 times I have ordered grits as my side, it is completely inedible. I asked my husband (who frequents Black Bean as well) and he said «Yes, hun, the grits are terrible». So I ask why Black Bean? Why? Please go back to being a delicious healthy option, please check the girls that work the counter and drive through widow. it wouldn’t hurt for them to pretend like they somewhat care about their job.

Both sites in Charleston have a great menu with vegetarian and non options, hasn’t disappointed yet. Great stop for breakfast after a sunrise at the beach. Only drawback is the lack of shade (umbrellas or something) on the patio out front. Inside is comfortable and clean. Staff in the morning at the register can be a bit perfunctory to the point of rudeness sometimes… not always though. Still recommended!

Healthy alternative to Fast food. Good fresh food and fast. The only thing is that they have messed my orders up a few times. Which is frustrating when you don’t have time to turn around and get it fixed. My wife is allergic to wheat so we ask for a different dressing on the side. One time we got home and realized they covered her salad in the dressing she can’t eat. Meal ruined for her. The other day I ordered a southwest chicken wrap and they made it without the sauce… Wrap ruined. With all the other options around, They need to dial it down and become more consistent or I will stop coming

Stopped by after climbing at Wild Blue Ropes just down the road (highly recommended btw) to grab a bite to eat.
For it only being my second time trying Black Bean Co. but at the downtown location when they were located on Spring Street, I was excited to see if I loved them as much this time as the first.
It’s definitely a cute restaurant upon entering and I love the courtyard with the water fountain and free cucumber and citrus water.
I ordered The International wrap which had turkey, hummus, avocado, goat cheese, pico de gallo, artichoke hearts and green goddess dressing. Overall it was good but each element was a little too under seasoned which made it difficult to distinguish the different layers of ingredients. I will give them points on portion size, however I do not think the up-​charge for a 1 oz cup of fruit salad was worth it. I think they should up the side portions or at least have a handful of kettle cooked chips with every order to make it a better meal deal for the price ($ 10.)

Black bean use to be one of my favorite places to grab a quick meal but today was just awful! I arrived at the drive thru at 11:15 to get an early lunch. When I ordered my salad with shrimp they said they don’t have shrimp! I was alittle shocked since it was a Friday and early at that. Shouldn’t every place be stocked up with everything they offer on a menu. Anyway I had to switch around my whole order and while doing that you have to repeat yourself atleast 4 times for them to understand it! (Fix your speaker) pulling up to pick up the food the woman was not very pleasant. Didn’t even apologize for not having one of the main protein on the menu.
Also I’m alittle shocked that my bill was $ 12 being that all I got was a wrap and a side of pasta salad. The pasta salad had absolutely no flavor and I finished it in literally two bites. What a fabulous way to start the weekend!

The food is good but this place is always out of something. Usually smoothies, olive oil or basil probably other things as well but this is from what i order. I come here three times a week and I just don’t get it. There’s a bilo next door. In the morning if you’re out send someone next door or up your order. Also friendlier service would be a plus. Young girls that don’t care about their jobs just doing a job.

Two times now I have had to wait 15 minutes or longer to get a simple wrap. I had to go up and ask where my food is to actually get them to cook it. The second time, I asked for some sort of coupon or reason to come back… they gave me a 1 $ coupon. The food just isn’t worth the wait or high cost. DO NOT RECOMMEND.

I’ve been a semi-​regular at Black Bean Co. since they opened on James Island. At first it was fantastic! Then I stopped going for a while because of bad customer service and the food just got bad. There was one worker in particular who was rude every time I visited. (And, overhearing while I waited, it wasn’t only towards me.) As for the food… it got to be where one day there was nothing but lettuce in your wrap to the next day things simply tasted bad.
More recently, however, things have turned around! The people are very nice and the food is MUCH better. (Thank you Black Bean!) I would say that they are a tad overpriced. I’m always happy to pay for good food, but this isn’t quite to par with prices.
The drive thru is convenient and faster than you would expect. Inside is always super clean. You can have any wrap turned into a salad, which are pretty big. They usually have some yummy fresh baked goods. The best thing about this place is the yogurt! It’s absolutely delicious and you can buy it in larger sizes.
If you haven’t been in a while because you were unhappy with your experience, go and give them another chance!

Nice, fresh food! Not overly special or flavorful, but much healthier and fresher than most restaurants.

Super fresh and healthy eating options. Love the almost summer wrap! Great salads too and yummy smoothies! A little pricey but the execution makes it worth every penny!

Don’t get the Strawberry Fields Salad. The chicken on my salad was canned and disgusting. It only came with 1 tiny slice of avocado, which tasted like mush and I had to spit it out. Not worth the $ 10 it cost after adding chicken. So disappointed.

The food is always freshly prepared. Many healthy options from which to choose makes coming here a delight. Ambience is a little lacking, but it’s a good, quick lunch spot that’s reliable and consistent. Order and pay upfront and then they bring your meal to you at your table.

I absolutely love Black Bean. We usually stop when we are on the way to the beach. They have an easy in/​out parking lot off of Folly Road. The store is oddly set up, with the counter being off on the side/​in the back, depending on which door you come in. They have a lot of tables crammed together– but it was okay. The restaurant and bathrooms were both extremely clean.
I always get the turkey wrap– sprouts, turkey bacon, turkey, cheese, honey mustard, tomatoes, greens. It is always so fresh, sizable and delicious. My husband has tried numerous different wraps and each time has said they’re great. I order the yogurt as my side, as they make it in house. The flavor is out of this world. I’d buy a huge tub of it if I could… can I? I should look into that… They top it with granola and dried fruit. It is small, but perfectly small. (Other sides include cous cous salad or fruit)
I haven’t had brunch at this particular location (or know if the serve it at this one) but at the previous West Ashley location, it was pretty great.
The staff at this location is wonderful. High five to all of them!

This was the worse meal and service I’ve ever had at Black Bean! My wife and I went to this Black Bean on Mothers day to pick up some food for a special picnic. We get there and the AC isn’t working, no problem we are doing takeout. We made our order and waited for 25 minutes! Two cars got their order in the drive thru before me. Plus they didn’t have any fresh spring rolls only baked. They said they didn’t have any fresh ones. That told me alot, that they don’t make them to order! So I ordered the baked. They came back later and said there was no almonds for my wife’s wrap would I like something else, I said, pecans, they didn’t have any of those either, so I ended up with sunflower seeds.
We finally got our food and go to our picnic spot. I was only able to eat three bites of my spring roll. Was the worse! Tasted very stale. It was crap!!! At least my wife liked her wrap since it was mothers day. Will I ever be back to the James Island branch? Not sure, lousy food and lousy service.
I gave a good review before, not sure what changed, so fix it folks and i’ll be back.

Simply the best salads and wraps in the universe. This place has gotten a bad Unilocal rep, I think because of a few growing pains they had in the beginning trying to figure out their identity and also possibly due to a spell of high turnover where consistency was an issue. I think they’ve got it all figured out now.
All of the negative reviews are mainly about service. Well I’ve eaten here 100 times and I can’t say I’ve ever had bad service but maybe that’s because my expectations are realistic. What kind of service do you expect from a place with a drive through? White glove? Seriously I don’t see it. But what I have had is some outstanding food from both a quality and a taste perspective. It doesn’t get better than this at this price point anywhere in town. Black bean puts together some of the best salads and wraps I have ever tasted and the quality of their ingredients are second to none. In a nutshell it’s healthy food with integrity that will rock your taste buds socks off.

Fair. Good selection of wraps but just average flavors, presentation and plate selection. And they were playing Christmas music on ¹¹⁄₃. Odd.

I have been to the Black Bean Company a number of times but not until the Carolinas Green Festival was I awakened to the idea of breakfast. This is a very specific recommendation for breakfast.
Exceptional. There are vegan pancakes, breakfast wraps with a side and challah french toast.
The wraps are a full meal at only $ 3.95 and you can get an egg or tofu scramble. Add a side of grits or fruit and some cucumber water and the start of your day is perfect.
I tried both the egg and tofu scramble and I must say it was close but I am leaning toward the tofu. Also, there are three choices of seasoning on the tofu as well.
If you have not discovered breakfast at Black Bean, you must.

Hands down, Black Bean is my all-​time favorite restaurant on James Island! They are on the cutting edge of offering what we’ve all been looking for: healthy, fresh, local food, that accommodates all foodies, including pescatarians, vegetarians, and vegans! Finally, a restaurant that fully supports healthier lifestyle choices!
Everything that I have ever tried has been scrumptious! If for any reason I had not been completely satisfied, the wonderful staff graciously listens, maintains a smiling face, and goes to any lengths to make it right! And, if something’s not on the menu that evening that you desire, and it’s in the house, Thomas, Head Chef, will cheerfully cater to your needs! The desserts are ALL homemade and delish, thanks to Darlene, Head Manager. Besides the great food and desserts, the atmosphere is warm and friendly! The staff: Darlene, Samantha, Thomas, Margo, Brandon, Tradd, Ashley, Tyler, Monty and Caroline are all amazing! They always welcome you with a smile and provide outstanding customer service! A special thanks to each of you for being you!
A special thanks to the creators of this fine establishment! Thank you for caring about our environment! Thank you for supporting Thacher Farms! Go local! Thank you for supporting healthy choices for the health conscious! Everyone that I have ever brought here loves it as much as I do! One friend hopes you expand to Georgia, another to Tennessee, another to Kansas, another to New York! A local friend and supporter drives from the Isle of Palms several times a week to enjoy all that you offer!
If you’re looking for a restaurant that ALL that and so much more than Black Bean is for you too!

What a tragedy it would have been had we skipped this place due to the low Unilocal rating (2 and ½ stars!). Had there been another vegan-​friendly option near Folly Beach and we weren’t starving, we would have skipped it. Actually, we still almost didn’t go when we thought it was closed because no cars were in the parking lot!
Thankfully, we dined here and everyone was very satisfied with their meals. They have an entire vegan wraps section and the option of adding tofu. i ordered the Green Spring Street with southwestern tofu and it made me realize i’m an idiot for not using banana peppers more on my wraps. The tofu seemed like it was a little bit more than just opening a tofu package and throwing some chunks on, so i was satisfied.
The meat-​eaters enjoyed their wraps as well. My only tip is to go for the hummus over the vegan spring rolls. The rolls come with a sauce that was not to our liking, while the hummus and pita were solid.
The service was just fine for us. Hopefully that’s the new trend for them.