The Green Bean

I have been coming to the green bean when in the area for the past 10 years. The food hasn’t changed a bit and that’s a good thing!!! The artichoke Parmesan soup is awesome and of course the sandwiches are as well! It can get quite busy in there so don’t be shocked if you walk in and see a crowd and long line.

Pretty good, expensive though and there’s always employees just hanging out at the front.

The Green Bean was a great place located in downtown Exeter in an easy to find location. The outdoor seating was spacious, but the cold weather led us indoors. The setup is odd, it was cafeteria style where you grab a tray and order your food, but you start from the side opposite of which you enter. There were 3 girls running the counter, one asking what kind of sandwich we wanted, but not specifying who she was talking to. While she starts making a sandwich, another girl is asking what sandwich is wanted by the person two behind me in line, skipping over people, and the girl at the register is asking us to move down cafeteria style, though no one is done ordering or has the food they need. It was bizarre and inefficient and just confusing as there were no signs saying where to go.
For the good, the food was excellent. They make over 100 kinds of soup and rotate them daily, plus make fresh bread of which they sell the ends. The French Onion soup I had was great, as was the chicken and black bean burrito loaded up with well cooked and spicy rice. My dining partner had a thick veggie soup and grilled cheese she enjoyed as well. They also had a selection of home made baked goods and teas and coffees.
The dining room is small, it is not spacious at all inside with the large counter and beams in the middle of the room, but it was clean and you weren’t crowded next to other people. The view of the river outside was nice as well. The prices were relatively cheap and the portions large and the service was friendly though chaotic.
The other reviews here echoing the same about the service means they might want to look at how to be more effective at execution, but the food quality made up for it and makes it a solid 4 star option for your Exeter visit.

Extremely good service! Great food very tasty and fresh! Shoutout to two sandwich makers Sam and Taylor for making awesome sammies for Thayer field hockey girls! Glad we made it just before closing.

We had lunch at The Green Bean, Exeter NH, a lively busy lunch place. Indoor and outdoor seating was available. You get in line, order from a great menu of sandwiches, soups and salads. I had the Chicken Salad with walnuts and cranberries on Artisan bread, my husband had the turkey, stuffing and cranberries on a baquette. Very fresh ingredients that had that homemade taste. Very helpful, patient friendly staff. It’s great for a quick in and out or you can sit and eat at your leisure. Would love to come back and try other selections on their menu as they had a wide variety of yummy choices.

A long time fav fallen victim to growth
Service is o
Food is still fresh
Atmosphere — no longer neighborhood friendly; not feeling welcome; no wifi …
Its expansion side (Station 19) is horrid from both a food and service perspective …
So — basically, this is completely off the list for now

When it was just a little soup and sandwich shop, it was worth the long lines because the food was great. Now that they’ve added a more formal dining area and a bar, it’s gone down the tubes fast for food quality. Everything is either completely under seasoned, or very VERY salty… there is no balance.
I love this place for its atmosphere and attractiveness, but they really need to get someone in the kitchen who knows how to cook properly. This restaurant has too much upside to put out food of such a poor quality.

My son and I were in the area during the summer for a hockey camp, and on the lookout for healthy food. Found the Green Bean, and it was great. Wonderful sandwiches, great soup, friendly staff, cute atmosphere. We need them to open a branch here in McLean!
If you’re in Exeter and hungry, go. I know others complained of the wait, but it seemed OK to us. Maybe because we can’t go anywhere around here without lines of people, lines of cars…

Got a grilled bacon cheese sandwich. I don’t think ½ slice of paper thin bacon cuts it. When I asked where the bacon was, the sandwich girl took the sandwich, showed me my ½ slice of bacon, squished it back together, gave it back, and sent me on my way. Generally this is a great place at lunch but scraping the bottom on staff after 4pm. Managers, hope you’re reading this.

This has always been a great lunch place with good food but recently lunch lines are interminably long and slow moving, this is recent phenomenon as lines always went quickly.
If you are pressed for time don’t bother with the Green Bean between 12 and 1:45.

Great food, atmosphere, outdoor seating and central location in downtown Exeter.
Because:
— If you like your sandwich toasted like I do, they won’t until after 4pm.
— This place gets busy, when the line is long. It feels unorganized

My black bean burrito was amazing! Everything is so fresh and the people were very nice. Great experience!

Used to be good– consistently bad now.
25 minutes for a breakfast sandwich called then the minute that they opened. This is happened a number of times.
I was in the restaurant business for a long time.
This place is serious management issues.

This place drives me crazy. The service level is a high school cafeteria. The cheese panini took 20 minutes on the wrong bread. Two small squares. By then I’d already eaten the very watery tomato soup.

My fiancée and I were in the area and we checked Unilocal for a nice place to grab a bite for lunch. The Green Bean was one of the best reviewed spots in town so we decided to give it a shot. We were very pleased with our experience. The staff are friendly and the food is on point. Sandwiches are made to order right in front of you and the soups are absolutely delicious. I had a Thanksgiving style sandwich with turkey, mayo, cranberry sauce, and stuffing. My fiancée had a turkey, bacon, and horseradish mayo sandwich. They had many options for bread for the sandwiches and we both chose the rosemary foccacia. The sandwiches were good, but the soups were better! I had the tomato and parmesan soup, easily one of the best tomato soups I’ve had. My fiancée doesn’t really care for tomato soup, but she loved this one. Her broccoli cheddar soup was very tasty as well.
Think of the Green Bean as a Panera Bread, except local, even less expensive, and simply tastier.
I wish we were in Exeter more often in order to have a reason to frequent the Green Bean.

The good: The sandwiches and soups are well prepared. There are many interesting selections and some of the breads are baked fresh. Have had many combinations and all have been great.
The not so good: Counter service. While they are normally staffed with many workers the counter is often disorganized and chaotic. Rather than trying to steer the line or actually speak to the customers, they will simply stare or continue on with their tasks. This has happened several times now so it’s not an anomaly. This afternoon, I waited a full ten-​minutes to pay for my order while an inexperienced clerk attempted to ring a catering order. Meanwhile, customers around me waited as I did: for a clerk’s attention. Annoying.

I just moved to the area so this is my first time here. I heard it was a good place to get work done while having a beer so I thought I’d give it a try. …i don’t think I’ll be returning any time soon.
Upon walking in no one greeted me. Not the man working the register, not the two women behind the counter, not even the woman stocking the fridge. I know people are busy but someone could have at least said «hi we’ll be right with you».
Then I looked around for a drink menu. No where to be found. When I asked the woman behind the counter said «we serve beer and wine?» An employee should at least know the BASIC parts of what they sell. Another employee came over and pointed to a small stack of menus by the trash. (Why are they by the trash and not at the counter?)
Finally I order my glass of wine. (The poor guy had NO idea how to open a bottle of wine.
Then I sat down to get some work done. I asked for the wifi password and apparently it’s not working. So I’ve basically wasted a whole bunch of time.
Overall the employees were not attentive, unaware of their product, and socially awkward.

«This place was hoppin’ on a Sunday afternoon» is an understatement. Regardless, I was able to order rather quickly (considering the insane line!) and have a seat with a good friend and chat for a couple of hours.
The menu is amazing — So much to choose from. There are a bunch of sandwiches — hot and cold (on a bunch of types of homemade bread), soups, salads, etc. Everything is super fresh. They have tea and coffee and juices etc. They even sell their day-​old bread for crutons etc.
I had the Black Bean burrito (dairy-​free style) which was a great amount of food and warm and served with tortilla chips. I had also considered the Veggie & Walnut Pesto and a few salads that looked delicious.
Their prices are quite reasonable and their seating is ample. Even a lovely outdoor area for when the weather is nice.
There is a parking lot right across the street, so that is super convenient if you’re not from around there.

Great sandwiches. I had the turkey bacon with horseradish mayo on salted focaccia bread. My girlfriend had the full and freshly mixed cranberry walnut and excessive amounts of gorgangolza cheese on with house balsamic. Both nice dishes.
Place was packed for lunch. Lots of little kids with mom and dad. Walked by the place twice trying to find it because it’s tucked back.
Lots of hipsters slinging mayo and cheese to your liking for any sandwich.

Amazing food, relaxing atmosphere, beautiful views, and even an outdoor patio. Love this place and come here whenever I am able.