The Bean Trees Cafe

I usually don’t write negative comments on Unilocal but you kind of have to when a place is ridiculous enough to charge you for a side of honey mustard and mayonnaise.
Also, they automatically add a 20% tip (we were a group of 4), even though the service isn’t worth it.
The fries are obviously old fries that are refried and served to the next customer, which are also complete shit.
They have a sign behind the register that says «hot beer, and lousy service», the sign doesn’t lie.
If you go white water rafting in the area and your guide recommends this place, don’t listen to the guide. They keep track of this in the restaurant and the guides are probably on some sort of point system for referring people, they’re not referring out of quality.
Just avoid this place!

The food here is amazing! I had the salmon club which was delicious! Everything is homemade and you can tell! My husband had a burger and it was fantastic! The menu has some different items and is not your run of the mill country café style food! There is a large outdoor seating area that is cute and quaint! yummy!

This is in a small town amidst white water rafting companies, and in the middle of it is it The Bean Trees Café. It is good! They offer a great patio by the Pigeon River with a solid beer selection and good burgers. We enjoy an afternoon there taking in the scenery, rippling sound of water, and a good beer!

We have eaten several time here on our way — great little place along the pigeon river. Have had good soup and sandwiches all freshly prepared. Good beer too! Nice to sit outside in spring, summer or fall.

The best part about summer is coming into Hartford and having a beer at the Bean Trees on the back deck by the river! This is the best little place to come to for excellent food choices, even if you are vegetarian! Great food, great staff, friendly faces, chill atmosphere.

Simple, fun, straightforward café with very good burgers, sandwiches, soup, and vegetarian chili. Excellent coffee. Beautiful location right on the Pigeon River. Sit outside of the weather allows. Perfect place to stop for lunch.

five hungry people
came to eat some tasty food
we are still waiting
I wrote this haiku while waiting for the food. I came in for breakfast, and the food came out around lunchtime.
The food just came out
It should taste really good, right?
Wait what is this shit.

Breakfast was excellent. Had the 3 egg omelet wih mushrooms and green pepper. Obviously fresh ingredients, not from a can. The home fries were great. They had their own spices they put on them which were excellent. Pretty busy as they are nestled between whitewater rafting places. The only complaint I had was my hot tea was not really hot, more like luke warm. Will definitely be going back.

What a treat! Thanks Unilocal for steering us here. I had cornmeal, lemon & rosemary pancake. They were sweet, savory & absolutely scrumptious! We enjoyed our meal on the deck overlooking the beautiful Pigeon River. The service was excellent. We shall return!

Very laid back atmosphere. I really enjoyed that. Everything is handmade and absolutely delicious. It just took quite some time to get to our table, and I don’t know if they were just waiting for our whole order to be made up but by the time our food got to our table, it was lukewarm. Not completely complaining, because we had to be out by 230 so it made for fast eating. While we waited, we had been sitting outside and we watched rafters go by.
Overall, nice laid back change of pace but be ready to wait at least a half hour to forty five minutes for your food.

Just ok. Really.
This place is next door to a large rafting outfitter that pushes them heavily — like maybe they’re owned by the same person or they get free food?
Place is smallish and has tons of potential. I came in really excited. Lots of whole foods and whacky combos. Waitstaff seemed kind and attentive — at first.
Waitress went missing for long periods, food was just «ok». Pricing is slightly elevated.
No way this place would survive if there were more choices than it and the gas station across the street.
Not really worth the long wait — skip it.

This place is a gem that we stumbled upon while taking a 30+ state drive in May 2015. It was the first time I’d ever had gumbo and it was terrific. We relaxed by the river and ate lunch and the whole visit was «just right». My husband and I really loved our little waitress — the one with the blue and pink hair. She was so friendly. This is not a white table cloth place — just fantastic home cooking and a great staff.

After seeing this place numerous times while flying by on Interstate 40 I finally decided to stop in. I’m glad I did. The staff is friendly and accommodating and the menu is quite eclectic. Vegetarian options are plenty — tofu or home made veggie patties can be substituted for any meat. They also make a very fine cup of coffee.
River businesses bring in a lot of customers so it could be crowded but it’s worth the wait.
Now that I know how good it is this will be my spot to stop when I’m nearby.

Try the PBR in a can… delicious!
Had the burger with everything. A little over cooked, but then again…
Cool spot for rafters and passers by, and did I mention they serve PBR (to go)?
I’ll be back

Delicious food. Hubby and I both had the home style breakfast and yum yum yum it was.
Nice vibe: bit artsy with a great outdoor spot in the back to eat.
Friendly service: super friendly staff.

My family and I traveled from Ohio to Kentucky to Nashville, etc, and this is the best restaurant we ate at; hands down. Their sriracha tofu sandwich was one of my favorite highlights of the trip, right after ziplining, white water rafting, and dancing at Coyote Ugly. A trip to TN will always include a stop here.
— affordable, convenient
— friendly staff
— beautiful view on deck of river
— great beer selection
— tons of vegetation/​vegan options

We stopped by to grab a bite during a road trip and loved it. Cold beer, yummy food, & friendly service. The back patio overlooking the river was quite picturesque. We will definitely pay another visit if we ever come back through.

Delicious menu and great place for after river rafting! The service was very slow, but they were busy and the waitress apologised in advance. The burger with cherries and jalapeños was awesome and the quesadillas had sweet potato and caramelised onions, which was both unique and amazing! Make sure you sit in the deck area and enjoy the river. Would go back.

Love this happy hippy mountain find! Most of the restaurant is a beautiful outside deck with games music and overlooking the Pigeon River. The food selection looked great and homemade with mostly burgers wraps paninis and appetizers. Chili seems to be popular. They have yummy coffee treats and milkshakes. I think my son would love it here. Can’t wait to come back with my family. My husband would love their great craft beer selection. Noshing on my ham cheddar apple panini now!

Needed a beer after rafting. On a recommendation we came here for highly desirable IPA’s, homemade chips and salsa and excellent service. Everything homemade so a it’s a little longer wait, but great quality. All sitting on a deck overlooking the Pigeon River. This was the exact thing we wanted after several days in the more commercial Gatlinburg area.