The Little Bean Cafe

Go Support Downtown Fresno Small businesses! This place is a wonderful spot with a great view of the Southwest Building. Wonderful coffees and crepes that they offer, I enjoyed a tasty savory crêpe when I visited, as well as a macchiato. The service was great, and I was able to look out the big windows at the world moving outside. Please go if you haven’t already!

Delicious!!! I suggest they make dulce de Leche crêpe or cheesescake! There so good.

Disclaimer: I’m probably not what you call a coffee expert, but I can tell awesome service when I see it!
I’ve checked in here more than a couple times, and the coffee has been awesome! My favorite so far is the Costa Rica. It has this apple flavor to it. I usually take my coffee black and the Costa Rica is a joy to drink. The service has also been superb! The employees are really personable, especially when I don’t know too much about coffee and I have a lot of questions! The prices aren’t too bad also, I usually go for the smallest size (8 oz.), and it comes to $ 2.50 for the coffee.
The atmosphere is also what you expect from a coffee shop. There’s a few number of tables and chairs, people on their laptops and headphones, people chatting in the corner, borderline «hipster-​y». And yes, hipster-​y is not a word.
I haven’t had their crepes or pastries yet, but I’ll definitely give it a try one of these days.
This is going to be difficult with this place just walking distance to work. I definitely have to watch out for those coffee stains on my teeth!

So after hearing about this place for a while now I decided to come and try it for myself. Well let me tell you… I was not disappointed, in the coffee at least.
This adorable coffee shop is located in downtown Fresno, in the Fulton Mall.
I had a cappuccino and mom had a vanilla latte. My cap was made perfectly; the foam was the right amount. Mom’s vanilla latte was not overly sweet like some I’ve had other places.
We also had some crepes, mom had a banana one with nutella, and I order a veggie one. I was expecting more flavor (maybe because I compared them to other crepes I have had) but they were sorts dull.
If you are ever in downtown Fresno and are looking for some great coffee you absolutely need to check this place out. You will not regret it!

Great coffee in downtown Fresno! Super friendly and helpful staff :) ! Every time I come to Little Bean they have consistently produced great tasting lattes.

A local gem.
The coffee is delightful.
Other items include homemade pastries, crepes, and quiche from a local French bakery.
Local art work makes up a charming environment that reflects the Spanish influence of the neighborhood.
Best part? Incredibly personal staff. To made my trip to Fresno, not do Fresno after all.

I got a latte and it was truly excellent. Really high quality coffee, with a quiet and classy atmosphere. And of course the people watching of the Fulton mall never disappoints!

Surprised to find a real coffee spot in Downtown Fresno. Looks like the whole downtown mall is getting a bit of renewal! I love coming down here for western shirts, but finding a place that makes a real macchiato was an awesome surprise. Down with Starbucks up with local coffee shops! Great service and tasty beverages. Fun art on the wall as well! If I was local I’d make this a regular spot, for sure.

I really wanted to like this place, but after multiple half-​drunken cups of coffee from this place, I will not be going back.
I think it’s the coffee they use. It’s got this awful, strong, horribly bitter caramel-​like taste. I tried to an americano instead of their standard drip, and it tasted exactly the same. Ugggggghhhhh.
To top it off, it is incredibly slow, even for a pourover coffee shop. It recently took us about 15 minutes to get 3 cups of coffee and we were the only people there. (One person in my group threw out her coffee, the other said it wasn’t that bad.) And to add insult to injury, it’s overpriced ($ 3.50−4).

Service not the best, during art hop was not serving crepes and staff was just standing around; not open on the weekends even when ice skating is open right on the same corner. Had to walk all the way down to Peeves for some hot drinks

Quaint little coffee shop with a good amount of choices. They have almond milk and soy as well as the usual choices!
Service was fast, kind and polite. During the winter months there is a ice skating rink outside the door!

So far I’ve found two places that make traditional style coffee. So far it’s the best coffee within the area. Starbucks has nothing on traditional coffee.

I have consistently returned to Little Bean Café for the past month after exploring other independent shops in Fresno. While another shop in the metro area serves Verve Roasters’ coffee, I find attentive customer service key and that’s what keeps me coming back.
The space is humble in that it’s retained the Helm Building’s historic quality making it non-​pretentious and welcoming for that very same reason. New strip mall-​type spaces tend to lack character and I really appreciate what Little Bean Café is doing — helping preserve a little bit of Fresno history while serving the best cup of coffee in town.

I’m not knowledgeable about coffee (I usually stick with store-​bought black coffee) but the staff did a great job helping me find a drink I would like. The coffee and crêpe were a lovely treat!
A great location if you are looking for a place in Downtown that opens early. Also, if you need a quiet location for a business meeting or to do work.

Real coffee brewed in fancy ways. This is the real deal. You can get the house Honduras or the even better Rwanda. Plus streetlevel espresso. Enjoy it with one of their awesome crepes. A bit more expensive than your average coffee but worth every drop.

I love the good cup of coffee they make here, the kind of latte that is made to order and perfectly done. Nothing like the lazy Starbucks. Beautifully done coffee with very beautifully shaped leaf from the froth up milk. They use very high quality milk and that is reflected in the taste of the cup of coffee at 3.75 for an 8oz. The taste of the coffee is really good too, a little on the bitter side, but I love the taste and the quality of coffee used here, very good coffee grade.
The ambience is really nice with art displayed everywhere and a warm mocha covers the paint of the walls, with mosaic floor that preserves the old style of the building and it’s history, I absolutely love the concept. The music here is also very serene and wonderful. The only reason they didn’t get the perfect 5 was because a coffee place should have some comfy couches to sit and eat their delicious crape, and possibly make me stay longer and have another cup. So one improvement is couches.
The servers are very friendly and the barista knows what he is doing. His latte was perfect. The barista is also very well groomed which gives the extra perfection and touch to an already unique coffee place overlooking the historic pacific southwest.

What I appreciate about this amazing place in the heart of the city is that they are trying to do something new and creative in the city of Fresno. Most folks would not chose to be somewhere, do something, or anything of that matter without intention.
The espresso service at the Little Bean Café know exactly what they are doing, and they want you to be a part of what they are serving you. Stand by the espresso machine and ask the barista that day what kinds of flavors or tones are you tasting in the shot of an espresso. It’s truly an art to pull a really good shot, and an observant and open mind to what you could be getting. The espresso a small to enjoy, not to gulp down and leave. Because Fresno is somewhat «on the go», we’ve forgotten what it’s like to receive quality service.
The coffee is quality, the baristas are brilliant, and the location is the perfect spot to get the creative juices flowing. It’s in the heart of the city for a reason. Come by the shop and enjoy this delightful treat unique to the Central Vally.

Well, as promised, I returned. Here’s the short version…
Plus
— the crêpe chef was in attendance on a Friday at 7:45am. They’ve also added a second crêpe griddle, which is wise.
Minus
— coffee was WAY too sweet. I asked for half the normal amount of syrup they’d normally put in a mocha, but I still almost couldn’t drink it. I shudder to consider what it would have been like had I had a standard one.
— espresso drink sizes STILL too small. Starbucks, like them or hate them, has set the expectations of espresso drinkers when it comes to drink sizes. Little Bean’s largest size barely compares to a tall (small) Starbucks.
— crêpe was… meh. It was nice to watch my crêpe being made right in front of me, but it was a bit underdone and just not worth the extra effort of parking a block away and traversing Fulton Mall to get it.
I applaud the effort Little Bean has put into creating a quirky little downtown coffee house, but it’s just not special enough. I won’t be returning.

I had a great strawberry nutella crêpe and a cappuccino. The cappuccino was ok, but the crêpe was really good. It also had some banana in it too. Over all tasty and fresh. They also had some really good looking non desert crepes with spinich in it. Maybe next time I’ll try one of those.

As of now. only two stars… kinda of disorganized. and the coffee, compare to other local coffee places, is only ok…
Will try back later… but I think there is quite a bit to work on… the place feels like it is unfinished… workers aren’t sure what station they are at…
I noticed only one crêpe station. what happens if things got busier? How quickly can they being out food?
I would like to see this place thrive, especially since it is in downtown. but they way things are now, even if I can drive up to get coffee. I don’t think business will grow…
By the way. it took almost seven minutes for my coffee. no one ordered before me…