Beany Green, Liverpool Street

A flat white at Beany Green in Broadgate Circle, with the latte art holding its pattern all the way down to the bottom of the cup.The latest Beany Green, the fifth to date, is in the newly-refurbished Broadgate Circle, just northwest of Liverpool Street Station. It’s a lovely setting, perhaps Beany’s most ambitious yet, but goes back to Beany’s roots, replacing a hole-in-the-wall takeout operation that, for the last couple of years, had served coffee to Liverpool Street from just across the way from the new location.

At first sight, the new Beany’s quite small, just large enough for four tables and a couple of window bars. However, just like the original Daisy Green, there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye. For starters, if you skip the front door and go around to the right, you’ll find two dedicated takeaway windows which are an excellent idea. Even better, if you keep on going, you’ll come out on the Beany Balcony, overlooking the interior of Broadgate Circle. On a sunny day, there’s no better spot!

All the usual Beany features are here: super-friendly staff, excellent espresso-based coffee from The Roasting Party, fresh flowers on the tables, an obsession with bananas and deckchairs, quirky artwork from Shuby and innovative food. Add to that beer, wine and cocktails and you’re on to a real winner!

You can read more of my thoughts after the gallery.

  • The latest Beany Green outpost in Broadgate Circle near Liverpool Street Station.
  • If you hadn't worked out it's a Beany, the deckchairs to the left of the door are a giveaway.
  • Some more of outdoor seating: a pair of tables (on wheels) to the right of the door.
  • If you head around the corner, you can find two takeaway windows.
  • This means that you don't have to go inside to get your coffee (to go).
  • Keep going around and you arrive at Beany's best feature, the Beany Balcony!
  • Another view of the Beany Balcony, seen from the other side of Broadgate Circle.
  • Back at the front, the doors are flanked by a pair of trees. Definitely trees. Absolutely.
  • A panoramic view from inside the door.
  • The view from inside, looking back towards the door ad the white-tiled counter.
  • The counter in more detail, with the staff all hard at work.
  • Some of the interior seating opposite the counter. There's another pair to the left.
  • A typical table. This one is by the entrance to the kitchen (which is behind the wall).
  • The window bar at the back is squeezed between kitchen and balcony.
  • Right, let's see what's beyond the doors at the back of the store...
  • It's the Beany Balcony! And this is the view that greets you.
  • A view along the curve of the Beany Balcony, as seen from the left-hand end.
  • The tables to the left of the door...
  • ... and the tables to the right.
  • Wait! Weren't there two tables here earlier? Yes, there were: Beany tables have wheels!
  • More tables and concrete benches at the front of the balcony.
  • At the far (left-hand) end, there are more deckchairs, each with its own fur coat...
  • No expense spared at the new Beany Green. There are, for example, padded stools!
  • Although not all the stools are padded...
  • ... and not all the stools are stools!
  • The famous Beany Beer Bath!
  • Very Beany: fresh flowers and bananas on the tables.
  • There are flowers everywhere: outside...
  • ... and in.
  • More flowers.
  • This is the water station opposite the counter. Of course, there are flowers. And bananas.
  • Not to be outdone, Beany makes an entry in the neat light-fittings category.
  • There is also some excellent artwork by Shuby. This one overlooks the balcony...
  • ... while this one is opposite the counter.
  • Down to business. The counter starts with the food immediately to the right of the door.
  • While I was there, it was breakfast time, but come mid-morning, it will give way to lunch.
  • At the other end of the counter is the till and the soft drinks.
  • The Beany Green loyalty app. I recognise that picture!
  • The espresso machine is opposite the counter, between the two takeawey windows.
  • All the grinders are over there as well.
  • It means that you can't chat with the baristas, but you can watch your espresso extracting.
  • If coffee's not your thing, there is wine...
  • ... and cocktails.
  • Finally, at the end of the counter, there's the famous Beany Green cake spread.
  • Some of the Beany Green selection.
  • The brownies are absolutely lovely...
  • ... while these chocolate/coconut balls are my favourites.
  • Two lattes, ready to go. Not that these are for me.
  • Instead I had a flat white, plus a slice of Beany Green's Award-winning banana bread.
  • It's always a good sign when the milk holds the pattern all the way to the bottom of the cup.
  • And I mean ALL the way down.
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The new Beany Green joins my regular haunt at Paddington, the original Daisy Green near Marble Arch, the container at the foot of Hungerford Bridge on the South Bank and the one I’ve not yet set foot in at Regent Place near Euston. From the outside, the Beany madness is readily apparent: there’s the word “Beany” emblazoned in light-bulbs in the window, plus banana-themed deckchairs outside in all weathers. There are a couple of more conventional tables to the right of the door, while behind the deckchairs to the left, an impossible mural by Shuby provides a glorious backdrop.

Stepping inside, the whole right-hand side of the interior is taken up with the counter, starting immediately to your right. Just as at Paddington and Daisy Green, the food comes first; breakfast in the morning, giving way to lunch later on. At the other end of the counter is the till, followed, a little surprisingly, by the cake.

There’s no espresso machine on this side of the counter, which, if I’m honest, is something I miss: no more chatting with the barista as he (or more likely, she) makes your coffee. There’s also nowhere to hang around while waiting for your coffee, which, given Beany’s large takeaway volume, is somewhat surprising. Until, that is, you look across the counter, where, against the far wall, you see the bright-yellow, four-group La Marzocco (called Dolly), sitting neatly between two small windows. These are twin takeaway windows, which means that if you just want to get your coffee and go, you don’t need to come inside Beany Green at all. Instead, head around to the right and join the (shortest) queue.

This is an excellent idea since it frees the interior of the long, snaking queues and clusters of people waiting for their coffee that can clog up the likes of the Paddington branch. Instead, the interior is relatively uncluttered and relaxed, with all the seating opposite the counter. There’s not much seating, however, just four, small square tables, a window bar to the left of the doors and another on the left at the back. This is slightly longer and extends alongside the kitchen, which is opposite the counter, behind the left-hand wall, accessed via a pair of saloon-style doors.

However, if you sit inside, you’re missing out on the best bit. There’s another set of doors, directly opposite the ones you entered through, which take you out onto the Beany Balcony. This occupies the inner curve of Broadgate Circle, overlooking the restaurants below. Out here you’ll find the beer bath, concrete benches/tables and more conventional two-person tables. There are also some four/six-person tables on wheels which can be moved about to catch the sun (or the shade, as the fancy takes you). These have padded stools. Padded, I tell you! Why doesn’t Paddington have padded stools? And, of course, there are deckchairs!

The coffee and food are very similar to the other Beany Greens, with the highlight being The Roasting Party’s very smooth, sweet espresso which goes perfectly in a flat white. However, Broadgate also has an alcohol licence and is open well into the evenings, when you can get cocktails (I had a very fine espresso martini at the launch party), plus a range of wine and the aforementioned beer.


You can also see what I made of all the other branches of Beany Green that I’ve visited. The Liverpool Street Beany Green was a runner-up for the 2015 Most Popular Coffee Spot Award.

March 2016: Beany Green now does bottomless brunches. I took fellow coffee-blogger, the Award-winning Daniel (Cups of Coffee London), food-blogger Jess (EastingEast) and all-round blogger, Bex (Double Skinny Macchiato) there for brunch on Easter Sunday. You can see what Jess and Bex made of it on their blogs, while I’ve finally got around to writing up my experience as well. Dan, pull your finger out!

BROADGATE CIRCLE • LONDON • EC2M 2QS
http://daisygreenfood.com +44 (0) 207 3878546
Monday 06:00 – 21:00 Roaster The Roasting Party (espresso + bulk-brew)
Tuesday 06:00 – 21:00 Seating Tables, Bars; Tables, Deckchairs (outside)
Wednesday 06:00 – 23:00 Food Breakfast, Lunch, Cake
Thursday 06:00 – 23:00 Service Order at Counter
Friday 06:00 – 23:00 Cards Mastercard, Visa
Saturday 09:00 – 17:00 Wifi Free (with registration)
Sunday 09:00 – 17:00 Power Limited
Chain Local Visits 1st May 2015

Disclaimer: In the second half of 2015, Beany Green launched a bond to fund its future expansion. I invested in this bond, and, like all bond-holders, receive free coffee as a reward. This Coffee Spot was published before the bond was launched. However, the brunch I had in March 2016 was a bond-holder reward.


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12 thoughts on “Beany Green, Liverpool Street

  1. I wasn’t aware until now of this new Beany Green. The Regents Place one is small, although had some artworks visible hanging in a larger looking section that was off-limits, strangely.

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