Real vanilla, an open kitchen, and croissants Kantari plans its mornings around.
At Vanilla Bean the kitchen has no door: you watch the owner and her mother roll croissants and build cakes a few steps from your table. The name is literal — real vanilla beans go into the signature bakes — and the za'atar croissant has quietly become a Hamra-district legend. Seats are few; mornings are busiest; the coffee wall is short and correct.
Laminated by hand every morning — with the za'atar croissant, the house signature.
Burnt, custardy, gone early — the slice reviewers time their visits for.
Real-vanilla cakes and small-batch pastry, arranged like a jewelry case.
I love the open kitchen concept where you can see the owner and her mother with the staff preparing and creating the food live in front of you. The food is so so good with many varieties.
Vanilla Bean delivers on taste from the first sip. The coffee is genuinely good, and the smell of fresh-baked pastries fills the space the moment you walk in.
It only takes one visit to fall in love. Vanilla Bean is always my go-to place whenever I'm in Hamra. From the coffee to the food, and especially the staff.