Example menu · changes daily
Dinner menu
Monday to Thursday 5:30–9:00 PM, Friday and Saturday 5:30–10:00. The full range of what this kitchen does, in the room at its loudest.
Dinner, and how to do it properly
The dinner menu is where the kitchen has the most room to move, and it shows: thirteen or so starters, a handful of salads, and sixteen plates that between them cross the South, the Caribbean, Latin America and East Asia without ever feeling like a fusion restaurant.
The dining room is small and it does not take bookings for ordinary-sized parties, so the evening has a rhythm to it. Doors open at 5:30. By seven on a Friday there is a list. By eight the noise is considerable and the room is at its best.
Three ways people order here
- Straight down the middle. A starter each, a plate each, one dessert to share that turns into two.
- All starters. Four or five between two people, ordered as they come. Cheaper, more varied, and the way a lot of regulars eat.
- Bar seats. Sit at the small bar by the open kitchen and watch it being cooked. On a full night this is often the fastest way in, and it is the best seat in the house regardless.
Kool Beanz Cafe — Dinner Menu
Eat, drink & talk loud — you’re among friends!
We are required to tell you that there is a risk of food borne illness when consuming undercooked protein. Menus may change daily; prices are subject to change.
From the archive
An earlier dinner menu
Fried bayou gator, Darjeeling tea glazed salmon, crabby mushroom soup. A snapshot of the kitchen several years earlier — and evidence of quite how far the daily rewrite travels over time.
We will happily accommodate any dietary or vegetarian requests. Sample menus — menus change daily, prices subject to change.
A few of them, plated
What these descriptions actually look like
Dinner questions
Do you take dinner reservations?
We take bookings for parties of 8 to 12. Everything smaller is first-come, first-served — put your name down when you arrive. Parties of 20 to 30 should book The Room.
How long is the wait on a Friday?
Thirty to forty minutes is common at peak, and it can be longer. Arrive at 5:30 when the doors open, or after about 8:30, and you will do much better. The bar seats facing the kitchen often open up before tables do.
Are portions big enough to share?
Very often, yes. Several plates — the mojo chicken particularly — are regularly reported as enough for two. Ordering three or four starters across a table instead of entrees is a legitimate and popular strategy.
What should I order if I cannot decide?
Ask your server. They eat here, they taste the menu every day, and they will tell you honestly which two dishes are the best things the kitchen is doing tonight.
Should I save room for dessert?
Yes. It is the single most common piece of advice in three decades of reviews of this restaurant. See the dessert menu.
Dinner from 5:30
No booking needed for parties under eight — just come and put your name down.