Highlights
What people have written about us
Presented honestly, with dates where we have them. Rankings and certificates move around over time; these are recorded as they were awarded.
Outstanding Pastry Chef semifinalist
Pastry chef Sylvia Gould named one of twenty national semifinalists, and subsequently invited onto Food Network’s Best Baker in America. The award’s semifinalist list is voted on by hundreds of judges nationwide.
Best Casual Dining in Tallahassee
Described in the magazine’s dining guide as eclectic and edgy in both menu and atmosphere, and a restaurant that delights in art on the walls as much as on the plate.
One of Florida’s top 400 restaurants
A long-standing statewide listing that has included Kool Beanz among Florida’s best.
Ranked #1 of 642 restaurants in Tallahassee
Together with a Certificate of Excellence. Rankings on review sites shift constantly — this is recorded as it stood when awarded.
“A great little restaurant…”
Four words that have been quoted on this website for longer than some of our staff have been alive.
Thirty years in Midtown
Local television marked the restaurant’s 30th anniversary, calling it a Tallahassee treasure and noting the globally inspired menu and the pastry section’s national recognition.
Eating like a local in Tallahassee
The magazine’s guide to the city credited Kool Beanz with being at the forefront of the Midtown revitalisation when it opened in 1996.
An official city dining recommendation
Listed as an eclectic, gourmet restaurant that is funky, fun and friendly, with vibrant walls, modern art and a festive room.
The recurring themes
Read enough coverage of one restaurant over thirty years and patterns emerge. Four of them show up almost every time.
The menu that will not sit still
Every single profile leads with it, because it is genuinely unusual. A daily rewrite, sustained for three decades, is the thing that separates this restaurant from every other good restaurant in the region.
The building versus the food
Writers cannot resist the contrast. A low, unassuming structure with a small sign that looks nothing like a first-class restaurant, and then the plate arrives.
The desserts
Almost universally singled out, long before the James Beard nomination made it official.
The noise, treated as a feature
Loud but fun is the phrase that appears over and over. Given the motto painted on the wall, that is a fair verdict.
Press enquiries
Writers, photographers and broadcasters are welcome. Call (850) 224-2466 or message us through Facebook and we will help with access, images and interview time.
Press questions
What is the restaurant best known for?
The daily changing menu, the dessert section, and the fact that it has stayed independently owned by the same chef for thirty years in a business where that almost never happens.
Are you a James Beard award winner?
Pastry chef Sylvia Gould was named a national semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef in 2020 — one of twenty in the country. Semifinalist is the first major stage of the award, and it is the honest description of what we have.
Can I use your photos or write about the restaurant?
Please do get in touch first — call (850) 224-2466 or message us on Facebook and we will help with images, details and interview time.
Judge for yourself
Every review of this place ends the same way: go and eat there.