[1] This was the first episode to be co-written by regular collaborator Robin Driscoll (alongside Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson) and the first to feature the familiar Howard Goodall choral Latin-dubbed theme (Ecce homo qui est faba, English for Behold the Man, Who is a Bean) performed by the choir of Southwark Cathedral.
On his way to an Allders department store, Mr. Bean encounters a busker (Dave O'Higgins) playing a tenor saxophone and wants to give him change, but has only a banknote on him.
After crawling through the perfume department to avoid the overwhelming fragrances, he soon begins searching for items to buy, testing them first, with some done in unusual fashion – he removes a toothbrush from its packet to see how it feels on his teeth, wraps himself with a towel, finds a good peeler by using it on a fresh potato he brought with him and tests two frying pans for size with a fish he had inside his jacket.
When the maître d' returns, Bean orders what he thinks will be a regular steak, and as he waits for his food, he takes a moment to sample some of the house wine before using the glasses on his table to chime out "Happy Birthday to Me".
Upon being left to eat his meal, Bean realises that he ordered a steak tartare, and becomes disgusted upon tasting it and being forced to swallow the first bite to avoid upsetting the restaurant staff.
Seeking to avoid eating the rest of it, Bean cuts it up and sticks bits of the meal in an ashtray, in a tiny flower vase, in a hollowed out bread roll, under a small plate, and in the base of a sugar bowl.
[3] As he stands in line between the cinema's manager (Robin Driscoll) and an usherette (Matilda Ziegler), Bean realises multiple issues with how he is presented.
Fortunately, he manages to remove his finger and zip his trousers up in time, but upon greeting the royal with his swift bow, he accidentally headbutts her and knocks her to the ground.