It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, not Christmas. Restaurant week! Twice each year, in both March and August, Boston’s finest restaurants offer three course lunch and dinner menus for supremely discounted prices. In the past I have leveraged the restaurant week promotion into incredible meals at Brasserie Jo, Ciao Bella, Upstairs on the Square, and Harvest, just to name a few.
Exactly one year a go I expanded my love of restaurant week to include two girlfriends, beginning a new tradition we called “the Cocos”. Each restaurant week cycle we choose a new place (ideally one none of us have been to), we dress up, put on our pearl necklaces (an homage to Coco Chanel) and head out on the town!
The first Coco dinner was at Ristorante Olivio in Arlington, our second dinner was at Flora, also in Arlington (read the review here), and this week we moved the tradition downtown to the Beehive on Tremont Street in the South End.
Tremont Street is home to many of Boston’s most well known and well respected dining establishments. The Beehive counts Hamersley’s, Sibling Rivalry, Aquitaine, Tremont 647, and B&G Oysters as its neighbors.
As you approach the Beehive, the first thing you’ll notice is its expansive “front yard” of outdoor seating. The patio even has its own hostess! Of course we opted to enjoy the summer weather and dine outside. Our waitress, a beauty belonging on the pages of Vogue, was wonderfully bubbly and attentive.
We each started the meal with an appetizer. We sampled the summer harvest salad, the roast beef sliders and the Mediterranean plate. The salad had fresh, crisp greens, radishes and hearts of palm (a rarity in New England). The roast beef sliders were a delightful surprise, served with a spicy BBQ sauce and a creamy, zesty dipping sauce. The Mediterranean plate came with pita chips, hummus, feta cheese, cucumbers, pickles and olives. Mmm mmm mmm!
After polishing off our first round of plates, our dinner arrived. Brisket, jambalaya and tomato and mozzarella pizza. The brisket was described to me as “melt in your mouth delicious”, while the jambalaya was a generous portion with a variety of meat and seafood and a bit of a kick. The tomato and mozzarella pizza was served on toasted French bread with balsamic vinaigrette, a heaping portion of arugula and topped with fresh, shaved parmesan. I think its safe to say we achieved food nirvana at that table.
I had to tap out for dessert, but the ladies tried the blueberry cobbler and the chocolate pot du crème for dessert, which both looked delectable.
In addition to the incredible food, we also enjoyed refreshing cocktails. White wine, red wine sangria, and a cocktail called the pink lady – passion fruit vodka, raspberry liqueur and lemonade. Careful with that one, you could hang out with the pink lady all night.
Before leaving for the night, we checked out the scene inside the restaurant. There is a large bar upstairs, that serves as a balcony overlooking the bottom floor, where there is live music nightly. The bar has a French bordello vibe with dark wood and deep burgundy and red colors.
I was particularly impressed by the ladies room, which continued the burgundy color on the walls, with any added floral pattern and one screamingly loud blue accent wall. It had one, long, basin tub sink, with several antique, gold accented mirrors above. Very feminine and chic.
Overall, our experience at the Beehive was superb. Wonderful service, a great outdoor spot, positively mouth watering food, memorable cocktails and décor that transported you straight to France. The Beehive is perfect for girls night out, a celebration dinner or an al fresco Sunday brunch.
Buzz on down to the Beehive!
