Our
first experience at The Bee-Hive Tavern was eleven years ago, but it
has changed hands since those days, now under the ownership of the
Davies Family. More recently, our visits were for dinner, although
The Bee-Hive serves lunch every day as well. There's a feeling of
warmth when you enter the foyer. The bar is to the left, small and
intimate, with seven or eight stools and a few tables. The walls are
wood, dark stained, and the lighting is comfortable. Walls are
adorned with, as you might guess, bee hives and framed old
photographs.
The
dining room has all booths for seating, comfortable and sufficiently
private for conversations that don't travel to your neighbors. Posts
at each booth allow for coats and hats. Each booth has a light
suspended from the ceiling to illuminate, but if you are 5' 10” or
shorter, it has a sharp glare at eye level that can become annoying
after a while. I know this might seem a little whiney, but it did
detract from the dining experience for my guest.
The
menu is extensive, and includes the usual offerings of seafood,
poultry and meat you expect to find on a tavern menu of casual
dining. Appetizers includ shrimp cocktail, priced by the piece,
soups (all made in house, and more on that anon), chowder, and a
hummus/tabouleh/babaganoush platter, among others. Those familiar
with these columns (see my review of The Phoenecia Cafe in the
Restaurant Review section) will remember that I both cooked and ate
middle-eastern food while I was overseas, and so when my eyes found
the platter of hummus, tabouleh and babaganoush on the menu, the
choice of starters was easy. It was attractively served with Syrian
bread (pita) and lavasch crackers. I must say, though, I was
disappointed with two of the three. The hummus, pureed chick peas
(garbanzo beans), was very dry and bland, and would have benefitted
greatly from more lemon juice and a lot more garlic. I like mine,
also, with a drizzle of high quality extra virgin olive oil. The
tabouleh, a salad of bulgar wheat, tomato, onion and parsley, also,
would have benefitted greatly from a lot more parsley and lemon
juice, and a little extra virgin olive oil, for it, too, was flat and
dry. The babaganoush (pureed, roasted eggplant with garlic, tomato
and olive oil) was good, though, and saved this starter from being a
total loss.
On our
most recent visit, the soup of the evening helped greatly in
redeeming the starter choices. All soups are made in house and
fresh, and this night's offering was a chicken barley soup with fresh
sage. It was thick and hearty and filled with chicken, and it was
great. I associate tavern food somewhat with comfort food, food that
when eaten envelops you in a warm and fuzzy feeling reminiscent of an
earlier time in your life. This version of chicken soup did that for
me, and I would have been quite satisfied that evening with a bowl
size portion, along with a couple of the quite excellent, fresh-baked
dill rolls. However, I wouldn't have had enough material to write
this review, so I had to eat on. Don't miss my point, though . . .
this soup really was great.
The
house salad is a generous offering that included fresh mixed greens,
tomato, cucumber, red onion, grated carrot and alfalfa sprouts. All
salad dressings are made in-house, and include a creamy garlic,
balsamic vinaigrette, Dijon vinaigrette, a fat free honey Dijon, and
a caesar. We especially liked the creamy garlic, rich and redolent
with garlic, and the balsamic vinaigrette. The salad course was
accompanied by those fresh-baked, still warm dill rolls already
mentioned but worth mentioning again as being quite excellent.
The
Bee-Hive's March Madness meal promotion presented three entrees each
night, accompanied by soup or chowder, and a dessert, for $12.95.
The offerings on my most recent visit included twin loin lamb chops,
roast chicken, and baked Atlantic salmon. The lamb chops were cooked
to the requested temperature (medium rare), and were good. Loin
chops are not especially big or meaty, generally, which is why they
are usually served in pairs. These were nicely grilled, moist and
flavorful, and served with the customary mint jelly. Mashed potato
and pureed butternut squash helped fill out the plate, both in very
generous portions. I noticed the food, generally, is underseasoned
at The Bee-Hive, so both the potato and squash benefitted from
butter, salt and pepper. With so much salt in the air (this is Cape
Cod, after all, an island in the ocean), we tend to develop a salt
insensitivity, and food needs to be seasoned a little more liberally.
This is my theory, anyway, for what it's worth.
The
roast duckling, ordered from the regular menu, was half a duck,
semi-boneless, and roasted perfectly so that the meat was moist,
tender and very flavorful. It was served with a not especially
memorable cherry sauce that nonetheless did not detract from the very
good duck. Mashed potato and butternut squash were the side dishes,
and again, needed to be seasoned. I wanted to leave room for
dessert, so I brought half the duck home for a next day snack, and it
was just as moist and flavorful the next day as I enjoyed it with my
breakfast.
Earlier
in this column I mentioned comfort food. For those readers who still
might need help understanding this term, let me recite the dessert
menu I was being forced to choose from: grapenut custard pudding,
gingerbread, cinnamon apple crisp, bumbleberry crisp, honey and
almond ice cream (called Bee-Sting ice cream on the menu), chocolate
cake with melted chocolate truffle sauce (Boardwalk Mud Cake on the
menu), and house-made vanilla ice cream rolled in toasted coconut and
served with a melba sauce. I say forced to choose because there
wasn't an item on it I didn't want to order. I came to the
conclusion that nobody would not like anything on this dessert list.
(I think that's grammatically correct).
The
grapenut custard was, sadly though, a disappointment. It was mostly
custard, with virtually no grapenuts, and the custard needed more
vanilla extract as it was somewhat bland. In all fairness, the
absence of grapenuts may simply have been a serving apportionment,
not enough getting scooped up for my cup. However, the custard was
lacking in flavor, although the texture and degree of doneness was as
it should have been.
The
cherry crisp, thankfully, did the trick and was a keeper. The crust
was mildly spiced with cinnamon, and included oatmeal. It was served
warm, with some freshly whipped cream, and it was terrific. To make
matters even better, it was the default dessert with the March
Madness special offering, so it was included in the $12.95 special.
The
menu includes salads that it refers to as “Dinner Size,” and they
are certainly that. The Bee-Hive take on the Salad Niçoise
starts with a base of fresh mixed greens, builds with tomatoes,
blanched green beans, slices of steamed potato, chopped hard boiled
egg, olives, and is topped with a piece of grilled tuna. The menu
recommends it be served with the Dijon vinaigrette, and this did seem
like the right choice. It is generous enough for two, and (here they
are again) with the fresh baked dill rolls makes a very good meal
out.
You'll
also find burgers and sandwiches on the menu, along with some
children's offerings, too. They're the usual and expected items, so
I won't recite the list. The Bee-Hive Tavern is open for lunch and
dinner 7 days, and the luncheon menu includes the same burgers,
sandwiches and salads. It is also open for breakfast on Sundays, and
that menu is quite extensive, with eggs of all varieties, pancakes,
french toast, omelets and specialty breakfast sandwiches.
If I
had limited myself to a bowl of that delicious soup, two or three of
those rolls, and a large bowl of the cherry crisp, I think I'd have
been comforted for about two weeks. However, a review must present
the entire picture, encompass the whole dining experience. The
Bee-Hive prices are very reasonable, and with the children's menu,
burgers, sandwiches and salads offered, it could be considered a
family-friendly place. Our last visit was a $51 tab (starters,
entrees, desserts, glass of wine), perhaps a little above the family
friendly threshhold, though. Cape Dining Out has decided to consider
The Bee-Hive Tavern in the medium range category (see our Restaurant
Rating Policy, right sidebar menu).
Our
experiences were mixed. Some food fell short of the mark, while
other dishes shined. The latter tells us the kitchen knows what it
is doing, but simply doesn't do it all the time. The service was
well above average, warm and friendly, engaging and quite pleasant.
On the most recent visit, our server told us she had been working
there for 11 years, and I have always considered waitstaff longevity
to indicate a well-run establishment and a steady clientele, all of
which speaks well of The Bee-Hive Tavern. With a score of 34 out of
50 in the Cape Dining Out rating system, The Bee-Hive Tavern earns
2.5 Cod.
If you go . . . . .
The Bee-Hive Tavern508-833-1184
Handicap Accessible
Lunch & Dinner, Breakfast on Sundays
Casual Dress