Review: Beehive Place, Brixton
Style Points: 3/5
Price: £££
Overall: 4/5
I had never been to a pop-up restaurant before. I’m just not really trendy enough to get on on these types of things to be honest. But, I was given an invite to try out Beehive Place now that they’ve extended their run through the end of the month. As such I had absolutely no idea what to expect other than a five-course tasting menu that uses British food. And seeing as I had to work on Saturday I thought going out for a new (to me) dining experience would help to salvage the day.
As we approached Beehive Place we were a bit unsure as it’s literally in what I would call a deserted alley that runs parallel to the main road in Brixton. It’s not far from the station - but I was glad to be visiting in the Summer so it was well lit still at 7pm. There is no flashy sign or really much indication of a restaurant at all other that the address starts with behind the yellow door and there is a very bright yellow door with three bees.
Once inside the door you are immediately in front of a staircase that leads up to a rustic room that is well lit from the glass ceiling. It almost felt like a Pinterest Barn Wedding. I loved the mismatched chairs and tables and the rustic, wooden feel. There were lovely nods to the name Beehive Place (undoubtedly derived from the name of the road alley that the restaurant is located on). In retrospect I wish I had asked what was in the building before because it was a really neat space.
Yellow door entrance
Our table
A touch of honey
After being seated at a table for 10, we quickly realised that it was going to be a bit more of a communal dining experience than my friend or I are used to. I would say there were 40-50 diners in the restaurant but as that was spread between 5 or so tables it made it feel really intimate. Like more of a dinner party than a restaurant (though I’d never be able to host 50 people!).
Would I Want Seconds?
Amuse-Bouche pea puree
Crab salad
The food is served at about 8pm and everyone is served together as no one is ordering separate dishes. However, as the tables are mixed company for those of us in pairs rather than large groups, it provided an opportunity to chat to your neighbour during the wait.
We started with an amuse-bouche that was a pea puree with bacon. I’m not sure how the bacon was fixed, it was almost candied in texture, but that might have just been really crispy and then rehydrated by the puree. Soon after our first course came out - it was Isle of Man crab with radish, baby gem and fennel tops. I don’t think I have ever had fennel and I know I’ve long avoided radishes but as a dish everything worked together. It didn’t look particularly small but I scoffed it down very quickly and was left wanting more. The crab was delicious and the overall flavour of the dish was well balanced. Although not filling, this is to be expected as the first of 5 courses.
Lamb main course
Asparagus
Ox cheek
The next course was the New Laithe Farm lamb, nettle, broad beans, foraged sweet cicely. I feel like the broad beans had a very distinctive flavour that nearly overpowered the lamb. Though I think I’m also a bit sensitive to the taste of beans as I’m not a bit fan.
When I tasted the lamb on its own it was tasty and mostly tender though some of the edges were a bit chewy. The next course was A.E. Brown smoked asparagus, Cotswold Lebgar egg, Cobble Lane pork collar and buttermilk. Goodness, that’s a mouth full to say the whole dish! We were told that the asparagus is from the same farm that served the asparagus for the royal wedding and frankly it was delicious. That’s a vegetable I’ve only recently learned to love and this dish certainly helped!
The pork collar was also tasty. It was very finely sliced almost like a pancetta. I’m not sure how they cooked it but it was almost a candid texture - not crispy but not floppy either. The asparagus and pork were fantastic together. The final savoury course was the Royal Oak Yard ox cheek, white turnip, Chalk Valley watercress and bull’s blood. The ox cheek was so tender and juicy and just melted in the mouth. And the turnip was pureed and made for a lovely almost dipping sauce for the meat. Bull’s blood is apparently a herb and I assume that it was either the garnish or was pulverised with the watercress. To be honest I didn’t think the watercress was necessary - it was flavourless to me and added nothing so I just ate the meat and turnip.
Strawberry dessert
Then we had our dessert which was Oakchurch Farm strawberries, Potash Farm cobnuts, clotted cream and mint.
I love clotted cream. It’s one of my favourite treats when I have a scone. And as I typically have a strawberry jam I know I love the clotted cream with the strawberry flavour.
However, in this particular dish I’m not sure it worked like I hoped when I looked through the menu. The strawberries were good, clearly in season, but not quite as sweet as my beloved Arkansas berries. I have yet to find strawberries I love here quite as much - so far I’ve thought they’ve all been a bit tart. Because of this, the clotted cream tasted a bit heavy and plain to me. I do have a severe sweet tooth, so to anyone else this would probably be a perfect combo. The friend who accompanied me certainly was a fan. The other element in this dessert was the cobnuts which I had never heard of but are similar to hazelnuts. They were tasty and added a pleasing crunch to the dessert.
Beehive Bumbo and Somerset Smash cocktail
Brixton Beehive Club
We also managed to try all five of their cocktails between my friend and I. We were very impressed as there wasn’t a single one we didn’t like. They are all priced £7-8 which is on the lower side of average for most of the restaurants I’ve been to. My favourite was without a doubt the Strawberry Thyme Drambellini which was delicious and frankly dangerous because I could have drank an awful lot of them! I also really liked the Beehive Bumbo which was another that was dangerously tasty. Both of these cocktails are quite sweet and fruity which is exactly what I like in my drinks. If sour is more your preference then I recommend Salt & Sea which was much more sour.
Could I Afford Seconds:
The menu is a set five-course tasting menu that changes each week based on what is in season and what the foragers have found that week. The tasting menu is £36 which is fantastic for the quality of the food. I have only experienced the one menu of course, but the quality of ingredients was fantastic and the combinations were well suited to the ingredients and clearly a lot of thought has gone into this one-off menu.
They also offer a wine matching menu which is £24 for five 100ml glasses. The pairings were good but if I’m honest I could have done without it. I think I’d prefer a couple more cocktails instead! However, the last wine for the dessert course was fantastic. So flavourful and sweet and very fruity (strawberry). It was just such a nice wine that I hope to come across again!
With the wine pairing, it’s £60 or if you just have dinner and a couple of cocktails it would be about £50 per person. I would say that £50-60 per person is about what my husband and I like to stay at if we’re going out for a dinner treat. It’s a good price point as you’re spending enough to get quality but not so much that at the end you’re like we massively overpaid. So, I would say it’s good value and worth a try. And that’s just for the food, throw in the fun experience and good conversation at the table and it’s a great option for a weekend dinner!
Strawberry Thyme Drambellini
Salt and Sea
Overall?
I cannot express enough how much I loved this concept. The changing menus and the foraged food is just a unique way to dine I think. Then on top of that having the communal dining feel having perfect strangers sitting right at the table with you.
We also were lucky enough that there was a birthday at another table and there was a huge cake (vegan blueberry) and a quartet to sing happy birthday and the whole room joined in and then the table shared the cake. I know this isn’t what happens every weekend at the Beehive Place but without it being such a fun, casual atmosphere to start with I don’t think it would have been as interesting and engaging.
There're only a few weekends left to book since they’re open through the end of June and I would definitely recommend you grab a couple friends and go enjoy yourselves!
Website: beehiveplace.com
Address: Behind The Yellow Door, 11A Beehive Place, Brixton, London SW9 7QR
Closest Tube Station: Brixton
