[Originally published by On:Yorkshire Magazine: http://www.on-magazine.co.uk/food/yorkshire-restaurant-reviews/beehive-beverley/]

The Beehive opened back in September 2014 in Wednesday Market in the centre of Beverley. The bistro bar’s food and drink menus feature a large range of dishes created using good quality ingredients along with 15 different beers (some draught and some bottled) and a nice selection of wines and cocktails making it the ideal place for going out for lunch with family or meeting friends for a catch-up over a drink and nibbles.

With its smart black sign and distinctive geometric bee logo, The Beehive catches your attention straight away and looks trendy and upmarket in the small square. Just be careful not to leave your car outside in what looks like a car park in the middle – it isn’t! One of the waitresses helpfully let me know when I arrived and directed me to nearby pay and display parking around the corner to avoid getting a ticket. There are tables and chairs out the front that would be nice for al fresco dining in the summer, but we didn’t fancy it on a cold Sunday in March. Inside the atmosphere is friendly and relaxed with mis-matched recycled tables and chairs dotted around and a raised dining area across from the bar that looks a little more formal and well-suited to evening dining.

The menu offers a mixture of sharing dishes like a Cheese or Charcuterie board (£6 each), sandwiches and salads for quick lunches and a good selection of more classic starters and hearty homemade pies and burgers for those looking for a more substantial meal. I chose the Homemade Chicken Liver Pate (£5) to start and my companion went for a portion of the Nachos (£6). Chicken liver pate is one of my favourite starters and I always order it if it is on the menu, especially if it has a nice chutney or relish with it. It was served in slices with toasted bread and with a fantastic sweet, caramelised onion chutney that I felt overshadowed the pate, which wasn’t as full in flavour as I had hoped and a little dry and grainy, more like a terrine, rather than rich and smooth. The portion of Nachos was generous and the guacamole and salsa were nice but we could have done with a little more of all of the toppings, as we were left with a few plain tortilla chips at the end.

Homemade pie is one of my ultimate comfort foods, so I chose the interesting-sounding Cider Braised Rabbit Pie (£10). The filling was chunks of rabbit in a creamy wholegrain mustard and cider sauce that had small pieces of melt-in-the-mouth carrot through it too. I do like game but my past experience with eating rabbit is that it has had an overwhelmingly strong taste and can be a little tough, but the succulent meat in the pie was just the opposite and was cooked really well. Even my game-phobic companion enjoyed it. The pie was topped with a crispy puff pastry lid and came with chips and peas and a side of gravy for dunking.

We think the chips were double cooked as they were quite dark and could maybe have done with a couple of minutes less in the fryer to make them a little more fluffy. My companion had the Halloumi Burger with a baked Portobello mushroom, iceberg lettuce and mint yoghurt on a brioche bun (£8 plus £2.50 for doubling-up on her Halloumi). All the ingredients of the burger complemented each other really well and the Halloumi had a delicious smoky flavour from being griddled, but the arrangement of the yoghurt dressing topped with a tomato then the mushroom under the halloumi did unfortunately make for a slightly soggy bottom bun.

With the help of the waiter I enjoyed a glass of the Malbec (£6.40 for a large glass) which he told me was his personal favourite – we must share the same taste in wine as it was a fantastic, full-bodied red that went well with my homely main course.

For pudding we shared the retro Knickerbocker Glory (£5) and the Lemon Tart (£5) from the specials board. We did struggle a bit with our dessert choice as they all sounded a little too sweet for our tastes with a Nutella tart, Banana Split and Ice Cream or Sorbet being the other options, hence the sharp lemon tart appealing to us to end our meal with. The tart was expertly made – the buttery, short pastry case was filled with a sweet, not tart, lemon filling that tasted like a mixture between sherbet lemons and lemon curd. It came with a vivid berry sorbet that went amazingly with the tart – eating them together simply elevated the flavour of both elements making it the highlight of the meal. We enjoyed the Knickerbocker Glory with its hidden chunks of chocolate-coated honeycomb and chopped nuts cutting through the ice cream, even though the raw redcurrants and raspberries were surprisingly sharp.

As the atmosphere was so welcoming we stayed for a Vanilla Latte each (£2.10) whilst we listened to the Jazz Trio that had set-up at the front of the bistro whilst we were eating. The live music was a lovely addition – if a touch loud at times due to the trumpet – and from posters dotted around the bar they seem to host different music events each month. The Beehive’s varied selection of well-prepared food, quality beers, wines and cocktails and fun entertainment makes it suitable for all occasions and definitely sets it apart from your usual market town bar and bistro.

The Beehive
8 Wednesday Market
Beverley
East Riding of Yorkshire
HU17 0DG

T: 01482 861 375
thebeehivebeverley.com

Opening Hours:
Monday – Closed
Tuesday to Friday – 11am – late
Saturday – 10am – late
Sunday – 10am – late