The Beehive

One of my favorite spots in the neighborhood. All of the cocktails I have tried so far have been tasty. I love the layout of the bar with the travel through the usual bar set up to intimate nooks landing finally at the stylish lounge. It is a refreshing respite in the face of a street of dive bars.

This bar does tend to get crowded and lose all of their best seating as with any new bar on the street. But still I would definitely recommend it as a new essential stop in a night of Mission partying.

Protip: You can reserved the back lounge for a group of 12 or more. I am keeping that in my back pocket for a next birthday dinner or super social events I need to plan.

I always want to try something else on Valencia and I always come back to The Beehive. The ambiance is always A+. The cute decor is so fun to look at, the bartenders are always the absolute sweetest (so make sure you always sit at the bar!), and the cocktails are just so fun and swanky. They put so much care into creating your cocktails, so make sure you really take the time to enjoy them!

Every time I come here, I try a different snack. I also look around to see what other people are ordering, and everyone gets different things, so I'd like to believe we're all in agreement - all of their snacks are divine! Today, my partner and I noshed on the cheese board. Perfect summertime snack because the fruit was honestly the best part! The crostini and olives balanced out the sweets pretty well because I like a salty snack (so be careful if you're sensitive to salty).

The Beehive and the Green Emmanuelle are my fave cocktails!

"Outside of a beehive, Margo, your behavior wouldn't be considered queenly or motherly." I thought of that line from "All About Eve" when I walked into this stylish little retro-tinged bar because Margo's response was on point, "We're all in a beehive, pal, didn't you know? We're all busy little bees full of stings, making honey, day and night...ain't we, honey?" Snap!

My stinger must've been out of whack because I just didn't feel all that comfortable since I gravitate more toward dives, tiki lounges, and oh yes, gay bars. Hey, who else would quote from a Bette Davis movie? What actually drew me in the first time was the sandwich board advertising their slushies. $17 was a lot for a slushy, so I asked the server what flavor it was.

She didn't have a clue and couldn't be bothered to ask. I risked it anyway, and it was good. My guess was that it was a strawberry vodka creation (photo: https://yelp.to/f-pVJq_jF1). I didn't come back for quite a while since the vibe was young hipster with Apple Pay. That didn't prevent me from seeking out their Espresso Martini recently. It was also $17, but the price seemed more legitimate to me this time.

It consisted of Coconut Washed Bacardi Ocho, cold brew, and a house coffee liqueur blend (photo: https://yelp.to/2tBuSLI0Ox). That was more like it, and going in the late afternoon gratefully tamped down the hipster quotient. I'd provide another quote from "All About Eve" to end this review, but I'm afraid I'm not the type that could be bought for the price of a cocktail.

COCKTAILS - 3 stars...pricey slushies, better espresso martinis, bar bites available
AMBIANCE - 4 stars...mid-century retro vibe without the irony
SERVICE - 3.5 stars...questionable servers but good bartender
TOTAL - 3 stars....We're all in a beehive, pal!

RELATED - Exploring the Mission? Here's my collection of places I've patronized and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2NHtst6

Came here after eating in the mission, and got seated quickly! Love the pop art aesthetic they had going on, and the bench seating towards the back was perfect for what my partner and I was looking for.

We ordered one drink to share and was planning to order snacks since we had drinks beforehand, but the wait staff kept forgetting our order so much so that they ended up giving our drinks for free later in the night. Really kind of them. Drink itself was good, but nothing mind blowing. Might give this place a chance again, but will try out new places in the meantime.

How I rate my stars:
1 - Yikes. Will never be coming back. Usually raw food, terrible service, etc
2 - Maybe it was just this time. Didn't like what I ordered, bug in the food, bad experience, etc
3 - Meh. Nothing special nor awful about it, but not super memorable.
4 - Liked! Would happily come back to :)
5 - Must-Try!!! I will becoming back to this place every time I'm in the area.

To be honest, I found this place when searching for pigs in a blanket. This place popped up and would have never guessed that a great cocktail bar would have these as snacks on the menu. They were delicious and disappeared so fast that I forgot take a photo of them.

This is a beautiful space on Valencia for cocktails and snacks. Have been here twice now and both times were met with great service, whether it was an early evening or late night when it was packed! When i first went during the day i noticed how large the space is in the back but actually is but had no idea how packed it gets at night.

I tried the Hound Dog cocktail which was very spirit forward yet balanced and with a hint of sweetness. The caramelized banana was also a satisfying end to the drink. I also tried the mushroom bahn mi which was stacked with mushrooms and fresh ingredients. Highly recommend for cocktails, snacks or even late night bites and drinks.

Drinks were great. I had trouble deciding between the beehive and green emanuelle and asked the bartender about them - ultimately I chose the beehive. It was really good. Then the bartender had a little leftover of a green emanuelle he'd made for someone else and poured the extra for me to try! So thoughtful and nice! Made my day after a crappy week. And it was really good. I would've gotten that next but dang those drinks were strong so I could only handle the one. Next time.

Really classy bar in Mission. Love the beehive theme and unique drinks. My drink was called the beauty mark, which did actually have a little beauty mark on the egg white foam! I thought that was so adorable.

My friend ordered the thunderbird, which I actually liked a bit better than the beauty mark (hers was a bit sweeter, fruitier, and grapefruit flavored). Both drinks were really good though.

I also love that their kitchen is open late. It's perfect if you love snacking on foods while drinking. We went around 12:30 and we were still able to place food orders! The pigs in a blanket were so yummy and warm, and come with a nice dijon mustard sauce. Their fries looked good too.

Ambiance inside was nice and spacious, and service was attentive (we got water glasses right away after getting seated). The environment was lively but not too loud -- we were still able to talk normally over the music and not feel like we were screaming. Perfect saturday night vibe!

Have been coking here the last few years and have never had a bad experience. The food, drinks, and service is excellent. A few times I've come they were able to seat us right away despite it being a busy Friday and Saturday night. The ambiance is a bit loud after 7:30-8 PM, however it's a cocktail bar so that's sorta expected.
Overall I would come back and I live this place!

Returned and upgrading to a 4.5 stars. Busy at night but luckily found 2 seats.

* Beauty mark - 5 stars ($14):
In a coupe - Sipsmith Gin * Tangerine - Cacao * Lime * Cardamom * Egg White

* Thunderbird - 4.5 stars ($14):
Tequila Blanco * Campari - Passionfruit * Grapefruit Thyme Jelly * Lime * Q Tonic

Had a great time last night until I checked my bill this morning and saw I was charged for food I didn't order. They don't give you a list of the bill until after you pay so there's no way to tell what you got charged for until you've left. I've a patron here quite a few times before. I loved the drinks and the music but I'm really disappointed by the lack of coordination. I really hope they fix this system because no one should be charged for something they never ordered.

This made the list of a personalized foot tour we created because of the cocktails advertised and it was better than advertised. We were served by Andres, who is one of mixologists under this umbrella or restaurant/bars, and he was an absolute wizard behind the bar. Our group was seated and treated extremely well considering our party of 8. They catered to our group and the vibe we were carrying and adapted to us very well.

The ambiance is definitely more of a lounge with some cool house music to taste like Kaytranada to help liven it up from time to time. The back area has a great seating under low light that creates a cozy atmosphere you want to spend a couple hours chatting with some friends.

We tried a variety of cocktails here, all were spectacular but there were definitely a few that stood out.

Espresso Martini: (5/5) Should be their flagship beverage. This well balanced coffee cocktail is not overpowering on the caffeine or nuttiness. The initial taste is smooth and lightly foamy with an easy finish. You'll enjoy getting to the bottom of this before trying your next beverage. Very refreshing and extremely pretty to look at. Highly recommend

Thunderbird: (4/5) A grapefruit based concoction that is more on the refreshing end. Greater starter to wet the lips with if you're staying for a while. They did a good job of toning down the grapefruit so it's not bitter. I would try it again but probably once or twice more.

Hot buttered Cider: (5/5) This hot beverage for the winter months in SF is a must have. Consistently flavorful to the last drop. It's full bodied and very tasty. It was a group favorite. Highly recommended.