The twenty-dollar bill slid across the mahogany wood and into the glass set out for the band. Onstage, the saxophonist closed his eyes, and the bassist was grinning at something only he could hear. Around the room, forks went down one table at a time. Nobody asked us to stop talking. We just did.
This is Beehive Restaurant, and it might be Boston’s best room for a Thursday night. It sits on Tremont Street in the South End, tucked beneath the Boston Center for the Arts, in a space that feels like it should require a secret code to get in. While it doesn’t, reservations are highly recommended, and you should certainly make one tonight.
The popular venue gets its name from “La Ruche” (French for “The Beehive”), a historic site in France that began as a round wine pavilion designed by Gustave Eiffel for the 1900 World’s Fair. After rebuilding it in Montparnasse, sculptor Alfred Boucher rented its studios to young artists for nearly nothing, attracting artists such as Marc Chagall, Chaïm Soutine and Amedeo Modigliani. Boston’s version keeps that same bohemian spirit: The venue sits beneath another round building, the 1884 Cyclorama, built to showcase a French painter’s 400-foot panorama of Gettysburg. The Beehive wears its art history lightly, exactly as it should.
Inside, exposed brick holds art that crowds the walls, with enough low lighting to flatter anyone. The street-level dining area wraps around a railing that looks straight down onto a stage. The rail offers the best seats in the house, so be sure to ask for it when you make a reservation.
The menu travels from North Africa through Paris to an American-style grill. Start with the Beehive frites ($14), a heap so generous you can share it with the next table and make some new friends. The royal couscous ($29, or $34 with za’atar chicken) arrives in a broth of saffron, ginger and turmeric that evokes the taste of somewhere much warmer than October in Boston. If you have a parent visiting, steer them toward the short rib bourguignon ($42), served over truffled potato purée with bacon lardons. The $64 ribeye can wait for graduation.
With live music every weeknight, you can enjoy the show as the lights dim and the band returns to the stage. Listeners can tune in to jazz, soul and funk most evenings, blues with Bruce Bears & Friends on Sundays, a hoedown on Mondays and live sets at weekend brunch for anyone who wants a horn section with their eggs. There’s no cover charge, but there is an optional 7% gratuity on the check that goes toward the music. I recommend leaving it on your tab and tipping in the glass anyway. The players, after all, are the reason this room exists.
My haute take: Most restaurants play music so you won’t notice the awkward silence, but the Beehive serves dinner so you have an excuse to stay for the second set. Go on Thursday, when the music starts at 6:30, and dress like you have somewhere better to be afterward. You won’t.
