The Hive La Jolla

The Speakeasy as part of Beeside Balcony is a nice hidden place for honey themed drinks. My wife's Honeypot Pot Old Fashioned is yummy. My mezcal drink The Smoker is nice. Recommend both the Speakeasy and the restaurant.

We decided to check out the new speakeasy in La Jolla while we were wandering around the area, and luckily, they had a few open spots for walk-ins on a Friday evening. While the entrance didn't quite give off the "hidden" vibe I expected from a speakeasy, I was pleasantly surprised by the chic and stylish decor once we stepped inside. The ambiance was cozy, but it's worth noting that it's a small space, so I'd recommend making a reservation if you plan to visit. We ordered the lavender cocktail and the honey pot old fashioned, and my husband particularly enjoyed the latter, especially the honey crumbles they added to it. It was a nice touch that added to the overall experience. Although our server was friendly, we experienced a bit of a delay with our drinks. It took over 15 minutes for them to arrive at our table, and the same thing happened when we ordered our second round. Eventually, we decided to move on to a different spot. Despite the minor hiccup with service, we still appreciated what The Honey Pot had to offer. Overall, it's a nice place with some interesting drink options, and we enjoyed our time there.

They do not serve food at the Hive drinks only. I made a reservation online. We checked in with the host of the Beeside Balcony. She had us wait while she notified the Hive (about 5 mins). Then the host took us to the "secret entrance" by the restrooms and had us wait until they opened the door for us (another 5 mins). Our sever opened the door and let us into the Hive. It's a darkly lit room with flowers hanging from the ceiling and lanterns throughout. There are about 10 small tables seating 2-3 people per table. They center area has a bench and is big enough for 5 people. They had a musician come on around 7 pm on a Saturday night. The drinks were good, it was a cool atmosphere and our server was so sweet. The downside was that the a/c was out, and we were sweltering. It's a fun place to visit and we had a good time.

You're going to Hive a wonderful time at this bee and honey centric restaurant! With elegant dining options, great staff, and delightful cocktails; this location is elevated again by a great view of the La Jolla coastline.

The place is a conundrum! There are so many styles happening that it feels like nothing but so busy all at once. There is nothing pertaining to a hive setting. One beautiful photo of a 1920’s flapper girl and that’s where the speakeasy vibe ends. There is a ceiling of flowers that is cool in itself but has Moroccan lanterns and then Edison bulb clusters. Rattan chairs that look like a beach side patio, a 70’s smoked glass wall, which again is cool in itself but doesn’t make sense with the leather cushions and flowered ceiling with a DJ playing loud club music on glow in the dark LP’s. The whole thing made me want to leave rather than stay and linger over their awesome drink menu. Make a warm sultry hive feeling with a honey glow and jazzy or big band music feeling and you’ve got it made! It’s like the adhd of Speak Easy’s. It didn’t make any of us want to return, so I can’t say it’s bad, it just doesn’t have a smooth vibe.

It’s literally a large decorated walk in closet. Nice server(only 1), but took forever to get drinks. Kind of weird to place the entrance right in front of the bathrooms. Live music was interesting to put it lightly. People were constantly walking in and then leaving within 5 minutes, which was distracting bc of the small space and the bright light shining in as the door opens. AC was not really running, so it was a lot warmer compared to the patio.

I rarely write bad reviews but this was definitely the worst speakeasy I have been to. The entrance and decoration was not bad, even though it was way too hot in the small space, and the music was not bad either. However, the drink prices are ridiculous for what you get. They are priced $18-23 or so and are absolutely tasteless (we ordered 4 different ones to try) with no decoration at all. My drink was missing an ingredient (blueberry caviar) that I asked the waiter about at the end and he shrugged and said that they didn’t have it, which would have been nice to know before ordering. It also took 20 minutes to get our drinks despite there being few customers, and we had to ask 3 times to get water. I know they just opened so maybe they are still figuring out service but the drinks themselves are overpriced and quite terrible. There are so many better speakeasies in San Diego with tastier and cheaper drinks, don’t waste your time here.

Made a reservation, had it confirmed, got their token thingy, was seated by the hostess, then another hostess harassed our group about how we got in. The hostess implied our group had snuck in, and proceed to cause a scene in front of the entire bar. For 3 minutes she kept saying there was no problem, but wouldn’t leave us alone. We left immediately, mortified. The manager, who confirmed my reservation, watched me check in (after finishing my dinner reservation at Beeside) and watched our group storm out, made no attempt to contact me. Worst service I’ve ever received.