19 Sep 2023
James Cameron gets his noodles on at the refurbished Beehive… but what does he make of the rest of their menu?
It was a beautiful evening when we took a stroll down to the newly restored Beehive to try their resident pop-up restaurant, the punningly named Ramen Electra. It’s been a fair few years since Carmen Electra has done something notable, but I guess your ramen-related puns are limited (Ramens of the Day maybe?).
The refurbishment of the Beehive is not extensive, no name change like nearby Samrat, but what it has left is a very well-appointed pub. It’s classy, without being stuffy, and seems like somewhere you could happily bring the kids without them picking up either an extensive new vocabulary or an infection.
None of this mattered however because, firstly, we were without any minors and secondly it was one of those rare nights this summer when we could actually sit in the garden.
This area had not been ignored in the rejuvenation, and it has been left with a nice street-market vibe. Strings of twinkling lights festoon the green spaces, and there is a choice of colourful chairs or cosy booths. If you’re not a sporting fan you’re out of luck though, as most surfaces feature a large screen showing, on the night we visited, the cricket. There was also an odd feature, because the ground was at a different angle to a row of benches down the middle, anyone of average or below height would find their legs dangling down like Mr Punch.
The food, once ordered, took quite a while to arrive. This is one area, however, where pubs have an advantage over more traditional restaurants. If you start to feel peckish waiting for a course then you can mosey on over to the bar and order yourself a packet of crisps.
Likewise, if your drink is running dangerously low it is entirely in your power to get another one (presuming there is not too much of a crush at the bar) rather than wistfully and sometimes fruitlessly trying to catch the eye of a member of the waiting staff as they zip past with a determined look.
Finally, there’s always a good range of beer on tap, as was the case at the Beehive, with a range of cask ales plus some very interesting and, more important given the heat wave, cold lagers available. Viva la Pub!
When the food did arrive I was in for a treat though. I started with a Ramen Scotch Egg. The Ramen was more in the flavouring, or maybe the branding, and I did not receive an egg wrapped in deep fried noodles which would have been odd and logistically challenging, but also maybe amazing. Instead, it was surrounded by spicy sausage meat, lovely and juicy.
The crumb had just the right level of crispness and biting through bought you to a still runny yolk. There was a little pot of katsu sauce to dip it in, but I think the flavours were actually better without it.
My vegan companion was less lucky in her choice. Without too many options she went for the Seaweed Salad, and let’s just say she had issues with it. Firstly it featured raw onions, something which unlike the man from the old Wrigley’s Doublemint advert she was not a fan.
Compounding this was the seaweed which was rubbery to the point of being almost inedible.
Now, she is not one to make a fuss, despite what our children might say, but in this case when the barman came to check on us, she did raise it with him. I feel the mark of a place is not that nothing ever goes wrong, but how they deal with it when it does.
In this case they more than rose to the occasion, taking the salad without a fuss and refunding it plus providing complementary edamame.
Whilst this was occurring, my main course arrived, before I had even finished my starter. At this point I was 2-0 up on the courses, but I dived in anyway. From the quite varied range of Ramen they had on offer I had gone for the ‘Porky Garlic Corn’. This was absolutely outstanding, as you would expect given their name they do make a great ramen.
The bowl came topped with a pork chop, sweetcorn, my second egg of the evening, sweetcorn plus a ‘garlic bomb.’ I’m not entirely sure what this was but it was certainly garlicky. Best part though was the broth, homemade from pork broth daily and full of warming, comforting loveliness.
In my notes from the evening, I described it as ‘soooooooo good’, though the number of ‘o’s might have something to do with the number of pints I’d consumed by this point.
My one criticism is that it would be good to be provided with a spoon to help slurping up every last drop.
Once again I was luckier with my menu choice than my companion.
She went for the Vegetable Katsu Curry and it was very much a dish of two halves. The pickled ginger topping was the star of the dish, and when combined with the caramelised sweet potato it was delightful.
These elements were in short supply, however, and where they were absent from the mouthful what remained was rather underwhelming, with the katsu sauce on the watery side.
I would definitely recommend the Beehive for those wishing to get a great bowl of ramen, especially if you want to pair it wish a lovely pint of beer.
If it’s Katsu you’re after, maybe pop to nearby Kimaya, tell them I sent you and they’ll sort you out good and proper.
