Busy Bee

I agree with Matt W. It’s a fun place to go and the atmosphere is fun and easy going, but the food is hit or miss (mostly miss). I’ve had a few good things (the organic chicken entree was great), but I mostly go there for the beer. The changing tap seems to always have something damn good that I’ve never had before.  Go for some drinks after eating dinner somewhere else.  Also, I have to note that you can get a good hot chocolate there a good price.

By jbee 05/28/10

Positives: Location is awesome, atmosphere is really great, prices are reasonable, pretty good beer menu

Negatives: Food is decidedly average, it gets LOUD LOUD LOUD on weekend nights indoors.  That’s kind of the point though I guess so I won’t mark them down for that.

By Matt W 05/01/10

I recently had dinner here with a large group and while our food came out quickly, it was extremely disappointing. Out waitress

By {screen_name} 03/08/10

It’s pretty inside. The food is decent. The outside deck is pleasant.

By katdesign83 01/22/10

As far as bars go, Busy Bee/The Hive is pretty decent, but the food is a little lack-luster. The menu items sound delicious, but the follow through isn’t what it should be. The drink selection is great, but they need to work on getting the food up to par.

By bobby.is.rad 12/16/09

Busy Bee is probably my favorite place in downtown raleigh at the moment.
My fiance and I hosted a party there, and the staff was EXCELLENT. The food is amazing (try the chicken sandwich) and with drinks like “the Sting” (jalapenos + alcohol= delicious!) they have a great menu.
On the weekends, it seems the downstairs is calmer and upstairs is DJ/party scene, but all in all there is something for everyone.

By {screen_name} 08/26/09

Been to busy bee a few times…great food, good service and the rooftop is perfect at night..!

By {screen_name} 06/23/09

Not like the Times at all i.e live music, rooftop patio, DJ’s and so on. Mostly exceptional service. The food is always good though the meat temps can be off. The drinks are unique and refreshing. Super knowledgeable staff and the best mac and cheese on the planet.

By juliawesome 06/12/09

Um, correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t we already have one of these bar/restaurant/coffee shop places? Busy Bee is on the Times jock.

By {screen_name} 06/02/09

Loved it!
I went with a bunch of 5 girl friends that are all super picky.  Everyone enjoyed their food, the service was fantastic and the beer selection great!

I looooooved the atmosphere.  We sat downstairs, but I would definitely go back and hang out at the downstairs (or upstairs) bar or out on the patio.  What a gem!

By {screen_name} 05/21/09

Ehhh…...

I went with some friends to The Busy Bee to try a beer they had listed on their website, only to find out that they didn’t really have the beer.  My wife ordered a latte’ and loved it, though. I was surprised it was only $2.95.

We decided to eat a little something before we headed out.  To start, we ordered the calamari and tofu apps.  They were really good.  The calamari and tofu were cooked perfectly and had well matched dipping areas. 

For mains, I ordered the turkey sandwich and my wife and friend ordered burgers.  The turkey was very dry and difficult to swallow.  Both burgers were ordered well-done.  My friends burger was cooked medium at best, but was tolerable.  On the other hand, my wife’s burger was, at the most, medium rare and she could not eat it.  I made the server aware of the undercooked burger and to tell the chef.  I figured they would have comped it or offered another burger, but no.

The Busy Bee is a really nice place to sit and have a beer, but I don’t think I will be ordering any more food there.  I give it two stars only because the appetizers were excellent.

By {screen_name} 05/19/09

I’m not sure what Zombie is talking about.  Busy Bee is first and foremost- huge.  With a big dining room, a rooftop dining area and a second bar upstairs, Busy bee may be one of the biggest restaurants in the downtown.  Busy Bee is a slick operation by some young entrepreneurs who are trying to make a good product.  And they are mostly successful. 

It’s a good coffee shop in the morning with smart, trained baristas.  The menu is a good value for lunch or dinner, not trying to be gourmet, but a cut above traditional bar-fare comparable to other downtown bar/restaurants.  At night it becomes a multi story bar that blends the indoor and outdoor spaces well along with the different levels.

By David 05/14/09

Luckily I ate something late in the afternoon before we came for dinner as portions are extremely small.  Chicken on Chicken Sandwich was 3 ounces at best.  Side of fried green tomatoes were the size of 4 tater tots.  Have not been to the bar at night yet, decent beer selection on the menu.

By {screen_name} 05/08/09

The Busy Bee is pretty far from perfect.  It’s tiny and quaint, and the nice array of hardwoord flooring and art in now way take away from the downfalls.  The space is tiny, so whence filled with lots of people, the space gets really loud.  Some acoustic filling could be a thought?!  Moreso, I got the steak and my friend got the pork plate.  My steak was pre-cut into small strips atop a bed of frittes (their version of fries).  I think I got more PLATE than FOOD.  Art’s pork plate was very much the same.  He got more PLATE and ONIONS than PORK.  Our bills totalled almost $20 for hardly no food at all.  We even left and went to the Borough b/c we were STILL hungry.  Furthermore, the diet coke was very flat-tasting with little to no carbonation.  When I asked for tea, I got (what looked like) water with a single tea leaf swirled in the midst. 

Be prepared to mark this one off your list..IF you find yourself wanting to try this out.  (We visited Busy Bee on 4/6).

By AberZombie 04/29/09

Great place!  I went for the first time on Friday night and it was a good time.  Food was good and the mixed drinks were great!  We intended on leaving early to go somewhere else, but ended up staying we liked it so much.  My only complaint is the DJ.  He started off good (played old school rap) and then went to piss poor music (dance floor cleared and he continued).

By {screen_name} 04/21/09

Fantastic!  Let’s start with the coffee bar.  Counter Culture coffee and made from scratch flavoring syrups, by Jackie, the coffee shop manager.  They are magnificent!  The Carmeletto is sublime.  She has an awesome variety of local teas, like Jasmine pearl and white peach and they are steeped perfectly and available hot or iced.

The food is delicious and well-priced.  We shared the Baby Green salad with cranberries, walnuts and camembert that was delish.  The fried green tomatoes are out of this world, the breading just right and fried to perfection with a light, lemony aioli for dipping.  The wait staff are friendly and you’d never have known it was opening day!

The surroundings are just gorgeous with warm, luminous wood floors and beautiful exposed brick walls.  It all feels very warm yet light and airy.  I can’t wait to go back at night and sample the beer menu and the cocktails looked unique and exciting.  Another great thing I noticed is that, even though it was crowded and people were having animated discussions, the sound inside was not too loud or echo-ey to be able to hear your table mate.

Seriously, check it out.  I can’t wait to go back.  Oh, and parking is a snap.

By {screen_name} 04/06/09