The HIVE Tasting Room and Kitchen: A Culinary Haven in Woodland, CA

Did you know you can ferment honey to make a wine? Yup. Honey, yeast and water fermented under an expert eye makes mead wine. I recently enjoyed my first (and definitely not my last) dining experience at the HIVE tasting room and kitchen in Woodland, CA. I enjoyed it; the food was delicious and customer service on point. I went there with the intent of mead wine tasting but ended up not since I had driving duties. [Fun fact: mead wine has less alcohol content than grape wine.] Instead I ordered lunch and washed it down with their honey ice tea. The iced tea had a prominent honey taste. Hubs luved his, but my tastebuds were confused. Odd though because I luv honey and iced tea. We also ordered a Ruben sandwich $22 and an order of waffles. The sandwich was classic with the familiar flavors. Nice quality cut of meat, thinly shaved. The waffles $17 were topped with blueberries, slivered almonds, and orange blossom whipped ricotta cream which I asked for on the side. The ricotta cream was divine. The waffles tasted pretty darn good. However the pricing for both entrees seemed high for the serving size. But this is a type of place where folks can eat and linger to enjoy the grounds, atmosphere, and each other's company without anyone rushing you out. We enjoyed our meal out in the back outdoor patio. The landscaping is all organic with lots of pollinating and drought resistant plants and trees. The building is a zero energy building with an onsite brewing facility. The interior has a brand newish look and feel. There is a honey tasting and mead wine tasting counter, gift shop, and dining area. All of this is in an open floor plan. The indoor seating capacity is limited. The place can be rented out for events (such as a garden wedding), private facility tours. Plus they host community events. Take a peek at their website. Some events are free. Events range from tours, book readings, yoga classes, flower bouquet class, gardening... etc.

We love each stopping here on our way down the freeway. Their menu has expanded quite a bit since last visit too. Nice surprise

I went with my daughter on Valentine's Day for her Birthday. We made reservations for their Valentine dinner which was a pre-set menu. It was fantastic! The food, service, atmosphere, attention to detail, everything, etc etc was phenomenal! Absolute home run! We will be back! A wonderful Birthday for her and evening for both of us. I couldn't have picked a better place to celebrate my daughter's birthday with her. The portions were generous. Everyone else around us were raving to the servers as well, and seemed liked most people left with to-go boxes because the pre-set menu was very generous . Thank you to The Hive and staff! You all made our night perfect!

First time visit to The Hive. It happened to be their anniversary party. I tasted mead for the first time. Excellent. They had tasty options for food. I went for the chicken shwarma pita. It was delicious. Such a relaxing and fun vibe for the day. Ill come back for the food, drink and to do some honey tasting for sure!!

They had a decent amount of options for mead and the service was great. We tasted a lot of different honey. There was lots of seating. The place was air-conditioned. My only complaint would be that a taster of four shot-size meads was over $30.

We had the most wonderful time at the Hive this past Saturday! We went for my birthday and were not disappointed. The food is excellent with the Baba Ganoush and the Dolmas standing out. However, as expected the tour and the honey were the most memorable experiences. We had a tour with Amina and it was truly a wonderful slice of life experience to hear her story (and the surprising overlap with mine) and how the Hive came to be. The tour was around 2 hours and at the end included tasting of 6 types of honey. It was so interesting to learn about the honey making process (I didn't know one bee only makes 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime)! This enhanced the delicious honey tasting experience at the end. The honey tasting truly rivaled any wine tasting I've been to with a complexity of aromas and tastes that were exquisite. I highly recommend to anyone and it was certainly worth the drive from Mountain View! Their garden is so nice as well with so many flowers (that are all pollinated by bees) and vegetables too!

Can't stop raving about this place. I went with 4 friends for a tour and honey tasting, which were fun and informative. Learned all about bees and local plants and the honey business. I was impressed with the solid ethics of the generational family behind this place--especially their support for local communities (including SacLGBT center where I won this tour in a silent auction). All around good people. After the educational honey tasting (book today!) we had mead tasting flights in the beautiful patio shaded under the pergola and chatted while watching the plants sway in the breeze. Already planning our next visit. A perfect afternoon so close to Sacramento. Did I mention how spotless the kitchen was? No wonder the food tasted incredible.

This was on my list to visit and I am glad I did finally. They have an amazing selection of mead and they taste fantastic. Pair that with food and I was happy and content. They have honey tasting as well from various locations and several flavors of honey blends and spreads. Definitely put this on your list to visit and have a great time with friends and family. They are dog friendly too and plenty of parking