The Hive - BBQ & Jerk — Restaurant in George Town

I stopped in on a rainy Friday afternoon around 3:30 pm. I'd had a craving for pork belly burnt ends all day. As I ran in from the rain, Alan open the door for me so that I could escape the rain.

I was the only one there as they were setting up for the 5 pm happy hour crowd, which was great as all I needed was a bit of food and a drink before heading home. My first question was, "will the Tyson/Paul fight be on the TVs tonight?".

I took a seat, and Alan who is the owner joined me as it was quiet. We got to talking about the food and I told him I was thinking about the beef burnt ends along with the pork belly burnt ends. I settled on the pork! Alan had the server bring me a sample of the beef burnt ends which was hot, tender, juicy and full of flavor. Then I had the pork! Delicious. Of course I added the Scotch Bonnet Pepper sauce as being Caymanian, I love my pepper!

As we chatted about food, light politics, life in Cayman, our families, I felt I'd reconnected with an old friend.

I was asked to try the Conch Fritters. Alan had the chef prepare one for me to try. To my surprise, it was LOADED with conch, not tons of batter as most places have. And best of all, pepper! Of course I added more to the aioli sauce.

After a couple of beers, (local beer as well) I left after eating the beef, the pork, and an order of conch fritters in addition to the one I was asked to try.

I highly recommend have a beer and some food at the Hive. As a local, I am all about flavor. And I wasn't disappointed. I do state this wasn't my first time there either as my kids enjoy the food also.

I left with...

I was pretty upset. I ordered pork belly burnt ends. I was given 4 tiny little pieces. They were not bad.

Coleslaw-It didn’t have much flavor other than mayonnaise. No proper, vinegar, just bland.

South African hectic Boerie roll- I saw on the menu that it came with ketchup & mustard. Thought I’d try it. Mustard and ketchup wasn’t doing it for me. The sausage was bland.

Brisket- 1lb was $57!!!! This brisket was over cooked! I can tell the internal temperature was around 225 plus. That means the brisket falls apart and does not pull apart. At this point it was pot roast. The meat was grey, no smoke flavor and I can tell that you tried saving this meat because it was cooking too fast and you tried to save it. How I can tell was, seemed steamed in tin foil or butcher paper for a long time not on its normal/room temp. Why was there were many parts/chunks of seasonings that were missing. That happens when you steam brisket. I didn’t even finish it.

I know yo will reply (we smoke our brisket 16 hours etc , we sold today etc) if you don’t want to listen, simply, don’t.

I walked out with $158 dollar bill. Didn’t feel satisfied at all. Felt like what...

The staff at The Hive is a prime example of teamwork. It’s always a pleasant and welcoming experience when I swing by this place.

Safe to say I’ve never had an unmeaningful conversation with Royce, a true master of his craft. It’s incredible to see this guy in the zone when The Hive is buzzin’.

The atmosphere is great when it’s slow or busy. Even when it’s super busy, someone is sure to greet you with a genuine amount of respect! Darren and Stephen are always watching the floor, making sure you’re having a good experience while Cuff is sure to tell you a funny story, if he wants to :)

Big shout to Heather for reserving me a spot at the bar while i called in a hot dog on the fly the other night….. that hot dog is legit… try the hot dog people! Sake is always making sure those food trucks and smokehouse are pumpin’ out GoodGood Food. That late night 2am menu is a...