BEE’S KNEES — Restaurant in Kyoto

I really wanted to like this place. But the drinks are really not worth the crazy (2-3 hour?) wait and my experience interfacing with the staff left me feeling extremely uncomfortable. Being a top 50 bar in Asia, I understand that there is going to be a long wait. That wasn’t really my problem but what upset me was how the front door person dealt with that.

The wait system is to download an app, scan a QR code to join the queue, and come back to the bar within 10 minutes of being notified. The app they use is quite confusing. For one, upon opening the app it prompts you to scan a QR code to join the queue. It is however unstated that you have to first go into a menu to update your personal info before the QR code works. And there's no error indicating that's the issue, just an infinitely loading icon. So I showed the front door lady my non-working QR code scan, and she begrudging tried to help me, blamed it on my phone network, got me to join their wi-fi and saw it to still not work and in the end I noticed the information tab and we got the reservation working. Second annoying thing about the app - it doesn't tell you when you are next, it says you are in the "top 3" which I think can be construed as you are third in line. But you could be the next or second next. So when we got the message, we started walking back towards the bar thinking we had time only to have the message flip to saying the bar is ready for us. With this, we arrived around 17 minutes at the bar but needed to be there within 10 minutes.

We acknowledged being late but wanted to explain our situation and ask for alternatives. We had hoped to be placed back in the queue without being at the very bottom of the queue if possible. The front door lady did not try to offer any alternatives upon hearing our situation. She immediately stated it was completely our fault that we were late and they had already done more than enough in giving waiting for 15 minutes instead of 10. We tried to ask about other possibilities (such as being re-inserted into the queue at the higher position) but with each suggestion she would start her statement with "it was your fault" and not offer anything helpful. This happened multiple times and left me feeling pretty uneasy. She also proceeded to unnecessarily compliment another nearby group waiting their turn about how nice they were and how patient and good of them to come early so they are on-time for their seating.

At this point, we were at a loss for options and just re-joined the queue at the bottom. We left pretty unhappily and decided to just find another bar. This was when they called us back and said they can move us to the top of the line. We weren't sure what happened but gladly took this offer. However, when we were seated, I felt like the staff (actually mostly just the front door woman) went out of their way to not interact or engage in conversation with us. They happily chatted with some of the other customers and left us feeling very awkward.

We ordered a few drinks (including their signature) and while the cocktails and the place was quite instagram-worthy, the drink itself I thought lacked complexity and wasn't worthy of a top 50 bar mention.

Overall the experience kind of ruined my night, I would not come back nor would I recommend this...

1 Star. This is even after taking some time to cool my head down before rewriting my review. Insulting remarks by the door lady and a rude confrontation by the owner was simply not worth slightly above average drinks at above average prices.

I came five extra minutes late after a 1.5 hour wait and was told I will not be let in because I took too long to return. Keep in mind that I waited 1.5 hours for what was supposed to be an "about 30 minute" wait. Fair enough, I asked if there’s any way we could be put back in the queue, ideally not at the very end given that we'd already waited so long the entire evening. The woman at the door said it wasn’t possible, but she didn’t just say it matter of factly. She YELLED at us in front of other people in line saying something along the lines of "you were late, it’s your fault, I told you already, that’s our policy." I was STUNNED to say the least.

Look, it’s fair if that’s their policy and we can't be let in, but it's completely unreasonable to be yelled at— in Japan of all places, as a potential customer, nonetheless! I was taken extremely aback because it's not as if we were being aggressive towards her. We were sober, hadn't raised our voices, hadn’t made a scene, etc. There was no aggression on our end. This is my sixth time in Japan and nothing like this has ever happened to me before.

After yelling at me, I suppose they felt like they went overboard. They offered to put me back on the list at the back, but told me that there was a very low chance of getting called back tonight. We were pretty unhappy, and as I was leaving, I left a one star review. However, to my surprise, as we were walking away, they decided to move us up to the top of the list (which they told us they couldn’t do just seconds before?) and let us into the bar. Perhaps out of guilt for having yelled at us rudely just before?

Our joy was relatively short lived when I was personally accosted by the bar owner after he had identified me as the latest reviewer who provided a 1-star review. It was jarring, to say the least. He, at least unlike the doorwoman, did at least apologize later on, but I felt a bit out of place after that confrontation. It was one of our final nights in Japan on this trip and I didn't want to make a scene so we left it at that and left soon afterwards.

The bar experience, otherwise (if you can say that at this point) was great, although I would say that the drinks themselves were not mind blowingly unique compared to other top bar we ventured out to in Japan. but they tasted great, and were presented very well by the bartenders.

All in all, it's not worth the hassle to try and get in, especially if you consider the fact that they'll verbally accost you if...

3 North Americans who walked in on a weekday night because of the good reviews. The area was small and catered almost exclusively to international guests. There were two Japanese guests who were easily the best dressed in the whole group (think our pants/polo shirts/country dresses compared to their multi-piece formal gowns with jewelry and fancy hair). The seating is limited and you can expect to stand waiting for a bit before some seats empty for you. Service is very polite, professional, and friendly with excellent control over English. The menu options are basically all in English as well, including the drink options written in chalk on the chalkboard. Drinks are good - a bit on the expensive side, but worth the price. Some arrive with cool decorations, like a fedora cover or a lemon peel piece stamped with "Bee's Knees," indicating the dedication to craft that all these drinks radiate. Some may come across as too sweet, but the descriptions of the drinks give you a pretty good hint and too sweet for you is not sweet enough for someone else. Overall, flavors tended to run chocolate, fruit, or flower. Expect to have a few drinks and then leave, both because you've probably hit your limits (alcohol, money, whatever) and there are enough people waiting that you're starting to feel bad about it. The menu is a lot of fun to just look at - nevermind order from - and the plethora of drink options are charming as well as delicious. Do be aware that the prices on the menu do have a little "starting from" mark on them, which means that the cheapest you'll be charged for the drink is what is displayed. There is a chance (maybe even a good chance) that you'll be charged more than the displayed price. The environment has an excellent US Prohibition Era vibe to it (the entrance is marked as a book store) including cute bee-related decorations and lighting. The music they have playing also fits the vibe, though it is admittedly not all Prohibition Era songs - seemed to be mostly '90's hip hop when we were there. It's definitely worth a few visits if you're staying in Kyoto for a few nights, but it may be difficult to spend an entire night there simply due to the crowding and the density...