Swarm to the Hive Garden Bistro

Summer is waning but one of the best things about it is continuing until the end of September. Get this combination: late summer days and evenings, a restaurant with ample patio seating, an uninterrupted view of gardens and a pond that no other restaurant can boast and really good food, sourced locally (including about six feet away). Sound good? That’s the experience of eating at the Hive Garden Bistro in the heart of Denver Botanic Gardens‘ location on York Street.

I should have written about the Hive much earlier in the season. I have frequented it and enjoyed it every time. Like many things about summer, I guess I kept thinking “there’s time, there’s time.” But as with so many summers, suddenly I find myself near the end of summer, panicking to fit in everything I haven’t done yet including all the things that were on my Denver Summer Bucket List. Alas, letting you know about the Hive has fallen to the end – although, weather depending, you still have until September 27 to enjoy it.

Hive Garden Bistro is located in the newly-renovated and expanded building overlooking the Monet Pool. The large patio is almost always shaded by large trees with dappled sunlight peaking through. The setting is perfect. If you’re a member of the Denver Botanic Gardens (which is money extremely well-spent), you can think of the Hive as simply a restaurant to go to (that happens to be in an incredible setting). Take advantage of the free parking, go in, have a meal, leave. But, whether a member or not, the fact that you can stroll the beautiful gardens before and after your meal makes dining at the Hive a supremely unique experience. I’ve gone there for romantic dates, with friends and family and for business meetings. It isn’t just relegated to your visit to Denver Botanic Gardens.

The Hive serves burgers, sandwiches and salads all made-to-order. You place your order at the counter (show your membership card for a discount) and the food is brought to your table for you. The oak fire pizza oven opened part-way into the season and was eagerly anticipated, with good reason. Our Chicken Basil pizza, cooked on a hot stone was enough for two. It had grilled chicken, mozzarella and goat cheeses, caramelized onion, roasted tomatoes and pesto sauce.

Over the course of several visits, I’ve had several of the sandwiches: the SBLT, grilled Atlantic salmon, applewood smoked bacon, baby arugula, tomatoes and herbed aioli ($14.95), the Bistro Steak with arugula, tomato, red onion and lemon chimichurri ($12.95) and my favorite, the Crispy Marinated Artichoke sandwich (I’ve never seen a restaurant serve this) with cornmeal-crusted artichokes, lettuce, tomato, red onion and lemon aioli, a bargain at $9.95. All sandwiches come with kettle chips and a pickle on the side. But for a $1 more, go for the fries, delicious sweet potato fries or the orange jicama cabbage slaw.

The Hive Garden Bistro uses locally-sourced ingredients wherever possible and that includes produce from the Le Potager Garden just steps away from the patio and from DBG’s Chatfield location’s CSA garden. That makes everything just a little more delicious in my book.

Interrupt your work day with lunch in an oasis. Make dinner more special by dining surrounded by beauty. Savor your meal, savor the gardens, savor these last, delicious days of summer. Ahhhhh.

The Hive Garden Bistro is located inside Denver Botanic Gardens at 1007 York Street in Denver. It is open daily, 10am-8pm but the grill closes at 7:30pm.