The Bee Grocery

A great grab & go local grocer.
The staff is very friendly and remembers your name. If your stopping by with a pup, they have organic treats. Free wifi and smiles ;)
They have a wide selection of beer, wine and nonalcoholic beverages. Plenty of fresh healthy snack options, frozen treats and AWESOME dine in/​takeaway menu.
Highly recommend
— Fresh Spring Rolls with pork $ 4
— BEST DEAL: Rice plate with pork. Comes with picked veggies over rice $ 9
— Vietnamese Coffee (it’s authentic and transports me back to the streets of Hanoi) ~$ 4
I eat here at least twice a week. I’ve lived in Vietnam; trust me — this is authentic delicious Vietnamese food.

Good service, clean place, with a cozy ambience. I had a cinnamon croissant and black coffee. The croissant was fresh, flaky, and delicious. The coffee was good, fresh, and smooth. Will come back!

Excellent banh mi’s and spring rolls (tofu and mushroom are superb). Best quick food in neighborhood for sure. Also, they have wonderful bakery items and a good selection of drinks and snacks. Best corner store in Austin. Reminiscent of a shinier version of what you might find in New Orleans in terms of Vietnamese food. Also, while I don’t abstain from meat, I appreciate that they consider if customers are vegetarian or vegan before preparing their food.

Love their spring rolls!!!
Parking stinks.
Bee workers are very friendly.
While I’m out working I stop by for a drink and food, there is also a place to sit and eat inside while you look out at 6^th st

Absolutely wonderful. Best Phở I’ve had in Austin. Delicious beef broth and choice of 2 meats. I got brisket and round steak. Lots of basil, cilantro, lime, bean sprouts and jalapeño. Excellent broth to noodle soup.
Service was exceptional. I was spectacle that the food was going to be good at 10pm from a grocery store. But, both employees were reassuring. From the fresh brewed ice tea to the Vietnamese coffee. Then my hubs had a bahn mi and my bro had a grilled pork vermicelli bowl.
The only complaint was my cheesecake brownie. It was mushy. I wouldn’t get it again.
Overall, my phở gave me how that delicious broth does exist!

Excellent bahn mi’s and baked goods. The grilled pork bahn mi or noodle bowl is particularly good. You don’t want to miss the sweet croissants either. After 3pm, it’s buy one and get one free. They also have a wide selection of beers (in bottles or 6 packs in the refrigerated room). It’s a perfect quick one-​stop shop for snacks or a meal.

I’d kind of ignored this spot because I generally don’t like artisanal groceries and that’s the read I got on the place based on its location and window dressing. But my foodie friend noticed it said Bahn Mi on the window and upon entering and inspecting the menu found an exciting selection of vermicelli bowls, phở and bahn mi on housemade baguettes **on East 6^th street***!
We split a lemongrass tofu bahn mi and spring rolls. She’s a vegetarian and they obliged my request to put pâté on only one side of the sandwich and even wrapped them separately. Both items were fresh, flavorful and well priced.
I’d like to go back for phở and vermicelli but in the meantime, I’m pretty psyched about The Bee. Major plus is that they’re open to 3am Friday and Saturday nights. Not sure if the deli counter is also open that late but if they are, this spot is definitely going to be the post-​bar craving satiation station. Grocery includes plenty of snacks and other prepared foods, including a Good Pops freezer!
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Update: I went back for phở today. I chose the brisket option and took it to go. If I were only rating phở it would be 3 stars. Here’s the skinny:
Like:
Flavors, fresh and bright
To-​go packaging done right, separating broth from meat/​noodles and from toppings
Dislike:
Brisket was too chewy and grisly
What remains the same is these folks are very sweet and friendly. I further learned that all of their beautiful breads and fancy French pastries are made in-​house (except for the macaroons). And I noticed several other local brands that I like on the shelves: pints of Lick ice cream, Zhi teas, local brews, etc.
I would really love to see this place accept the Lone Star card so that the remaining low-​income folks in this neighborhood can enjoy their quality goods.

The bee is very convenient and they have a good, however minimal, selection of groceries.
The lack of pricing on most everything in the store can really be annoying and deceptive. I wish they took a few minutes and added price tags on the shelves.
The phở and bahn mi are decent and the best to be found anywhere close to this area. However, running out of sprouts for phở, which happened today, is a huge disappointment. That really shouldn’t ever happen and to only find out when they bring out the food is frustrating.
If you want to stay in business sloppiness like the two issues above need to be addressed.

There are very few instances I can think of where I felt more insulted by an employee as I was by the guy who was working the evening of 10-​21-​2015. I don’t know where he learned how to approach paying customers, but he was unnecessarily rude and I left without buying anything.
For a neighborhood convenience store you would think that they would want to be nice to their customers to generate repeat business. I guess that’s not the case at the bee grocery.

Anthony is the man!!! What a special little store. The beer and wine selection is amazing and if you’re hungry you will not be disappointed. The store is filled with bakery goods, artisanal cheeses, and an abundance of fresh fruit. We grabbed a bottle of cabernet and a six pack before heading out to a late night event and I’m happy to say that I enjoyed my experience. Not to mention the fact that I didn’t have to hit up a janky gas station.

The Bee Grocery is a convenient spot to grab a snack or something cold to drink if you’re downtown on the east side. Their selection has improved a great deal since they first opened, and I’m excited to see them getting more and more good stuff. There’s a growing mix of «junk» food and healthier /​local snack options here than your typical gas station offerings around.
My gripe with this place is — many items are not priced. No markers on the shelves and no stickers, so if you’re looking to buy several things — toting loads of items to the front to ask for prices is a waste of time. So be prepared to wonder what you’re about to shell out for those chips, or get out of line to put them back up.

The Bee Grocery is a great spot for grabbing a quick bite or finishing up some grocery shopping. Whether its to pick up a missing ingredient or even a fresh toothbrush, they offer a surprisingly wide range of products with their limited space.
As for the food… the staff is honest about what is fresh and what isn’t, and after their recommendation I got the grilled pork banh mi and the grilled chicken spring rolls. While the banh mi was generously filled the bread was a little stale. You could definitely tell it was made in-​house though. The spring rolls are quite large, but overstuffed with vermicelli.
Prices are reasonable, about $ 10 for what I got in total. Growing up in Houston, I’m used to $ 3 banh mis but we aren’t so fortunate here in Austin.
I’ve come in multiple times to grab something quick and I’ve always been greeted with a warm welcome.

Love the bahn mi and diggin’ on the vermicelli. I have managed, somehow, to stay away from the delightful French pastries so far (it is bikini season, after all) but can’t wait to sink my teeth into one of those eclairs. I like that I can pick up something for lunch, some fresh bread, and a few other grocery essentials all in the same place without having to trek through a huge grocery store.
Some of the previous reviewers were displeased with the service, and I, too, have encountered less-​than-​enthusiastic service in the past, but it’s not the norm. The last time I was there, I was greeted promptly and very happily — service with a smile!
There is seating on the deli side of the store so that you can enjoy your purchase there, but the area feels sterile somehow; like it was an afterthought. But that hasn’t stopped me from eating there, of course.

Before I forget to review this place, I wanted to pop in and say that their Vietnamese food is tasty.
We work downtown on 6^th street and Vietnamese food is scarce (and by scarce, I mean non-​existent). I also wouldn’t count Mekong River as good Vietnamese food, either.
The ratio of meat to bread/​fillings was perfect and their bread was super fresh. Their vermicelli bowl was pretty good as well. You can tell the meat marinated for a good chunk of time by the intensity of the flavor. My only complaint would be that the prices are a teeny bit steep but it beats paying the Favor charges!

Walked in this afternoon, and I was pleasantly greeted by… Nothing.
I did notice an amazing selection of teas and granola, however I didn’t purchase anything. (Why support rude business?)
Perhaps next time one of the two (or maybe even both) employees I did see will manage to utter a simple hello. Customer Service is key, and a simple hello (Especially in the great city of Austin,) goes a long way. Maybe next time!

Came for the first time to try the Banh Mi since I’m addicted to them in general. Unfortunately I was disappointed. Why? They were happy to sell me a banh mi missing radish, carrots, and jalapeños and when I discovered the sandwich was incomplete and asked I was told they were out of them. Okay fine. Tell me BEFORE you take my money that you’re out of some of the ingredients, some of my favorite ingredients in fact, so I can make the choice. Maybe they thought I was taking it to go so I wouldn’t notice until I got home. No idea. Either way, to get shortchanged on a banh mi that costs 50% more than what decent ones cost at let’s say Phở Van up north leaves a bad impression. So I’m holding off on reviewing the banh mi itself until a return visit.
Shame, the spring rolls were large and plentiful on the ingredients. My coffee was decent too. And the staff was friendly enough.

This place is great! I came in looking for half and half but they were out. The helpful cashier said «well. How much do you need?». I told her I was just looking for a pint or so. She filled up a cup with the half and half for their hot coffee, and gave it to me free of charge. And with this they won my loyalty for life. Thanks Bee grocery!
Ps there is a great beer selection too.

I was walking around Austin, headed to the Fair Market, and stumbled upon The Bee. What a gem. The colorful, clean storefront with signs promising banh mi, vermicelli and spring rolls drew me in. I had freshly made spring rolls with a tasty sauce, served up by the apparent owner who brought them and extra napkins to the counter. I added a bottle of kale blended juice which was refreshing, but prolly cost more than the spring rolls. The storefront was clean, bright, and nicely cooled. Even the restroom was bright and clean. I would have given The Bee 5 stars if only more of the merchandise-​including my beverage-​had been priced. But it was a tasty lunch and worth going back for. Even if I don’t live in Austin.

These guys are new so I’ll let a few things slide.
The fact that they had no menus and give no direction on where to order. I stood where I thought the ordering spot was while the only clerk kept starring at me. Finally I asked her what I should do and she directed me to come to her. Odd
Any way. I’ll let it slide.
We ordered two bahn mi. Pork belly and grilled chicken. I really wish I hadn’t seen the guy pop the pork belly in the microwave. It didn’t taste that bad but I knew and it kinda ruined it.
Overall the sandwiches were mediocre. I’m no bahn mi expert but I wasn’t excited about it.
I will likely never return because there are so many other good sandwiches in Austin. Plenty that don’t microwave their pork belly.

Wow! Great banh mi with fresh ingredients. They make their own bread in-​house (I think) and offer 4 – 5 different types of banh mi in addition to po boys and vermicelli. Even though it’s pricier than a banh mi from, say, Baguette House in Chinatown, I’ll take it for the proximity and convenience for me.
They also have a jalapeño cheese bread they bake themselves which has a great kick to it.
Plus…sausage croissants. Yum.