I’d like to introduce you to Mr. Hive

Mr Hive Kitchen & Bar, Crown Metropol’s rustic signature restaurant, is the brainchild of Executive Chef John Lawson, whose reputation for modern comfort food bursting with big flavours last year earned him a coveted nomination for The Age’s Young Chef of the Year. Influenced by stints in New York and Toulouse, Lawson combines traditional French techniques with world class local produce. This a young man who’s not afraid to make luxurious produce the hero on the plate.

There’s a playfulness to the menu, in dishes such as ‘black and blue tuna’ and ‘crispy little pig’, in which golden cubes of crumbed and fried pig’s head are served with beetroot-stained watermelon and barbecue-style sauce. 14.5/20
The Age Good Food Guide 2013

A main slow cooked Marlborough King salmon fillet was brilliant- the fish silky, moist and deep pink in colour, with hints of citrus and served with a creamy bed of crab and sweet corn.  I could imagine the chef had slaved for hours over the pizza-sized apple tart served with brandy cream, vanilla ice cream, and a jug of warm apple sauce. Luscious. 14/20
Gabriella Coslovich, Epicure

My personal favourite dish is the cannelloni shapes cigar of beetroot filled with goat’s cheese and walnuts and the chocolate bar, peanuts and caramel dessert is not to be missed, its divine.
Sarah Weeks -Travel Digest New Zealand

Signature dishes include a modern twist on the nursery favourite of boiled egg and toasted soldiers featuring a duck egg with sourdough toast, and 16-hour slow cooked Gippsland raised saltbush lamb belly.
Hospitality National Magazine

The new restaurant features a dessert bar overseen by pastry chef, Daniel Fletcher and a revamped, more casual bar and lounge area.
Australian Gourmet Traveller