The wine list is full of unfamiliar wines, both cheap and expensive. I couldn’t resist a bottle of 2002 Château Kefraya ($49), from the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. A novel combination of cabernet sauvignon with the major red grapes of the Rhône Valley, it’s the best Middle East red wine I’ve had in years. If the idea of drinking wines made this close to Hezbollah training camps (which evidently don’t interfere with the winery) doesn’t bother you, the next bottle on the list is 2004 Noah Winery red ($38) from Beth Shemesh, Israel. A glass of the house white riesling ($7.50) was good with food but bland for this grape. And a kir ($8.50) was made exotic by an aromatic lemon peel on the side of a black-currant-syrup-added glass of white wine.

There are only three desserts, but one of them is chocolate pot de crème ($7), which is excellent chocolate pudding in any language. Another fine choice is a berry cobbler ($7), which lacked only enough pastry, since the blueberry-raspberry stew was large and luscious and hot. Baklava ($7) wasn’t special.

The Beehive is unlike any other restaurant in the South End, being both large and inexpensive. In a way, it is a throwback to the bohemian hangouts of Cambridge and Boston in the 1960s and 1970s. It’s hard to believe that four partners with years of planning came up with such a simple and coherent vision of a neighborhood restaurant. But the Beehive is the only restaurant I’ve reviewed lately that I could imagine frequenting, going a night or two every week or returning regularly to see a favorite band. I’d probably order the sloppy lasagna every time, too.

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Robert Nadeau: RobtNadeau@aol.com