Beast And The Hare

My husband and I ate here a few months ago… But now this Unilocal page marks the business as closed? Well, here’s my review anyway.
Bone marrow = I’ve had better, not as flavorful as expected.
Rabbit ragu = Very flavorful, maybe even too much so.
Duck pasta = Really good, my favorite of the meal.
Beignets = Good. Not as fluffy as authentic beignets, but good.
Service = Okay. They kind of ignored us when we first walked in even though the place was empty. Not the best table service. Left a little to be desired…
They need to do something about their napkins. When I opened mine, a ton of dust flew up into the air… my husband’s plate was dirty too… Not sure if they take enough care cleaning…

So sad to hear that this place closed down– ate here about a month ago for brunch and it was fantastic — the bacon, the pancakes, the service and the atmosphere! well. Can’t forget those watermelon mimosas! Hopefully they will re-​open.

For the price point, this place is great. We got the rabbit, pork chop, and bone marrow. Rabbit, in my humble opinion, should be cubed rather than pulled and dunked into sauce. Overall it’s a must try. The pork chop was a bit over charred but you can tell that it was a quality chop. I loved the tomato based sauce that went with the chop. Bone marrow, another must try. We also got their spritzer which was probably the best drink to have after a bike ride thru the mission. We previously came here for a charcuterie plate and had nothing but great things to say. Also thumbs up on the beignets which (although only offered in one flavor) were significantly better than Brenda’s.
Overall, you should come here and give it a shot. Quality ingredients, lively atmosphere, and unique menu. I wish they offered more options that played on the «beast» theme. Not sure why salmon was on the menu, and I’m not sure what you’re doing here if you order salmon. I wouldn’t come back because the dishes itself won’t blow you away (especially of you are a snob). However I do wish the restaurant well and hope that it will continue to hold its place down.

Really strong dishes, excellent value. Amazing textures on the pasta. Great wine list to pair with dinner.
Would highly recommend:
HOUSE CHARCUTERIE: A+
Generous serving of cured meats, pâté, and house made pickles. Savory and delicious. With a side of mustard.
BONE MARROW: A+
Cooked to tender perfection. Again, a generous serving for the price. Served with bread chips.
ARANCINI: A+
Perfectly seasoned. Delicious sofrito base. Fresh, handmade pasta.
LASAGNETTE: A–
Great explosive flavors. A bit overseasoned.

I’ve wanted to try The Beast and The Hare for awhile now — I finally went this week. And was extremely disappointed.
They have a good selection of food on their menu, but of course, I went for the burger. Since I’m pregnant I had to double check about whether or not their aioli is made from raw eggs — FYI it is. So I had to get it without aioli but asked if there was a substitute spread at which our bundle of joy waitress gave a dirty look and said «no». Really? You couldn’t have offered the salsa that came with another dish? Or just plain ketchup and mustard?
I got it stuffed juicy lucy and have to say, it was still pretty good. However my husband tried to order bacon and we were told that «there’s only enough bacon for the burgers» oh really? So they could have put bacon on my burger, right???
They had a few tables filled at the restaurant, but still had plenty of empty tables and were basically rushing my group out. I ordered the Beignets with orange caramel and a side of crème fraîche ice cream. Their ice cream is actually bad (and I’ve been on a big ice cream binge lately). The only appetizing thing about the dessert was the orange caramel sauce.
I can safely say I’ll never go back.

Came back in April of this year due to a Travelzoo deal: Dinner for 2 people valid Tuesday-​Thursday. For $ 45 you could select any two small plates, two entrees and a shared dessert. Plus, you can take your pick from the full dinner menu! Since I’d read such good things about their bone marrow, I thought this was the chance to try them! We ordered the following: (I’m listing regular menu prices, but they were all included in the travelzoo deal for $ 45.)
Ricotta gnudi, morel mushrooms, kale & a soft egg ($ 14) — My favorite dish of the night! The gnudi was soft, cheesy and light. The egg added the perfect amount of creaminess!
Mushroom and bone marrow gratin & toast ($ 13) — I was disappointed. The marrow was really shallow and cooked, so we didn’t get much fatty goodness to spread on our toast.
Bone in pork chop, spring succotash & date crème fraîche ($ 25) — Slightly dry. But it was seasoned well and had good flavor.
Local lamb t-​bones, sweet potatoes smash, asparagus & cultured butter ($ 28) — Lamb was cooked nicely, but was over seasoned. I love salty food, but this was a little too much.
French quarter beignets with orange caramel ($ 6) — The beignets were light and fluffy! The caramel sauce was a little thin, but it had a nice flavor.
So altogether, we would have spent $ 86, making this a total savings of $ 41! It was disappointing that the one thing I was looking forward to didn’t deliver. Maybe they were having an off night, but the bone marrow portion was really bad. We barely got any marrow!
Otherwise service was attentive and nice. I just wished the food was better. But I did get a deal, so 3 stars it is!

3.5 stars… gonna round up.
Their beignets. O-​M-​G. Best beignets I’ve EVER had. Their deviled eggs were probably some of the best I’ve ever had, as well. they had this nice meaty, smoky flavor to them. Bone marrow, of course, was delicious.
The rest of the meal was good, but not mind-​blowing. Their rabbit ragu was like a rabbit stew — flavorful, but it didn’t taste too different from other stews, and the portion size was fairly small. Lamb two ways was done very well, but again, there was nothing that made it stand out from other upscale restaurants.
If the price point were lower, I would return often… but since it’s mid-​$ 20’s per entrée, I feel like there are other options for that price.

Came for brunch with four friends. Everything we ordered was incredible. I had the duck hash, which was so good I was unwilling to share (but did, reluctantly, for a taste of the benedict… which ended up being worth the lost bite of duck confit).
The place is pretty small, but thankfully they take OpenTable reservations. We went pretty early… 10:15am on a Sunday. Anyone who came before 11 seemed to have no problem getting a table. After that, it was pretty packed.
GO! You won’t be disappointed.

Wonderful.
I came here on a recommendation from an über food snob. I invited my gf whom at the time, I had no idea was a ‘picky’ eater. I was so excited to get a taste of the rabbit ragu and other goodies on the menu.
She arrived right at opening and was seated before me, so naturally the restaurant was empty. She was immediately scared off and texted me that the place was boring looking. I ignored her and let my optimistic side take over.
After a long debate on what to order, we settled on the avocado toast, roasted bone marrow, grilled sea bass and duck lasagna. (could have sworn it was rabbit)
My gf LOVED the bone marrow (first time), was frightened of the WHOLE grilled fish that came eyes, and all. LOVED it. Also LOVED the duck lasagna even though she made sure to let me know she hated game-​y foods.
If a ‘picky’ eater loved the food, you MUST eat here.
Minus one star for the Wine list. They have good beer selections but I must admit I was not really happy with any of the wines I’ve had here. I came here again on company dime about a month later and I wish my co-​worker and I could help the owner with his Wine list.
If you’re reading this, Mr. B&H owner, drop me a line.

Dear Beast and the Hare,
You have OFFICIALLY lost a customer. Your unprofessionalism is something I will never tolerate. My first time here wasn’t bad, the service was actually good. Sooo what the freak happened?
I came in yesterday for dinner with my boyfriend and it was a full house. We were seated and our server was awesome! Super nice. We got our appetizer (bone marrow) fairly quickly and then 50 or so minutes rolled by. I jokingly asked some other guy if they forgot about us because the table next to us (who came after us) already received their appetizers and entrees. He was pretty rude but checked on our food. Then that particular table was given a dessert menu and the check followed a couple minutes later. WE WEREN’T CHECKED ON AT ALL! The service was ridiculous. At that that point I was getting irritated. I’m a server myself, don’t get me wrong. I know how it’s like when it’s packed, but I actually tell my tables what’s going on.
We decided to pay for our appetizer and leave. We were way over the waiting game. The guy I joked with was a total ASS! I have never received such an attitude. He said sorry but it wasn’t sincere, it was in an annoyed tone and an ish ton of attitude. Seriously? Was he the manager too? Cause that’s not how you run a business. Kiss my ass Beast and the Hare! I WILL NEVER RETURN!

Came here with a voucher, and I probably would come back w/​o one. I doubt I would have found this place or ventured out w/​o the voucher though. So all around a good experience for the restaurant and myself :)
Came here with 3 people, so we added a few items on top of the pre-​paid voucher for 2.
Started with the House Charcuterie. I forget which exact ones we picked, but I think it was the first 5 of them. Had the Gnudi (Ricotta dumplings, morel mushrooms, kale and a soft egg) This was REALLY good. the dumpling were exquisite. The soft egg complimented the dumplings well. I had forgotten how much I like ricotta till I had this dish. Had the bone marrow, which on top of the toast slices, was ever so slightly sinful.
The three of us were pretty hungry and after just those dishes, we could have been happy. But we still had two entrees and a dessert coming.
For the entrees, we had the Lamb and the Chop. Both were cooked perfectly. The chop would be my choice if I had to pick on. Though the sweet potatoes on the Lamb dish were amazing! The chop was so tender and juicy.
For dessert, we had the Beignets with Orange Caramel. The orange caramel really works here. The Beignets would have been boring w/​o the caramel.
Venue: small, and intimate. Great place for a date.
Service: super friendly and prompt.
Now that I look at my bill, I am not sure how they came up w/​that total. We’re charged maybe 10 or 15 too much, but I had the voucher and in the end we had a great meal, so I guess its OK.

3.5 stars.
My favorite dish was a vegetarian dish called «gnudi», which is saying something for a restaurant called The Beast and The Hare. That dish consisted of lightly pan-​fried Ricotta dumplings, morel mushrooms, kale and a soft egg.
The second best dish was the French Quarter beignets with orange caramel. No need to go to New Orleans for this, because you can find them fresh and warm right here. This dessert was so good that my friend who normally doesn’t eat desserts ate TWO of them!
The other interesting dessert was the trio of ice cream — which was Jack Daniels Honey Whiskey, rose, and cardamom. Very unique flavors, and I actually liked the rose flavor, even though I normally don’t like flowery ice creams. This was a more subtle rose flavor that actually went really well with the whiskey flavored ice cream.
The bone marrow was a good appetizer, but not mind blowing. The crackers they provided had several holes in it, which made the marrow a bit hard to spread. Okay, I’m being a bit nitpicky, but attention to detail is what separates good from great.
I ordered the pork chop for the main course, and this was a sore disappointment, especially since I’ve been spoiled by places like NOPA and Chapeau. The pork chop tasted over grilled (complete with the fake grill marks) and slightly dry. There was also not very much of a sauce to pair with it.
It’s interesting that the name of this restaurant implies a specialty in meats, but really the non-​meat dishes were what impressed me the most. Overall, there were some hits and misses, which left me with a mixed impression of the restaurant.

I really wanted to like this place! The décor and arrangement is really inviting and zen — you walk in the open double doors and there’s a community table in front of you, with lower tables for two — four lining the walls and the kitchen in the back. They’ve made beautiful use of this space.
There were two people helping us and they were extremely nice and responsive — once you flagged them down. However, everything we ordered took way too long to come out, despite the fact that we walked in for a late dinner around 9 and were one of the few tables left. It took almost ten minutes to get our drinks (wine and beer, not cocktails, just pours). The deviled eggs took 15. The simple salad came soon after that — we joked about how they must be taking very long because they were carefully choosing each of the six leaves.
The simple salad is literally six big pieces of lettuce drenched in honey and oil. Avoid.
We shared the lamb t-​bone. That was the best dish and the kind of dish that is worth it to wait longer for because it makes sense, as far as cooking times go. The sweet potato mash was creamy and flavorful. The asparagus was burnt and too wet but still pretty good.
Don’t get the Alandra wine; it’s not very good quality. Empty water cups stay ignored if you don’t flag someone down to bring more. They don’t give you bread automatically, but you can ask them to bring some (sidenote, forgot to check if we had to pay extra for that!)
Overall, I think they are known for their meat, so maybe focus on that, and don’t come if you’re super hungry or in a rush, or feeling impatient.

Everything here was bland. Had a few of the small starters and a main.
The avocado toast was ok. It has anchovies (boquerones) which I am a fan of but it was too tangy for me.
The beet and cheese arancini was bland. The texture was crispy but it just needed more flavor.
The deviled eggs were also bland. Although I did enjoy the cayenne on top.
The lasagnette with duck bolognese was also really bland and the noodles were too mushy and overcooked. My friends actually asked for salt and pepper. They didn’t even ask why but just gave it to us.
The marrow was the best dish but usually you can go wrong with marrow.
The service was lackluster even though it wasn’t even crowded.

I was ready to give them 5 stars after the two delicious small plates: Mussels and Bone marrow, but then we were underwhelmed by the large plates. The Rabbit Ragu, was fairly bland — good, but not great. The Pork chop and wild faro — The faro, I think was supposed to be al dente… errr not great. The Chop was very good!
I feel like we maybe ordered badly, or just had bad luck… everything else was awesome.

Char-​Cu-​Ter-​Ie. I love pâté, and theirs is delicious! The smoked duck is really smoky… Probably my second favorite. The cheese is soft and creamy. The pork shoulder was amazingly textured with slight hints of saltiness. And who ever says no to creamy-​cheesy polenta.
The waiter paired my wine perfectly with my meal and when we asked «Do you think we ordered enough food?» He replied, «That’s a good sized meal».
If you’re a fan of small plates full of salumi and pickles, this is a great place for you.

I’m experiencing a weird change in my Unilocaly self.
No longer attracted to the latest and greatest of food trends (kimchi burrito? fried egg on top of your pizza/​burger/​on your head?) Now, I’m more happy to try out other places that are smack dab in the middle of residential areas. Places that’ll have seating on a Saturday night.
At 7pm.
Beast and the Hare is a small but great neighborhood restaurant, so it’s probably wise to make rezzies. Otherwise, enjoy the communal table or counter seating near the open kitchen.
The food. OMG. Please do not come here and look for «healthy» options that are low fat, low carb, sad looking plates of food.(wah wah wah) The Charcuterie board is a house specialty. We tried the robustly flavored pâté de campagne, a chunkylicious whipped pork belly and the house smoked duck breast. Ask for more toast since they give you a lot of MMMeat!
I always order mussels (especially if they come with fries!) when I see it on the menu. But I have to confess that the super fatty bone marrow upstaged all of our other choices (namely, the delicious pork chop and awesome pan fried cod on bucatini pasta) Although the marrow needed a bit more seasoning for my taste, but I guess that’s what the salsa verde is for! This one had really deep crevices so it meant twice the amount of rich beefy goodness!
You’d think that after consuming all of that, we wouldn’t have any room for dessert. Amazingly, we did. The pillowy beignets are the perfect way to end this meal. Dip dip dip ‘em into the glorious orange caramel sauce!
Not only was my Unilocaly self fully revived after this meal, but it activated my fatty status as well ;-)
Good thing I’m not seeing my doctor for another three months, I still have enough time to be in denial.

This restaurant is a meat lover’s dream. Sit at the bar so you can see the action in the kitchen.
Order the bone marrow served with a vinegary chimichurri that complements the fatty marrow nicely. The duck salumi is an unusual treat, and like all of the charcuterie, is made in house.
You can’t go wrong with any of the meaty wonderfulness that’s happening at Beast and the Hare.

All good signs (indirect or otherwise) led to eating here this morning: A hummingbird sighting by our lemon tree, a parent’s wedding proposal and my getting to stay an extra night in SF. Already starting out on a good note.
Then comes the food and experience. Quickly seated, I ordered Hashed Duck Legs Confit with Eggs Sunny Side Up. Quite savory and delicious! Also ordered a watermelon mimosa, which included fresh fruit mixing markings alongside the glass and tasted as refreshing as agua fresca.
This is not some measly little diner, nor is it an exquisite bow-​tie Michelin restaurant. All I know is, it did the trick with its friendly staff, and my day continues to be swell in response!

My Unilocal friends are faaaabulous because when those who share my taste review a place in large numbers, I have to bookmark it. That bookmark then becomes a wishlist.. . that eventually becomes a place I visit it person!
«NO BUENO!!!» I kept yelling out of my window driving around the radius of 20^th — 24^th and Valencia/​Mission looking for parking for almost an hour, I found a spot right across the street. Good thing, because I was dressed to thrill including heels that were not going to allow me to walk more than a block. Ahhh, the suffering I do for fashion fierceness.
Sorry to the folks I made jump in fright with my crazy yelling. Parking in some areas of San Francisco can make a girl kind of road ragey despite the awesome tunes blaring out of my radio. Ok fine — I feel ashamed.
The service was excellent! Our server was polite, professional, and friendly. She spaced our order out properly, which I loved.
The Deviled Eggs and Bone Marrow were nothing special. The 3 items we picked for our Charcuterie board were delicious! The Rabbit Tenderloin rocked my world! If the tables werent so close together providing an easy eye shot — I would have licked that plate. OMG I want that again right now. It was beautifully brined, tender, and wonderfully balanced with fresh figs and musky cheese. The Duck Lasagnette was delicious despite the «al dente» being more on the starchy raw side.
The Beignets with Orange Caramel dipping sauce were easily the best beignets I have tasted. They were light, tender, not greasy, sweet with the sugar coating and then the dipping sauce made them even more delicious… sweet savory. I like that.
I swear the sugar was almost like my Zeppole sugar that I put vanilla beans and cane sugar into a food processor instead of using confectioners sugar.
French Press coffee finished out this wonderful visit.
So all in all, despite the restaurant being very tight quarters, super crowded and loud — the delicious bites and excellent service made my road ragey circling around the area for parking worthwhile.
I swear the people who saw me probably have nightmares of me yelling «NOOOOO BUEEEEENOOOOOOO!!!»
But this restaurant is a Yes indeedie! I can’t wait to go back!

Love Love Love. Try the beignets, Delicious!