Rare Society — Restaurant in San Diego

Do not go here. Do not bring your kids here. We called to make a reservation and told them on the phone we had 2 kids. We were not warned that it was not a kid friendly environment. Essentially, our daughter dropped two pieces of silverware within 2 minutes of being seated (before we were able to properly clear the table of things she could make a mess) and we were told to sit outside or leave. She dripped the silverware immediately and then 10 minutes later we were asked to leave. No screaming; no crying- just the silverware and that was the only thing the host mentioned when asking us to leave. We know it was at least 10 minutes later because there was enough time for my husband to go to the bathroom and change my daughter and it was enough time for the waitress to come over 2 times explaining the menu. At first the host phrased it as “would you like to sit outside”. After responding no she said that we would need to leave. She said “we would love to serve you but you will need to move outside.”The restaurant was nearly empty; there were 3 tables full and we were one of those 3 tables. I asked about the possibility of moving to a different part of the restaurant (possibly the back). We were willing to move so long as we were inside. We were told no, there was no other place we could sit inside. Again; mind you, the restaurant had 3 parties and we were 1 of the the 3. Kids exist. People can choose to live a kid frie life, that is their choice but they can not demand a kid free environment (especially when the restaurant is not 21+). Kids have just as much right to exist as adults. The whole situation was absolutely ridiculous. If there was another party that was complaining, the restaurants responsibility is to move THEM. If they did not want to move, THEY could leave, or THEY could sit outside. Instead the employee had us leave, the family with two...

My four friends and I had a reservation here at 7:30pm on a Saturday. We were seated promptly, and quickly ordered our first round of drinks, and some baked rolls, wagyu beef sausage, and oysters on the half shell to start. The rolls were warm, buttery, and easy to pull apart. The sausage was soft and succulent. The oysters were fresh and briny.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly, but then service ceased. Our second round of drinks took over 30 minutes to arrive to the table (mine took 45 minutes), and our entrees did not come out until TWO hours later. We asked our server, David, for updates a few times, but wasn’t given any explanation or an apology until almost two hours later when he replied “we just had a big wave of people come in at 8pm”. We had sat down at 7:30pm, so that was not a valid excuse; regardless of the situation, it’s unacceptable to have to wait over two hours for your food. We were eventually able to get a hold of the manager who told us that David had actually forgot to put our order in. The manager was very apologetic, sincere, and had our food delivered to the table promptly. In the end, he gave us 25% off our total bill and promised a better experience at our next visit.

As for the food- everything was delectable. We ordered the executive along with one additional steak for a table of 5. All the steaks were cooked to a perfect medium rare and very tender. The steak came sliced on a wooden lazy Susan, allowing everyone at the table to easily retrieve the food. We also ordered several sides- the creamed spinach was my favorite, although the cream could have been a thicker consistency.

In summary: delicious and well prepared steak, nice ambiance, and poor service/wait time...

Phenomenal. As you walk up to the restaurant, you can smell the wood fired grill, a preview of what awaits you inside. Easily one of the best meals I have had in San Diego, everything here was great. Our server Matt was fantastic, his enthusiasm for the food was infectious and his recommendations on can't miss dishes were spot on for the evening.

The cocktails were on point, top notch mixology with some unique combinations. The Rare Old Fashioned was super unique, fat washed bourbon with a cherry, thyme and bacon cooked in the glass with a kitchen torch. The other cocktails and mocktails were all excellent.

The food is incredible! We started with the bacon, which was an incredible slice of glazed pork belly. It was awesome! The Parker rolls were slightly sweet, perfectly baked in a skillet and topped with some rich, flavorful truffle butter.

Our group of five opted for the Executive Platter and the Bullseye Ribeye with the Potato Au Gratin, Mushrooms, Broccolini, Carrots, Asparagus, and an a la carte, half lobster. The steaks were incredible with some tasty bone marrow and sauce accompaniments. The Bullseye Ribeye was the highlight, but all of the steaks were delicious. The sides were excellent, seriously nothing missed in this meal.

We split the Buttercake and the Bananas Foster Cheesecake for dessert. Highly recommend them both, with the buttercake getting the most acclaim at the table.

Rare Society is a can't miss dinner experience if you enjoy meat (and even if you only got the sides and a cocktail, you would still walk away smiling). Definitely recommend going as a group as getting the chance to share and sample so many different dishes and cuts of meat enhanced the...