The Lion's Share — Restaurant in San Diego

Oh, how we wanted to love this place! The art on the walls and the deep, rich, dark moodiness of the interior amuse and enchant almost as much as the possibilities outlined in the rustic type sheet menu. Sadly, this is where things turn. Fussing with dried florals in a tiny vase and arranging napkin-rolled tableware takes minutes and minutes, then your table is ready. Menus are dropped onto wooden tables, the employees walking away quickly to return with water you'll pour yourself, and your wine you'll pour yourself after that first sip. The menu is confusing, with no apparent separation between any courses listed on the single paper page. Ask questions and you'll receive answers, express allergic concerns and you'll be redirected rather than accommodated, even as the menu prompts you to mention any allergies. The foods are presented mostly pretty well, and in the case especially of the charcuterie board, they are identified so you'll know what you're looking at or tasting. For dinner this visit we tried the bison ribeye with peppercorns. It was all right, flavorful, but as the employee assisting us warned, it certainly did have a fair amount of fat, but even more of gristle. We all ended up embarrassingly needing to expel said inedible material as discretely as possible. The wine choices were good, cocktail list interesting. The two listed desserts seemed like a good idea, and we tried both, but found them mysteriously shrouded beneath an irregular mound of whipped cream and or nuts or oats or something. And surprisingly, absolutely positively no coffee of any kind was available. This we all found shocking, but they did have port, so that was our condolence beverage. Ah well. What had we expected that we didn't get? Why not four or five stars? Because frankly, while the decor was five star, everything else was lesser than. From our arrival and throughout the meal we felt like we were annoying the staff by being customers. A previous visit had already gotten us chafed when we'd asked for salt, which is not on the tables, so we knew to behave ourselves and not be demanding, so what was it? An off night? An attitude to go with the carnivorous nature of the place, with free snarls? Perhaps. Again, what was it? Feeling unwelcome probably went a long way toward the rating. Having a confusing menu. Presenting customers with a fine dining experience and not especially providing one. Missing an opportunity to offer simple, fresh, uncomplicated desserts. Not having coffee. Possibly most of all, that fussing with the placement of table items, it was energy that should have been spent on smiling at patrons, pouring their beverages, taking time to explain the menu since its listings were so ambiguous. Those things. Would we return? Absolutely. We know any place can have some stories going on in the background that will affect diner experiences. We understand. With that understanding, we look forward with hope on...

Five of us went here after seeing a show at the SD Civic Theatre. We noted the close location and high Google reviews so we decided to try it out. We loved the decor and vibe of the restaurant. Music was loud, but they do have a bar here and it was also 11pm. Hostess wasn't friendly and sat us at the high top table furthest from the bar. Our server (David), looked like a one man show and was the only one we saw running food and taking orders (without writing the order down), so we'll let him slide for not making contact with us for over 15 minutes. We started with the cold smoked burrata. The four slices of pears were thin like tissue paper and the burrata was mozzarella. Burrata should be soft and spreadable, filled with cream and cheese curds. We would have been fine with mozzarella, but don't call it burrata, when it ain't. Entrees: we asked what "other meat" was mixed in with the wagyu in the, "Our Burger". David told us the burger was 80% wagyu (unknown what kind) and the rest is ground beef. He recommended a cook of no more that medium to keep a juicy burger. 3 of us ordered, Our Burger. The patty was room temp, patty was dry and flavorless. 75% of the fries on each plate, were no larger than 1/2 inch....fry crumbs, although the fries tasted good. One person ordered the Wagyu steak frites, medium-well. When it came, the steak was pre-cut and the cook was inconsistent. She ate the end pieces and the red/bloody center, she took to-go and said she'd cook it to medium-well for a meal the next day. One person ordered the "Wild Style" burger. We were talking about how dry our burgers were and he looked inside his burger and noted he had no bacon jam, bbq sauce or crispy shallots. He was given an "Our Burger" like the other 3 of us. He brought this to David's attention and David brought out a small side of bacon jam for him (no, there was no compensation). The meal and unfriendly service was so disappointing that none of us wanted to chance it and be further disappointed by even trying a dessert. I wouldn't bother coming here to eat anything, but It's a cool atmosphere to have a drink. We won't...

The Lion's Share had been on my list to check out and was a spontaneous choice for an early dinner on the Friday before Christmas. There was not a table available and the bar was full, but the host recommended grabbing a stool at the side bar, where you could order food and drinks.

The Lion's Share has an awesome vibe and atmosphere, dark, cozy, intimate, it reminds me of pubs in England or Northeast, particularly in Boston. The decor is funky and fun, the bar is well appointed and well stocked. The host was really friendly and watching the staff interactions, they seemed to have a fun time working together.

We happened to arrive towards the end of Happy Hour, which offers some great deals on food and cocktails (around $10).

The cocktail program here is on point, excellent mixology and the creativity and thoughtfulness is apparent from the cocktail descriptions. The drinks do not disappoint, each was well balanced and delicious. The Zona Rosa was phenomenal.

The food is equally fantastic. I had the elk flank steak and my dinner companion had the duck breast, both perfectly prepared dishes. The banana cream pie was shareable and a great end to the meal.

The only thing that missed was the service. The server was slow to initially come and take our order and stopped checking in after bringing the entrees, despite walking by our seats multiple times in between. It seemed that having to tend to the sidebar was an inconvenience and an annoyance, observing his demeanor interacting with other staff and other tables. The host was great, getting us seated quickly and also checking in a couple times during the meal. He also cleared our plates and took a dessert order after we were waiting for awhile after finishing eating. Primary service aside, The Lion's Share is an elevated pub experience and well...