rare hare wine & food store

great place to stop whilst visiting the many wineries around the peninsular. they really need to sort out the wait times for tables. waiting 1.5+ hours for a table is really unacceptable. the cocktail bar is a nice "waiting place" although i wonder if there's some kind of catch? also why are bottles of wine more expensive in cocktail bar vs rarehare?

the food choice was a good selection. meal sizes quite small bite size so if you're hungry you will need to order a few.

we ordered many dishes as wanted to see what each were like. favourite was definitely the pumpkin followed closely with artichokes. my least favourites were the squid and the mussels.

staff were great and very accommodating. the pace of the food coming out was great too, 2 dishes came out at each time so nicely staggered.

will i come again...maybe this time probably try some of the other dishes instead as well as that pumpkin!!

just ordered the cook at home meal. 5 stars.
radicchio salad was amazing. fresh, crunchy and just the right amount of salt. we loved the beef ribs and trout. we were able to cook it perfectly. plating would have been better if rare hare did it, though. probably the most delicious cook at home meal we’ve had.

previous review:
we originally booked doot doot - but luckily cancelled. it had only 1 table and lacked atmosphere.. walking over to the over eatery -rare hare was like we were in another winery. we waited 1hr, but the location was very conducive to relaxing and people watching. we had a free wine tasting in the meantime by david rayne. the beef cheek and calamari was top notch. my expresso martini was a bit too bitter. the drinks took a while to come out.

good food but was it worth the 2h45m wait for a table..

it was a sunday and it was busy but for me(and plenty others), it was simply not a pleasant experiance. 
will try another time.

a couple weekends ago we visited rare hare, a restaurant out in mornington peninsula, which is part of a fairly brand new establishment called jackalope. jackalope is a unique one stop shop getaway which includes a luxury art hotel, a vineyard and wine tasting cellar, a fancy cocktail lounge called flaggerooot, a fine dining restaurant called doot doot doot and a more casual style restaurant called rare hare. you literally don’t need to go anywhere else and could spend the whole day here. or even stay there the night if you want to!

not flexible with seating !!!!!
outstanding fit out and layout.
unfortunately no booking reservations taken unless larger tables, so take your chance. we arrived on a busy saturday night, but early enough before restaurant was full. our seating position was not for us, right at the end next to a wall and when we requested a change, it was flatly met with a no, as the other bench seating was being kept for house guests.
we moved to the bar tables but this was certainly a lonely and unloved section of the restaurant and lacked atmosphere.
the food was very good, apart from the kids penne which was overcooked and tasteless. not sure why some places fall short in this important area as it can be a make or break for some.
flathead was good, a tad dry, but very good.
eye fillet substitute for flank, as they ran out, was absolutely outstanding.
eggplant was equally great.
the staff attending to us were terrific.
overall, although disappointed with our seating which ruined our night, i would recommend a visit as the place is special.