rare hare wine & food store

getting to lunch in mornington, via two pickups, by 11.30am is a bit of a mission. according to our research, this level of commitment is required to secure a table atrarehare.

today it is really windy and quite wet, with the worst of the showers launching themselves over the famed jackalope statue right on 11.30am as we arrived. the bonus was a great part of a communal table right on the window looking out to the expansive vineyard. not a great deal of time later and the restaurant was indeed full with a diverse crowd including a large group of ladies that made their presence heard, adding to that festive type of sunday lunch atmosphere.

it’s a celebration, with catherine’s sister’s birthday coming up, and her mum’s not too long after that. whatever the occasion, there is a warmth in the room; a convivial nature; that reveals itself when you are out of the big smoke, and surrounded by all things wine. service is confident, with a style meeting the casual environment, different from the fine diner in the adjoining building.

⭐️ 5/5 stars -

🥝 food - the food atrarehare was absolutely divine! the flavours were unique but worked together really well. all the dishes were great, could not fault a single one that we tried. special highlights were the creme, salmon roe chive waffle and swordfish. overall, we spent about $200 pp for 3 people and we were super full. could have probably ordered less.

🥥 ambience - the venue was great with full glass window view across the entire winery. as i understand,rarehare is more casual than doot doot doot/jackalope.

🍓service - the service was great. our waitress, tessa, was super friendly and made sure we were well looked after.

would definitely return again in the future. great food and great venue :)

rare hare is situated on the stunning jackalope property and it’s the more casual restaurant of the two it offers. we visited on the weekend for lunch, which was walk in only for groups of less than 10 so we recommend coming early. the restaurant has stunning views of the vineyard both indoor and outdoor seating.

food atrarehare was delicious. we particularly recommend the kingfish, grilled squid and steak. for dessert, we loved the wood fired cookie and one of us who doesn’t usually love desserts went in for seconds! there were no bad dishes, however, we found the chicken a little mediocre.

we highly recommendrarehare for a meal in the area. the service, ambience and food were all great!

my weekend trip away to mornington peninsula includes a stop to a winery for lunch. our choose destination wasrarehare. 

🔆location🔆

rare hare restaurant is situated in mornington peninsula and on a very large winery property where the luxurious jackalope hotel is.

as you enter into the car park, there is a very large black statute in the middle. the restaurant itself is spacious and large. it is very welcoming and i highly recommend that you arrive before 11am to try and get a good seat by the window overlooking the winery. there are beautiful long timber benches, with mix of high top bench tables scattered around.

🔆service🔆

our waitress was accommodating and helpful. but as the restaurant was at full capacity it was a little difficult to flag her down in between meals to get some service.

our dishes came at staggered times, one after another so we had a prolonged extended lunch. it was fine as we weren’t in a rush and the atmosphere was absolutely amazing. albeit the heavy rain, there were very big groups gatherings – one was for a birthday and another was for a hen’s party. everyone at the restaurant was having a good time, including us. good food and wine in great atmosphere and setting. cant ask for more!

🔆menu/price🔆

between the 3 of us we ordered: 

sardines, toast, preserved lemon, $5.00chive waffle, salmon roe, horseradish cream, $8.00
wood roasted asparagus, sheeps curd, hazelnut, $16.00charcoal eggplant, red miso, furikake, $16.00chargrilled squid, romesco nero, charred lemon, $17.00beef tartar, mustard cream, salt bush, potato crisps, $18.00lamb rump, freekha, eggplant relish, hommus, $38.00 

🔆verdict🔆

our starters were a delight. delicate and refreshing a good choice to ignite our taste buds for what is yet to come.

although the charcoal eggplant didn’t look well presented on the plate however it tastes delicious. the eggplant is cut in half and the red miso paste is melted and sweetened from being in the wood-fired oven. the coriander leaves, fried shallots, furikake (japanese seasoning) and fresh cut red chilli is sprinkled on top.

the lamp rumb was cooked well but lacked a bit of seasoning. we had to really mix the meat with the freekha, eggplant relish and hommus to enjoy it.

the highlight for me was the beef tartar! oh my goodness! it was marinated soo well and full of delicious flavours we couldn’t stop eating it. at first i thought having the potato crisps on the plate was odd addition but it actually works. you scoop the beef tartar onto the potato crisp and eat it! yummy!

the squid was soooo fresh and tender, and drizzled with chargrilled lemon juice was just perfect!

we would have loved for the dishes to be served together so that we could enjoy them together but i actually understand why they bring out one dish at a time. each dish is cooked with distinct flavours and makes sense to enjoy it alone along with a glass of wine.

overall we had an absolutely great lunch here at red hare. afterwards my friends wandered into the wine-tasting area. there are 7 types of wines to taste at a very low cost of $5! what a treat! my friends ended up buying 5 bottles of wine.

we came torarehare last night and could not recommend them highly enough! the food was absolutely incredible, the staff were lovely, the service was amazing and the sunset was beautiful! first time in a while we actually sat back and said that food was incredible, thank you! we will definitely be back :)

absolutely worth a visit, not pretentious at all going for a more cool vibe, with share tables and staff uniform. started with asparagus which was delicious and then moved onto the beef cheek which is what earns them the five star , unfortunately i had to change for the eye fillet special because my husband can’t dorarewhich was nice but go the beef cheek!
staff are amazing and wine delicious!
would recommend and return

what a lovely location and atmosphere!rarehare is a great casual dining experience with some class; a more affordable options at jackalope winery. all the menu is made to share and between 2 people, 4-6 dishes would be ideal. my favourite was the straciatella and dukkah which i can highly recommend, unfortunately our jerusalem artichoke dish was slightly overcooked but overall a great dining spot. i would definitely come back for lunch with a group and then sample some of the lovely wines from jackalope.

about as good as it gets. 

the dear luncher with mrs luncher in tow managed to devour a range of different courses, slurping down a fair bit of the superb wine on offer in the process. 

the dear luncher has slowed down with the reviews of late, but this place deserves some extra time and bandwidth. a stunning setting, easily the best on offer at the divine playground that is jackalope.  a great option if you cbf with fine dining, but still want to revel in the moment. and let's face it,rarehare is not far off from fine dining. every dish dazzled. the beef brisket was supposed to be for sharing, but thankfully mrs luncher opted for mussels and so there was no sharing as the dear luncher hates mussels. 

the salumi selection rocked, particularly the mortadella. however, if there was to be one criticism, it could have used a cheese on board with all the meats. 

an absolute must-visit spot for anyone worth their culinary salt.

12 of us went torarehare for our team's christmas party. we went with the $65 sharing platter which was essentially 6 courses of dinner. the dishes were delectable and creative. i have never felt so satisfyingly full after a fine dining for the price that i paid. the restaurant itself was perched in the middle of the winery and the dining area was surrounded by glass walls so we had a beautiful scenic view.

finally had time to check outrarehare over the long weekend and was not disappointed by the food!

we ordered sardine on toast with preserved lemon, oysters with ponzu sauce, chive waffle, chargrilled squid, beef tartare, cured kingfish, lamb rump and their wood fired choc chip cookie.

everything we ordered was absolutely delicious and the flavours went so well together! my all time faves that i’d highly recommend are the sardine on toast, beef tartare, cured kingfish and choc chip cookie. the choc chip cookie is a bit on the sweet side - if they put a little less chocolate chips it would’ve been perfect, but overall was such a yummy sweet treat with malt ice cream!

the chargrilled squid left a bitter after taste in my mouth. overall it just felt like it was lacking something to offset the chargrilled flavour. but the squid was cooked really well.

the location and weather was perfect when we went, so we sat outside. the only downside was the amount of flies on the tables which would keep landing on everyone’s food! it would be great if they put out some candles or natural scents to get rid of them.

what an unexpectedly wonderful dinner we were treated to here at therarehare. the interiors of the restaurant is quite similar to the four pillars distillary in the yarra valley- rustic, yet very much open and airy. the 180 degree vineyard views are stunning.

the food is amazing value for the quality without the pretentiousness of it’s sister restaurant ddd. service is quicker and you are in greater control of the portion sizes.

highlight: mushrooms, beef tartare, beef brisket.

as soon as we drove through the entrance gates, i was so impressed by what i saw. not only was the entrance amazing, but the interior design and layout of the restaurant itself was amazing. the staff were very friendly and helpful, without being imposing. the food was fantastic. my partner and i ordered the beef brisket with sweet potato and the salmon steak as our mains. we also had the asparagus with cheese custard, ciabatta bread with olive oil and the marinated olives as our sides. we also ordered ararehare shiraz and willow creek brut as our drinks. every dish was superb, perfectly cooked, exquisitely flavoured and absolutely memorable; the drinks were lovely also. despite the phone line voicemail saying you cannot make bookings for dinner for 2 people, when you speak directly to the staff you will find you actually can book for 2! which was great. we have recommended this restaurant to our family and friends and will definitely come back again. highly recommend!

my key three pointers
* very homely and inviting, you will never want to leave
* communal tables, new friends after a few wines everyone is happy
* they may call it casual but the food presentation was better than some fine dinning restaurants.

mornington peninsula, jackalope hotels more casual dinning experience. this place is an experience and one that you will want to enjoy again. the most spectacular views of the vineyard, glass window interior brings the outside in. the vibe is very rustic with communal tables, some bench seating lots of timber, bricks and let’s not forget a fireplace . i feel away from the city life and i’m only an hour away. the mornington peninsula just stepped it up a notch and what a destination this place has created.
i loved the atmosphere, you could spend hours in the one spot. the food is delicious, they have designed the menu to be a share concept. they have a garden and i can only imagine what fresh goodness is coming from it. we tried a few things on the menu and i’m not sure how i was tempted to order the squid, as it comes with squid ink. i have never had a dish with squid ink, that i have enjoyed . well this dish was mind blowing and i loved it. the salmon was perfection and the side dishes are just as good. carrots how exciting, we’llrarehare just made them fabulous and green beans. make sure you leave room for the signature cookie which is cooked in the wood oven. yum yum yum. all this, 2 glasses of wine, 2 beers set us back $150.00. it would have been nice to get the bread complementary but it was also worth the extra coin.
my wine of choice was the rose and estate grown, a very good drop.
the service was fantastic and the waitress we had made this 100 times more enjoyable, extremely friendly, had great suggestions and was happy to take some snaps for us.rarehare has lots of positives, if i have to nitpick i was surprised how small the toilets were considering the size of the venue, after a few wines i felt a little confined while waiting. i would also love to see a cheese platter on the menu, you could take this out on lawn and keep the drinks flowing , i’m not a huge fan of cold cuts.

wow - loved this place.rarehare is a beautiful, open restaurant with a fire place and beautiful timber. the wait staff were friendly and the views were lovely. we got multiple dishes to share - highly recommend the miso grilled eggplant (amazing!!), cured kingfish, beef brisket and lamb rump.

i am a food snob, usually i wouldn't even dare think about going to a restaurant that was rated under a 4, but i don't know ... something told me that i should giverarehare a shot.
i think that the people who gave a negative review of this place were bitter because, although this is a "small place" in the "middle of nowhere" it is unbelievably popular - and well deserved might i add. i'm sorry but first in first serve - you snooze you lose - etc etc. i came exactly at 11 so i had no troubles getting a table.
the service was outstanding with the wait staff coming in to drop a few witty quirky lines that made patrons feel like not only are they a valued customer but they interacted just enough to make the dining experience enjoyable.
i love places like this where they take fresh ingredients, cook it to perfection and add just enough ingredients to highlight and not overpower the fresh produce that they are displaying.
things i ordered:
salumi selection 8/10  everything tasted delicious just wish we were told what our selection contained
oysters- 9/10 - creamy and delicious
deviled eggs - 9/10
kingfish- 8/10 fresh flavors, well balanced and not too overpowering
squid-7/10 cooked well flavours were not wow
whole market fish- 10/10 so goood butter herbs on a perfectly cooked fish - delightful
mussels - 9/10  in a thai curry sauce that was delicious but did not over power the freshness of the mussels

after visiting america this year i felt that nothing in melbourne could impress me with terms of simple flavours that would wow me... but i was wrong. my poor fiance can expect a few more 1 hour drives just forrarehare. oh i forgot to add - the views : spectacular - beautiful vineyards with very stylish decor - but just an fyi if you sit outside you will be visited by wasps.

thank you for putting back some hope back in my life that fine dining in melbourne is not as boring as i had envisioned.