The Lion's Share

Attempted a 24 hour rendezvous with SDCC for the first time this weekend, and a friend kindly reminded me 4 days before that if I wanted to eat on Saturday night, I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY should make a reservation.  I chose The Lion's Share because it had the availability we needed; was walkable from our hotel (the Manchester Grand Hyatt); had an interesting menu; and wasn't crazy ridiculously overpriced.

The ambiance is very cool, although the bar crowd was quite loud.  This changed once 2 or 3 key offenders actually left the bar.  I ordered the french onion soup and lamb tacos; my boyfriend ordered the burger.

All of our food was fantastic; my boyfriend even said that burger was one of the top 5 burgers he's ever had.  Our server (who I guess was also the manager) came by to apologize for the delay for our food, and offered us a drink or dessert; since we already had dessert plans, I ordered the Hunter Thompson. I'm not one for strong drinks, and this had just the right amount of sweetness with a weird but great smoky flavor from the agave.

The service was great, the food was great - all in all a very good dining experience.  Will definitely be back.

Damn...came back for the food and while the food was delicious, the overall experience was a mixed bag.

I didn't realize before that The Lion's Share focuses on exotic game meats so I was beyond excited to try some kangaroo (!) amongst other things.  Starting things off, I thoroughly enjoyed the kangaroo tartare, frog legs and the highlight, a sausage board encompassing rabbit, wild boar, elk and the best damn spicy mustard I've ever tasted.  On the other hand, the mussels were flavorful though tiny and ovepriced at $16.

Following up, my kangaroo steak was nicely seared and accompanied by some delicious mushrooms and greens.  Smallish, though worth its price considering the type of meat.

Where this place disappointed were the ambiance and pace.  If the noise level and crowdedness were at all representative of how it is on weekends even as early at 6 pm, that alone would keep me from coming back.  It was nearly impossible to talk to my friend across the table without shouting.  Additionally, I would've really appreciated having the courses spread out a bit more as it was annoying to cram all the plates onto such a small table and try everything while it was still hot.

So while the well-prepared exotic meats were certainly worth trying, they honestly aren't worth coming back to for the price once the novelty factor is gone.

During a recent trip to San Diego I visited The Lion's Share twice in three days.  That may be considered overkill by some, but, I thought that The Lion's Share has some of the better (and relatively reasonably priced) cocktails in San Diego.  Best of all, it's slightly removed from the chaos of the Gaslamp District so you can have an actual conversation with another person without having to yell (though yelling is my normal speaking voice).

We sat in the bar area both times and I had a chance to sample a variety of different drinks.  The bartenders were great and attentive and made sure that our party was sufficiently paid attention to during the course of the evenings.

My favorite drinks were the Federal Buffalo Stamp, the Boulevardier (not on the cocktail menu), and one last drink that was a rye whiskey with cabernet.  The last one may have been my favorite since it was quite unique -- I don't typically see bars using wine in their cocktails.

The food was pretty good too.  I had the burger which was tasty and juicy and came with a healthy serving of fries.  Definitely acceptable for the $14 price point.

My only complaint was that on our first visit it seemed that one of my friends' orders was forgotten/overlooking -- TWICE! -- for bruschetta and french fries.  We reminded one of the waitresses after the first order didn't arrive, and then the order of french fries was forgotten/delayed once again.  It was a little comical, making it worth of a comic con weekend.

Worth a visit if you're in San Diego and seeking a cool gastropub away from the madness of the Gaslamp.