San Diego’s Rare Society Steakhouse Opens in Solana Beach; Three More West Coast Restaurants Are Coming

By Traci Sitz Last updated Oct 29, 2021

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San Diego’s retro-chic steakhouse Rare Society has big expansion in sight. Trust Restaurant Group’s two-year-old University Heights steakhouse opens its second location in the North County neighborhood of Solana Beach on Friday, October 29th. Further locations on the west coast are already in the works. Located at the foot of a new, mixed-use condominium in the Cedros Design District, the 2,800-square-foot Solana Beach restaurant has a large sidewalk patio that is larger than its predecessor, which allows chef Brad Wise to add more seafood and raw food to the bar -Items on a menu based on steakhouse classics like Rockefeller oysters, twice-baked potatoes and hand-cut steaks.

Wise’s Central Coast roots and love of live-fire barbecues play a role in all of the group’s restaurants, but are central to Rare Society. And the chef more than doubles his brand, as several locations are already in the works as part of a large-scale expansion beyond San Diego.

Wise says the pandemic has forced him to rethink how the company is doing; While he enjoys ideas and still plans to open new restaurants, the past two years have seen the chef review his existing eateries to see how they can be refined and expanded. In addition to spreading Rare Society nationwide, Wise is bringing Wise Ox, its North Park butcher shop, to Carlsbad next spring, letting Eater know that Cardellino, its Italian-American location in Mission Hills, is also poised for growth.

This latest development from the Rare Society, which starts with dinner five nights a week but offers lunch and dinner daily, takes a common approach to steakhouse dining with signature meat boards and the group’s variations on classic dishes.

Caesar salad: Wise breaks away from a boring and simple salad and likes his Caesar extra bold and spicy. His take consists of a lemon dressing, fried anchovies and a generous covering of grated cheese, which underline the pecorino for the traditional parmesan.

Caesar salad.

Fire Tuna Tartare: New to the Solana Beach menu, this starter combines fresh tuna with cucumber, black sesame, avocado, sea beans and taro in a jalapeno ponzu sauce.

Fire Tuna Tartare.

Management: Displayed on a purpose-built lazy susan, this shareable platter is a showcase for the restaurant’s dry-ripened steaks, which have been ripened for 30 to 40 days. It features a selection of the kitchen’s favorite pieces – a whopping 53 ounces of meat – and comes with a variety of sauces like bearnaise and horseradish. There is also an associate board that holds 25 ounces of Australian Wagyu.

Management.

Prime Bullseye Ribeye: Wise says “bullseye” is a term used on the Central Coast to refer to a ribeye steak with the ideal weight and marbling. This 16-ounce steak is from Cedar River Farms, Colorado and cooked on American red oak; It’s the chef’s favorite piece, and he likes to have it with Santa Maria-style salsa, which counteracts the richness of the meat.

Prime Bullseye Ribeye.

Butter cake: Wise says that pastry chef Jeremy Harville came up with several elaborate versions of this old-fashioned dessert during the recipe test, until Wise brought Harville to the California Pizza Kitchen to try what he believed to be the best butter cake. The end result is a casual but decadent ice cream and whipped cream cake that is one of Wise’s favorite desserts on all of the group’s menus.