Dining Review: Rare Society

Rare Society’s Solana Beach location was Trust Restaurant Group’s first spinoff of its fancy-free-wheeling steakhouse model, which originated in University Heights in 2019. Since then, Chef + Restaurateur Brad Wise and company have launched satellites in San Clemente, Santa Barbara, and Mill Creek, Washington, with a Rare Society set to open later this month in Las Vegas. That rapid reproductivity speaks to a concept that resonates with a great many. 

Entering the Solana Beach edition of Rare Society is like segueing from the art-riddled Cedros Design District into The Great Gatsby. That is, say, if Jay’s crew traded custom-tailored three-piece suits and flapper dresses for casual wear, shades, and boat shoes. While the environs at this steakhouse concept are decidedly upscale, evocative of 1920s glam with its dark interiors and gold accents galore, there’s no stodgy dress code. The goal here is to dispel the myth that fine dining must be rigid and racked with rules.

That classy-meets-come-as-you-are appeal is as much a contributor to Rare Society’s success as the ingenuity and technique driving its kitchen. That fully visible, high-temp space sports red oak-stoked grills and a calm staff working in harmony to kick out well done (but, of course, nowhere close to “well-done”…or “rare,” for that matter) cuts of top-tier steer. 

The red-meat roster ranges from a 16-ounce Cedar River Prime ribeye and Snake River Farms wagyu cuts to treasures from the restaurant’s on-site dry-aging vault. The latter are the focus of “The Executive,” one of Rare Society’s popular boards, which includes 42 ounces (off-the-bone) of choice cuts, molten in-bone beef marrow, and various sauces (Béarnaise, creamy horseradish, tangy house steak sauce) made easily accessible care of a lazy Susan emblazoned with the eatery’s logo.

The other board, “The Associate,” includes 22 ounces’ worth of filet mignon and a wagyu Denver steak that’s salty, tender, and juicy as they come thanks to the web-like network of molten fat running through it. The Associate also includes a rarity, wagyu tri-tip with Santa Maria salsa, a nod to Trust’s beginnings and its founders’ Central Coast roots. Built to serve anywhere from three to five people, Rare Society’s boards are a splendid option for first timers and variety-seekers alike.

Like any modern steakhouse, beef is the main event, but there’s far more to the menu. A la carte proteins include a 15-ounce achiote chili-glazed pork tomahawk, Pacific swordfish served with a beurre blanc flavored with XO sauce (a Cantonese condiment of garlic, chilies, and dehydrated shellfish), and king salmon with salsa verde. There’s also fried chicken that, though it may seem out of place, is beautifully crispy and sore-thumb-licking good.

As with Trust’s other steakhouse concept, Mission Hills’ Cardellino, sides go beyond standards thanks to ingredient combinations and condiments elevating them to dishes all their own. Creamed spinach is truffled, as are potatoes au gratin. Carrots are glazed in miso with peanuts and crunchy garlic while za’atar and sumac-infused yogurt uplift wood-fired broccolini. Even the “crack sauce” (a house take on Thousand Island dressing) accompanying gargantuan onion rings is enlivened and made extra-addictive with the addition of horseradish.  

Maintaining enough stomach space for mains and sides can be a challenge. Appetizers are both plentiful and alluring. Classics like an iceberg wedge salad, pecorino-packed Caesar, shrimp cocktail, and an incredibly rich take on Oysters Rockefeller are present and accounted for along with seafood towers that, like the boards, come in two sizes (“Petite” and “Grande”) and include oysters, snow and blue crab, shrimp, lobster, and more.

Starters of the must-try variety include a cast-iron pan packed with warm Parker House rolls slathered in garlicky truffle butter. Worth the carbs in every way, they melt away the moment they hit one’s taste buds. Pro Tip: Slice one of the rolls in half, then make a sandwich using a slab of Duroc pork belly glazed in a mixture of honey and gochujang simply labeled “bacon.” Thick and firm enough to come across more like ham than belly, it’s earthily sweet with a little black-pepper zing.

Similarly decadent is a cube of bacon sheathed in lardon (perhaps the best-ever case of doubling down) that, skewered on a sprig of rosemary, serves as the garnish for a house Old Fashioned made with dry-aged-beef-washed bourbon. It sounds decadent but is remarkably light and refreshing. Ditto a lemony gin-and-elderflower concoction called the “Wild Card,” which veers off a “Corpse Reviver” trajectory, adding sweet, acidic, vegetal nuances with a double shot of red: raspberries and bell pepper. The result is a drink that starts out tart and finishes a tad funky.

Desserts don’t always get their due with this savory-inclined reviewer, but Rare Society’s Bananas Foster riff on cheesecake is outstanding. Even without fresh Chantilly, vanilla ice cream, and rum-spiked caramel sauce (all of which is lovely), the banana-packed, Nilla-wafer-crusted pastry at its core is enough to write home (or here) about.

While Rare Society may be becoming a bit more common across the Southwest, something this bankable remains rare, indeed. raresociety.com

Service: 4.5
Timeliness: 3.5
Ambience: 4
Culinary Innovation: 4
Food Quality: 4.5
Wine List: 4
Cocktail Program: 4
Value: 3.5