D&D Restaurant Rating | Hog & Rocks

I found out about Hog & Rocks when I read an article in Sunset Magazine about their top 5 restaurant choices in San Francisco that take reservations for brunch. Brunch in SF can be a big ordeal! The wait at numerous restaurants throughout the city can last up to 2 hours and depending on the atmosphere it can be anywhere from pleasantly relaxed to extremely annoying.

Like I said, Hog & Rocks was in Sunset Magazine's top 5 brunch spots that take reservations and they were in some pretty good company with Nopa leading the list. We made reservations for Sunday for 4 people at noon and were seated promptly but at this point I don't think reservations would have been necessary. Hog & Rocks is relatively new from what I understand and I believe it is the quirks of being new that made the experience barely sub-par for my friends and I. It had a welcoming vibe with interesting options for seating and the overall aesthetic was modern and semi-masculine with the perfect amount of sophistication. The location is to die for! It's hidden in the heart of the Mission District on 19th between Valencia and Mission.

It's an oyster bar so that's exactly what we ordered with a dozen fresh oysters coming in at $18. A perfect way to start a meal! The presentation of everything they brought us was beautiful. The only downfall was the service. Our server was great, but seemed preoccupied by the other half of the restaurant he was tending to. It started out great but by the end of our meal when the entire restaurant was almost full he was basically non-existent. From what I could tell though there were only 2 servers working the entire place so it's not enough of an issue to keep me from coming back. I would gladly go back for the $4 Cinnamon Roll with whiskey caramel glaze!

Ryan and I ended up splitting the Goetta Florentine with poached eggs, pan fried pork, spinach, hollandaise and yukon gold potatoes and the Farmer’s Market Omelette with cherry tomatoes, corn, ricotta, and yukon gold potatoes. Both options were great but I think we preferred the omelette over the florentine. The food was warm but just on the verge of going cold so the hollandaise was starting to congeal. Again, I blame this on being short staffed and having a full restaurant to feed. The only thing I would do differently next time would be to go earlier.

Oh, and maybe try something different, like the Breakfast Tacos!