Seeing how Pearl Morissette has captured the #1 ranking in Canada's 100 Best Restaurants for 2025, we knew a car rental was in our future. So we made our way out of Downtown Toronto to the wine country for our tasting menu out on the farm. However, we weren't going to do the 1.5 hour drive just to do one restaurant right? For lunch, we headed into St. Catharines to try another restaurant on that list at #97. Fat Rabbit is its name and a butcher shop is its game. However, they also house a restaurant in the same space that allows you to pick your custom steak (among other things).
Even though we were only there for lunch and looking forward to a tasting menu for dinner, we went all out and started with the Crispy Humbolt Squid. This was an excellent dish where the squid was super tender while having a slight chew. The thin batter was definitely crispy and seemed to be almost not there. That made each bite an airy experience which made things not as heavy as it appeared. The batter was also beautifully seasoned where it didn't need anything else but a slight squeeze from the slice of lemon. However, the side of scallion mayo was the cherry on top as it provided a bright, yet richly-flavoured hit.
Looking at the menu, we knew we had to get The Cheeseburger. Freshly-ground meat prepared to medium, this thick patty was juicy, meaty and well-seasoned. It was topped with a thick slice of gruyere as well as caramelized onions, pickles and dijonnaise. The soft bun held everything together where the dijonnaise had a nice tanginess that helped offset the richness of the beef. The pickles took that one step further while adding crunch. We couldn't forget about the caramelized onions as it provided a rich sweetness.
We got a side of Crispy Potatoes to compliment and oh boy, was that a great decision. These slices of what I believe were Yukon Gold potatoes were lightly crispy, but ever-so-creamy and moist on the inside. This textural contrast provided a great mouth feel and kept coming back for more. These were properly salted where they enhanced the natural potato flavour. On the side, we found garlic mayo which was creamy and aromatic. There was also some bomba to add a bit of spice to the dish.
For our choice of steak, we went big with the 29oz Aged Ribeye from the display case. This was thick cut and took 30 minutes to prepare. When it did arrive, it was a sight to behold. Charred on the outside and perfectly medium-rare (closer to rare, just how I like it) on the inside, it was what we were looking for in a premium steak. This was $68.00 per pound which would be around $122.00 for the steak. Not bad for so much meat that was cooked properly. It was also well-seasoned with kosher salt allowing us to eat this without any need for any condiments. It was juicy and tender with a slight bite.
To compliment our steak and also get some veggies, we opted for the Turnips with picobello, bottarga and beurre blanc. These turnips were cooked-through while still being firm with a crunch. Natural sweetness was the initial hit of flavour, but then we got some bitterness and slight sharpness at the end. The creamy beurre blanc helped add some luxuriousness while the bottarga afforded saltiness. Overall, we quite enjoyed the Fat Rabbit and were glad we stopped by for lunch. Interestingly, another couple was there, also taking pictures, and then we saw them again at Pearl Morisette! I guess we weren't the only ones with this idea of hitting both restaurants!
The Good:
- Just well-prepared food
- Love that you can pick your steak
- Great service
The Bad:
- We enjoyed our meal but unless you are on your way to Niagara or another spot, I wouldn't necessarily drive out
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