The Early Word On Ham And Oyster Spot, Hog & Rocks

When the tequila aficionado/partner from Tres Agaves teams up with the chef/owner from Maverick to create a restaurant focused on ham, oysters and cocktails, a person's gotta wonder. And many have, showing up in droves to try Hog & Rocks, the new 86-seater that opened up on 19th Street near Mission about six weeks ago. Since only one critical review has been filed to date, now's as good a time as any to weigh the opinions floating around the blogosphere. Here goes.

The Good News: Virginia Miller of The Perfect Spot states her take on the menu's strength: "There are four different spreads in a jar (the Pimento Cheese, $6, with baguette is creamy, Southern satisfaction), and it’s in their most playful menu items such as these that Hog & Rocks shows its promise." And Yelper Zachary P. has a balanced review with the following high points: "Food was outstanding. Prices were quite reasonable (full five stars for this area). Service was helpful and good with the small touches. Drink menu for specialty cocktails was also excellent. I especially liked the grilled octopus dish..." [Perfect Spot, Yelp]

The Good News: Virginia Miller of The Perfect Spot states her take on the menu's strength: "There are four different spreads in a jar (the Pimento Cheese, $6, with baguette is creamy, Southern satisfaction), and it’s in their most playful menu items such as these that Hog & Rocks shows its promise." Yelper Zachary P. has a balanced review with the following high points: "Food was outstanding. Prices were quite reasonable (full five stars for this area). Service was helpful and good with the small touches. Drink menu for specialty cocktails was also excellent. I especially liked the grilled octopus dish..." [Perfect Spot, Yelp]

The Late Night News: SFoodie is quick to note one of the new resto's most redeeming qualities: "Hogs and Rocks is a great place for late-night vittles, providing restorative sustenance, and reasonably priced refreshments a good hour or so after regular restaurants have closed up shop ? midnight currently." [SFoodie]

The Oyster News: Ms. Miller gives praise for proper oyster protocol: "I was pleased to see tasting notes listed under the oysters – this should be standard." And most Yelpers rave about the shellfish experience, although cindy p. subtly favors the hog part of the equation: "The ham plate was dynamite and the variety of oysters was nice. Some outstanding, some good. Make sure you ask your server about them, ours was very helpful." [Perfect Spot, Yelp]

The Noise News: Yelper Grace K. liked her meal, but: "Docked 1 point for the NOISE! My ears were in the verge of bleeding by 7:45pm, and no amount of Rose' or oysters could make them stop ringing..." And Chowhounder Frosty Melon echoes the sentiment: "I really like this place, but note it is VERY loud when full. I'm not one to really be bothered by restaurant noise usually but I couldn't help but notice it here." Note: Patricia Unterman mentioned the team is working on a noise solution in her recent review. [Yelp, Chowhound]

The Just OK News: Though most of Chowhounder augustiner's recap is positive, he does relay a few caveats: "...i like the idea behind this ham and oyster joint, but i guess there is such a thing as too much ham (at least if you order as much food as we did for two people. no it's not a mountain of ham but...), the duck mousse i would recommend for maybe a party of 4, great fresh tomatoes in the salad, didn't love the mussels but they were fine, and the clam fritters should not have the word "clam" in them."

The Burger News: Even though it's a ham and oyster restaurant, people are still talking about the burger. Tasting Table is all about it: "the fancified burger ($10) is transformed into fresh meat: Here, a patty is pan-fried and served as part of a smashing patty melt on rye bread with Emmentaler and Frisco sauce." While Chowhounder Frosty Melon prefers other things: "The patty melt was pretty standard-issue, but tasty enough." [TT, Chowhound]

The Bad News: There's one very strong opinion in augustiner's write-up: "i hate the sinks in the bathrooms. they are these huge wide white ceramic squares with a basin only two inches deep. i've never had an emotional reaction to a sink before but as i washed my hands i wanted to smash it off the wall." Well then.

As always, we'd like to hear it in the comment section as well. Or feel free to give us what you got in the Eater SF tip jar.