Rapscallion Rogue Eatery

Have eaten here several times, but last night’s experience was a disappointment. Portions have shrunk dramatically (if you order the cheeseboard, ask for a magnifying glass so you can see the cheese), and the drink sizes were skimpy. Lamb was tough, hard to cut, really dry. Puff pizza was good, as was dessert. All
In all, really uneven.

Uneven. Funky Fun.
Tapas? Too ambitious?
What great staff All of you! Thanks Gerald.
Refer to previous reviews for dishes, eg ch liver brûlée
Sweet and sour cabbage too sweet
Shrimp roll crunchy yum but shrimps bland
’ cold smoked ’ duck fine? but, Condiment ?-Too Salty! Bread dry.
Cavils?perhaps.
Third visit. Never boring. Some real winners. Creative .Dude alone friendly-​business junket.
Again for sure.

I’m not really familiar with the Hamilton area, but I had to drive there to try this hot restaurant from Unilocal.
I wanted to find out why everybody gave 5 stars and were raving about this place.
They don’t have private parking space but paid parking lot was close by, didn’t need to worry about parking. Seems like street parking would be very difficult to find.
Restaurant outside isn’t fancy at all, actually its looks more like regular small deli and breakfast joint. When we walked in, only few tables were occupied. We got welcomed by a waiter (I think he was one of the owners), got seated on the cozy spot where I can overlook the open kitchen. Menus are written on the board along with the wine menu. Not many options to choose from but they were all interesting. We got a glass of wine and ordered food. 5 dishes were reasonable for 2 people to share.
Chicken liver brûlée was divine, such a flavorful dish to start with. Bone marrow was delicious, veal brisket was exceptional. Smoked duck was good too. It wasn’t gamy at all. Puff pastry pizza with rabbit was phenomenal. The dishes were bit salty for my taste but they paired well with wine.
I wish I lived closer so I can visit more often. If you are adventurous and looking for different experience, you should try here. Its small plates but flavors are big and makes huge explosion in your mouth. Prices are reasonable, service is excellent. Two thumbs up!

Rapscallion is a surprisingly nice and up-​scale dining establishment just a block or two off of James Street S. Be warned, the portions are small (almost too small) and the meal will cost ca. $ 50 per person since most of the dishes are designed to be shared. The menu changes regularly and is on display throughout the restaurant (see the posted photo).
With all of this being said, the staff is eager to customize/​alter dishes to meet any and all dining needs. I am a vegetarian and the chef offered to make almost all of the dishes meat-​free; he even offered a few dishes that weren’t on the menu. Thus, don’t be afraid to inquire with the service staff.
If it’s still around when you pass through, I would recommend the gourmet grilled cheese sandwich.

It’s tapas style food so works better with a larger party for the split cause otherwise you’ll spend $$$, I think the menu is always evolving so it’s hard to recommend something specific but they had the best grilled cheese I’ve probably had ever. The restaurant isn’t particularly large so call ahead. I’d only come here on special occasions personally as opposed to a regular dine in.

Delicious food! One of Hamilton’s nicer finer dining spots. Smaller portions packing huge flavour.

Excellent! Every dish was amazing and the waiter was super nice! Highly recommend this restaurant

Absolutely loved this gem of a restaurant.
The ambiance is so unique, eclectic, comfortable and funky.
The menu is written on the walls, and windows, boards on the wall… The desert menus is verbal.
Kitchen is tiny and open which allows you to smell the aromas of cooking as it’s happening, making you even hungrier by the minute.
The three servers that were working all attended to us, super friendly and attentive!
The food is DELICIOUS! Each bite is an explosion of flavours in your mouth.
The flavours are intense and work really well together.
So this place is a tapas place, you order a bunch of plates and share.
Lovely wine list as well…
I’m so glad we stumbled upon this place and I’d highly recommend it to anyone wanting to explore and outside of the box, gourmet food!!!
Bön appétit!!!

I have wanted to try this place for over a year. I decided to take an adventurous friend out for her birthday. We happened to go there on a Thursday. Lucky for us Thurdays have a deal for $ 70. This deal includes 4 tapas, 2 glasses of wine, and a dessert to share. We picked this option.
Atmosphere– This place is very small but cozy. There is an open kitchen at the side and smaller tables throughout. The menu is on chalk boards and windows. The choices for really unique tapa dishes is large.
Food– The house cab sauv was good. We had the following in this order: 1) The cheese platter with 4 types of cheeses, bread slices, and pickled onion slices. We both enjoyed all of it. I especially liked the onions and had wished they had put more in the dish. 2) blackened basa fish with polenta and truffle oil drizzle. Wow! The polenta was the consistency of cream of wheat but with an amazing flavour and tiny pieces of vegetable t add to dish. the fish was tasty and moist. 3) shrimp and pork belly (with HOT sauce!) I liked the flavour, my friend loved it. I think the only negative thing I could say was we should have been warned about the heat of this dish. I am not typically a hot, hot dish kind of girl so I was shocked when this dish was. No mention on the wall and waiter said nothing to warn us. Luckily my friend loves heat. 4) pressed lamb with goat cheese, mint sauce and pan fried noodles. Wow again. Lamb as tender and tasty. The noodles were thin fettuccine noodles fried in spices making the dish outstanding. 5) We ordered this extra dish only because when we commented how wonderful all the dishes looked when they arrived he said too bad you dist order The Spaniard because the little towers look the best. So– We had to see them. The Spaniard has a potato skin with spice bottom, a sausage patty covering that, and topped with a fried quail egg. This is served with hot sauce for dipping. Beautiful and wonderfully tasting dish for sure. We completed this perfect meal with a home made chocolate bar– The best chocolate dessert I have had in a very long time. Bottom layer– so creamy chocolate-​. Next layer so dreamy ganuche — topped with sea salted bacon bits, caramel sauce and green apple slices. The result is a taste of Heaven. I wish like their other place (The Mule– They did not even serve tea) they would consider serving a variety of teas for the end of a meal. I know this is a small pint but it does complete the evening for me. This place only had one standard Orange Pekoe
Service– Excellent! The waiter and the matre D (if that was his title — maybe 2 waiters) They were both awesome. they made us feel welcome. Every dish they asked if we liked it, \Which we did. I did not mention the hot dish because it was fantastic in flavour but I probably should have. I got too caught up in all the wonderful other things. Each new dish is presented almost like a work of art and then the waiter announces exactly what it is. I loved the experience. i can’t wait to introduce this place to my friends. I will try Meatless Monday with my vegetarian friend as well.
Impression– I do not tend to give a lot of «5» ratings but this was a 5 for service and food. I only wish they served Earl Grey tea or some other better variety there.

This is an amazing place! The fluorescent sign outside makes it look like a «dive» but this place is far beyond that. The service and the food are equally pleasant! Every dish is unique and delicious! Highly recommended for an evening with friends or that special someone!

I’ve been here only once, and it’s a shame I haven’t been back. When I get the opportunity, I will be back. I headed here with my girlfriend a couple months ago, off a friends recommendations, and I was pleasantly surprised. I ordered the Jerk chicken with mango slaw and it was delicious. The spice was on point, and it was cooked to perfection. If you’re in the neighbourhood, I would seriously recommend you visit this place

The Rapscallion is one of those places I have heard about a couple times, but I haven’t spent much time in Hamilton so I never had a chance to check it out. Now that I have, I am extremely glad that I did. I went here with my girlfriend and a friend on our way back from Niagara and decided that this would be the best time to try them out. We ordered the best grilled cheese (sorry no photo, we were really hungry at this time), the suckling pig Faggot, shrimp and pork belly, roasted mushrooms and the Spaniard. Note that they change their menu often so this might not be the same items when you go also we went on No Meat Monday so they had more vegetarian/​vegan items.
Everything we ordered was great and in traditional tapas fashion we ordered multiple plates and shared them all. The best grilled cheese has been a staple on their menu for over 3 years and will most likely still be there when you go. The suckling pig faggot was tender and moist and was a paired with mashed potato to make a great mix. The shrimp and pork best was the best thing that we had all together, they come sriracha mayo which takes it to the next level. The Spaniard was the most interesting plate that we had, with Chorizo and a quail egg on top it had a lot of favour in a small bite.
The location is small so this don’t go with a big group, but the service is amazing. As I saw stated in other reviews the pricing is a little high, closer to a $$$ than a $$. Parking can be an issue depending on when you go, there is street parking near by that is free after 6pm.

We came to eat dinner for our anniversary. Here’s what we learned.
Parking: No designated parking for the Rapscallion Rogue Eatery but there is street parking and a pay per hour parking lot close by. I paid $ 7.50 in the parking lot for 1.5 hours. There was no street parking available.
Staff: 1 server for 6 – 7 tables (2 – 6 people per table). The server knows their product very well and portrays the menu items in an inticing way.
Atmosphere: Classic hits from the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. Candle-​lit, warm and cozy seating areas. 1 bathroom.
Drinks: Iced/​sparkling water, 3 craft beers, and A LOT of wine. Beer pricing $ 8 — $ 10. Wine pricing $ 9 — $ 14 per glass, ~$ 50 — $ 99 per bottle. I tried the nut beer. It had a nice aroma and nutty flavour as per the name.
Food: The menu constantly changes with the seasons. There are chutterie boards, entrées and sides. We had the Rudolph Tartar (Veneson Tartar)$ 18, Pighead Terrine $ 10, and the Rabbit and Suckling Pig Faggot $ 14.
There was a clear trend with the dishes we tried; 1 carb, 1 fatty/​rich meat, 1 pickled salad. The combo was absolutely delicious!
The tartar was served with a raw quail egg on top, toasted bread and a pickled tomato and arugala salad.
The terrine was served with toasted bread and a pickled radish, and celery salad.
The faggot was served on a bed of fluffy and buttery mashed potatoes, and pickled cucumbers.
All-​in-​all, it’s a great place for people that like to try something new. I took 1 star off for the parking situation and because we made a reservation for 7pm but there were still people sitting at our table upon arrival. It’s not a big deal because they left within 10 minutes but my s/​o wasn’t pleased.

This is a great place!!! The environment is trendy, the food is very playful. It is different every time I am there.
Love the share plates concept. Don’t order too much though… the small plates aren’t too small… :)

This is an expensive place. It really is closer to $$$ than $$ but it’s well worth it. Everything was absolutely delicious, I especially liked the Chicken Skin Tacos and the sauce on My German Lover.
Staff is very friendly and knowledgeable.
Brandon, our server, is ridiculously talented at making food sound incredibly sexy and delicious (which it really is). On top of being a great server, he’s also a fantastic human being and I would honestly recommend this place just based on the customer service alone.
Can’t wait to come back!

My first impression of this restaurant at its doorsteps was «um, maybe I should go somewhere else? Run!» I’m glad that I stayed and got to try some of their amazing dishes!
Chicken Liver Brûlée: I’m not sure how they made it, but it tasted really good.
Shrimp & Pork Belly: unexpectedly spicy but hands down, my favourite dish of the night. Pork belly had both meaty and fatty parts. Who knew pork belly and shrimp would make such a delicious combination.
Scallop & Potato: scallops were typical scallops but the potato was amazing. I wanted to ask how they cooked it. The dish also had cherry tomatoes, corn kernels and thick bacon bits.
Salad Lyonnaise: It’s a salad with boiled eggs and croutons. I liked the dressing.
Rabbit & Suckling Pig F-​word (not spelling it out as it is an offensive word): pretty good with avocado and potato shreds. The meat was really soft and the potato shreds added some crispiness to the dish.
Vanilla Crème Brûlée: sweet, delicious stuff! A little odd that there were pieces of cantaloupes in it; I’ve never seen cantaloupes in a crème brûlée before.
Overall, the restaurant looks a little scary from the outside and the interior is not upscale, but I would recommend this place for its tasty dishes.

This is probably one of the best restaurants I’ve ever been to in terms of the quality of food at least. The inside is eccentric as they have their menus written on blackboards and glass, highlighting the fact that their menus constantly change (for the most part). The menu was also decently large for a tapas restaurant and very diverse. We ordered 5 dishes for the 2 of us, which was enough to leave both of us quite full. All of the dishes were, at minimum, very good. Here they are with my favourites to start it off:
Chicken Liver Brulee: As other reviews here have mentioned, this is an amazing dish. The brulee was so tasty and unique, and the bread they give you is fresh and warm. Best of all, when we ran out of bread and had some brulee left, the waiter brought us some more bread without us even asking. Not a bit of brulee (or bread) was left uneaten.
Shrimp and Pork Belly: This was an unexpectedly spicy and also amazing dish. The pork belly was done perfectly and the spicy sauce worked perfectly with it and the shrimp. Soooo good.
Scallop and Potato: They used quality, jumbo scallops and the potato was so good it didn’t even taste like potato. That’s how good it was. They throw in some big chunks of bacon that work very well with the scallops. Just an overall fantastic dish.
Rabbit and Suckling Pig: Probably the strangest tasting dish of the night because it was so soft but it was still pretty good. By itself the meat was alright, but it worked with all the avocadoish sauce and breading shreds topping it (or whatever it was).
Salad Lyonnaise: Probably the most ordinary dish of the night but we wanted some veggies and it was still delicious. They threw in some eggs, big chunks of bacon, and some vinaigrette-​type dressing and it became a quality salad.
I honestly can’t think of anything bad to say about the food here. The beer list could be a bit bigger and the inside isn’t exactly fancy but you come here for the food and boy is it worth it.

This place may not look like much from outside, but inside the food is mind blowing! Think of small experimental food!
I came here with my girlfriend and we shared 5 plates. This was the perfect number of plates for us.
We started with the Strawberry Salad. This was more like a could light fruit soup. It had grapes and strawberries in a heavy crème. Not sweet enough to be a dessert.
The Chicken liver brûlée is amazing!!! Is a chicken liver pâté that has been brûlée with sugar. It comes in a small cup with bread to be spread on. It’s delicious!!!
The puff pizza is super refreshing. Is a light pastry crust with arugula, sliced roma tomatoes, pickled onions, crème fresh and other greens. Highly recommend it.
Venison Tartar is definitely for the more adventure eater. Is a good potion of meat with ricotta cheese and a raw quail egg on top. It comes with bread.
Duck meatballs with a poached egg. This a 3 meatballs with ricotta cheese and tomato sauce. Very solid plate!

Enjoyed my first time here last night. This is yet another restaurant that makes Hamilton the foodie destination that it has turned into.
I liked the eclectic vibe it has going on, although at times I found the restaurant too loud and hard to have a conversation with the people at my table. It was also slightly awkward reading the menu and wine list off of boards posted on the walls.
The food delivered for the most part. The flank steak and sweet potato risotto was to die for, and the flavours in the puff pastry pizza were amazing. The «best grilled cheese» was certainly good, but I probably wouldn’t call it the best I’ve ever had. Prices were sometimes expensive for what you got.

After a long research and blatantly trusting Unilocal research, we have decided to check out this joint. I personally like small cozy french style restaurants. We arrived there bit late, greeted by this tall bald bouncer looking guy. Honestly thought he was a bouncer, turned out he was a waiter. Ordered 4 different dishes as the portions are small for the prices. No printed menu, you have to look at the listing on the black board. Ordered Ahi tuna, Butter chicken wings, some Lamb dish and some veggies.
All of the dishes were bland. I am no cooking expert, but I would know if the food is bland or not. Complaining to the waiter, resulted in him using his bouncer bullying on us. If you want to run the restaurant listen to the customer. That is rule #1. The experience was completely disastrous.
If you want pseudo-​hipster-​bland with bully waiter, this is the place to be.