We read consumable Joy's review of The Smoking Rabbit with interest, since we'd visited there recently and had a similar experience. The restaurant was also totally empty when we went, which is really not a good sign on a Friday night at 9 p.m. There were people all over Ocean Drive, but only two others were seated inside the gastropub. And while we liked it overall, we agree with cJ that a few things were disappointing, in particular the lack of beer on tap and the crust-less mac & cheese. (The crust is our favorite part!)

As we enjoyed our meal, we tried to figure out why it was so depressingly empty on what should have been a busy Friday night. We decided the location was the problem. One would think an Ocean Drive location would be excellent, but that's not necessarily the case when trying to attract a local crowd. Not one of the four of us (two of whom live on South Beach) could remember the last time we'd eaten at an Ocean Drive restaurant. It's tourist central. Most tourists aren't going to end up in a place like The Smoking Rabbit, and most locals are going to avoid that stretch entirely.

We were thinking that ISHQ, on the same block as the gastropub, might be suffering a similar fate. Has anyone been there recently and seen how full/empty the dining room is? We're curious to hear how they're doing.

One final thing: We cannot fully convey how much we loved the shoestring fries at The Smoking Rabbit. Thankfully, they came in a very large bowl, which we shared with our dinner companions. (Next time, we might not be so generous with our fries.) The chef told us they were fried in oil with sage before being tossed with salt, pepper and fresh rosemary. Totally addictive.

The Smoking Rabbit [consumable Joy]
The Smoking Rabbit [MenuPages]
The Smoking Rabbit [Official Site]
ISHQ [MenuPages]
ISHQ [Official Site]