The Whole Beast

I’ve been here twice. The first time i was very disappointing because the meat that i got in my sandwich was nothing but fat. I couldn’t eat it… and i was unable to walk all the way back to have them rectify. So, I had to buy lunch elsewhere.
I just got back with my to-​go order. I got the Ham & Brie sandwich, which sounded great on the menu: ham & brie on a rosemary roll?! Um… yeah! Except… nope! I came back to my office to uncover a sandwich that i could have made myself for much less than the $ 9+ that i paid. Firstly, no rosemary roll. I got a sesame bun that was… meh. As for the Brie, i got ONE slither sliced in half. C’mon guys!
Once again, i wasn’t able to walk back to return it… But, last time i go there. Save your money, folks, and pack your own sandwich. Alternatively, try the other places at the Hall… none other than The Whole Beast have not disappointed me yet.
Good eats!
LC

One of the last good places in The Hall. I’ve had the same Lamb gyros are which are tender, juicy and deliciously seasoned in a soft, warm pita. The meat is almost too high quality for gyro meat, but hey it’s a bougied up version. Yogurt and gremolata were on point, though could use more of it. Kind of pricey but on par with SF lunch these days, worth the quality.
Second time here, I had the Turkey Club as a bowl which you can convert the sandwiches to at no extra cost. Instead of bread, the sandwich insides comes in a bed of mixed greens instead. They’re generous with the protein portions and a nice dollop of avocado on top. Only downsides are they can sell out of the popular items quickly (it’s BBQ) and wait time is non-​deterministic some sandwiches can take a while to make even if you ordered before people after you.

The lamb burger from The Whole Beast did not disappoint. Well seasoned ground lamb, with just the right amount of lettuce, tomato, pickled red onion, tomato, and tziki sauce on an acne bun. One of the best lamb burgers I’ve had in SF!

Not bad.
For a hipster BBQ joint rather good actually.
My only qualm was their brussel sprout salad was a little greasy and the sprouts cut up a little too much, but other than that, pretty good. Also a little vinegar to the salad would have been much better. Something to break the grease/​oil.

There was a long line for this at Off the Grid Presidio. Ok, must be good right?
Glanced at the menu and got in line.
The sandwich was yummy and meaty!
Caprese salad in a mason jar was adorable!

I was so incredibly disappointed with The Whole Beast after trying them at The Yard at Mission Bay. The photos online made me so excited, and I was salivating in anticipation after reading the reviews. Unfortunately they fell short for me.
We ordered the Short Rib Poutine ($ 13) and the Beef Brisket.
The Short Rib Poutine had absolutely NO short rib on it. This is no exaggeration. It seems they were not cooking short rib that day, and failed to mention that there would only be gravy on the fries, with a scattering of cheese curds and a drizzle of horseradish. That’s not the poutine I was looking for! On top of it all, it was a tiny serving of fries for the $ 13 that we had paid for it.
The Brisket came with 4 slices, a single scoop of potato salad, and a sprinkling of french onions. Dry, nothing special, poorly presented. I forgot how much it costs, but I’m sure it was way too much as well.
On top of it all, it took forever for our food to come out (though no other customers were in sight except for one lady ahead of us). The food came out luke-​warm as well.
It makes me sad to write this review because the atmosphere in the area was so nice! I’d probably try it again if it was cheaper, but nope. Not wasting another dollar again!

I’ve never been into the restaurant, but have ordered take out delivery a handful of times. I just had the chicken salad sandwich for lunch today and as soon as I took a bite, I thought, «Are you f-​ing kidding me?»
IT WAS HEAVENLY. I didn’t even know what to do with the insane medley of flavors in my mouth. Oh my god, Unilocalers, it was fabulous.
I’ve had the pulled pork sandwich several times, which ranks at the top of my list of favorite pulled porks in the city (even if I usually just eat the pork out the sandwich with a fork and toss the bread (grain free is the way to be)).
I am a sucker for ethical meat that was sustainable raised and not factory farmed, and I am more inclined to actually eat the salad greens rather than just picking out the cheese and meat and pomegranate seeds and persimmon (seriously all in one salad. #blessed) if those greens are organic — which they are.
Now please throw some offal on your delivery menu (via caviar) and I’ll order even more.

T. tyrannosaurus rex
H. honey badger
E. electric slide eel
W. wolf vs vampire
H. (hail) hydra
O. orc
L. lochness monster
E. eagle
B. black widow
E. elephant
A. anaconda
S. shark week
T. tasty pulled pork sando

Had their tri tip sandwich from off the grid food truck location in the presidio. Worst sandwich I’ve ever had. The bread was completely soggy, super wet from the pickles or slaw that they put on it. Tri tip was not flavorful and thinly sliced with a small portion size. And the worst part is it cost, 15 bucks with tax/​tip!
Do not recommend getting their food at the presidio off the grid location.

I suggested to a coworker we go to The Hall for dinner before going to see a show nearby. Her bf joined us later and we all gravitated towards The Whole Beast. It was Monday, August 24^th around 6pm.
*Ham & brie: thin sliced ham with mustard, arugula, pickles on a rosemary roll ($ 8)
*Charcuterie plate ($ 19)
My coworker got the Ham & brie sandwich. I don’t really like ham due to the sweetness, but I do love brie and arugula. I enjoyed this sandwich. The bread was soft with a nice chew. I had read somewhere they had a good Charcuterie plate, so even though it wasn’t on their menu, they were nice enough to make a plate for me. It came with four meats, four cheeses, olives, pickled onion and pickles, pumpkin seeds, stonefruit, drizzles of balsamic and slices of toasty baguette. The plate was huge! I couldn’t finish it. Even with help. My favs were the cheese reminiscent of blue cheese and the sausage that was spicy.
I like their concept of using the whole animal. If I can find an excuse, a whole pig sounds delicious! Give me that whole beast!

Wasting nothing, The Whole Beast treats and cooks food as it’s intended. Wholesome, straight forward, locally sourced, prepared with love. I don’t know about you but something that is important to me is to know where my food comes from. I’ve had the pleasure of tasting almost everything they currently have to offer! They have a smoker on site at The Yard location just outside of ATT Park sharing a space in the Anchor Beer Garden! YES a beer garden!
Here are some of my favorites!
–Lamb Poutine: a California lamb, marinated in house yogurt sauce and smoked for up to 13 hours: served atop Belgium (thick cut) fries, house lamb and chorizo gravy, smoked lamb’s neck topped with a creamy sheep’s cheese. Two words: SINFULLY DECADENT!
–St. Louis Style Ribs, marinated 72 hours and smoked for up to 9 hours: these are cut from belly as opposed to the baby back ribs most have tried. 4 sizable ribs glazed in an apple caraway are served with smoked, yes smoked, potato salad and house BBQ sauce.
–Pulled Pork Sando: The entire Llano Secco hog out of Chico, excluding the head, is smoked for up to 10 hours and pulled so you get a cut of the entire pig in every sandwich: Served on an ACME bun, house BBQ sauce, an AMAZING apple/​cabbage/​caraway vin based slaw and house pickles. TO DIE FOR!
–Smoked Wilie Bird Turkey Club (on crack lol!): Sliced to order, you get BOTH white and dark meat! mayo, avocado, lettuce, house pickles and pepper jam!
Wagyu Beef Burger, ¼ lb patty: Wagyu is a combination between Kobe and Black Angus, together which makes for a very juicy burger! Served on an ACME bun, house pickles, mayo, lettuce.
The Whole Beast loves it’s veggies and seafood too! Having several options such as a chopped salad with a unique variety of greens and plenty of hidden treasures like watermelon radish and fried shallots with house dressings such as lemon vinaigrette and buttermilk ranch, so creamy and herb-​y (if that’s a word lol).
A lovely Dino Kale salad with a house lemon vinaigrette, pecorino and house harissa topped with house smoked almonds… the amount of crunch you get from the stock is a nice surprise, but who would have thought of adding harissa to a kale salad? ! Do you know what Harissa is? Harissa is a hot chili pepper paste the main ingredients of which are roasted red peppers, serrano peppers and other hot chili peppers and spices and herbs such as garlic paste, coriander seed, or caraway as well as some vegetable or olive oil roasted and pureed.
There’s always additional daily special options such as fish and chips, fried oyster po’boys and fritto misto!
HUNGRY YET??? Check out the pictures I posted and see for yourself!
ENJOY!!!

One star was taken away for not knowing that my turkey club would have dark meat in it. Bleccchhhh! Otherwise a great experience at The Hall! The Whole Beast had chicken, beef, turkey and pork selections and the meat (aside from the dark meat that I had to pick off), was tender and juicy! Nothing to drink except for water lost them a star too. Also would like it if they had bread other than white! Us wheat and whole grain eaters didn’t have a choice here and that was disappointing! It’s San Francisco after all! You need to give us that healthy bread selection. I’d try it again but perhaps get the chicken salad next time. Otherwise an AOK experience! Also please get some soda or iced tea! Water in a cup just never cuts it for me. Oh don’t want to forget to mention the staff who did a lot of work getting a lot of orders ready for a hungry crowd of people! They were terrific!
Kudos to the staff!

I’m so stoked that they’re now open in The Yard at Mission Rock (
). Love their BBQ! Their catering rocks was well. I’ve still to visit on a day that they have ribs, but I’m going to keep trying.

Um, yeah, you’re probably going to smell the magic from this place right when you walk in to The Hall on Market street. I asked the counter worker what was the most famous and she replied «the brisket sandwich» in about 0.5 seconds. And it was wonderful. Something about the preparation made the meat taste almost bacon-​y. Do it!

I had the chance to try The Whole Beast at their popup location at The Yard down in Mission Bay which recently opened. I was impressed that with a massive crowd and a new space they were able to keep the line moving and the food coming out quickly. The employees seemed swamped but happy that everything was working out.
We ordered both the ribs and the lamb gravy poutine. The ribs were lackluster and I would definitely not order them again. The poutine, however, was great and had a very generous serving of shredded lamb mixed in with the gravy. While the fries could have been better and crispier and the cheese curds weren’t anything special, I did really like the gravy.
Overall, I’m not sure if anyone even sells poutine with lamb in it in the city but I’m hesitant to say that this is as good as it gets because there is definitely room for improvement. While exploring other poutine options I’ll say that «I’m a fan.»

Ordered the smoked turkey club at Picnic at Presidio today. It was so good! The meat was so juicy and flavorful, there was lots of avocado and the Acme roll was crispy and warm. At $ 13 it’s definitely an expensive sandwich, but very filling and delicious. The line was super long, but well worth the wait. Would definitely recommend if you’re craving a sandwich at Off the Grid.

OMG!!!
Walking by I met the owner at the smoker oven outside the place, today I’m heading back home and decided to try it. This is amazing I had the porcheta sandwich. if you like pork this will be your favorite spot from now on, so grab a fork because the sandwich has so much filling that you are going to need it. Next to the place you can have other foods and the bar has great wine and beer

Just started a job at a startup store in the mid market neighborhood and decided to find THE lunch spot. Naturally, the smell of specialty meats was too much to resist and I ended up with a brisket in front of me.
Amazing.
Amazing.
Amazing.
Also my friend had a lamb curry gyro and says it was to die for.
This is definitely the spot.

I was lured here by a recent article in SFGate about favorite sandwiches which included the lamb gyro at The Whole Beast (
). This gyro is like no other. It’s smoked lamb (you can see them smoking it outside on the sidewalk at The Hall) stuffed into a pita bread then topped with a nice salad of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. It’s not really a sandwich. I’d be surprised if you could actually pick it up and eat it with your hands. I used a fork to eat the salad down to a manageable size (ie I could see the bread) then managed to pick it up and eat it — mostly lamb and bread by then. But smoked bbq’ed lamb. Super tender and yummy.
My only complaint was I wish they had put more harissa and yogurt on the meat. It was only a small dollop and mostly on the salad.
$ 9.79 including tax. Not really shareable and you wouldn’t want to.

I visited The Whole Beast booth over at Off The Grid Picnic at the Presidio. And believe me, you’ll want to try their turkey sandwich. How can you make something as mundane as a turkey sandwich into an EPIC tasting sandwich? The Whole Beast has it figured all out with their Smoked Turkey Breast Sandwich.
Smoked Turkey Breast Sandwich –
Even from far away you can totally smell the smoked turkeys coming from their smoker. So aromatic! And when you get this sandwich you can still smell the smokiness and taste it as well. Add to it some smoked bacon and avocado and stuff it all in an Acme Roll, and you have one EPIC turkey sandwich!
If you’re at OTG Picnic at the Presidio, don’t pass this place up. You’ll thank me once you enjoy that first bite of their Smoked Turkey Breast Sandwich!