Canonical: https://peninsulainsider.com.au/eat/rare-hare/ Publisher: Peninsula Insider Published: unknown Modified: unknown Format: public main text, generated from the canonical page; imagery and interactive controls omitted. Dates and caveats below retain their page meaning; this format is not a new fact check. [Eat & Drink]() Restaurant [Merricks]() # Rare Hare at Willow Creek Jackalope's relaxed lunch room, wood fire, vineyard views, and plates built for sharing over most of an afternoon. Known for Jackalope's Relaxed Lunch Room Wood-Fired Grill Menu Willow Creek Estate Wines Pinot Row Terrace [Reserve a table]() +61 3 5931 2500 - Photo · Courtesy of Visit Victoria - Photo · Courtesy of Visit Victoria - Photo · Courtesy of Visit Victoria - Photo · Courtesy of Visit Victoria - Photo · Courtesy of Visit Victoria - Photo · Courtesy of Visit Victoria - Photo · Courtesy of Visit Victoria - Photo · Courtesy of Visit Victoria - Photo · Courtesy of Visit Victoria 1 of 9 1 / 9 Plates of roast duck, charred meat, a beetroot salad and a leafy dish with a glass of rose on a timber table Rare Hare at Willow Creek, Merricks, Mornington Peninsula. Photo · Courtesy of Visit Victoria Why we’d go All the produce and wine of Jackalope, none of the occasion pressure, Rare Hare is the better fit on days when the brief is lunch rather than event. Rare Hare is the second restaurant at Jackalope and, for many people, the better of the two for a relaxed afternoon on the Peninsula. Where Doot Doot Doot leans into fine-dining drama, Rare Hare takes the vineyard lunch brief and runs with it: wood-fired grill, long shared plates, a list of Willow Creek estate wines by the glass, and a room that opens directly onto the pinot rows. Photo · Courtesy of Visit Victoria The menu is organised around pizza, wood-fire mains, and a short list of raw starters that have become regulars, the cured kingfish, the burrata with stone fruit in season, whatever is running through the grill that afternoon. The bar is a genuinely good solo lunch spot. The sound system knows what it is doing. Book a table on the terrace if the weather allows, order one more bottle than planned, and let the afternoon stretch. This is the format that daylight dining on the Peninsula was designed for. Part of Jackalope [Doot Doot Doot Restaurant A multi-course dining experience at Jackalope Hotel, with a dramatic room and a seasonal menu.]()[Jackalope Hotel Hotel An art-led vineyard hotel in Merricks North, with Doot Doot Doot dining and room choices from Terrace to Lair.]()[Spa by Jackalope Spa The Peninsula's most design-led boutique spa, small, precise, and the natural pairing with a Jackalope stay or a Doot Doot Doot dinner.]() Worth knowing **Best for** Long lunches · Scenic views · Cellar door visits · Couples If you only do one thing Book the terrace table, order the cured kingfish to start and whatever is off the wood-fired grill, and treat the Willow Creek by-the-glass list as an ongoing conversation with the floor team. Works well with Scorpo Wines · Spa by Jackalope Filed under Long Lunch Cellar Door View Garden Spring Summer Autumn Couples Group Families First Timers At a glance **Type** Restaurant **Location** 166 Balnarring Rd, Merricks North VIC 3926 · [Directions]() **Call** +61 3 5931 2500 **Website** [jackalopehotels.com/mornington-peninsula]() **Directions** [Get directions]() **Live status** [Check current hours →]() [Book now]() Not sure how to build a day around Rare Hare at Willow Creek? [Search Peninsula Insider]() In the journal ## Stories that mention Rare Hare at Willow Creek These pieces give you the context a listing page never does - the when, the why, and the who-it’s-for. [Journal →]() Service 8 min ### [How to Plan a Peninsula Weekend: The Decision Framework]() 10 April 2026 Stop googling. Start here. A step-by-step planning guide that turns 'we should go to the Peninsula' into an actual weekend, with the decisions in the right order. Part of an escape ## Weekend plans that already include Rare Hare at Willow Creek Skip the planning - these itineraries sequence this venue into a proper Peninsula weekend. [All plans →]() Alba Thermal Springs & Spa, Fingal, Mornington Peninsula. Photo: Courtesy of Visit Victoria Plan ### [A Peninsula Wellness Weekend]() Thermal pools, a coastal walk and vineyard meals, with two nights to slow down at the same Red Hill stay. Two-night escape · Best for couple · Peninsula [View Plan →]() Nearby picks ## More from Merricks [Back to Eat & Drink →]() Winery [Merricks]() ### [Baillieu Vineyard]() 51 Stanleys Rd, Merricks VIC 3916 A thoughtfully managed Merricks estate making elegant Chardonnay and Pinot Noir that rewards the drive to find it. cellar door slow [Read notes]() [Book]() Winery [Merricks]() ### [Elgee Park]() 89 Junction Rd, Merricks North VIC 3926 The Baillieu family's 1972 vineyard, the planting that started the modern Peninsula wine region, still in family hands, still making restrained Chardonnay and Viognier. cellar door slow [Read notes]() [Book]() Winery [Merricks]() ### [Kerri Greens]() 235 Stanleys Rd, Red Hill South VIC 3937 Tom McCarthy and Lucas Blanck's new-school Peninsula label, lighter-style Pinot, approachable Chardonnay, and a cellar door that feels like a bar. cellar door slow [Read notes]() [Book]() Build a day around this ## Planning guides that include Rare Hare at Willow Creek Peninsula Insider guides that put this stop into the context of a full day or weekend. [Peninsula weekend itinerary →]() [The long lunch guide →]() [Winery tour route →]() [Rainy-day Peninsula →]() Keep this for later [← Part of Merricks - view the destination guide]() Is this your business? [Manage this listing]() Something wrong on this page, or is this your business? [Tell us what to fix]() and you get a case reference back. corrections@peninsulainsider.com.au reaches the same desk. ## The Insider Note The Peninsula worth knowing. An occasional email. What's on, where we'd go and what's worth knowing next. Independent editorial. Sent when there is something worth knowing. Unsubscribe any time [Privacy]()