There’s been a lot of buzz about Chasing Rabbits, a multi-room, very unique restaurant and entertainment venue since it opened in Vail, November of 2022. We finally checked it out and found one pleasant surprise after another.

As you enter the main restaurant area of Chasing Rabbits, you could think you’re simply in for an elegant yet unstuffy dinner. With shades of tan, black and white, the restaurant is, to be sure, the calmest room in all of Chasing Rabbits. As you wander your way around the meandering space though, you’re in for many pleasant and colorful discoveries.

Those cool colors are appropriate for the restaurant, first to be a simple backdrop to the dramatic and flavorful “event” that is their food and drink menu. Second, the calm is a “just wait, you’ll see” preview of what’s to come.

What you’ll see at Chasing Rabbits

The night my husband and I visited Chasing Rabbits, we had dinner in the restaurant but toured around to the other rooms.  So, I’ll give you a “taste” of the other rooms at Chasing Rabbits, each with a completely different personality.

A long, wood-paneled hallways leads to the other venues. But wait, this isn’t your usual hallway. It’s quickly apparent you shouldn’t take the place too seriously. Two rabbit-shaped chairs invite a quick private conversation. “Classic” paintings prompt a double-take, poking fun at their expected regalness. (See our Pinterest graphic above).

And what’s that at the end of the hall? A giant, pink, breakdancing rabbit that draws you in through a sleek pathway of arcade game icons? Yup! You’ve gone down the (hallway to the) Rabbit Hole where arcade games of all kinds are always available but where there might also be movies, jazz nights, comedy shows plus Bingo Mondays, Karaoke Tuesdays and Friday Night DJ Sets. Rabbit Hole is the most family-friendly of the venues. A menu of elevated “snacks” includes Red Bird Chicken Wing Drumettes, Papas Fritas Chilaquiles, Duck Confit Quesadilla, Kale Caesar and Sriracha Sweet Potato Hummus. A full bar under the marque provides all your drinking needs.

Back out into the hallway, The Library gives pause, making you wonder “is this a serious library or something fun?” The answer is “yes and yes.” A visual and auditory rest compared to Rabbit Hole, subdued lighting accentuates two tiers of bookshelves, comfy seating with tables (this is the only other room that serves the full restaurant menu), and fun accents. Note the various salutes to clocks and time, a nod to Alice in Wonderland.

Around the corner, a red glow lures you in to Moon Rabbit, the speakeasy with an ever-changing password. Follow the red carpet (and rows of red lighting and panels of mirrors) down the corridor before the private room reveals itself. Plush seating, walls adorned with diamond-shaped accents of knotted rope, floral wallpaper and a busy bar makes this room feel sexy, slightly illicit and a place of indulgence – in other words, everything a speakeasy is meant to be.

The drinks-only menu includes a different set of offerings from in the restaurant, including more winks at the rabbit theme with The Looking Glass and the Cheshire Szechuan. There are also white, rose, red and sparkling wines by the glass.

Be sure to make a stop at the bathrooms, whether you need to or not, designated by the symbol of a bra, briefs, or bra-and-briefs. Inside, it’s not smoke and mirrors but it’s definitely darkness and slightly deceptive placement of mirrors that cause you to pause a beat to understand what you’re looking at and where the stalls actually are.  Get your bearings and you’ll then focus on how cool it is.

Dining at Chasing Rabbits

Some places that have entertainment venues only give lip service to their food menu, providing food and drink good enough to keep you happy while you focus on all the things to do. But Chasing Rabbits clearly put a lot of thought into the food and drink menu. It’s reason enough to visit (but, come and take it all in).

With a Mediterranean theme, Chasing Rabbits’ menu continues with the literary play, dividing the menu into Preface, Introductions, Prologue and Epilogue plus sides, desserts, drinks, and Bunny Food (the kids’ menu – adorbs). With guidance from our wonderful server who helped us make excellent choices (I don’t think we could have gone wrong though), we started with the Preface menu’s Buttermilk Ricotta ($14) a creamy mound, topped with chili garlic crunch and drizzled in herb oil with sourdough bread upon which to spread it all. Creamy, crunchy, and a little spicy, this was a delicious start to our meal. Among the other Preface options that tempted us were Snapper Ceviche and “Bifteki” Steak Tartare.

On the Introductions menu, we bypassed several salad options such as Burrata & Spring Pea Salad and Baby Gem and went for the Kale Chop Salad ($22) which appealed to me because of umami-rich shavings of prosciutto de Parma, firm dices of Iberico chorizo with a preserved lemon vinaigrette. When I make kale salad, it’s dry and choking because I don’t have the patience to “massage” the kale to tenderize it, complaining about it with every bite. But Chasing Rabbits is willing to take the time to chiffonade the kale leaves, give them a good going over and do it right. This may be one of the only kale salads I will have actually liked in my life. I bet you’ll feel the same.

From that same section of the menu, we also ordered something that sounded too interesting to pass up (and it was highly recommended by our server) – Crispy Xtapodi ($22), octopus that has been made tender (by braising, I’m guessing), then roasted or grilled for some crispy bits with chimichurri rojo, caper berry slices, ouzo, feta crumbles, and tiny crispy potato dices. It arrived, all dramatic in its curls, only slightly freaky-looking, with interesting colors, textures and wonderful flavor. If you’ve never had octopus, this is the one to try. The little tentacle suckers will not suction you back – promise.

From the Prologue part of the menu, we were tempted by their signature dish, Braised Rabbit Bolognese which, we were told, the culinary team went back and forth about offering on their menu. They do have the rabbit theme to play in afterall, but would people want to actually eat bunny foo foo? Yes, yes, they would and in droves. It quickly became one of their most popular dishes. We were also temped by the Vegan Moussaka, and Wild Salmon Taramasalata but went for the meat with the Hangar Steak a la Plancha ($44). It was served with grains of paradise and a swipe of a black garlic version of almond romesco, charred spring onions, cippolini onions and asparagus. I ordered it “medium rare” but probably should have ordered it “medium” (but nothing beyond that so as not to ruin the flavor). It was a tad too red for me but knowing that all the merits of beef shine when it’s not overcooked, I gladly ate it as it was. NOTE: When I’m asked how I want meat cooked, unless I really have a strong preference, I always say “I’ll have it however the chef recommends” because I know that they know what temperatures work best with certain cuts of certain meats. I’ve never regretted turning over judgement to the pros. I know for a fact that chefs curse and gnarl their teeth over people who want meat “well done” because they feel you’re ruining something wonderful.

Our server forewarned us that items on the Epilogue menu are sizeable and are really intended for 2-4 people (and by adding some other, smaller items to fill it out). Still, we ordered the Moroccan Beef Tagine ($48) with unbelievably tender and tasty braised beef, sticky figs, toasted almonds, preserved lemon and ras el hanout (a Moroccan spice blend) over cous cous because we just couldn’t resist. The opportunities to have tagines are in short supply in Colorado! Other options included the Roast Half Chicken, Loup de Mer a La Grecque (grilled whole branzino – a great fish for a non-fish-eater), Bouillabaisse, and a 32oz Bone in Ribeye. Oh, the choices! But the Tagine was an excellent one and, sure enough, was way too much for us to more than a dent in that night. However, along with leftovers of each course of our meal, we had enough for another dinner for two for ourselves the next night, dining al fresco on the balcony of the Antlers Hotel, where we were staying (more on that in an upcoming article).

As often happens, our stomachs are saying “For the love of God please stop” but our mouths are saying, “Sure, we’ll look at the dessert menu.” Would it be the Chocolate Passionfruit Tart? Their unique Lemon Olive Oil Cake (popular because it’s tender and not overly sweet)? Having grown up on my grandmother’s baklava, I had to try their Turkish Baklava ($14), a deconstructed treat with pistachio gelato separated from ktaifi phyllo and toasty pistachio nuts by a delicate wall of tuille. Fun to eat, I loved the cool creaminess of the gelato against the straw-like nest of nuts. We had one bite each of the Tiramisu Cheesecake ($14), a cylinder of mascarpone mousse, vanilla shortbread and espresso anglaise. We vowed to save the rest of it for dessert the next day and promised each other not to raid the refrigerator for it during the night. See what it looked like in the Pinterest image, above.

To sip during dinner, I chose the Summer Dragon cocktail ($18) with reyka vodka, Italcus, lemon, dragon fruit syrup and rose sage bitters, adorned with a thin slice of dragon fruit. Pretty, pretty, pretty! It was a very hard decision though, with an impressive selection of cocktails with unique ingredients and creative presentations. My husband had the Flight to Sardinia ($18) with gunpowder Sardinian gin, lemon, Rothman & winter cherry, crème de violette, simple syrup and frothed egg white. NOTE: Arrive early, take a seat at the bar, and order a cocktail, watching the talented bartender make all of the drinks for the restaurant. It’s quite a show.

My husband took the wine pairing suggestions of our server who, you could tell, was really contemplating the best choices for the dishes. She was spot on. NOTE: We suggest always conferring with servers about wine selections because they’ve (presumably) been well-trained by the food and beverage managers and have tried the dishes themselves and know of what they speak.

There is an outdoor patio, directly across from the restaurant’s entry, sectioned-off and ideal for taking in views of the mountain, the Bavarian village aesthetic and the Solaris area’s central “yard” where kids and adults play cornhole and other games. This is not the place to sit if you want calm and quiet but it is the place to sit if your kids get antsy and need a little run-around. As fine a patio as it is, I’d recommend opting to sit inside (and keep the kids under control, please, like you want other parents to do when you finally get a date night). Chasing Rabbits is magical, comfortable and whimsical and worth basking in. And the restaurant is a first-class dining option. Like a great book, it’s the perfect place to lose yourself for the evening.

Chasing Rabbits is located at 141 East Meadow Drive Suite 104 in Vail. Visit their website, here.

-Story and photos by Courtney Drake-McDonough, Publisher and Managing Editor for InGoodTasteDenver.com.

Please note, to help facilitate this article, we were hosted for our visit but as is always the case, that does not sway our opinions and observations which we offer up to our readers, honest and true, so that they can go and decide for themselves.