Hillcrest's Gastropub Scene Grows With Whistling Duck Tavern

The new food tenants are almost all buttoned up for The HUB in Hillcrest, the recently revitalized complex at 1030 University Avenue; joining soon-to-open Bay Area transplant Ike's Place is Whistling Duck Tavern, which will take up residence in Suite B111, a 2,080-square-foot space whose 1,200-square-foot patio faces University.

Executive chef/owner Charles Sun, who together with his father Mark was part of the Shanghai Saloon launch on Convoy earlier this year, tells Eater that Whistling Duck will be a European-styled tavern with a shareable menu of American comfort food, from mac and cheese to meatloaf, reimagined with Asian flavors. He says the menu will include Korean-inspired beef jerky, Shanghai menudo, duck nachos, lamb porter chili and pan-fried Shanghai noodles.

Sun and his wife Patricia are designing the restaurant, with seating for 120, to have exposed ceilings, an open kitchen and garage doors that open onto the patio. Due by mid-December or early 2016, the tavern plans to serve lunch and dinner and will have a full bar, with craft cocktails focused on whiskey and gin, plus 20 beer taps.

Location Matters' Mike Spilky, who represented the landlord and tenant in the 10-year lease, says that there's just one restaurant space still available at The HUB, a 1,600-square-foot spot with a patio adjacent to Whistling Duck.