Pushkin Lounge & Bar — Restaurant in San Diego

One of the best date nights I've had here in San Diego!

Amazing vibe an amazing food!

We were seated by the entrance where there was the nice decor with plants on the wall, and it really brought up the aesthetic.

Rye Bread + Butter for the table as soon as we entered. The bread had a really nice flavor to it on its own and so did that butter. That butter was just amazing! So fresh and had some herby vibe going on. I actually asked for some butter to go!

Borscht - We got the Borscht soup to start. I had Googled the dish before and was expecting a red color soup made with beetroot. But what we got was actually a clear soup with some root vegetables like potatoes and carrots and pieces of beef. Definitely not the soup we were expecting but it tasted good on its own. They gave some sour cream on the side with the soup and it went so well with the soup. Really unexpected! Sour cream on its own was really flavorful as well. Nothing like the stuff you get at Chipotle haha.

Chicken w/pork Pelmini - We split the Chicken Pelmini. It came with this sauce on top which actually wasn't necessary. Pelmini on their own were really good. I tried some with that butter that came at the beginning and it was lovely! Pelmini was really fresh and a good amount of filling inside. Very filling as a dish as well!

The best part? Beef Stroganoff! Oh man! This was the best Beef Stroganoff I have ever had! My husband actually agreed here. We really loved this dish. Could have had two of these just on our own. The sauce on the beef stroganoff was really amazing as well. Another part of the dish we could have just had plain. Got Sautéed Veggies on the side instead of noodles or mashed potatoes and it was a good call. Really balanced out the nutrition and got us some veggies as well.

Another best part here.. Honey Cake (aka Medovik)! We were actually full with the dinner itself but as soon as we got this Honey Cake....It was gone in moment. And we wanted more! Not even kidding! This is one of the best cakes I have had here. What amazing flavor. It was nice and dense and just perfectly sweet. I don't know what it's made of but it was just amazing! My husband and I are both not fan of supremely sweet stuff and this honey cake was definitely not super sweet. We actually wanted a second one. A big thank you to the server for recommending this instead of the Blini.

We really wanted to try the traditional Kvass (Russian drink made of fermented rye bread), but they were out. I'm not sure how since we got there around 5:00 p.m. just about an hour after they opened. We ended up getting the Compote Juice (server recommended) in the Apricot flavor. Apricot was subtle and just enough. It was just the right amount of sweet. And went very well with the mint leaves that...

First thing first. Look at the cheese in the photo and make your own conclusions. Second thing: $115 for people of two (no alcohol). Overall: Waiters are not trained at all. Grabbing dishes as they are serving their friends who don't mind seeing fingerprints on the dish. Borch: overcooked so it's not actually red, but pink. Really not that much meat. 3/10 Uha: too much potatoes, almost no fish 4/10 Risotto: see the photos 5/10 Salmon: good 7/10 Rabbit: 6/10

My thoughts are: I was looking for a place to invite my non-slavic colleagues to show them what our food is, and this is not the place I would invite them, as I don't want this to be a representation of our cuisine. What this food is for people visiting this restaurant is bringing back memories of their home and their mother. It's difficult to compete with mother's borch as mother won't ever save money on you. But this borch didn't even try to :) Why am I so upset about visiting this place? Because I have things to compare with. And If there is a chance owners are going to read this, guys take a flight to Sacramento and visit Noroc restaurant (ex firebird)(which is not only about food, but also about service) or visit Elena's Kitchen, or Pacific Coast shop and buy a Borch there.

That's a friendly suggestion, as you might be seeking...

Recently visited this place in the evening. Opening the front door, you are immediately greeted by an atmosphere of coziness and comfort. It feels like you are somewhere in Europe! Almost immediately, the waiter came and took the order. While waiting for the ordered food, I looked at the establishment, the tables and also visited the rest room, everywhere is very clean! I didn't think to write a review, so I apologize in advance for the photo with the food started. But when I tried the food 😊 ... Dumplings and honey cake took me back to my childhood, as if my mother was cooking it, it's delicious, nothing more to say! On the advice of the waiter, I ordered a double salmon roll, beautiful presentation, tasty and fresh fish! The only remark is that I didn't find the wasabi spicy at all. But this is according to my taste preferences. I also ordered ginger and peach tea, and when the tea pot was almost finished, the waiter himself offered to add water, it was very well received, thank you! I highly recommend visiting Pushkin! Food 5/5 Service 5/5...