Pushkin Restaurant

Let me tell you this: I’ve never had Russian food in my life, but my wife and I went there this one Friday afternoon when they were just opening.
Ambience: beautiful! It’s located downtown but when you come in, it takes you to a peaceful and very classy themed restaurant.
Food: amazing! Again, I never had Russian food before, BUT if this the Russian food that was introduced to me before, I would definitely keep eating it in a heartbeat!
Price: price wasn’t even that bad at all. They have items below $ 10 and goes up to $ 20ish
Service: we were the first and only people during the time we visited and were constantly asked if everything is going well so far, and personally I feel like that’s a good thing.

I absolutely loved this Russian restaurant, from décor to food to how extremely clean the place is.
We ordered Russian dumplings and lamb shashlik (kabob) had Russian pear soda and dessert (honey cake)
Everything was great, we will be back!
I highly recommend this place!

Let me start off by saying I am typically not a fan of Russian Food but this place is different.
Me and my wife loved the lamb and pork. So juicy and cooked to perfection. I loved the lavash it was served on, soaked up all the juices.
Very reasonably priced and good service! Great time!

Pretty good experience overall but definitely nothing that blew us out of the water. We very much enjoyed their eggplant rolls and I must say that’s a great invention! Must order!
Well first of all, I was hesitant when I found out the restaurant was in downtown, because the best food is not in Gaslamp, even though it could be the best place for a night out. I’m not a fan of dining the environment and paying for someone’s rent, I’m more about the food and the people. Thankfully the food was pretty good and the people were friendly! We came here with a Groupon, otherwise I think it’s overpriced.
Besides the eggplant rolls, I highly recommend the blini with beef. It’s very flavorful and the wrapping was crispy. It was served in a petite cast iron pan which I thought was quite rustic yet elegant. The borscht was delicious too, full of beet flavor. We also got the Armenian shashlik with lamb ($ 23) and it was overpriced for the 4 pieces of lamb chops that were a bit overcooked.
It’s a pretty good restaurant if you’re in the area and in the mood for some Russian food. I don’t know how authentic that is because I’m not familiar with this or have been to Russia, but we did have a great evening there. The décor was very elegant and I love the upholstery! However without the Groupon it’s a bit hard for us to come back.

This would be my 2^nd Russian dining experience. The first time was a house guest with neighbors from Russia, so more or less, I knew what was what on the menu.
The service was –excellent-​. Olga was very friendly, knowledgeable, and fun to chat with. Without hovering, Olga made sure that glasses kept filled and we had everything that we needed. The hostess, I forget her name but she had on the most adorable hat! was very accommodating and sweet.
Décor was Provincial Russian, (I absolutely loved the rainbow book wall in the restaurant.) Very tidy and very clean restaurant, from table to the bathrooms. One of the first places I seek before dining out.
I had the eggplant rolls, which was lovely, but wished that the walnut was also inside the eggplant-​Cream cheese, garlic and walnut and the Pickled Veggies-​Mix of favorite Russian picked veggies, which was thin sliced pickles, shredded cabbage, shredded carrot and sliced tomato. Both items that I had tried before at my neighbors. Both items were great.
For the main, Chicken Kiev-​Stuffed chicken breast with butter and parsley, mashed potatoes and a mushroom gravy on the side and a small dish of sliced pickles. Everything about this dish was perfectly cooked, still juicy, but with crispy spots on the outside. It was very well seasoned and the presentation was very nice.
Will be back to try the desserts.

I took my mom here as she is missing her time living in Russia. I heard about this spot through a friend of mine who lives in the neighborhood.
We ordered everything from the Chicken Kiev, Egg plant rolls, borsch, potato mushroom pelmeni and various desserts.
The restaurant has a rustic vibe and the patrons are mostly Russian.
The food was amazing and it really made my mom feel as if she was back in
Last but not least the service was impeccable. I want to give a shout out to Alex who was extremely attentive an very personable.
I will definitely be coming back again!

Being Russian I avoid Russian restaurants but Pushkin hits the spot!
They are mostly Armenian-​Middle Eastern, food tastes wonderful!
I am super picky about borscht and I loved Pushkin’s. If you are into that, you know that it’s very hard to get correct sweet-​sour combination and don’t forget about the color. Borscht are hard to make but this one was as good as mine and I am an expert!
Great Russian style blini menu, great choice for rare sodas.
Loved beef stroganoff, great mushroom flavor. I wanna try everything on the menu and will be a regular. Service is very friendly.

I have had Russian food in the past but nothing like this, I love the lam with the bones and it was perfect
My friend had some sort of chicken which was delicious
The best thing was that we could take our own wine, there was no cover charge
We also had an appetizer which was pretty good
The main course took a little longer to come but it was worth waiting
My friend has been insisting for me to go there for a long time, but I’m glad I did now
The place has good atmosphere but they were not too many people
I think the place could do more to attract more people
There service spoke very good English which is a plus point, usually at these Russian places you find servers who have difficulty speaking proper English and explaining to you what the food is about
I would definitely go back here and I would recommend everyone to try this place at least ones and see what Russian food is about
Will be back for sure!

I loved half rack of lamb shashlik — loved the presentation and taste. My suggestion is to have that with the Armenian salad — it’s almost like a dip that tastes great with the lamb and lavash kind of bread they give. The only drawback — I felt it was a little pricey for the quantity…
I also liked the beef blini but didn’t like potato blini since it had less spices and tasted mostly potatoes (very little mushrooms) :)
Another thing that I advice to try is Honey Cake (i believe it has walnuts) but our server mentioned that it did not have nuts. Just check before you have it, anyway liked it too :)

Great food and service. Borsh was killer, I had lamb sashlik really good. Beef stroganoff just great. Met the owner, I always appreciate when owners take a moment to say hello. Olga was super server, glad we came, we’ll come back

I’ve never had Russian food before, but where has this been my whole life?!? So good, we tried what felt like everything… I gotta highlight the chicken and lamb shashlik. Cooked to perfection. The chicken was so juicy and tender. And the eggplant rolls were divine. Will definitely come back again.

3.5 in my books.
Not many russians restaurants around, this located in middle of dowmtown, nice design, atmosphere and décor.
The waitress was friendly and very pleasent looking and smiling.
The russian dumplings were he made feel and tatsted delicious
The eggplant dish was pretty good as well.
The beef stroganoff was very dissapointing in taste, texture, size and overall.
A bit pricey for the food and they dont serve añu alocohol (yet)
Ill give it another shot :)

I’m in love with this place!
Walked in and it was just the owner/​manager present at the moment. Super sweet man who helped guide me through the menu and make outstanding suggestions.
I started off with the eggplant appetizer. I didn’t even know I liked eggplant. I used to hate it. But this dish was amazing. Very thinly sliced eggplant, topped with a garlicky cream cheese made in house and topped with fresh dill, walnuts and some drizzle I can’t name. It’s amazing! Light, creamy and savory.
My appetizer was accompanied with fresh bread and herb butter. Both were amazing and I loved my Americano. It was done perfectly. Nice and strong. The way I love it.
Lastly, I finished up with a potato and mushroom dumpling. They are made in house from scratch and I’m told they were quite popular in Russian cuisine. Served with the best tasting sour cream on the planet, the dumplings were PERFECTION. The perfect texture, amazing, abundant flavor and straight up, just to die for.
Finally, I wish I could take my waitress Olga home with me. She’s adorable, super friendly, polite and just so stinking sweet.
I love this place! And will most definitely be returning. Very soon… Like tomorrow hahahaha

Now THIS was a find. An innocuous, little place that really opens up inside; Pushkin serves up an excellent and diverse selection of Russian-​Armenian dishes.
The food is presented in fine fashion and each dish has a unique set up; but none of that matters if the taste isn’t up to par. Spoiler: the taste is phenomenal. Between the seasoning on the pork ribs, the tangy flavor of the veggies, and the edible, fried bread it sits on top of… The meals are exquisite.
Also of note are the kind and prompt staff, occasional live music, and wide selection of tea available.
Highly recommended, mandatory if you’ve never had this sort of food before.
Try:
Pork ribs
Eggplant rolls
Rack of lamb

We got the eggplant rolls appetizer, chicken Kiev, and pelmini dumplings.
Thank you, Unilocalers, for recommending the eggplant because it was our favorite item. It consisted of thin slices of cold eggplant wrapped around a super duper garlicky dollop of cream cheese, with a little bit of walnuts sprinkled on top. Very good! Don’t get this if you don’t love garlic :)
However, we weren’t blown away by the rest of the food. It was quite bland; we had to add salt and pepper. The dumplings – served with a little sour cream that was also somehow bland – were good, but not great. The chicken Kiev was dry and just tasted like chicken, I couldn’t taste the filling. Even the mushroom gravy that came with it didn’t add much. It wasn’t until we added salt to everything that it was a bit tastier. The mashed potatoes were ok, but not as amazing as some other reviews made them sound.
Our server was wonderful; super friendly and sweet. The interior is very nicely decorated.

2÷14÷16: Thank you Pushkin for the wonderful Valentine’s dinner! We came down to San Diego for a short mini-​vacation, and due to the tight schedule we were really grateful to find a nice place to have dinner on this probably most-​booked-​day of the year.
The night started a little hesitant. When we first came in, though everyone was nice to us, it was clear all the staff was very rushed, but well, it’s not the first time this has happened to me on Valentine’s so I didn’t think much of it. But as the night progressed I think the place became more chill and the waitress and manager came over to chat a bit every once in a while. Nice people.
Russian food’s not well-​known to be delicate or sophisticated, so we were really looking forward to seeing what good higher-​end Russian food would be like. Now I realize this restaurant is probably a bit Americanized, but that’s fine with me – as long as it tastes good right? (After dinner we overheard that one of the chefs was from Ukraine, and given my ignorance I’m not sure if that means it’s not entirely Russian or what, but again… as long as it tastes good…)
And we were not disappointed…
1. Bread Kvass Ochakovskiy $ 5: I was warned about 3 times by the waitress that this is not for everyone, and every time she said that I was enticed further. Apparently some kind of soda made from fermented bread? Hmm. Well, luckily it tasted good! Somewhat similar to Chinese plum juice, with a little beer taste. Glad we tried!
(Note: they do not have any alcoholic drinks here.)
2. Blini with Red Caviar and Salmon $ 14: Though most of what was served would be pre-​made except for the crêpe, the combination of everything tastes so good! Nothing special about the crêpe, but after you make a little roll of smoked salmon and salmon caviar, with a little bit of their butter, cream cheese, and sour crème, oh man… tastes so good! Only giving 7 points because it could totally be made at home, but I’d recommend to get it anyway cause it’s yummy! ⁷⁄₁₀
3. Meat Platter $ 17 «assortment of Russian-​Armenian cured meats»: As described, it’s a plate of extra thick-​cut slices of 5 dried meats. All were good, but one in particular was especially interesting – very dark and with a bit of a smooth and chewy texture but a very unique taste, some kind of fermented? sausage. Came in long rectangular slices, so I assume the original was flatter in shape. Well, again, glad we got to try something different. ⁷⁄₁₀.
4. Half Rack of Lamb and Grilled Armenian Salad $ 27: The lamb was a bit overcooked in parts, nearing well-​done towards the outside, but some of the pieces were closer to medium thankfully. But anyway, despite the overcooking it was still moist enough and the spices were very delicious. The grilled Armenian salad was really good – I think there’s a lot of eggplant in there among other things. I liked it. 6.5÷10.
5. Pork Ribs and Mashed Potato $ 23: This one was nicely cooked. All the pieces were pretty moist. Same spices as with the lamb, but again it works well. A good change of pace from American BBQ ribs. The mashed potatoes I was told was Russian-​style… I dunno. I would say kinda like rough-​mashed, and slightly watery. Not sure if that’s how Russians do mashed potatoes? Well, anyway, with a little of the butter left over from our blinis. it wasn’t bad. ⁷⁄₁₀
6. Tiramisu $ 9: I forgot what the other 2 desserts were, but none of them sounded too Russian. I asked our waitress if they had any Russian desserts and she said «we Russians love Tiramisu.» So, I guess maybe this would be a Russian version of the Italian dessert? Well, unfortunately I have to be honest – I don’t find this version pleasant. It’s overly sweet and lacks richness. I’m not sure what kind of liqueur was used, but now that I think back, it might have been vodka, and unfortunately doesn’t impart a good taste. Sorry, can’t recommend this one. ³⁄₁₀
Well, overall, the food was very good. I’m happy we got to try some good Russian. Also, I must say, the interior is very nice too. HUGE space. I think when we walked in we knew it looked awesome inside but wasn’t sure why until it hit us – there was TONS of space everywhere! No squeezing in tables here. And the double-​high ceiling with loft was modern and welcoming too. Great looking place.
Thanks for the beautiful night!
⁴⁄₅
#russian #armenian

We loved almost everything about this restaurant. From the service, to the building, to the food… we couldn’t have been more pleased. So why only four stars? Price. Our Friday Night Date Night dinner was expensive.
But, I’m getting ahead of myself. Every person we talked to that night was super pleasant. From the girl welcoming us in and taking us to our table to our adorable waitress, the friendly and eager to please demeanor felt genuine.
The building is fantastic. It’s in an older building, and they didn’t try to cover up the natural charm, which I appreciate. It’s open and clean, yet comfortable and welcoming. There’s an upstairs area that intrigued me, but I didn’t get a chance to explore. There are some great arches built into the walls, and the decorations, while minimal, were perfect for the space.
The menu wasn’t large, but they still had a good variety. We decided to try a cup of the borscht to start. I wanted the lamb kebab, but they were out, so I had to go with the rack of lamb, instead (which was significantly more expensive). My husband ordered the chicken Kiev.
Just a side note: when we were there, they didn’t have their liquor license (being new and all). Our waitress said that we could go to the liquor store next door to get booze, but neither of us needed alcohol THAT badly. ;)
While we waited, they brought bread and butter to the table. That bread, though! It was a dark loaf, but it wasn’t dense or overly thick. The butter had herbs mixed in, and was just soft enough to spread on the warm loaf.
The borscht was delicious. Granted, I don’t have a point of reference, but it was warm with a delightful flavor. It was also chock full of veggies and meat, and hit the spot.
The lamb chops, while good, were a tiny bit disappointing. You only get three small chops, and there wasn’t a whole lot of meat to be had. It was served with onions, roasted potatoes (yum!), and a dipping sauce that was hard to identify. This was all presented on top of a flat bread that could be torn off and consumed with the meal. But, because this is me, and we all know I have cootie issues, I only ate part of the flat bread. I couldn’t bring myself to consume the parts that were under the food containers…
My husband enjoyed the Kiev, though it seemed like most of the stuffing was in one end of it, instead of evenly spaced throughout. Still, he commented that the flavor was really good, and that the texture was perfect. That dish was served with a mashed potato dish and a mushroom gravy.
We’ll likely go back soon, but maybe for lunch. The dinner prices were a bit steep. They were offering a Groupon at that time, but it was for dining Monday through Thursday only.
I probably won’t order the lamb again, but the dumplings are calling my name…

Suddenly becomes my favorite place in SD!
First off they don’t have their license yet the girl (Anastatia! She works really hard) let me bring my own bottle — food just tastes better with wine :)
I really liked the eggplant roll, marinated mushroom and Armenian grill salad.
The venue was so nice — tall ceiling, bookshelves, Russian themed paintings and chair.
Only suggestions
1. Please open earlier — so you have more chance to feed our stomach
2. Russian/​Armenian themed cocktail menu would be so cool — I am expecting a drink called Yuri Gagarin :)

Russian food, I wouldn’t call myself an expert, I think this was my 3^rd or 4^th time trying. So far I hate to say I haven’t been too impressed.
Frankly it kind of reminds me of my mom’s cooking. Overall I have to be honest, the one other Russian place I tried in North Park I liked better.
That being said I think it was what I ordered. I had a bite of my friends chicken dish and I liked it way more, it was very tasty!
I ordered cabbage stuffed leaves. I know this isn’t Greek food where I love stuffed grape leaves but unfortunately that’s what I was comparing it to. And I just didn’t care for the entrée.
I also preferred the borsht at the previous place I had tried.
Why the 4 star?
Reason is the chicken dish my friend ordered really was fantastic, obviously I ordered to wrong thing. I will be back at some point to try this again, except this time no stuffed cabbage for me!
Happy eating!

We were walking around downtown and decided to check this place out for dinner since my friend let me choose the restaurant. I failed to mention that it was a Russian eatery since she never had Russian food and didn’t want to try eating it last time LOL. This restaurant has two floors, but the second floor was dark and empty with chairs up on the tables. This place looks like a fancy antique home with many bookshelves as their décor. I really like their chairs– they were so plush and comfy!
Our hostess was very friendly and seated us right away. Our server, however, did take a while to take our order… but he was the only one waiting on tables, so it’s understandable. The menu has Armenian food as well as Russian food and the prices are pretty moderate. I checked-​in and got a free appetizer, so we agreed on the beef blini. For our entrée, we decided to share the chicken Kiev. I also wanted to try the dumplings, but they ran out of those. :(
The food came out pretty fast, but the presentation did not match the décor and atmosphere. I usually don’t care for sour cream, but this version complemented the blinis very well! The chicken kiev looked a little weird, but it was tasty and crispy. It was stuffed with parsley and lots of butter! I can see it oozing when I cut into it haha. So don’t get this if you’re trying to cut your butter intake. The mashed potato that was accompanied with this dish was very light and fluffy. I can tell that any dish with potatoes will be prepared well here.
When we left, our hostess opened the door for us and told us to take a mint from the jar… She also asked us how we liked the food and made light conversation with us. We were told that there is entertainment on the weekends, so we should come back to check out the dancing!