Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Pomegranate gets everything right

University Heights Russian restaurant has great food and sets the gold standard for warm and friendly service.

Pomegranate Russian Georgian Restaurant’s long history has been spotted with ups, downs, rave reviews, and weird moves. There was the time the restaurant (2312 El Cajon Blvd, 619-298-4007) stopped taking credit cards, favoring an ATM in the dining room to encourage cash only purchases. And then there was Petrushka next door, which eventually merged with Pomegranate and became one restaurant. There have been staff changes aplenty. I hope I’m not getting the details too confused, as it’s been a long and winding road. These days, the slimmed-down menu still offers hearty meats and stews, all described with breathless prose and all delicious.

I’ve eaten about half the menu after many visits to the restaurant and never been let down. The salad dishes do right by vegetarians, offering them greater substance than just a bunch of leafy greens. Try the “vesna” salad--shredded apples and carrots flecked with fresh herbs--or just get the beets. Either way, it’s a meal in itself.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/28/48261/

Even the main dishes, which seem pricey for humble fare, have amazed me with simplicity and deep, rich flavors: kabobs of chicken and lamb served with rice and chilled salads. Seasoned patties of “meatloaf” sitting atop a potato puree. The bizarre but delicious “Georgian eagle,” half a stewed chicken smothered in herbs. Everything has been excellent, even if basic. I am reminded, over and over again, that the world’s simplest dishes--from sushi to a good ratatouille to Pomegranate’s stroganoff--can be so great in their austerity.

Pomegranate’s atmosphere and style of service elevate the restaurant. It’s far from the perfection of fine dining, but I’m hard pressed to think of a place where I’ve been treated with more courtesy. The vibe can be manic at times. Cheerful eastern europeans bounce around the dining room, serving large parties with exaggerated flair. I’ve always felt a sense of warmth and welcome inside the dining room. Small wonder that the walls are covered in the scrawlings of happy customers from far and wide.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/28/48262/

Once, when I walked into the restaurant, I got one of the best greetings of my life.

“Sit down,” I heard. “We will feed you!”

That was it. Come on in. Get fed. Get happy. And as I sat there, listening to a pair of talented girls play duets on the piano, I did just that.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Looking back at race relations in Coronado

A former football player recalls the good and the bad

Pomegranate Russian Georgian Restaurant’s long history has been spotted with ups, downs, rave reviews, and weird moves. There was the time the restaurant (2312 El Cajon Blvd, 619-298-4007) stopped taking credit cards, favoring an ATM in the dining room to encourage cash only purchases. And then there was Petrushka next door, which eventually merged with Pomegranate and became one restaurant. There have been staff changes aplenty. I hope I’m not getting the details too confused, as it’s been a long and winding road. These days, the slimmed-down menu still offers hearty meats and stews, all described with breathless prose and all delicious.

I’ve eaten about half the menu after many visits to the restaurant and never been let down. The salad dishes do right by vegetarians, offering them greater substance than just a bunch of leafy greens. Try the “vesna” salad--shredded apples and carrots flecked with fresh herbs--or just get the beets. Either way, it’s a meal in itself.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/28/48261/

Even the main dishes, which seem pricey for humble fare, have amazed me with simplicity and deep, rich flavors: kabobs of chicken and lamb served with rice and chilled salads. Seasoned patties of “meatloaf” sitting atop a potato puree. The bizarre but delicious “Georgian eagle,” half a stewed chicken smothered in herbs. Everything has been excellent, even if basic. I am reminded, over and over again, that the world’s simplest dishes--from sushi to a good ratatouille to Pomegranate’s stroganoff--can be so great in their austerity.

Pomegranate’s atmosphere and style of service elevate the restaurant. It’s far from the perfection of fine dining, but I’m hard pressed to think of a place where I’ve been treated with more courtesy. The vibe can be manic at times. Cheerful eastern europeans bounce around the dining room, serving large parties with exaggerated flair. I’ve always felt a sense of warmth and welcome inside the dining room. Small wonder that the walls are covered in the scrawlings of happy customers from far and wide.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/28/48262/

Once, when I walked into the restaurant, I got one of the best greetings of my life.

“Sit down,” I heard. “We will feed you!”

That was it. Come on in. Get fed. Get happy. And as I sat there, listening to a pair of talented girls play duets on the piano, I did just that.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.