After 8 amazing years we lost our lease. If you are a fan of our restaurant, contact us to see what we are up to!

Garden Kitchen Restaurant Update – 4/30

Posted Apr 30,2015 2 comments

From our email newsletter:

Thank you for your support of our new venture, Garden Kitchen. It has long been a dream of ours to open a restaurant, and we were finally lucky enough to find this location in the Rolando Village neighborhood of San Diego. It is small and unassuming, but located in an easily accessible area on the corner of University Ave near both SDSU and La Mesa. Our vision is to turn it into a quaint neighborhood spot, where we use only the freshest and highest quality ingredients to make delicious, affordable meals.

So much has happened since we took over the old restaurant, and we are already approaching our soft opening date! There have been huge changes over the past few weeks, we have transformed what was a takeout only restaurant with no seating into a dine in restaurant that will have a capacity of upwards of 50 people. To get here required a lot of work; old concrete was torn up, our bathroom door was relocated, a fence was installed, some kitchen equipment was brought in, and our personal touch was added with some new colors and decor. The patio is a fresh pour of tan colored concrete and is surrounded by a beautiful six foot redwood fence. We will be stringing decorative lights, adding plants to empty corners, hanging shade sails to keep you comfortable during San Diego’s long, hot summer, and our custom dining tables made from reclaimed wood will utilize every nook and cranny to make it truly a Garden Kitchen.

We have also brought aboard an executive chef that is working on some menu ideas, and he is thrilled to take on the challenge of our daily rotating menu. Here are a few sneak peaks that you can expect to see as the ingredients become available:

  • Cinnamon-spiced fried chicken, bitter green slaw, tomato jam
  • Garlic-crusted tilapia, olive and fennel salad, red lentils, preserved lemons
  • Coriander-crusted sirloin baseball steak, bacon jam, fingerling potato hash
  • Mustard stout braised pork belly, parsnip puree, fried beet rings
  • And for the Vegan/ Vegetarian Fans or at least those willing to try:

  • Vegan meatloaf over parsnip puree with port syrup
  • Radish salad with watermelon, strawberries, mint, kale, balsamic
  • Tofu ceviche, popcorn salad, shallot and scallion oil, chili flakes
  • Portobello mushroom carpaccio, avocado, tomato caviar, habanero syrup
  • Hungry yet? The menu will be exciting and unique, and will bring you new tastes and flavor combinations, though the underlying theme will always be the same — dishes made with clean, fresh ingredients of the highest quality. We are working with local area farms that will provide much of our produce and meat, and our goal is to have as much sustainable and organic as possible. We have made some wonderful contacts including Living Earth Ranch, Hopkins AG, Be Wise Ranch, and Smit Farms. In addition to the more comforting dishes, you can be assured that there will always be vegan options on the menu, even some raw vegan meals and desserts.

    As noted earlier, we are in the process of finalizing our soft opening dates! Be on the lookout for our announcement where you can sign up to be one of the first to dine at Garden Kitchen! (Be sure to join the mailing list for first dibs!) You can also keep up with us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter where we post more frequent updates, and where you will see our menus as they are created.

    Thank you again for all of your support, you are part of our success!

    -Coral & Russ

    2 Responses to Garden Kitchen Restaurant Update – 4/30:

    1. vicki hoffman says:

      Where exactly is your restaurant located and when do you think the soft date opening will be? My husband and I live in Rolando and are interested in trying out your new restaurant.

      • Russ says:

        Hi Vicki, we are located at 4204 Rolando Blvd, on the north corner of Rolando and University. As for the soft opening we are hoping for about a week or so, once we know we will send out our newsletter with exact dates and details. You can sign up here http://eepurl.com/bhvQxv, hope to see you soon! -Coral & Russ