The Village House Kalina

While I have the highest opinion of Village House Kalina (more on this soon), I would kindly request that Yelp reviewers stop posting their experiences from years ago. It gives the impression that this unique business -- which I believe is the only one that serves Ukrainian food in San Diego -- is still open and flourishing, lulling potential customers into complacency that "I'll try it when I have the time."

Honestly, I think this business is either closed temporarily or permanently and may have been so since September 2020. Google shows that Kalina closed temporarily and when I called to place an order, no one picked up and I left a voicemail -- to which no one responded. Since I'm not one to hassle people for answers that can potentially serve to unnecessarily open wounds, I declined to incessantly call the business.

As for the food, it's amazing. Like I said, it's the only place in San Diego (I believe) that serves traditional Ukrainian food and one of the few that serves Eastern European cuisines. The borscht is to die for and one of my favorites (in terms of entrees) is the beef strongonoff and mashed potatoes.

I'm hopeful that Kalina makes a comeback and I also wish that Americans (particularly of European descent) will get off the corporate poison and support their local communities. Guys, I get that McDonald's and Popeye's is amazing and all, but seriously -- these big brands already have all the money in the world. Why give them more when small businesses are hurting?

1/15/20

I came here for an early dinner and upon arrival, I noticed the restaurant was completely slammed. They had a funeral gathering that took up all their seats. I was thankfully still able to order to go food since they didn't have any seats left to accommodate. I was happy to be able to find some Ukrainian food, as I was getting slightly home sick and having some Ukrainian delicious food was just the right cure. I ordered some borscht, Pelemeni, assortment of salads - beet, carrot, eggplant, vinaigrette, oliverye (potatoe salad) and a slice of the Honey Cake  
The food was just so damn good! I would come back here every time. Loved the food, service and atmosphere. If I'm in the area, I'll return here again.

This place is really good and unassuming, I wouldn't have noticed it without Yelp. It's located in a mini strip mall, right next door is a little Mexican shop.
We tried a couple things, we tried their dumplings which were excellent. We also tried their eggplant salad which was large and pretty good. We also got their chicken Kiev& I liked their Kiev it had a dill flavor.
They have a lot to choose from to discover all their entree's. My favorite out of the entrees we ordered was the dumplings, I'd order them again.
The place itself is small and cute with a romantic cozy feel to it. I'd recommend this as a interesting date spot for date night.
The lady who waited on us was pleasant and attentive. All in all I see why this place exists, I'd recommend it & be back.
Ukrainian food is  major yum, happy eating!!

Charming to say the least.
I enjoyed a New dining experience. There are so many dishes on the menu that I wanted to try.
You could hear the cooks in the back, hard at work pounding out chops.
The dumplings were absolutely perfect.
The Russian soft drink was different , to say the least, not unlike a cream soda.
The stroganoff was finer texture than what I had experienced before, still quite satisfying. What a huge portion.  Two could easily share this.
SUPERIOR hot tea!!! w/ a side of raspberry juice for flavor.
Suggest they use proper dinner napkins to match their culinary experience.  The little fast food ones were just too skimpy
With just a little effort this place could transform from a little family style place to a quiet unique upscale ethnic adventure.
Ms. Anna was awesome server!!! Loved her smiles & her dress.

The Village House Kalina is quaint, homey and welcoming.  Our group went with a Ukrainian friend who was missing home-cooked food.  He spoke very highly of this restaurant.  This was the first time I'd had Ukrainian food.  I had the Chicken Kiev, which was chicken that is pounded down, and rolled into an elongated ball, battered in bread crumbs and then fried.  I had a side of mashed potatoes.  I wish the potatoes had more flavor.  The Kiev was very unique.  I liked the crispiness of the chicken.  I would have liked a more seasoned center of the Kiev.  I also think since this is traditional food, it is probably pretty standard.  I typically like more butter and cheese in my food, so it's not what I'm used to.  I did also try the beef stroganoff which was delicious.  I loved the creamy sauce, and the flavors were nicely balanced.  Such a cute, traditional place.

Had a wonderful experience for lunch with my brother in law at this place. I'd never eaten at a Russian restaurant per se in the past so I was wondering what it would be like.

At first we were a little confused because the lights were off and there was just one take out guy in the whole place it seemed. Shortly thereafter though this wonderful woman with electric blue eyes seated us. And she was just so kind. I ended up getting the chicken Stroganoff and it was a solid hit. I absolutely loved it. The Borscht was also a hit I enjoyed very much. The mayonnaise based beet salad was not my favorite but I added a little salt and it was good. My bro in law though got the Koval salad and it was excellent.

Overall a 5 out of 5. BUT a cautionary note... we ordered two sodas and they were $6 EACH! So out $12 lunch specials with added tax suddenly became $20 meals and that I did not expect. The sodas were good but high cost for little reward.

My recommendation is to go here. It's different, fun, super tasty and reasonably priced too! Just... avoid the sodas. And one more thing... some Russian music would have been just awesome as compared to the silence we had. Some like it quiet, I like atmosphere. Enjoy!

I've been there multiple times. Everything I've tried is delicious. They have great lunch special - $10.99 : salad, soup and entree. Great choices and good amount of food.
Very friendly service.

If you're Russian or Ukrainian - you will enjoy for sure, Tastes almost same as at home.

I've been eating here for years now, and the food is consistently fantastic! This cozy restaurant is located next to a 7-Eleven and epitomizes "Hole in the Wall."  Some spots in the parking lot are marked "7-Eleven only," so be mindful to read the spots when you're parking!  

The dinner crowd is usually tame; I've never needed to wait for a table here, but it still only fits about six small parties at a time.  I've seen them seat large parties, but would definitely recommend reservations if you're interested.  The decorations are incredibly charming, full of little Russian/Ukrainian trinkets.  It feels like I'm eating in the dining room of someone's house!

Their vareniky/pirogy appetizer is an absolute must-order every visit.  My favorite is the potatoes/onion.  Great balance of comforting flavors with a lovely consistency (the potatoes/cheese is great too, but a bit more one-dimensional in flavor).

Their entree portions are generous, and I usually have enough leftovers for another meal!  Their borscht is rich and hearty, and is a great rendition of the classic soup.  My favorite entrees are their beef strogonoff or their meat cutlets with a side of buttery noodles.  Yum!!  I've also had their chicken tabaka, chicken kiev, and their escalope (pork chops) -- all delicious!

I always look forward to eating here, and have constantly recommended it to my friends that frequent/live in the area!

I visited this place a few days ago. We had chicken tabaca, chicken kiev, their beet soups, a few salads and a honeycake. Everything tasted so yummy. The portions are very generous. My girlfriend wasn't able to eat the whole of her Kiev chicken so we had it to go.  The staff was very friendly. The vibe is very homey and I liked the music. We are definitely coming back!

P.s. I wish I took more pics but we were busy eating lol

I came here for dinner. As we entered, there were tables you can choose to sit at. It felt pretty homey and comfortable inside. There were lots of old fashioned decorations inside.

Honestly, I have never tried Russian food but this place was delicious. I don't remember the names of the dishes but the dish I had was with a flavorful rice similar to Mexican rice because I could taste the tomato sauce. It also had lots of spices. I had chicken which was stuffed with spinach. It was deep fried in a batter. I must say that all the food I had was tasty and delicious. We were also served some bread and garlic butter prior to our meal.

Service was excellent by our waitress. She checked up on us a few times. A definite plus.

The only negative here would be parking as it shares a lot with 7/11. I managed to find a corner spot. Overall a great experience and delicious food.