Company Pub and Kitchen celebrates first anniversary

By Peijean Tsai

As Company Pub and Kitchen is celebrating its first anniversary, owner Pete Green is relatively humble about crossing this milestone.

Company Pub and Kitchen owner/general manager Pete Green. Photo by Peijean Tsai

“If you start a business in this day and age and you can pay your bills and keep your doors open, I’d call that a success,” said Green, who runs the gastropub eatery located at 13670 Poway Road. “Year one is a mark in the road; it’s not a finish point…and we are spiraling slowly upwards.”

Company Pub and Kitchen (858-668-3365) features an Anglo-American gourmet comfort food menu with traditional English pub fare and California cuisine, served in a casual, social environment. Over the past year, the restaurant has made improvements to its uniquely urban and rustic ambiance, including remodeling the bar and adding more televisions and improving the patio by adding in greenery, mood lighting and bench seating.

“We opened on a shoestring budget,” Green said, reflecting on opening the restaurant June 30, 2011. “Had we had two or three times the budget to make the improvements we wanted, we would’ve done them to start, but as we got along we tried to get the place more to our liking.”

The business name refers both to the company a person keeps at work and at play, according to Green, who opened the neighborhood eatery with his fiancée Tansy Sheehy. The pair originally are from Northern England but met in San Diego.

As a gastropub, the focus is on the art of good eating, so at Company Pub and Kitchen, the menu offers something for everyone, whether it’s a hearty steak or lighter fare such as salads, Green said. In addition to entrees, there is a menu of small plates appropriate for sharing. Familiar fare such as burgers and fish tacos abound, but also unique items such as the Belgian-inspired mussels mouclade, Australian rissoles (meatballs) and Cornish pasties.

Traditional fish and chips are a top seller, with it’s beer-battered cod, Kennebec potatoes, and vinegar-based coleslaw. Also popular are the French-cut lamb lollipops prepared in a merlot reduction.

“We didn’t want to be pigeon-holed into a traditional British pub menu,” Green said. “We wanted to be open and eclectic, and I think we’ve achieved that.”

On tap, there are 14 kinds of beer plus a hard cider, including San Diego craft beers by Green Flash Brewing Company and Stone Brewing Company. The wine menu includes esteemed red and white California wines, and the creative cocktail menu includes choices such as the blueberry lemondrop and pomegranate margarita.

Customers can enjoy the full menu whether they dine in the bar, dining room or dog-friendly patio. There are also daily specials. Over the past year, the restaurant has adjusted its menu based on customer requests, adding dishes such as shepherd’s pie, sliders, barbecue ribs and fish tacos.

On Thursday evenings, children 12 and under can eat free when dining with an adult. Stein Mart and HomeGoods customers can also enjoy 10 percent off at Company Pub and Kitchen when they bring in their store receipt.

Company Pub and Kitchen will soon add weekend breakfast and a late night supper menus. There are also plans to start offering an express lunch menu for working professionals short on time.

Company Pub and Kitchen is also home to the shepherd’s pie challenge. For $25, a diner can devour a 3-plus-pound shepherd’s pie plus a beer. If done in 15 minutes, the diner wins a collectible T-shirt and the honor of his or her photo on display in the restaurant. Interested parties should call the restaurant with 24 hours advance notice.

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Posted by Staff on Jul 7 2012. Filed under Business, Business Profiles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry