The Pearl Hotel’s glory days are back with a retro restaurant and bar conceived by a supergroup of hotel veterans. Ponyboy rides into Point Loma and breathes new life into the mid-century hotel that first experienced a renaissance when the property was first renovated in 2007.
The group is called Service Animals and includes current and former employees of the three-Michelin-starred Addison. Creative director and Ponyboy general manager Ian Ward – one of San Diego’s leading cocktail experts – was bar director at the Addison for eight years, where he met chef Danny Romero. Romero later helped open Wormwood before founding Two Ducks, his pop-up foodie restaurant he co-founded with his brother Dante, the executive chef of Lion’s Share, who will lead menu development for the hospitality collective’s current and future projects. Addison’s head sommelier Kyle South and restaurant manager Patrick Virata are also part of the Service Animals team.
Ponyboy takes its name from the protagonist of The Outsiders, SE Hinton’s classic coming-of-age novel, and its design and menu take a fresh look at the 1960s. The hotel’s last owners, the Casetta Group, worked with Brooklyn design team One Union Studio to update the pool area, while Ward and Romero delved into mid-century cookbooks to create playful and nostalgic dishes and drinks, modernized with seasonal ingredients.
Local fish from nearby Tunaville Market is part of a ceviche served with a wobbly aspic of Clamato, beef stroganoff served tableside is jazzed up with barbacoa, and a classic chicken Kiev is luxuriously elevated with truffle butter and Robuchon potatoes. Even the fondue for two, served in vintage fondue sets, is enhanced with artisan cheeses, local produce from Two Forks Farms, and rye cubes from Companion Bread Co. Ponyboy’s on-site team includes executive chef Josh Reynolds (MRKT Space, Stone Brewing World Bistro, Wormwood) and pastry chef Yara Lamas, formerly of CH Projects, who whips up desserts like brown butter pineapple cake and Rocky Road ice cream with house-made “magic shell” topping.
Using cocktails invented before the ’60s as a starting point for his drink menu, Ward is showcasing his version of the Monte Carlo, a Manhattan twist, along with refreshing twists on a tropical Bahama Mama, a banana daiquiri and the Pink Squirrel, a dessert mix of crème de noyaux, crème de cacao and cream. The bar will also likely be able to mix any cocktail you can imagine, considering David Tye (Kingfisher), Chris Blas (The Lion’s Share, Polite Provisions) and Meagan Crumpley (Ironside, Sycamore Den) will be behind Ponyboy’s bar.
The restaurant offers a happy hour daily from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. with drink specials and $1 appetizers such as oysters and mini chili dogs, as well as nightly specials called “TV dinners”: prime rib on Thursdays and fish and chips on Sundays.
Ponyboy Menu
Ponyboy, 1410 Rosecrans Street, Point Loma. Wednesday to Sunday from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., bar until 11:00 p.m. and “Golden Hour” from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
