Medford’s Samovar restaurant finds a new direction after 12 years

A Russian restaurant was a nice novelty in Medford, but there weren’t enough connoisseurs of the cuisine to justify its continued existence. So with a twinge of regret, Steve Polk replaced the Samovar Russian Restaurant and Bakery name and menu at his East Main and Front Street establishment in favor of a new existence as the Mediterranean Bar & Grill.

"The Russian food that we have served over the years has had great reviews from our customers, but I feel it is very foreign to the general public," Polk says.

A few days before the conversion, Polk got a phone call from a woman wanting to know if Russian food was still being served.

"She said, ‘I’ve wanted to go for six months, but I couldn’t find anyone to go with me,’ " Polk recalls. "That told me right there I was making the right decision. A lot of people knew about Samovar, but it wasn’t one of places they wanted to try. When people go out to eat, they go out for what they feel like and Russian food is not the normal thing they think of like Mexican, Italian, steak or pizza."

So borscht and blinchikis gave way to gourmet pizza, pasta, gyros, souvlaki and baba ghanoush as Samovar’s 12-year run came to a close.

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Polk was the chef for Azerbaijani immigrants Gogi and Jenna Tenyashvili, who opened Samovar in March 1992, for seven years. Then, in October 2001, Polk and his wife, Inessa, a Ukraine native, purchased the restaurant. They entered into a joint venture with neighboring Howiee’s for a couple of years with Samovar providing food for the bar. That relationship ended earlier this year and Polk turned his eyes to the future.

To be sure, Samovar held its own with a loyal following that swelled on nights when the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater brought people downtown. But it didn’t attract the kind of crowds that already have gravitated to the recast restaurant.

"We wanted to start fresh with a new, very diverse cuisine. Mediterranean food is fun and very flavorful," Polk said. "I had researched and done Mediterranean food in the past and could go in so many different directions. I couldn’t introduce a new Russian food, because it’s hard enough to introduce old Russian food."

He also wanted to tap into the bar service and extended hours that have spurred Porters, Habañeros and Highwaters.

"Maybe people would get a shot of vodka before, but the restaurant needed to be balanced between cocktail and food service," Polk says. "The profit margin is much less on food than alcohol."

A remodel accommodated the need for a bar area and opened up the dining area.

Even with the change, Polk can envision another Russian restaurant, perhaps in Ashland.

"Once we get the other thing rolling," Polk says. "Perhaps we might have a Russian night with a set menu."

Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail business@mailtribune.com.