Saturday, February 23, 2008

19. Iran: Pomegranate

420 College Street
(just east of Bathurst)
416 921 7557


Reservations highly recommended.

To the Pomegranate restaurant on a Saturday night. We arrive at 5 o'clock, just as the doors are opening. Soon tables are filling up in this well patronized restaurant. They're not open for lunch and they rely on two sittings each night so if you're planning a leisurely meal, it's best to let them know. Many folk, without reservations, were turned away while we were there.
We enjoyed a shared starter: noon-o paneer-o gerdu which included creamy feta cheese, black kalamata olives, herbs and walnuts served with warm Barbary bread, $5.95.
Our main courses were: mirza qasemi with baqali polo - charred eggplant purée in a mildly spicy garlic tomato sauce served with saffron basmati rice and salad, $12.95; Adas polo - lentils, dates and sultana raisins blended into a saffron basmati rice topped with crispy onion and barberries, $9.50; morasa polo - jewelled rice (slivers of seville orange peel, almond and pistachio with diced carrots and barberries blended in saffron basmati rice) served with a braised lamb shank, creamy yogurt and salad, $14.95; aloo gheysi - bokhara plums and dried apricots in a saffron sauce with boneless chicken pieces served with creamy yogurt, $13.95.

We round out the meal with Robert’s Rock South Africa Shiraz-Cabernet Sauvignon, Persian tea, Persian rose-water ice cream with slivered pistachios and pomegranate seeds. This restaurant scored high all round with good food that was beautifully presented, pleasant service, exquisite decor and reasonable prices.


Rating:
Ambiance (4)
Service (3)
Food Presentation (4)
Food Quality (4)
Value for Money (4)

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