Pomegranate

Can’t really fault this place, we’ve been well fed, huge tasty portions and lovely friendly staff! What more is there?! We shared a couple of starters and could have been satisfied with just out first course! We had smoked aubergine mirza which came with so much bread! And asparagus marchobeh with goats cheese (waitress’ recommendation, and it didn’t disappoint!) we both had the king prawn Shah maygoo chello and half of it is currently in my fridge because it beat me and I just couldn’t finish it! Would highly recommend!

I have a soft spot for Persian food with its contrasts of sour, sweet and savoury flavours, rich textures and exotic presentation. It stands out from the crowd in middle eastern cooking. Perhaps unsurprisingly as it is at the regions asiatic crossroads.
I hadn’t tried this place before and finding it for me, a piece of good fortune (Iranian restaurants are hard to find). Small, intimate and ambient it was also licensed (others I’ve been to aren’t) For starters we shared Mirza, aubergines tomatoes eggs and garlic, and Shah Maygoo, king prawns with chilli, garlic, lemon and ginger. For the second course Fesenjoon, a chicken stew in a thick and tangy walnut and pomegranate sauce and Cheymeh, a lamb and split pea dish with saffron and tomatoes. This all came with half saffron rice and salad. The freshness and flavours were excitingly different and satisfying and at £30 a head (including a bottle of wine) a truly affordable treat. Service was warm and attentive with the manager taking time to come and talk to us about Persian cooking techniques (his colleague had told him I dabbled in the kitchen). The evening rounded off with a complimentary mango liqueur — I’ll definitely be back soon.

I’ve been here several times and I felt compelled to review because I feel it deserves more than 3.5* on Unilocal.I’ve been to Iran and this restaurant is a great example of Persian cuisine.
The restaurant isn’t big and anytime I’ve been, it’s always quite full and has a nice, quite sophisticated atmosphere. They take bookings via their website, which is useful.
The food is excellent and you can find lots of classic Persian dishes that it can be surprisingly difficult to get in restaurants in Iran. Persian cuisine is based upon the principle of balancing ‘hot’ foods (e.g. Walnuts) with ‘cold’ foods (e.g. Pomegranates)… This can result in flavours and experiences that are quite unusual to the Western palate.
Main dishes aside, the rice is one of the best things about Pomegrantate. It’s always delicately cooked and served with delicious accoutrements like saffron, lentils, pistachio etc. The Shirazi salad is a great side.
Give it a go!

After we left Wine & Wallop, we went into Burton Road looking for some place to eat. On a Friday night. Without reservation. we felt very, very lucky when we got a table straightaway at the very full looking Pomegranate, which I admit, was not our first choice. We went in, considering none of us had had Persian food before.
We ordered this drink called doogh, which was a salted lassi kind of thing with sparkling water and mint, a persian tea and a Bailey’s. For food, we skipped the preamble and jumped straight into the main course. we got 2 fesenjoons, a lime and thyme chicken and a grilled vegetables platter. we got this with saffron rice, sprinkled with pomegranate kernels.
The rice was very good and fragrant. The doogh was interesting to begin with but as the fizz died out, it kind of fell flat. The biggest surprise of the night for me was the fesenjoon. It had that sweet/​sour tamarindy/​jaggery combination, similar to the brown chutney one gets with a samosa. It is good in little portions, when eaten with something spicy and rich but on its own, it can be quite overpowering. I am not saying the food was badly prepared, quite the opposite in fact. The chicken was well cooked and succulent, but we didn’t expect to be hit on the face with this tamarindy sweetness. Having said that, I wouldn’t mind going there again at a time when they’re less busy and trying something else.
The service was pretty quick, but I would like a little more interaction and input from the staff, which I can’t expect on a Friday night. Which is why I’d like to go back when they’re less busy.
I’d still suggest people go there, get a taste of Pomegranate (no pun intended) and let us know what they think.

Pomegranate looked very inviting and always a good sign when the restaurant appears full. It is not a large place and it’s location on the busy Burton Road I would recommend booking especially on a Friday/​Saturday night.
Service was surprisingly quick especially as we took the last remaining table available.
I ordered a Lemon, Thyme and Chicken with Saffron rice and a Moorgh which is a yoghurt drink similiar to a Salty Lassi with fresh mint.
I would recommend choosing your meals carefully here as the flavour profiles in some Persian dishes are quiet different to standard European fare. It was quite an experience to have an extremely salty drink, with a very sour main meal. My friends ordered a dish with plums and beef and this was also on the extreme side of sweet with a jaggery sugar taste. We would probably choose differently next time.
That being said the dishes were good when examined on their own but we all found the extreme tastes a little overpowering in combination.

This is a small restaurant on Burton Road, West Didsbury. You are greeted at the door and shown to your table by friendly staff. Its best to call and book this place as its quite had to get a table as a walk in.
Drinks orders took and menus given. My vodka was very nice indeed :-)
I had halloumi salad to start which is an easy starter. Salad was nice and crisp and I love cheese so ofcourse the halloumi was good, a nice drizzle of balsamic vinegar to finish.
For my main I had sea bass and saffron rice. The rice was nice and fully, two pieces of sea bass which were flavoured with lemon and lime, saffron butter, parsley, coriander and ginger with a hint of nutmeg and chilli. This was delicious. My friend had the Ghafghazi kebab which is pieces of marinated lamb fillet and chicken fillet with chilli, onions, peppers and grilled tomato, half salad/​half saffron rice, nicely presented and I must say looked good.
My friend ordered plain naan bread and a dip which I cannot remember, a yogurt based one to complement his kebab.
All in all it was a great experience with very nice food. There is a reason this is one of the harder restaurants on Burton Road to get a table at.
We also got a complimentary cherry liquor after we had eaten.
Recommend