Pomegranate

Well it was our anniversary so we wanted t try something new..tried the lentil soup which was amazing and set up the bar for the main course..and when the main course arrived it was a little disappointing..ordered a chicken casserole..very salty, chicken over cooked which ruined my evening... even same was with my husband he had chicken kabab which werent the best he had..and for 2 people just for the main and one started we spend 40 pounds... defenately will not go back ..but the ladies who served the food they were very good.
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toyta
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Ok was not booked so maybe this didnt help...but was assured was a cancellation and a table was free...

Good first impresssions busy ..nice ambient atmosphere.. friendly..with a nice well balanced menu.

However after making our order ..we waited and waited and waited for our starter to appear..even though another couple of diners appeared after us..ordered and their food was served within ten minutes?

After nearly an hour of waiting..our apology came... it was a problem with the steamed mussels held it up apparently..strange because the couple who were served before us had also ordered the steamed mussels ..with no problems its seemed?

Ok so the starters did appear and all was well...except ..you guessed it the mussels just the shells and i mean lots of empty shells looked like the leftovers of sombody elses ! Having said this the other 3 starters were very very good....particulary the babaganouse...

The Main courses again very very good.... well cooked and the kebabs quite exceptional.... i was overall very impressed with the standard of food...good quantity and reasonably priced...but unfortunately ...perhaps you need to be a regular to get a better service..would try again but would book in advance ...
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magoo
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Tried this restaurant for the first time tonight based on it's rating. It was excellent. Service was extremely friendly and civil. Not rushed. Food cooked perfectly. Lovely subtle flavours. Will go again.
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John
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Saturday, January 22, 2011

The food was beautiful. The nicest meal I have had in long time.

Service good. Atmosphere very pleasant.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Monday, October 25, 2010

Outstanding service, great relaxing atmosphere. Food was good but not outstanding.

Lamb was not as tender as expected

Overall lovely evening...
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Steve
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Saturday, October 09, 2010

Can't rate it highly enough. I read the other reviews and thought we would pitch up on Monday thinking it wouldn't be busy. Wrong. Got a table at 9pm but I have to say it was well worth the wait.

The staff were genuinely friendly and helpful. The food delicious, every course got better. The setting was simple and elegant.

Will be returning to work my way down the menu. Take someone you love because it will be worth it.

This is a little gem of a place. Tip - to ring ahead.

Still thinking about it the day after...... back to the fish finger sandwich!
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JF
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Absolutely exquisite. It was the best and the most complete dining experience I have had in many years. (I usually eat out around 100 times a year in many different countries around the world, but I have to dig my memory hard and deep in order to think of the last dining experience that was comparable to my evening at Pomegranate.)

I was visiting Brighton for a few days to meet up with old friends, but I had a free evening to myself, so I decided to check up the internet to find out the restaurants with the highest reputation in Brighton and dine on my own at one of those places. After reading through pages and pages of reviews on various webpages, I decided to pick Pomegranate. I could not have made a better choice.

Music, a cosy room (I was on the ground floor room), a painting of a young man holding a musical instrument..., they were definitely above the average. The two ladies who were serving were exceptional. They were charming, polite, friendly, without being intrusive in any ways. If you are reading this and you run a restaurant business, then you should visit Pomegranate even if it was just to get an idea of how an ideal table services should look like.

Food was very nearly faultless. I had a grilled aubergine with goat cheese, followed by a sizzling lamb shashlik (I think that was how they called it, this dish is not on their webpage menu.)

If I really must criticise, then it could be argued that the goat cheese released a tad too much fat during the grilling process, and as a result, the aubergine dish felt a little oily overall, and the cheese itself was not quite rich enough. Reducing the grilling time for the cheese, thereby maintaining the fat and rich flavour within the cheese could improve this dish. Having said that, the aubergine was cooked to perfection, and a small amount of pomegranate on top added the sharpness which went perfectly with the rest.

The main course was perfect. Lamb and vegetables were stunning, and the mixture of a yogurt based sauce which was on lamb pieces, and a separate chilli sauce were the perfect matching of summer and winter. The only way in which they could have improved the main course was by giving us a slightly more practical knives by a default. The knives they use look very interesting and they do decorate the tables, with their handles being twisted around by 90 degrees, but they are slightly cumbersome to use. Their design don't go hand in hand with the traditional table manner of cutlery usage, and they were not much sharper than those knives which you get on aeroplanes.

This brings me to the only serious complaint I have about this otherwise a near perfect restaurant. They should really replace their paper serviettes with proper, large, thick, white cotton serviettes. That, I really mean it in a very isolated sense, but that was quite frankly terrible. When food and service are so amazingly good, it is a pity that they let the whole thing down by their silly cheap paper serviettes. They use those proper large plates, and the general presentation of their food was leaning towards a posh French direction (but without being pretentious at all.) So why paper serviettes...? Imagine equating a set of plastic cutlery with a fierce uppercut from a heavyweight boxer. Then being offered a paper serviette was like a jab from a bantamweight boxer. It did not take away my appetite in one shot, but it was something which I could have happily done without.

A bottle of wine I had was as good as a bottle could get at a restaurant for around £20 in England. (It is highly regretful, but I cannot remember the name of the bottle. If I am pushed to recall what it was with a gun point, then I think it was a Medoc with merlot and cab franc, but I cannot remember for sure.)

Over all, I would give Pomegranate a solid 93 or 94 out of 100. Using a proper serviettes and knives would give it an additional 3 or 4 points, and that would probably make this place one of the top 5 places I have ever dined at.
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Dr T
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Sunday, July 11, 2010

Intimate. Atmospheric. Top class food. Friendly but professional service. We had a lovely evening at Pomegranate this weekend and would honestly find it difficult to find fault - highly recommended.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Sunday, May 09, 2010

We went for `Christmas menu` . 20 of us.

Food , as before was wonderful, apart from 1 inedible pear. But, at £25, we expected more.

Lunch is usually £10 .50 for 3 courses. We had that before. But, for almost 3 x the cost , we expected a great deal more.

We won`t be returning to what had been our favourite Brighton eaterie.
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 0
Thursday, December 24, 2009

Some friends took me to this restaurant last night..

I have to say this is a wonderful little restaurant. The food was absolutely delicious and the atmosphere convivial. The service was very friendly and we all enjoyed the evening.

It has to be one of the best dining experiences I have had in Brighton and certainly deserves the very positive reviews on this site.

It is a little Brighton treasure and will definitely be coming back!
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Greg
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, October 09, 2009