pomegranate

the month of august has arrived and food club went to the middle east… presuming the middle east is a delightfully pink building opposite the playhouse that is.

it was a chaotic start to the evening but this was nothing to do with the restaurant – and all to do with tip top planning and organisation from selected members from the organisation.

the waitresses were extremely helpful and filled our table with naan bread and hummus while we awaited the arrival of our final colleague. it’s byob and once we arrived and carefully placed the plastic bags in the corner, i whipped out my fridge magnet bottle opener to get the party started but the waitress had already presented us with her bottle opener and the beers were flowing. let’s order.

so much to choose from which is always good – we had a selection ofmezzeto start including, soujuk, slices of lebanese sausage sunk in tomato, garlic and chilli sauce. very tasty succulent sausage with a good kick to the sauce. lamb samboussek – so good it burned the insides, boiling to the touch but these parcels of minced lamb went down a treat. the moroccan meatballs were great and the perfect main meal teaser. one member was raving about borek’s and ordered the cheese one and found it pleasingly cheesy. this was all washed down with more naan and our own collection of beverages.

we moved on to main courses while discussing the possibility of heading to the downstairs shisha bar but nothing was decided. between us we ordered a selection of kebabs and shawarma and also the qozy lamb. i’ll start with the qozy lamb which was a huge and tender portion of lamb on the bone which literally fell off with the slightest touch, melt in the mouth brilliance served with aubergine tapsi.

the kebabs were all lovely and tender and served with bamya which brought it all together. the chilli gosht could have been hotter but this is coming from gentleman who takes pleasure is eating fire (may or may not be true). the sharwarma was plentiful and very tasty and one other got it served in a wrap with dips and thoroughly enjoyed it. can’t fault the service again as just as you were looking for something to dip with, more naan appeared at the table.

feeling satisfied and having enjoyed a brief interval from the food, we ordered dessert. some went for a pallet cleansing sorbet with a selection of mango and rosewater, chillingly refreshing. we also ordered the pomegranate ice cream… only felt right considering our location. cupcakes made a brief but effective contribution to the meal and baklawa, it’s in capitals because i feel it warrants being shouted out, small nutty pastries served with ice cream was a good way to end great meal.

after paying the bill we were guided outside and down the stairs to a cosy area for the shisha bar. we were sat in a brightly coloured cove and placed the order for a cherry and double apple. we sat for a good hour passing the pipe and enjoying the flavours and ambiance that only 7 men in a pink cove can create.

big thanks to everyone at pomegranate for a great meal and great night.

for good value middle eastern food in a decent location, you can do a lot worse than pomegranate. if you’re new to the cuisine, try out the tapas stylemezzedining to try several dishes at once and get a feel for what you like. now that i have discovered the unadulterated joy that is kubba, i will definitely be back for a full plate’s worth!

i'd never visited a middle eastern restaurant before and finding halal restaurants that aren't indian/pakistani/bengali  in edinburgh can be quite difficult (try searching on google and you'll know what i mean!)

when some friends asked if we wanted to try, we were keen. after all, don't dismiss anything until you've tried it! service was great and our server has been kindly offering recommendations for dishes. we ended up sharing ourmezze(the equivalent to spanish tapas) and enjoyed every bite (try the baly merishke - crispy lemon scented chicken wings, they're amazing!). the only disappointing thing was the size - they're tapas sized dishes, mind you, so i'm not complaining but when you really like a dish you just wish there was for everyone to get a full taste.

i realised that by the time we got to our main course though that a normal sized starter would've been too filling. the rice they serve with their main dishes are generous and i wasn't even halfway finished with my meal before i started struggling to finish everything! it was all so good i ate it all, but went home with such a round tummy, i could've probably been rolled home!

overall, i really enjoyed the experience of trying new cuisines and this is one that i would definitely recommend for those who want a different restaurant from the usual burger joints and takeaways.

i paid a second visit to pomegranate in march 2013, having previously been there with friends at the end of 2012, and the experience was once again joyous. if you are a fan of middle-eastern cuisine – or even if you have never tried it before, but like good food, well served – i would recommend you dine at this restaurant. located at the top of leith walk, pomegranate serves an excellent range of authentic turkish and arabian dishes with a contemporary twist. the menu includes kebabs, bamya (meat and okra stew) , and shawarma (grilled meat or vegetables, often served in a naan bread) . but the real star of their show is the selection ofmezze– a sort of middle-eastern tapas, for those not in the know. my partner and i went for the setmezzefor two people, which allows for a choice of six dishes from their extensivemezzemenu, including two that are meat based – vegetarians will be delighted to hear the majority of theirmezzedishes a

very enjoyable.. having lived in the middle east for many years i was keen to try pomegranate.
booking online was very easy. the decor is charming and like good middle eastern cafe. colourful lights and walls. the tables and chairs are comfortably spaced.

we arrived at just after 6pm on a monday night, thinking it would be empty - it was almost completely full and we were glad we'd booked.
as tables emptied - people were filling them up again - so very busy which is never a bad sign.

our waiter was very attentive and immediately arrived with menu's and took a drinks order. we decided on the cha - and it was quickly brought along with a jug of iced water.
the menu is not huge but there is a good choice of hot and coldmezze(like tapas)
we decided to have onemezzeeach as a starter and one main dish each.

we chose sojouk - a spiced marinated sausage cooked in a spicy tomato sauce - and kuba. the middle eastern equivalent of a scotch egg - but the filling is spiced lamb.

the spice palette was tasty without being too hot. i can't understand how anyone found it bland.

the portions were a very good size.

the main courses were chicken and lamb shawarma platters. the meat is marinated, cooked and shredded
-then served with rice and salad and dips. the dips were yogurt and tomato based. again, spice with flavours rather than heat.

as a side we had baba ghanoush - a hummus/aubergine dip that was perfect. just like i remembered.
evereything was served with lovely thin flat bread like a nan - but not oily at all.

to finish we had arabic coffee with a little turkish delight and baklava.

our waiter was very friendly and attentive - and couldn't be found wanting.

it was just like normal eastern food you'd find in any good cafe. very much like middle eastern home cooking.

not gourmet - but very tasty and good value.
i look forward to trying the set meal ofmezzefor two next time. we will certainly be going back.