Pomegranate Restaurant — Restaurant in District of Canberra Central

My partner and I dined here tonight and would rate this as one of our top three restaurant experiences. We had three courses each that we shared so we each tasted 6 courses. The staff asked if we were sharing, then brought our own plates and brought one course at a time so we could enjoy each without plate swapping. Every single course was excellent. Stuffed Zucchini Flowers were crispy on the outside and the filling was creamy and tasty. The sesame seeds in the crust are a stroke of genius. Entree special of grilled octopus with beans, capers & chipotle mayo was perfect. The tender charred octopus, smokiness of chipotle, soft beans and little punch of the capers was amazingly balanced. Snapper fillet with diced vegetables, olives was next level. The charred skin and soft flaky flesh with the perfectly cooked vegetables and punch from the olives was as good as it gets. Along came the Angus strip-loin with red wine jus, creamy buttery mash and parmesan. The Angus was impossibly tender yet had char, the jus didn’t overtake but complimented the meat perfectly and a little cheesy mash with every bite and we were in heaven. Paired with a Pinot Noir and it was as good as steak gets. Mixed nut ice cream with salted caramel was delicious, it wasn’t amazing like rest of the courses but was still high quality. To finish was a crème brûlée that was perfectly creamy, crispy caramelised sugar on top and we were delighted to finish on a high. The staff were excellent, attentive and friendly without be overbearing. There were plenty of people there for a Tuesday night but it wasn’t noisy. All this for under $220, we can’t quite believe how good value it is given the quality. We can’t wait to come back to Canberra to...

I’ve dined at Pomegranate off and on for years and have introduced new people to the restaurant. However, after a very bad experience recently, we won’t be going back. Our table of 3 ordered the banquet menu and we all thought the portion sizes were much smaller than our previous experiences. The service was also very slow with long breaks between each dish. The worst part was that they completely forgot one of the dishes, so we were surprised when they brought out dessert. When we pointed out that the banquet had missed one of the dishes on the menu, the waiter said he’d check with the kitchen. He came back about 10 minutes later to say we were right & that they’d deduct 10% off our bill. No apology or offer of tea or coffee etc.

When our bill came, they’d only deducted $10 from the total (when we’d each paid $80 for the banquet that missed a dish on the menu, so a deduction of only $3.33 each). When we queried this the manager said she would only deduct $10, even though the cost of that item on the menu was much more. We’d also had cocktails and wine so the total bill was over $300. To make matters worse, they would not let us spilt the bill for 3 of us, insisting it could only be spilt by 2 (even though we’d done it before without an issue). Overall, it was slow, inattentive and ultimately rude service and none of us will...

There are only a select few places that you reserve for an extra special occasion. Pomegranate is one of them.

I’ve been here twice and it depresses me that I can’t afford to eat here every week. It sounds cliché but I’ve literally had revelations eating this food. I had a zucchini fritter here that changed the way I think. I had a king prawn here that carried me to place that may have been a heavenly realm. This is 100% the real deal.

I say all this as someone that puts their hand up at meetings when the host asks “who here thinks middle eastern food is the best cuisine known to humankind.” And I’ve tried them all. I’ve been up and down Cleveland St in Sydney, had Ottoman and every kebab joint within driving distance. There’s just an unrivalled appreciation for the fundamentals of food preparation at Pomegranate. You can tell they understand the importance of texture and cooking time. You’ve got to try it if you haven’t - it’s just an outstanding endeavour whether you’re hungry or not.

Much love to all involved. Please keep the meats succulent and the veggies empowering. If Pomegranate were a consenting adult human I would marry it and take it on a...