Pomegranate Restaurant – 418 College St, Toronto, ON M5T 1T3
Country: Iran
Seating: Indoor dining (Might have a few tables with DineTO)
Must-try Dish: Baqali polo (Lamb Shank)
Dinner Guests: Young Matt

Mandrea Bike made our way back to Pomegranate joined by Young Matt to eat some Persian cuisine. Not surprisingly,  we were happy to have a dinner guest as this means we had an extra belly to fill and could order more dishes. Pomegranate is the birthplace of Eat the World TO. It was in this very place, a few months back, under the spell of the perfectly cooked lamb shank (Baqali polo) that we first discussed the creation of the blog. In addition to re-ordering Baqali polo we started with two dips: 

• Mizra qasemi – Charred eggplant in a mildly spicy garlic tomato sauce (served hot)
• Zeitoon parvardeh – a tapenade of green olives marinated in a pomegranate walnut sauce with a generous amount of fresh garlic (served cold)

There was some friendly debate at the table over which dip was prefered, but there was no denying that both were mouth-watering – a precursor for what else was to come at Pomegranate. 

The dips offered an interesting element of contrast in temperature. The Mizra Qasemi was served warm with smoky notes while the Zeitoon Parvardeh was cold, with a feel of vegetarian caviar 0 their words, not ours.  

Following the appetizer round, we had an educational conversation with our server, who also happens to be the owner,about her approach in the restaurant and how she likes to give a good representation of the different regional dishes in Iranian cuisine. 

With that being said, we re-ordered the Baqali Polo (lamb shank), Aloo Gheysi and Boz Qormeh (a special of the evening). The Baqali Polo’s lamb was perhaps the most tender piece of meat imagthble. If you picked it up off the plate, the meat gracefully dropped off the bone. The combination of the beautifully cooked and seasoned lamb served with saffron basmati rice easily made this the must try dish of the night. 

On the other side of the coin, the Aloo Gheysi was a sweeter dish – chicken thighs cooked in a stew of plums and dried apricots in a saffron sauce. The sweetness of the chicken dish played well alongside the more savory lamb special (Boz Qormeh). Boz Qormeh is from the region of Kerman and was introduced at Pomegranate to represent this area of the country.

We’re convinced that no matter what you order, you’ll be more than satisfied at Pomegranate. Insofar that the words “this might be one of my favourite restaurants in the city” might have escaped Andrea’s mouth on a few occasions throughout the night. To not review this restaurant would be a disservice to our followers. Persian cuisine is unique and bursting with flavour – we can’t wait to get another Persian place on our radar. We’ll certainly be back soon to dine at Pomegranate, and so should you.

Eat with you soon,

Mandrea Bike
(Mat & Andrea)