Pomegranate Mediterranean Cuisine

This review is a little too late, unfortunately. They were the best mediterranean food in Berkeley. Yes, better than La Med. Their pomegranate chicken was better.
They had slow, but friendly service. It was an intimate/​romantic dining experience. It’s too bad that they were so far down University, which was probably their downfall.
The lamb chops were sort of their signature dish. Expensive, but delicious.
The baba ghannooj was something amazing. I don’t know how they made it so great, but it was different from any other baba ghannooj I’ve ever had. It was not too sour, and in fact, was a little sweet from the caramelized onions, etc. I miss this place dearly.
There is still a location in Walnut Creek, so go there.

CLOSED?
A friend drove by the other day and thought she saw a sign that a different restaurant was coming? I’ll delete this if it it wrong.

I went to this place for lunch yesterday. It was a group of us so we shared lots of little plates. We stuck to the appetizers section of the menu. The ambiance is nice, the server was chill. I was surprised to see the place was empty. Once seated we immediately were brought water, very nice. We ordered and the food was brought out quickly. Their hummus plate was really good, as was everything really. We had a roasted veggie plate, greek salad, spanakopita, the feta plate, and some type of nut spread. It was awesome… I would cross the bridge for that again.
We only had the appetizers so I can’t comment on anything else, but I hear the place is good in general.

This was disappointing.
Again, the titledishrestaurantname was just… Sad.
We had a
coupon and when we arrived it was basically completely empty.
After ordering a roasted pepper dip, the waiter only brought out 2 pieces of pita to go with it… Now, that seemed kind of ridiculous to me since there was a lot of dip for that bread, but I assumed that was just normal. Only later did I figure out that they gave one piece of pita per a person. CHEAP.
The pomegranate chicken was dry, which I would have forgiven more so if the prices weren’t so steep. The potatoes were at least pretty good but the vegetables were flavorless and didn’t seem properly prepared.
Also got meat kabobs, one was supposed to be lamb and one was supposed to be beef. COULD NOT TELL THEM APART. It just tasted like ground up meat-​like substance.
We still needed 60 cents (I know, right? ridiculous) to get to the $ 35.00 minimum and instead of just charging us that 60 cents so we didn’t have to buy another dish, they insisted we buy something else.
Fine, we got the mudslide pie which as it turns out is just a frozen hunk of chocolate ice cream with some fudge sauce pooled up next to it. Not very good at all for $ 6.00.
If you’re really craving mediterranean, reconsider your price range and try another one of the delicious places in Berkeley.
Especially students, BEWARE: You will soon go over your budget and have to live off of packaged ramen and old papers for food.

The service is friendly. Very friendly. It partially makes up for the slow service.
This is a nice place for meat eaters and vegetarians. The hummus and the walnut spread appetizers were really good. The food tasted fresh and was flavorful.
The 5 of us all enjoyed our meals. The veggies were my favorite part. I got the pomegranate chicken and wasn’t particularly impressed with the chicken (a bit dry) but despite my sister spilling half the juice of my plate into my lap (sticky) there was still a lot of delicious sauce. I probably wouldn’t order the pom chicken again.
We ordered a bottle of mead (the first one, cranberry & honey? something like that) was delicious and the recommendation of the waiter.
Now, here’s the main thing out of all this stuff that would prevent me from going back. There was a horrible loud buzzing at the restaurant. Jesus christ. It sounded like we were being attacked by bees. It sounded like female godzilla was using a vibrator above us. My brains were gonna leak out of my skull. It ended up being a really stressful dinner for me. It doesn’t help that I am sensitive to that sound (at first I thought it was florescent lighting — but there was none and it was too loud. I think it was the climate control making the awful sounds). Also, I had a bit of a headache when I walked in and it progressed to a lovely pounding ball of stress by the time I left.
I had wonderful company and wonderful conversation. it was a positive night despite sticky chicken juice on my jeans, slow service, and annoying buzzing. I think this really speaks highly of my friends and not of this restaurant. ah well.

Thanks to all the very helpful Unilocal reviews we came well prepared for our dinner here on Monday night.
We knew what to order, was prepared for slow service — so ordered appetizers and came with good company. 3 out of 5 of us ordered the pomegranate chicken which did not disappoint. Great flavor and half a chicken which gave both dark and white meat. The veggies that came with the chicken was the best though … I’ve never had such delicious carrots.
We drank a bottle of mead … and if the server had come by sooner, we would have ordered more bottles … oh well. It’s for the best because the sweet stuff always gives me a headache the next day.
We had the hummus and a walnut /​cheese dip for appetizers and both went very well with the complimentary flatbread. Service was slow, but very friendly. The
coupon was a great idea and this was a fabulous place to try for a great deal.

Came here with a huge group of people with an advance reservation. Our order selection was restricted because of the time it would take to make each meal. And for some bizarre reason, they say they can only make a certain amount of one of the dishes. What the ridiculous?
The service was slow, although fairly friendly. The portion sizes were OK. I got the salmon dish and I thought it was well cooked, although it needed a bit more seasoning.
I ended up spending more money than I thought for food that I thought would be better. Not a terrible place but I probably won’t come here again. Nothing happened that was particularly disastrous, but I would say the entire experience was kind of disappointing.

I’ve eaten here twice. The first was with a large group of people. There’s a back room with privacy that’s good for large groups.
I had lunch here with my cousin the other day. I had the large Mediterranean platter — hummus, baba ganouj, dolmas, olives, salad. All very tasty and a good deal for the $ 10 or $ 11. I wasn’t able to finish and I ate a lot. My cousin had Mediterranean pizza which he seemed to enjoy.
The waiter was an old guy; seemed quite nice until he started hounding us about finishing our meal. He said he had to go home. He came around at least 3x to get us to pay. The place advertises lunch served till 2:30. It doesn’t say the place closes at 2:30.
So, is a restaurant just judged only for the food? I think ambiance and customer service are part of the deal. Who wants to pay $ 30 for a meal and feel pressured to eat faster and leave? I certainly don’t.
If the owners of Pomegranate are reading these reviews — get rid of the old guy with the mustache. He’s a creep!

I won’t go here again.
I heard great reviews and had some decent expectations from this place, but outside of the tasty food the place disappointed. I ordered the filet kabob ($ 18). They give you about 4 2″ square pieces of beef matched with saffron-​ated buttery bazmati rice and some buttery stir-​fried veggies (carrots and broccoli). Somewhat unusual compared to other places that give you a roasted tomato. Even though the food was good, my experience was not.
I went in a group of twenty for lunch. The Unilocal reviews say this place is great for parties, but alas it is NOT. First off, they ask you «what is your budget?» when you’re making a reservation, which is kind of offensive, and they limit you in terms of what you can order. Sure it’s practical of them to do that, but what they seem to do is limit your order to the more expensive dishes. Basically, don’t go here in groups larger than ten. The whole time I was there I had the feeling that they were trying to charge us as much as possible. The waiter asked me multiple times if I wanted t order appetizers or dessert. Is that how one is supposed to feel when one brings so much business (a group of 20!) to a restaurant at a non-​busy time like a Weds afternoon?
There are other things to complain about. But some more good: They sat us in the private banquet room with nice U-​shaped seating. That was nice of them. Besides that, this place isn’t worth spending cash on. Expect to drop $ 20/​dish.
Go to La Med.

Here’s how the story beings:
We organized an office luncheon for 20 people so reservations were made 2 days in advance even though this restaurant is not so busy during lunchtime. The people over the phone told us that salads, sandwiches, and pizzas were discouraged because it would take too long for everyone’s lunch to come out. I don’t see why this would be since salads and sandwiches are relatively quick and easy to prep and assemble. They did say that it would be alright if a few people ordered sandwiches and salads, just not everyone. Also, they sent us a group menu, which was just a smaller selection of the regular menu.
Let me also note that there is no separate lunch and dinner menu, so be prepared to eat lunch at dinner prices. The group menu that we got had no prices next to the dish and we did not see the prices until after wards. They brought us the regular menu when they brought us the bill. Also, the price quote for entrees we got over the phone fell between $ 9 – 15, but prices were actually $ 13 – 17. Today was payday, so I don’t think anyone was in the rut, but morale was low because of the odd service. I don’t mind shelling out $$$ if I am enjoying myself, but the price was another blow upon other blows.
OK, so we’re actually there now:
The restaurant itself is very nice and spacious with good lighting and décor. We got cloth napkins and there was a Monet print on the restroom wall even. Since our party is so large, we get a whole private banquet room to ourselves. However, the tables were arranged in an awkward hook shape resembling the letter J, which made talking quite difficult.
The online menu is misleading and also probably outdated. I really wanted to try the pear cider because I’m going through a pear phase right now, but they do not serve that anymore. The mud pie was not on the group menu, but they will serve it if you ask for it. However, they would not let you take any dessert to go, which I found wierd because some of us took our food to go. Our server took our orders in a clockwise direction and the first two people asked for the moussaka. Then he yelled to the room, «No more moussaka!» Excuse me? There is only 2 more moussaka and it is one of their signature dishes? They knew we were coming and there is also dinner, so I do not see why they would not have more on hand.
The food itself came out hot and it tasted great. The filet mignon kabob was tender, but not as soft and I’d like. The gourmet sabzi was good also, but it was not worth the price as with the former. The salmon was good also, but the veggies were hard. The complimentary babaganouj was more green than usual and the hummus did not taste like hummus. The consistency of the hummus was very coarse. Portions were good and everyone was fully fed.
Our server split our check into 4 separate tables, but all the orders were handwritten, so we had trouble discerning the prices. There was a mix up with the water when orders came and the server pushed our glasses around. He also cleared our table very fast so many of us were thirsty by the time we got back to the office. Our server was also wearing a cap for a sanitary management, which we found less than amusing, but don’t me wrong. The restaurant was very clean and orderly.
Bottom Line: I was disappointed especially hearing so many good things about this place, but it an experience I do not regret, though I will not be coming back. Good thing we had good company. I would recommend coming in a smaller group.
17% gratuity for large groups
private shared parking lot (free)
curbside parking (rates)

I just had the most flavorful, FILLING, and CHEAP dinner at Pomegranate tonight. Let me share:
— Arrived at 6:30ish and were seated promptly… not a whole lot of people were dining.
— Friendly waiter … gave him our $ 25
gift certificate… and was informed the $ 35 requirement could only be food (no alcoholic drinks or beverages), which was in fine print, anyways.
— Walnut spread with pita bread for appetizer. Pita by itself was really yummy (warm and thick) and the spread was a nice alternative to hummus… thick and very flavorful with small chunks of feta cheese sprinkled on top.
— Chat chat chat… food comes out on HUGE plates. POMEGRANATE CHICKEN is a must. Garlic mashed potatoes with the pomegranate sauce is really tasty. Chicken was nicely roasted and juicy. Mediterranean pizza was good but a little salty. Thinly-​sliced with hefty toppings. YUMMY in meh TUMMY.
Of course, we had tons of leftovers… the waiter offered to pack it up for us but we opted for DIY. :) Our total… wait for it…
…
…
…
$ 20.18 for 2 entrees and appetizer plus tax + tip. (orig. $ 45)
Some reviews below commented on the slow service. There was only one waiter (I think it’s family owned/​run) and he did his best to service all the tables… it wasn’t bad at all for us but… perhaps coming with a group and having a nice convo will help take your mind off the wait if you get caught on a busy night.
I had a nice dinner and experience.

Ok, so only the food at this place should get the stars because the service and staff are horrible. We came with a group of 10 with an advanced reservation on Sat, March 13^th. I was pleased that parking is so easy and when we walked in the table was ready — thought that was a good sign. Then, 15 minutes go by and we had no waiter, no water, no orders in.
Here’s a tip to the waiters at Pomegranate — when a group of 10 women come in for dinner, a smile and being nice to them will go a long way toward a better tip. Water was never filled, waiter was never polite or nice, and the food took forever to get to the table.
Luckily, we had ordered appetizers and they were fabulous. We ordered pretty much every dish on the appetizer selection, so I can say they were all fabulous. As was the pomegranate vinegrette on the salad. Amazing!
But, an hour and a half later, still no entrees. We had a show to get to, so we had to have them box our entrees. Believe me, we were as unhappy as the chef was about it, but did he have to throw our food into the containers like that? Seriously.
It is a shame because I would have liked to have known what the house specialty Pomegranate Chicken tasted like when it was fresh. As it was, after four hours sitting in the car, it was nothing to write home about.
I will never return to this restaurant again.