07/08/09

Amazing!

by sara24

Pomegranate Bistro is an Eastside gem! Their menu changes seasonally, so everything tastes super fresh. Their cocktail list is fun and inventive. Love it!

• Pros: Delicious, fresh food and to die for cocktails
• Cons: Can't think of any

08/21/08

Good food that is overpriced

by whelmed

Do you enjoy paying ten bucks for a bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich? You do? Then this place is for you!

This is Troy McClure. You might remember me from other restaurant reviews such as "They Poured Water Over My Burrito" and "Why Does This Taste Like Hair?"

Pomegranate Bistro is in a really nice space with a huge windowed wall that overlooks the associated catering business. The dining room is nicely appointed. Our table was having an animated discussion--thanks in part to the very strong drinks that were ordered--so I didn't notice if the dining room seemed noisy or not.

I had the $21 fish tacos. Three fish tacos for $21. Uh, yeah. What is this, Manhattan?

I recommend Pomegranate mostly because the people at my table were satisfied with what they ordered for the most part and we had a great time. Be prepared to pay though.

Troy

P.S. The carrot cake is really a spice cake. If you know what a real carrot cake tastes like, do NOT order this one. You will be disappointed.

05/31/08

Favorite place for casual fine dining, foodies make sure you stop by here

by secretasianman84

This is always my favorite place to go for fine dining with a casual atmosphere. The food is consistently excellent, and for the quality of what you get, reasonably priced. It is not cheap, but the same food at stuffier restaurants will cost you 50% more. The menu is always seasonal and made from local ingredients, and I'm consistently impressed with the caliber of cooking going on here. My understanding is that it's a catering company with a dining room, and it's clear that whoever creates the menus here has a real passion for food. Items are creative and interesting, this place is a real gem for foodies. Coffee and baked goods are also top notch.

This is not a fancy restaurant. The food is really excellent, but the dining room feels like a dressed up warehouse. The tablecloths are plastic, and there are huge windows so you can see into the enormous kitchen. The atmosphere is elegant, but extremely simple. They also do not take reservations, and it's very popular, so a wait can be expected most nights. Fortunately I live close by and will pop by to "get a table" 30 minutes before I take friends there :)

I've had nothing but good experience with the service. Always fast, and always with a smile. I just wish the wait to get a table were shorter.

• Pros: Fantastic food that is creative, seasonal, and local
• Cons: They don't take reservations, atmosphere doesn't match the food

05/15/08

Disorganized and slow

by platkat

I've been to Pomegranate twice now and each time the service has been slow and our orders were mixed up. The food is decent, portions being on the small side. It's not unreasonably priced, but not a terribly great value. The atmosphere is a little off-putting, which really makes it not worth the price.

• Pros: Decent salad
• Cons: Slow service, high prices

05/13/08

Poor Food, High Prices

by gkjr

I wanted to take my family to a Mother's Day brunch and after reading some accolade reviews on the Pomegranite, I made reservations. The menu consisted of about 6 different items, all of which were priced at $28 with an 18% gratuity added. I thought it very pricey at the time since a couple of the items were just waffles or just ham and eggs, We stayed anyway because of the difficulty we would face finding another restaurant. My whole party of 6 was extremely disappointed. ALL of our food was served just barely warm. All the eggs were served scrambled, but they were not scrambled for each individual. My wife had a cold, dry $28 waffle that didn't even come with butter. My son-in-law had the shrimp quiche and I am not exagerating when I say the wedge shaped piece consisted of about 2 large bites.

If you have a lot of money and don't care about quality food or preparation, I highly recommend this place.

• Pros: none
• Cons: all

02/25/08

Tasty

by rkstar

I just love this place. The service is excellent, the food is great and the atmosphere even better. I would higly recommend this restaurant to my friends and family. It's a treat.

02/14/08

Great Seasonal Menu

by Scooter1969

I love this restaurant. I love the fresh, seasonal foods. It's exiciting to walk in and know you're going to enjoy something different, something you can't necessarily make yourself at home.

This friendly Redmond bistro packs in happy crowds for three meals a day.

by Contributor

The Scene
Warm colors and simple pomegranate-themed art turn this cavernous spot into a friendly bistro, complete with a sizeable wall of wine, an open kitchen, and a coffee bar featuring wooden bins of tempting pastries. You'll find groups of coworkers, teenagers on dates and young families all dining happily together in the bustling space. On busy nights, a welcoming host handles beverage orders for folks waiting for their table.

The Food
Plenty of housemade seasonal touches and local ingredients are highlighted on the menu, particularly breads and vegetables. Featured on sandwiches, pizzas and a crisp, cheesy appetizer, the firebread is a thin, bubbly flatbread served piping hot. The menu includes a number of southern touches, like grits cakes, pulled pork and Creole shrimp; the small plates are perfectly sized for a comfortable lunch. Don't skip dessert--the cakes and pies are classic treats worth their calories.

Hits: The subtly insulated ceiling helps keep the noise to a dull roar.

Misses: Many of the servers seem inexperienced, resulting in missing sides, empty glasses and an occasional long wait.

12/03/07

Don't Bring Your Own Bottle! It'll Cost You!!

by joscelyn

We brought a bottle of wine and called ahead to make sure that they would still be open by the time we got there (around 9:15). The woman on the other line said "um, yeah we stop serving around 9:30 or 10." Well, which one is it? Are we going to be served and rushed, or not served at all? The time on their front door said they closed at 10... hmmm? Feeling rushed, our server came by three times, consecutively, to see if we were ready before we even had a chance to tell her we wanted to open the bottle we had brought. She returned to tell us that corkage would be $25!!!! Purple Cafe charges $0 dollars for the first bottle, Daniel's Brolier charges $15, Ruth's Chris charges $23 and Canlis charges $35 (thye also charge around $100 a plate). These are established and distiguished places that serve an array of very high quality wines- they don't gouge, why does Pomegranate get to? I understand that restaurants want to encourage people to buy from their menu, but why would one make corkage so high that it puts people off? We decided to go somewhere else. Not because we're cheap, but smart. I've been in the restaurant and wine industry for years and this restaurant's fee is just silly. It's too bad it went this way too, I didn't even get to see if the food was any good.

12/01/07

good menu, poor execution

by lehn

We visited Pmegranate for dinner on a Friday,11/30/07. We were greeted and seated without too much of a wait which was nice. The room is bright and well lit with fun holiday decorations. The menu has lots of choices - different dishes that all looked good. The trouble started with our server who was nice enough but didn't seem really tuned in. I ordered a cheeseburger, medium rare and it was very well done, my husband's fish stew was also overcooked and underseasoned. Both dishes were not hot when served and our waiter forgot my side order of vegetables. When those arrived they were both dry and greasy at the same time which is quite a feat. They were supposed to be a mix of three vegetables and only two showed up. Also not hot. Our waiter forgot to bring the drinks we ordered with dinner and by the time they finally arrived we had almost finished eating. For dessert we shared a key lime merinque pie which was pretty good. The bill came and they had charged us for an item we had not ordered or received which is no big deal but in this case was just the icing on the cake. We felt the meal was not a good value for the money and will not be going back.