As the number of Middle Eastern restaurants continues to flourish in East Oxford, not even the furthest outposts are managing to withstand the spread of this simple, fresh and satisfying fodder – and its fans.

Pomegranate is also, unashamedly, cashing in on the gold rush of babaghanoush and pitta bread, swamping us with falafels and humus until we’re begging for mercy. Our thirst for mint tea and parsley salad meant that Pomegranate was packed on Saturday night, creating a carnival-like atmosphere.

Sister to the newer, brighter and more modern Syrian Pickled Walnut, and The Beetroot Cafe and Deli, over the road, they all come under the remit of owner Ahmad Mohamad.

We were late: the birthday party stalling in Cafe Tarifa, large parties harder to navigate than a herd of stampeding buffalo, and understandably they had given our table away. The lovely manager Abdul Hamrash, who was under no obligation to accommodate us, proceeded to whisk a table for six out of thin air, and a bottle of rather good red while we read the menus.

If a squeeze, we were soon distracted by the wonderful atmosphere emanating from the restaurant’s other enthusiastic diners, cramming their tables with exotic fodder. There is no pomp and ceremony here, the vibrant, lively atmosphere exacerbated by the strange black and white interior, more Egyptian than Lebanese, but hey what do I know?

What to eat though became rather a tug-of-war as we women opted for the usual smattering of starters, which are predominantly vegetarian, but offer a good range of meat and offal too. The men however wanted man food, which they believed constituted a big plate of something rather than lots of dainty side dishes. Tarzan meets Jane at its finest.

We won of course, even Abdul suggesting that ‘a bit of this and a bit of that’ was much more Lebanese, the larger dishes mainly provided to satiate the caveman mentality of men like our husbands. Thanks for that Abdul, the fiver’s in the post. It did mean, though, that given our three choices each, we had to fit 18 dishes onto our already rather squeezed table, knocking a bottle of red wine over in the process as the evening turned into something more like Carry On Up the Khyber – shouting out dishes like a class of school children with tourette’s.

We ate as fast as we could, to make room for the dishes which kept appearing, some twice, like an uncontrolled factory conveyor belt. We alone were keeping the chef in chickpeas it seemed, but we tucked in with the gusto of six very jolly, slightly inebriated, overexcited, overcrowded and starving hungry customers on fat camp day release, matching the other equally exuberant customers, making it quite a hub of activity, noise and entertainment.

As for the food, it was just what the good doctor ordered. We went rather overboard on the meat dishes as if to prove a point: chicken wings marinated in lemon juice with tomato, garlic and sumac spice, soujouk – pan-fried lamb, garlic and cherry tomato sausages, kebbeh – homemade spiced lamb meatballs with ground bulgur wheat and pine nuts, marinated chicken livers, fried in a lemon and garlic sauce, calamar mekli (deep fried squid rings, served with tahini and lemon dip), and chicken shawarma (marinated chopped chicken served between pita with garlic sauce).

We threw in some tabouleh (chopped parsley and tomatoes, onions with lemon juice and olive oil), babaghanouj (grilled aubergine with chopped red and green peppers, onions, olive oil and lemon juice), batata harrah (quartered potatoes sautéed with garlic, chillies and coriander), foul modamas (broad beans, tomatoes, garlic, spices and olive oil), Kalaj (halloumi, olives and herbs in grilled pita bread) and of course some fatayer sapanech – a baked calzone stuffed with spinach, onion and sumac spice.

And what a feast we had. It was the perfect place for a fun, unpretentious and relaxed occasion although the next morning I wasn’t sure it had been such a good idea. I’m sure the long-suffering Abdul would agree.

Pomegranate

126 Cowley Rd, Oxford OX4 3TL

Hours: 12–11pm

Phone: 01865 241260