• Added: 22nd of April 2007
• Area: Kings Cross
• Category: Restaurants

London N1 9DT
020 7278 0679

Schafseckel said
I hope she stops nagging me now....
My friend Meriem (the ubiquitous Mez on this site) is always on at me to post reviews on interesting places we've been to on this web site. I've got my suspicions that she somehow has an ulterior motive in ensuring its' success (does she have shares?), however Ill put all that to one side for the time being and post my first review just to stop her constant nagging and glaring looks in the office..

Now those of you with a poor sense of humour might conjure up a number of jokes to mark a visit to an Ethiopian restaurant.I think I'll resist the temptation on this occasion.

My wife and I visited Addis an Ethiopian restaurant near Kings Cross on Saturday night. Put all your preconceptions to one side; the restaurant and the cuisine are great! Caledonian Road might not immediately spring to mind as a place to find good food in central London; it is however certainly well worth a visit.

The restaurant has a lovely feel to it, whilst the plastic covers on the tables might seem it little down-market you really don't notice it once you sit down and relax to the mellow beat of east African music. The service is relaxed, if you're in a hurry please don't be, the phrase Manyana, Manyana (tomorrow, tomorrow) sums this restaurant up perfectly. They won't be rushed but don't worry; they are not slow either. Cutlery is also nowhere to be seen, it's very much eat with your hands and the flatbread.

We had both starters and a main course which left us totally stuffed, no wafer-thin mints for us Mr Creosote (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Creosote for the uninitiated). We only found out afterwards that the starters are an additional to the traditional Ethiopian menu to suit western tastes. In all honesty you could dive in straight to the main courses and do fine.

I had Ye-Abesha-Salad as my starter (a salad with loads of hot chilli that arrived swimming in a lemon and garlic sauce). An unusual presentation for a salad but it worked really well. My wife had Selata Aswad for her starter (a wonderfully smokey aubergine dish with tahini and yoghurt that was exquisite); both were served with pitta bread and Injera (a cold rolled flatbread quite like a pancake). This was washed down with genuine Ethiopian beer which proved to be very light and refreshing.

For main course we had Spinach Wot (it does what it says on the tin), Awaze Tibs (spicy lamb) and Fuul Musalah (mixed beans, falfel and feta cheese). This was served with a large circular Injera which we then tipped all of the food onto after seeing other diners do the same. As before additional flatbread was served and you eat with your fingers.

Great food, a great place and really great value. Bizarrely prices in the menu are listed without VAT however a bill of 34 for two including drinks ranks as a top find in my opinion. You should visit before it gets too popular.

There you go Meriem, I hope you're happy now?

http://www.addisrestaurant.co.uk/