Marathon Restaurant and Bar in Islington

The best dish this side of the Thames, truly a one of a kind experience

Had such a lovely time, the staff are so attentive and the food is delicious. Would recommend!

Went there for dinner with family (group of 10) last week and it was amazing. The food was delicious and the staff very nice. Great tibs and misir wot!

Went there for dinner with family (group of 10) last week and it was amazing. The food was delicious and the staff very nice. Great tibs and misir wot!

Maraton Restaurant is hands down my number one go-to place for authentic Habesha food. Whether dining in or ordering for delivery—even during late hours—this spot never disappoints. The food is consistently fresh and bursting with flavor, capturing the essence of traditional Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine. Every dish is meticulously prepared, with rich spices and perfectly balanced flavors that make every bite a delight. The injera is always soft and tangy, complementing the hearty stews and perfectly cooked meats. Dining in offers a warm and welcoming atmosphere, with attentive service that makes you feel right at home. But what truly sets Maraton apart is their reliability when ordering in. The food arrives hot and fresh, no matter the time, preserving that just-cooked quality. If you're craving delicious, authentic Habesha food, Maraton is the place to go. Highly recommended!

Maraton Restaurant is hands down my number one go-to place for authentic Habesha food. Whether dining in or ordering for delivery—even during late hours—this spot never disappoints. The food is consistently fresh and bursting with flavor, capturing the essence of traditional Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine. Every dish is meticulously prepared, with rich spices and perfectly balanced flavors that make every bite a delight. The injera is always soft and tangy, complementing the hearty stews and perfectly cooked meats. Dining in offers a warm and welcoming atmosphere, with attentive service that makes you feel right at home. But what truly sets Maraton apart is their reliability when ordering in. The food arrives hot and fresh, no matter the time, preserving that just-cooked quality. If you're craving delicious, authentic Habesha food, Maraton is the place to go. Highly recommended!

Most amazing Ethiopian food here. We've tried many erotrean and Ethiopian restaurants in London and so far this one has been the best. I'm not sure why but somehow tastes different, better and stimulating. We had a Dullet, which was delicious spicy, I personally have always loved tripe but never had them this way, simply delicious. Nicolle ordered the vegetarian Beyaynetu (honestly this dish would have been enough for the 2 of us), a mix of different vegetarian dishes including chickpeas, green beans, lentils and others, fantastic. We were so hungry we forgot to take photos before diving into our plates, but trust me, a must go.

The staff are incredibly rude and disrespectful whilst the food is barely satisfactory. I came here for a birthday dinner with my family and was appalled with how they treated us. They gave us food that we didn't order and when we asked them to change it they said they will have to charge us extra, even though it was their mistake! After this, they refused to tend to our table or check on us. I was planning to have my birthday cake after eating and we told them this but they actually brought out the bill without us asking for it and told us they needed to clear the table for other customers. Even though the restaurant was half empty... We felt so uncomfortable by their behaviour that we left without being able to celebrate my birthday. I will never ever come here again, the service and attitude from all the staff is absolutely horrendous!!!

Place seemed clean and friendly ... I just popped in to take my daughter to the loo

Having tried all of the Caladonian Rd Ethiopian restaurants, this was my favorite. Mixed veg platter and lamb tibs were all delicious and a great value.

I had a lamb tibs, it was tender and good tasting. The place has a good room inside unlike the weird gate.

Dear owner/manager I have been a regular visitor to your restaurant and have always enjoyed my experiences there. However, during my last visit on July 21, 2024, I was disappointed with the portion size and the taste of the food, which was very average. Additionally, tips were added to the invoice without my consent, which I found unacceptable. I hope you can address these issues to improve the dining experience for your customers. Thank you.

Delicious food and excellent value for money! The veggie platter and lamb tibs were the perfect lunch for two to share. Will absolutely return.

Loved the opportunity to try Ethiopian cuisine, I was not disappointed.

I personally didn't like what I had chosen, but otherwise it was reasonable. Very clean and the owner is friendly.

Had a really poor experience at Marathon restaurant, unfortunately. The waiter could not have been more disinterested and made us feel like us asking for anything (water, drinks, more food) was a nuisance. We had the vegan patter for 1, which we were told would feed 2. It didn't, so we asked for an additional vegan platter. Instead of giving us a second platter, we were served a few of the chickpea/lentil/vegetables in a side dish, but we didn't even get the full range that was in the platter. This was not served with more injera so we asked for more, which we were then charged for (I've never been charged for this in other Ethiopian restaurants). Then I asked for a take away box which cost 40p - I've never, ever had to pay extra for a takeaway box either! Food was alright, but I would not come back here for the overall experience and price.

Relaxing atmosphere and best food and service! Love the kitfo and dulet! Have tried the veggie dishes with a vegan friend and they are amazing too but I am a meat lover.

We went for an early dinner so it was quiet, but great service, helpful explanation of the menu. We had mahberawi, a huge plate with lots of different dishes served on injera. It was great to be able to try so many dishes, really enjoyed the lentil dish.

A huge sharing plate for 2 and a beer each, came to less than £50. The food was delicious, which made it all incredibly good value. The guy who served us offered suggestions and was very helpful. A star dropped for atmosphere, simply because we there so early and there were not many people in. Looking forward to returning.

First time having Ethiopian food, excellent

Very nice ambience, friendly staff, clean restaurant but best of all was the food. Not super familiar with Ethiopian food but that will definitely change after todays visit. Sensational.

easily my favorite restaurant in london!! family-owned, very sweet people, incredibly delicious food. i always get the vegan platter to split w my friends, the ethiopian spiced tea is amazing, and the ethiopian salad is so flavorful. would recommend to anyone!!

This was my first time trying and going to an Ethiopian restaurant and I have to say it will be the last time!!! Once arriving there was no one around to greet me after 5mins I then went outside to wait for the rest of my family and when majority of us arrived we booked a table and the table weren’t ready as there were people still sitting there so we had to wait for them to clear the table which took about 10-15 mins. These are the reasons below as to why I give this restaurant a low score Waiter took too long to take our order. He took our food order first and then our drinks order when it should be the other way round. Waited more than 20 mins for our drinks to come I was given 7up that had expired last month Food took far long to come our table was booked for 7 and our food came after 9pm Some of our meals were missed and didn’t receive some our food Ran out of rice Ran out of straws Food wasn’t hot Had to pay for takeaway containers Tap in the ladies toilet wasn’t working properly and toilet paper needed to be topped up Boxes of injera were near the entrance which I found untidy Was charged extra for drinks and wasn’t informed that when they have live music you have to pay more bearing in mind we ordered our drinks before the live music started. The waiter however was nice however he needed more help staff wise as he was the only one taking orders etc. The service as a whole was very poor! Overall I would give this a 1/10.

Dinner for 4 people cost £69 with a beer each, also super good

Great spot for tasty and properly spiced Ethiopian. Sampler is a great place to start!

Delicious food, a new experience as we hadn't had Ethiopian food before. It all tasted very fresh, and was served on flatbread, which also arrived in rolls. The presentation was lovely, and all the tastes were superb, and often something new for us. We intend to go back! The Ethiopian beer was also good, some brands we hadn't seen before. Service was good. The restaurant filled up as the evening went on, we had arrived quite early, and everyone looked like they were enjoying the food. Can recommend.

Incredibile restaurant and service. Plates were always super full and delicious. Will DEFINITELY come again!!!!!!!

I'm very disappointed! Went with my family for lunch, and after we have been offered a table, we have been told to leave as they had booking for large number of guests. Why would they offer us a table and change der mind after 5 min saying there is a booking. 🤔 Very disrespectful and disorganised. The owner was so rude. Won't go back again.

Went today with my friends and their kids. When I arrived, the kids and two of my friends were already seated by the female owner. My friends let her know that there are a few of us on our way to join, and we should hopefully be about 1 hour. She agreed and pulled a table together to seat everyone, after a little while before all of the adults sat down and whilst we were looking at menue closing what to order as the kids were angry, she said she changed her mind and that she wants us to go as she had a large booking coming in in 1 hour time. Despite my friends reminding her the conversation in the beginning and her choice to seat us, she said she is not going to serve us because she realises that having the kids would not be ideal or might be too noisy for her 30 group of people that are arriving later. We used to go to the restaurant for many years when we were younger and always come to purchase Enjera from there, but it was very sad to know that we are not wanted with our kids. The female owner seems to be kid unfriendly! Shocking how she flippantly just changed her mind and showed no sense of guilt or wanted to compromise and allow at least the kids to eat as they were hungry. Everything might be for a good reason because, as a result, we have mow foumd another amaizing small cosy restaurant further up the Rd that we intend to go to with as a group every other Sunday. We will be advising others we know to do the same!

The food was surprisingly filling! What I loved the most was the locally made Ethiopian coffee. Such a delight.

Enjoyed a very testy fish and salad dish.

Delicious Ethiopian food, great value for money, big portions and so tasty. One of the best addresses in London !

Incredible place, one of the best places I’ve eaten in London!

Visiting Marathon has been on my to-do list when it comes to enjoying Ethiopian food. With that expectation in mind, I can say Marathon did well. We went in on. Saturday and luckily we had a person playing music and that was a small treat to the ears. Nothing too fancy but it was a sweet touch nonetheless. The place isn't where you would take a client as the vibe isn't premium but for the price the place delivers on full cylinder. We ordered their vegetarian platter which is going to be great for those who wants to have some vegetables or are looking for vegan options. We also ordered their door wot and half portion each of awaze tibs and kitfo. The awaze tibs and kitfo were good and pairs well with their injera. No we do love doro wot generally but the doro wot at this place didn't wow us. It looked the part but the flavour wasn't there yet. I guess it needed more Berebere spice. Anyhow we had a great experience for the money's worth.

Frozen heated up supermarket samosas.

Probably some of the best veggie food I've ever had. The portions were great and even though I couldn't stop eating there was still some left over! I'm definitely telling everyone about this and 100% coming back again 🙂

Local, family run, nice food. Just perfect

The service i have been gaven was very nice

Went recently with some friends and i was amazed at how great this place is, incredible authentic tasting foods.The staff were also amazing very kind and hospitable.

Amazing food. It was so delicious and clearly made with love. The service was a bit slow. But we forgave that as it’s a family run business and the food was awesome.

If you want to know about other cultures please be in Marathon Restaurant.

delicious food!!!! the owner is so friendly and welcoming. Really loved my dinner experience here! A very special atmosphere that makes you feel at home. Thank you for introducing me to the traditional post meal barley snack! Highly recommend for those trying Ethiopian cuisine for the first time or a date night! Such a lovely vibe inside. I came for vegetarian options which I loved but the meat ones blew me away 😂!! All so yummy.

Was actually amazing, been eating Ethiopian food all my life and this was definitely one of the best.

Easily the worst restaurant I have ever been too. The food took an hour to come out and when it did it was undercooked. The waitress was very rude. Terrible experience

The restaurant was overall nice and the vegetarian plate we ordered was okay as per the expectation. However, we found a metallic wire while eating the food that spoiled our experience. Upon handing over the metallic piece/wire over to the waitress (who had been otherwise nice to us), she pretended to move away to see it in a brighter place, only to make it disappear and then kept searching for it. The only explanation offered to us was that it could've been a piece of plastic, which was shocking as well (as if that was okay for them). Rather than being sorry, we were even charged a tip of 10% on the bill. I would prefer to try the Ethiopian cuisine I'm fond of anywhere else but here. The two stars are for the fact that the staff was good with us before the incident happened.

The best experience I have like back home

Very good quality food and good staff Very well cam

Great food! Highly recommended!

This is worth the stroll from the nearest tube line - food was delicious and staff friendly.

Nous cherchions à aller manger proche de notre logement et sommes allés à ce restaurant. Nous nous sommes régalés! C’était notre premier repas éthiopien et avons su l’apprécier. Le serveur était très aimable également. Nous recommandons vivement surtout que les prix sont très accessibles

Absolutely incredible food. Would recommend to anyone. Fantastic scenes.

Relaxing atmosphere freshly made authentic food, Teff Injara must try by all vegan / vegeterian!

Great authentic Ethiopian food and atmosphere.

Lovely food, great variety and lovely staff. You are made to feel welcome. I really recommend this restaurant.

Absolutely amazing dinning experience, food is divine and the portions are filling. Highly recommend to anyone who wants traditional Ethiopian

very authentic ethiopian dining

Amazing food! The place has a great ambience, really loved the vibe.

Clear, easy to read menu which I appreciated as I've only had Ethiopian a few times before. Food I had was very nice. And big for the price - the portions were larger than I expected and £18 worth of a main and a side was two person size.

Amazing food every time, both for dine in and delivery!

It is a wonderful place with mouthwatering great soul food and service. Also, Ethiopian coffee is served here, and I must say it's heaven in a cup. Price wise, surprisingly reasonable as there are many options to choose from from vegetarian to meat lovers. The portion is great, too. TIP - There is live ethiopian music every Saturday.

Eight of us shared a lovely slow lunch, with delicious teff injera (by special request) and veggie, lentil, split pea sharing platters of traditional Ethiopian food. Not far from King's Cross (a nice walk along Regents Canal) but so relaxed and unrushed, with a warm welcome, friendly atmosphere and quiet music. A perfect place for spending time with friends. Thank you Gurmesh :)

Tasty food at good price. Injera was particularly good with complex flavour. Fast service.

Been here for food and some Asmara beer with some friends. Live music on Saturdays is very cool, very nice genuine atmosphere, and food is amazing!

I came with my friends and really enjoyed my experience. The food was delicious and the service was wonderful. I will be back again!

The injeras here taste so good that I would immigrate to Ethiopia just for that. I also order Ethopian coffee ritual for maximal Ethiopian experience, it is strong and tasty, and its jabula looks legitimate, but a bit expensive. And the restaurant always opens later than 1245/1300. Don't come too early.

Absolutely loved the food - felt home cooked, tasty and portions were generous. Lovely place!

Really good food, extremely well priced, beautiful atmosphere and astonishing service! Thank you.

Friendly service and a very good food if you want to try Ethiopian and Eritrean food

We have been to Marathon 4 adults and 2 toddlers. We stayed at the door for several minutes waiting for a staff member to open the other side of the door as our prams did not fit. Eventually, one of us had to go and ask a waiter to help. We were sat and they only had ONE baby high chair. Their service was really slow. There was a single waiter who sat at the corner with a laptop and 4 times we had to walk over to his corner to ask for the menu, extra injera and additional orders. Every time, he came with a face that has an expression"you owe me an apology". Their food in addition to being slow was not very good either. I have been to Marathon for about 10 years, and I have never seen it at this level of terrible service. Sadly, their good days are behind them. My advice avoid, there are other much better and more friendlier Ethiopian restaurants

Lovely people serving very tasty food. Three of us shared a giant plate of vegetarian food and left so full and happy

Great place to enjoy authentic Ethiopian food

Absolutely gorgeous veggie food and sooooooo ridiculously good for the money. Would recommend to anyone! Honey wine fab. Best dinner I’ve had on the Cally

Family and friends cane for my book launch. After 40 of us stayed to eat. Everyone LOVED it!! Really good fresh tasty food. Lovely to sit round large sharing plates - veg and non-veg. Thankyou Girimesh, Ayeni and Amanuel!

I held my White Hyena book launch at the Marathon last Friday. About 40 of us stayed after to eat. Everyone LOVED the food! Both veg and non-veg. Great atmosphere - just like being in Addis - lovely to sit round sharing large plates. Thank you to Girimesh, Ayeni and Amanuel! Fantastic evening and highly recommended!

My food was very nice, even if not the best Ethiopian food that I have had in London but fresh and well made and flavourful. I had the vegan platter. Unfortunately my friends didn't like their meat combo platter at all and most of it was left uneaten. However, even if we had a confirmed booking, they were closed when we arrived and we had to keep knocking the door for a long time before someone came to open. The man who took our orders was rather aggressive and very unwelcoming, as if we would be simply unnecessarily bothering them. The service was also slow. Our food arrived in good time but even if we had asked for cutleries when making the order, it took a long long after the food has come to get the cutlery and the dishes had already cooled down by then so we had to eat them cold.

Coming from an Ethiopian, it’s one of the best restaurants you can go to, would highly recommend. Food is great, service was fast and the host was very friendly

Everything was delicious and the staff was amazing

Amazing food, fresh injera and that amaze tibs is one that will have me coming back for sure. Thank you for a lovely meal

Best habesha food in London !!!!

Hands down one of the best Habesha food!! Great customer service!! Well done!

One of the best keyeh tibs I’ve ever had! Loved the food and the customer services.

Amazing food with such a lovely atmosphere! Really friendly to people new to Ethiopian cuisine, we had the chance to taste nearly everything on the menu and it was so good! The staff were beyond wonderful also!

Great place to eat at. Very chilled and welcoming environment. Highly recommended! Mahberawi is pictured below.

We were looking for a restaurant for locals, away from the tourist area , and something authentic when we came acrossed the Marathon Restaurant that serves Ethiopian food. It was just the cultural experience we were looking for! It was an incredible, memorable experience!

We were looking for a place to for locals, away from the tourist area, something authentic, when we came upon the Marathon Restaurant that serves Ethiopian food. It was just the cultural experience we were looking for! It was an incredible, memorable experience!

Been ordering take away a few times from this place already, consistently tastes great. Compared to other ethiopian restaurants, I noticed that they season and spice their food more, so some splits or lentils that taste mild elsewhere are really indulgent here, which I love.

I came to this place to ask to see menu because I never ate Ethiopian food, and I was interested in trying it, but the woman (I think she is the owner) was extremely rude. I felt kicked out of the place as if I was a straight dog. Very bad customer service.

Lovely atmosphere, friendly staff and delicious food :)

Super customer service and quality food. We were notified of our food readiness by the customer service coming to were we were outside the building.

The food was truely excellent, and reasonably priced. We got the vegetarian platter and the special kitfo, and there was an excellent mix of intense and mild dishes, with a good level of spice throughout. Injera was delicate and not too intensely sour.

Delicious food, the owner and all the staff are lovely.

I was very disappointed by my experience with this restaurant the female owner was rude, as we walked in she gave us dirty looks and didn't greet us. We ordered food for our family and friends the food arrived cold and tasteless, usually in the past I liked the food and thought it was tasty but now I am sad to say it's horrible. They didn't give us enough injera or any napkins, when we tried to ask for anything they ignored us or we had to go up to the bar to ask them directly. The customer service is worse than the food, we saw other customers waiting for long time to be served like us who looked like they were trying Ethiopian food for the first time and we had negative attitude from the owner as it was not welcoming or friendly environment even for the young children. The food was overpriced as well. The Habesha tea was terrible it was cold and we didn't drink the rest of tea as we were upset by our experience.

Amazing Ethiopian food and fascinating interior design

Absolutely delicious food. Highly recommend this hidden gem!!

Great Ethiopian food, reasonably priced and friendly staff

First time trying Ethiopian food. Had a sharing plate between 2 of us. Great tasting fresh food, friendly service, and reasonably priced for London.

Very reasonably priced for London and love the interior design! Lovely injera and good food overall! A variety of Ethiopian beers available - I thought the walia beer was smoother than most European beers

One of my favourite Ethiopian restaurants in London (top 2), food is sensational, service is just as good! Have a regular spot & we’re always welcomed by the staff!

Lovely and prompt service. Food was delicious and hit the spot.

Good food, friendly staff and an authentic atmosphere!