Marathon Restaurant and Bar in Islington

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

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.

The service i have been gaven was very nice

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.

Very good quality food and good staff Very well cam

The best experience I have like back home

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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!

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!

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

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

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 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!

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!

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!

The best Ethiopian restaurant i have been so far, i can’t explain in worse the quality and the service let alone the test of the food and the live music on Saturdays. ppl don’t miss stop at Marathon Restaurant

Great authentic food and very welcoming! Staff were very nice. I cannot wait to come again. The atmosphere and the ambience were really inviting!

Great food for a great experience. loved the interior as well

Really authentic food! Super tasty and great service - recommend highly!

The food was great and the staff were friendly

Crazy place, amazing people, food at the highest level, we left full, I will come back here again in the future

אוכל טעים ממש , בעל המסעדה בנאדם מדהים שירות מעולה ממליצה מאוד!!!!

The service was so bad, we had to go to the bar to ask the service assistant to take our order after seating for 20 minutes, the food took 45 minutes to prep, no apology or any communications at all. We are not impressed about the quality of the food, even though it took 45 minutes to prep. We had to ask for more injera, only few came with the food. Many customers had to wait for long time waiting for the food to arrive, were cheering as it arrived. The bill came almost immediately as soon as we asked, again no communications at all. The staff have no idea what the customer service is all about. There were many small price discrepancies on the bill compared what is printed on the menu and what we were charged. Be aware also they added 10% tip on the bill, we did not noticed that at the time and left £10.00 for the host. I hope that we see an improvement on our next visit and the management take this comment as positive and make an effort to improve the customer service, quality of food, efficiency and accuracy of the bill.

Felt like I went to a fine ten star michelin restaurant with the friendly and efficient service provided. The atmosphere was absolutely incredible and the traditional cuisine was delicious! Would definetly recommend coming here as it exceeded my expectations! Amanuel our server was a pleasant chap and quite the comedian

It was a good experience, friendly and kind staffs. I had my first consultation and 3D scan with Rayhana today. Very informative, clear and excellent communication. She addressed my concerns and offered advices. Keep providing such great service. Highly recommended clinic.

Spontaneously dropped in for an early dinner, the food was fantastic anf the hosts were very friendly! Thanks!

First class! First time having Ethiopian cuisine and it won’t be the last. Food was incredible, service and beers to match! Shame we don’t live close but hopefully be back soon! The Man Utd game on the TV was a massive bonus, 6 stars!

Super restaurant Éthiopien ! La serveuse nous a fait un peu peur quand elle semblait choquée qu’on commande le Gored Gored, sans déchanter on confirme notre demande, finalement pas déçu, c’était très bon (4 jours après -> pas eu de problème de digestion: c’est validé 👌🏻)

Friendly staff, nice atmosphere, AMAZING food!

Amazing food! Amazing service would highly recommend. Will be coming back to try more of the menu!

Amazing people and amazing service!!!!

Amazing authentic Ethiopian food :) came here with my sisters and enjoyed the hospitality and food :)

Amazing place came with my sisters for the 2nd time and love this place!

Absolutely beautiful my favorite restaurant in London. Atmosphere is phantasmagoric.

One of the most delicious Ethiopian food 🤤 We had shiro and tibs it was so good we had to come back again after a day! The injera is soft and fresh!! The place is a so comfy and so welcoming! I am so happy we stumbled in this place ♥️

Very Delicious Ethiopian meals delivered timely with a Good customer care.

Some of the best Ethiopian food I've had in London, very reasonably priced and friendly staff. The vegan and vegetarian options are great too!

Very glad we came here. Fresh, tasty food. Superb service. Lovely place!

A nice authentic ethiopian restaurant. Very reasonable prices too.

I enjoyed my trip to marathon restaurant. The staff were kind and the food was promptly served. The food was nice and there was a good selection of vegan food available.

The restaurant was perfect. I'd never had Ethiopian food before but will certainly go back. Service was friendly and efficient and the food delicious, spicy, and a real treat and was fantastic value for money.

Uno dei migliori ristoranti dove abbia mai mangiato! Il piatto vegano da mangiare con le mani è stato un tuffo nei migliori sapori dell'Africa. Una speciale occasione per condividere con le persone a te care il rituale della cena, da provare almeno una volta nella vita.

Amazing place. The food is delicious!

Excellent food, beer and atmosphere. Would strongly recommend. Very good value and friendly service

The best Ethiopian/Eritrean food in London. I have been to quite a few Habesha restaurants in London but Marathons food is second to none!

Super tasty Ethiopian food! Very authentic dishes and atmosphere, and super friendly staff