Merkato in Islington

Fantastic meal, And great service. Well worth the 15 minutes wander from Kings Cross Station think this was our sixth visit over many years and the standards are still excellent

I have been dinning at Merkato since I had the pleasure of discovering it whilst searching for a go to Ethiopian spot in 2020. The food is incredible. In my view, it is a must try London Gem and I always recommend it to friends when they are visiting. We now go around once a month, and I would go more often if I had the time. We can no longer eat Ethiopian food elsewhere. Please give it a try.

Exactly the authentic gem that we were hoping for. We experienced the warmest welcome ever, and the flavours were off the chart! We wanted to wait for our bellies to shrink so we could eat more of their delicious food when we finished! What a romantic, fun spot. We will back!

I went to Merkato for the 2nd time with my friends and the food is absolutely delicious. This is coming from an Eritrean who knows what authentic eri/ethio food tastes like. I’m definitely becoming a regular🙌🏾 Thank you Merkato, I found home away from home❤️

Nesting pigeon outside that poops on the chair/diner closest to the shop front. Sit inside or on the other side. Restaurant continues to seat diners there despite knowing about the problem. Menu difficult to understand. Went for combo platter which was standard and very expensive £32 for lentils, chickpeas and vegetables. Ok good but would not return

I been used on night 🌃 to have a dinner and I had bad experience that neglected me to served as I ordered before other's customer and also the approach that they showed me very bad and shameful.

We wanted to try Ethiopian food and Merkato was open at lunchtime so we booked a table. As someone who has to eat a gluten free and dairy free diet it was amazing to be able to just order off the menu without any adaptions! I had the vegan platter and my boyfriend and his friends had the meat combo. It was a great experience to eat with our hands (although cutlery is available). Injera is such an interesting bread and gluten free! The people who owned the restaurant were helpful and friendly. The decor and serving plates were so pretty too! We had a great time!

Lovely little restaurant in a not so busy part of London. Excellent service and even better food! Was a real experience to eat with our hands and to try a variety of dishes! Highly recommend.

The food was delicious and - once we had figured out the menu options (It is presented as a kind of flow chart) I had a lovely meal presented to me with a smile. Lovely service and the Eritrean beer was amazing!

Delicious food, great coffee. Friendly staff & great location. Laid back sort of place, so not for when you are in a hurry 😄.

Beautiful little gem amongst restaurants. Delicious and full of flavour food. Looks like family run business with nice atmosphere and good service. Very cheap as well.

One of the best in London, a hidden gem near King's Cross. Delicious Ethiopian food served in beautiful dishes, relaxed atmosphere, authentic ornaments. Both indoors and outdoors seating areas available.

I went to the restaurant with three of my friends and two of them hadn't had this type of cuisine before. I was using the restaurant visit to break my fast and I'm glad this restaurant was chosen. Alhamdulilah! The service was welcoming and attentive, the atmosphere was unique and interesting and I enjoyed the scent of incense in the air as I entered. The meal dishes arrived hot and the Shro was piping hot and sizzling while the Injeera was cool as per usual. I'm glad to say my friends and I all had a great meal and a great catch up, sharing wonderful news with each other after not seeing each other in person for a while due to lockdown restrictions. I am so grateful to Seniat and the Chef, I will definitely be coming back again soon. Yekeniyeley (Thank you) 🙏🏿

Amazing food and service, thank you to sanite. Me and my family felt very welcome and at home my mother is a big fan of her food and service ♥️♥️

Though we were in a rush, Freweini has been extremely accommodating and managed to fast track our order. The restaurant was very clean with a very calm atmosphere. Our food was fresh and absolutely delicious. Overall excellent food and fantastic customer service. I would definitely recommend this restaurant! 10/10

Food is superb, incredibly tasty and cooked at the perfection. We tried the combo 2 and two starters. Completely satisfied and highly recommended.

Great traditional Ethiopian food and amazing atmosphere. The staff is very nice and the menu is very flexible and affordable. They toast their coffee here, tastes and smells amazing but the best part about this place is the owner, she’s the sweetest and friendliest person I’ve ever met. I had an amazing experience and will definitely return.

It was so nice to have Ethiopian food after so long. We weren't disappointed. The food is authentic with a wonderful vegetarian sharing platter available with the traditional injera bread. Lovely atmosphere and music playing in the background!

A great little restaurant, serving authentic Ethiopian food and just a short walk along the canal from Kings Place. On a warm summer evening with Mulatu Astatke playing in the background its hard to beat.

I hadn’t had Ethiopian before so we asked for a recommendation and were not disappointed! Perfect portion size and everything was very tasty and reasonably priced, we would definitely come again

I met some of my friends here for our first post-lockdown dinner last week. We were able to sit outside and the food was amazing- really good value for good size portions. The staff were also lovely! We will definitely be returning!

Cada plato, y ya he probado la mayoría de ellos, es excepcionalmente sabroso y van desde suaves hasta picantes. Desde nuestra primera visita a Merkato, el personal fue acogedor y amable, de una manera más que educada, pero casi familiar. Obtienes porciones de buen tamaño, especialmente por el precio. La experiencia gastronómica etíope más agradable que he tenido, tanto en lo que respecta al servicio como a la calidad de la comida. Incluso la comida para llevar fue una experiencia agradable (¡aunque recomiendo cenar si puede!)

I came to collect takeaway, it was absolutely amazing. The owner was so friendly, and I could taste the love in the food! Definitely recommend this and they do great vegan options too!!

Small, relaxed and friendly, restaurant with an easy atmosphere. The food was new to me, tasty and unpretentious.

Merkato staff were very welcoming to a large group of us on a Saturday evening. Service was very friendly, food was fabulous and the venue is cosy. Will definitely return and recommend.

We were a group of friends who went there to eat a few weeks ago. The food was very bad, tasteless. At the end no one ate anything. We asked to pay by cards and the waitress just panicked, she said that they couldn't accept cards! After we insisted, we were finally able to pay by cards . I would give no star at all if it is possible. It's a disgrace that this place is still open.

Vine aquí con mi pareja y su hermana para comer algo fuera de lo normal. Nos recibió calurosamente el personal que fue atento y amable, pero no dominante.Cuando llegó la comida, fue una increíble variedad de sabores, colores y texturas. Disfrutamos de una selección de bebidas y alimentos y quedamos gratamente sorprendidos por el costo de la factura.Haría un punto de volver otra vez.

An interesting first experience of the cuisine - the food was delicious! Definitely would recommend trying it out!

This place is great!! We went here after ClueQuest over the road and it was really tasty. We had cheese and spinach to start which was delicious followed by one of the combo menus with an extra curry which was the perfect amount of food for 4. The Ethiopian beer was great too. Honestly, this is such a hidden gem. The staff were really attentive and friendly. Cannot recommend it highly enough.

Fuimos temprano por la noche a cenar. La comida era encantadora y barata para Londres. La comida no era particularmente picante. El servicio fue puntual y no tuvimos prisa. Parecía que muchos hombres etíopes o eritreos llegaron antes y luego se mezclaron más. Salimos a eso de las 21:00 y el restaurante tuvo un cambio constante de gente, así que eso dice lo suficiente sobre el lugar. La señora fue tan servicial como el hombre explicando el menú. Tiene una sección vegana. No dudaríamos en volver a visitarlo.

Everything about this restaurant was excellent. As I wasn't sure exactly what to order the waitress gave us her suggestion which was delicious and the perfect amount of food for two. As my friend who I was with asked where he could buy some Ethiopian Spices the waitress kindly gave us some. I have recommended this restaurant to several of my friends and hope to return myself soon.

We had a wonderful time at Merkato! Absolutely delicious Veggie Combo Platter with all different dishes to try for a great price. Highly recommend for a hearty meal!

Everything was perfect. The food the Asmara Beer, house mies and above all the wonderful hospitality of Sami and Senait

The food was amazing and the service was unreal, Very hospitable.enjoyed the coffee ceremony. Clean place and will bring many friends here! Thanks for the great evening❤️

Toda la comida era deliciosa y fue muy divertido quedarnos atrapados usando nuestras manos y el pan injera. El servicio fue muy amable: el personal estaba orgulloso de su comida y tenía ganas de presumir. Para colmo, también fue un gran valor.

Really friendly staff who were really accommodating and welcoming. The food range was fantastic and loved all the dishes. Highly recommend

Mi amigo y yo visitamos Merkato según las críticas que habíamos visto diciendo que era un gran lugar para comer y no nos decepcionó.

First time for my friend and I in an Ethiopian restaurant, I what a perfect place to discover it! First, the food is absolutely delicious, we had some meat (chicken and beef) and spicy fish, to share. The place is small but the staff is so nice, we felt very welcome here. As we were having dinner quite late in the middle of the week, there was almost no one, and we ended up sharing honey wine and coffee (for those who love strong black coffee!) with them. The place is so amazing, you don't feel like you are just having some food, you are really making some friends in the process. Cherry on the cake, it comes at an affordable price (a sharing meat platter comes at 26£, which is very reasonable for two people!). Come there, you won't regret it!

I’ve had lunch here twice recently, once solo and once with a body who once resided in Ethiopia . Can’t fault it either time , Derek tibs - excellent . An authentic Eritrean/Ethiopian dining experience both aesthetically and taste wise . The background music was good today too.

We visited Meekato on a Sunday afternoon. We were a large group, with 2 babies and the owners were very accommodating. The food and coffee was delicious and very reasonably priced. Would highly recommend!

Excellent place to discover Ethiopian cuisine. Spicy and tasty food with a very friendly service from the chef . keep coming to this restaurant and never disappointed, all prices are very affordable and the terrace is perfect if you like to spend your time by the sun during a sunny day, oh and they also do happy hour on beer.

Wonderful flavorful food and great service. Would highly recommend. Be careful when ordering the traditional coffee, it comes with 9 cups!

Really impressed by our meal, our service, and the reasonable price! We asked for recommendations and wound up with the perfect amount of food for four.

Ce fut notre première expérience dans un restaurant éthiopien. La serveuse a su nous guider lors de notre commande car nous ne savions pas à quoi nous attendre. Nous avons suivi ses conseils et pris un plat à partager à deux avec plusieurs condiments. Tout était excellent, plein de saveurs.

El restaurante perfecto para deleitarse con la deliciosa enjeera presentada en lo que parece ser un plato de servir tradicional, coronado con una selección de guisos vegetarianos. No muy picante pero reconfortante. Podría haber un poco más de verduras en comparación con el volumen de enjeera. ¡En general, una elección muy buena!

I love Ethiopian food. I’ve visited the country and numerous Ethiopian/Eritrean diaspora restaurants around the world, as well as taking lessons on how to cook some dishes at home. I find that it is usually a really solid cuisine - but this is the first time I’ve truly been disappointed with an Ethiopian meal.

Me encanta la comida etíope y Merkato solía ser un favorito cuando vivía en Cally Road. Recientemente entré a cenar, y la comida no estaba tan fresca como antes. Todavía le daría una oportunidad al almuerzo. El plato veggy es mi favorito.

Not knowing anything about Eritrean/Ethiopian food, we were pleasantly surprised by the dishes served in this very cost restaurant. No need to choose anything, just follow the host's recommendation!

Todo super bueno y muy bien de precio. Trato inmejorable. Recomiendo el combo especial de la casa.los propietarios muy agradables.

Merkoto Is a 15 minute walk from Kings Cross station. It’s a small Ethiopian Restaurant which looks like a café on the outside. The menu definitely needs to be updated as it wasn’t appealing and looked very dated (nothing like online). I ordered a Chick Pea Stew with rice but I believe Fried Green Beans and Carrots arrived (I am still confused about that). The dish wasn't that great and lucky I was given a brown sauce that helped me consume most of the dish. I appreciate the Frankincense scent that was being burnt

The staff is extremely welcoming. This is a nice place, easy to reach from King's Cross. For some reason, the food doesn't taste exactly as I remembered it in Ethiopia, but it is good.

We had the vegetarian combo and chickpea stew. It was really delicious. Very cheap and also friendly staff. We would definitely recommend!!

La comida es increíble, los trabajadores son muy, muy paciente, incluso me ayudó con el menú ver como no tenía ni idea de lo que era en el menú, lugar encantador para una comida romántica. Tiene un ambiente muy tranquilo. Sin duda, lo recomendaría a la gente para disfrutar y degustar la mejor comida de Etiopía y Eritrea.

We loved the food and the atmosphere. :) Between music and a candle light, very friendly service. We were very happy and will definitely come back.

El lugar está en una pequeña calle con varios restaurantes etíopes. Este es mi favorito: realmente auténtica, no de lujo (odio la cara de la ciudad), con buena comida, los clientes casi sólo la camarera africana y probablemente más amable que he conocido.

Interesting place, has a real, authentic feel to it. Amazing food, original set up, an experience! Well worth visiting, affordable too.

Delicious food, friendly owners, and great atmosphere. Walking distance from Kings Cross St. Pancras, definitely worth visiting if you’re in the area.

The actual venue is shabby and in poor taste, not a nice place to sit, didnt even feel clean. The service was friendly but unprofessional: even though we made it clear we were in a hurry, they still waited till the last minute to tell us that they couldnt fulfil our order of fish because it takes long to cook; we had to ask for straws for our drinks as they just brought them in glasses. The food came in huge baskets that took up all the space on the table, but when you looked in the basket, it was just full of crepes with a teeny tiny helping of the actual meal in the middle. The food was bearable at best, and in all honesty I'd never want to eat anything like that again. Ive travelled the world and eaten every kind of cuisine, but there was nothing appealing about what we had in Merkato, and we didnt even bother to finish it. The bill came to over £30 though I'd never pay more than £10 for a meal like that (and that's generous!). If you're in the area, save yourself the bother and just go to the burger place next door.

Lovely food. The injeera was tasty went with my boyfriend for my first time And enjoyed it a lot. Would definitely come back and recommend to others to visit

Para tres personas con hambre, pedimos un plato principal vegetariano y uno mixto de carne y no pude terminar, tan difícil como lo intentamos. Así, la comida deliciosa, bien mezclados y muy generosas porciones. Recomiendo a cualquiera que quiera probar una cocina muy infravalorada.

Tuve una fantástica comida en Merkato, el personal era muy amable, tuve una larga conversación con ellos sobre Eritrea. La comida que pedimos, el vegetariano (selección de espinacas, lentejas, verduras, ensalada servido con injera), llegó rápidamente y era muy sabroso. Regresaré pronto.

Elegimos Merkato, cerca de King's Cross, donde mis amigos eran coger un tren; que ya tenían de Etiopía antes y disfrutamos, por lo que buscábamos un lugar para probar algunos más. Fue una noche agradable, así que nos sentamos afuera. Pedimos un plato de carne (la especial), una verduras kfto mixtas, y una opción de "cincuenta 50' de cordero estofado de lentejas y suave. Todo llegó en una gran bandeja de pan injera etíope (segmentado) con más rollos de injera segmentado. Probablemente podríamos haber escapado con un plato menos aunque no por todo! La carne era muy levemente picante, el cordero en absoluto, las verduras sabrosas con el lentejas especialmente buena. Dos cervezas cada uno y la comida llegó a unos £47 sin servicio. Todos sin duda volveremos si nos pasó a tener tiempo para matar alrededor de un tren!

Alrededor de las 18:45 pm yo y siete de mis amigos entró y al llegar como de costumbre no han sido recibidos, el típico estilo abesha. Todos pedimos cerveza y seguido con un kilo de carne, que es un neumático tradicional crudo con pimienta en polvo y un especial de kilo de carne cocinado tibs.

Este es el peor servicio al cliente que he recibido en mucho tiempo! Primero hicimos la sociedad gourmet utilizando una tarjeta y me dijeron que estaba bien esto más tarde resultó ser un problema. . . llegamos allí y la señora que se sentaba nosotros no teníamos idea de que estábamos. Ella sentaron sin darnos menús y después de 5 minutos me las arreglé para conseguir su atención para pedir algo. Otra mujer vino a tomar nuestra orden y lo primero que dice es que nosotros no podemos conseguir entradas con la tarjeta de la sociedad gourmet, aunque la política de Estados Unidos de que toda la comida es del 50%. Excepto la orden a regañadientes nos entrante entre nosotros y un principal cada uno. Nos pide agua del grifo y que dicen que no podemos tener agua del grifo porque estamos usando la sociedad gourmet y sólo puede comprar agua embotellada. . De nuevo nos a regañadientes de acuerdo.. Nos presentan medias raciones de todos los alimentos, la verdad es que nos tuvimos que ir a comprar McDonald's después de que nos fuimos porque estábamos todavía hambre! Después de comer nos pide la factura y cuenta de un plato extra se ha añadido, les llame a preguntar por qué y dicen que es porque usamos la tarjeta gourmet y no comprar un montón de bebidas nos cobraron más! En este punto me perdí y exigió que tome el plato de la factura y me dijo si no quieren ofrecer el descuento gourmet que no! No atraer a la gente y que cuando llegues allí cambiar todas las condiciones y dar pequeñas porciones! La guinda del pastel es que la comida era mediocre en el mejor! Tomaron el plato de la factura que pagamos de izquierda y nunca volveremos! Pruebas de gente que no debe estar funcionando las empresas!

Conseguimos el plato equivocado y cuando nos dijo que al director, negó al instante que pedimos pollo en lugar de revisar primero el pedido. La comida era muy básica y el servicio era deficiente.

El pollo por £9 tenía una pierna de pollo diminuto y eso fue todo, en una gran pila de salsa aceitosa. Cordero insípido de nuevo ahogado en salsa aceitosa. Tan decepcionada después de leer buenas recomendaciones y servicio amable

Nice traditional coffee ceremony. Very good service. Delisios honey wine. And gluten free taff injera. We had a good time. We will come back again.

We came for dinner on a weekday, and it was quite empty. We ordered the hummus as appetiser, which was good. I ordered the mixed veg platter; the dishes were not hot, the greens tasted like they were about to go off, and the chickpeas lacked flavour. My friend ordered the 50:50 (one meat + vegetable); unfortunately you only get to choose one vegetable dish, so there's not much variety for that person. The injera was good.

Nice restaurant. Good decor, fairly casual but more of a restaurant than cafe style place. Funny place to try out if you'd like to try Ethiopian food. The lady that serves you is lovely. Vegetarian options are good. Big portion sizes though, so can share.

Great restaurant, loved the food and the ambience. Worth a visit. A very homely reception, never rushed and attentive service.

We could have been in Asmara - the dishes were unpretentious the njira was delicious and not bitter like some chain Ethiopian restaurants. Delicious meal for two in a relaxed quietly soothing environment and I should have brought more friends. Superb food awesome service unpretentious surroundings and good hearty north East African food. Solid choice :)

Great Eritrean/Ethiopian food, and very friendly service in a relaxed atmosphere. I like the fact that you can combine a half-portion of a meat dish with a vegetable dish. The coffee was very good, too. Will certainly be going again.

Really nice place that we stumbled across and had a nice Ethiopian style meal that was delicious. Go for it people!!

I'd like to wish a very Happy Ethiopian New Year to the staff at Merkato. I went there today because I'd heard it was their New Year. I had everything I could wish for! There was one of the most massive portions of food I've seen anywhere. There was excellent Ethiopian beer. There were incredibly helpful and friendly staff. They were very impressed at how quickly I polished the whole thing off! They had outside tables so you could enjoy the weather. I sat on one of their chairs and enjoyed eating their wonderful food in the glorious sunshine. You don't have knives or forks or chopsticks or anything like that when eating Ethiopian cuisine - just the natural built-in cutlery that the Divine Watchmaker gave each one of us! It gives you a wonderful sense of freedom from the constraints of modern living. The price was very reasonable indeed. You could tell that they took great pride in what they were cooking and really cared if you ate it all and what you thought of it. I like that. I like that a lot :) Plenty of choice for vegetarians and they explained it all nice and clearly.

Delicious Ethiopian food on Caledonian Road. As we are not experts in Ethiopian cuisine we had to ask the waitress for recommendations and she chose a perfect meal for us and it was fantastic. I would highly recommend this restaurant to all, we will certainly be back.

Lovely food in a great atmosphere with really friendly staff. Excellent value. Don't miss out on the coffee ceremony afterwards. Definitely coming back soon.

Really enjoyed our visit. Merkato is a friendly charming neighbourhood restaurant. The food is good with a wide choice for veggies. Staff are lovely. Highly recommend!

Tasty, cheap and easy - no fuss service. Mess or money wine is a must. Tried injera with stew and sauces. Once it was finished the very kind waitress asked if she should fill it out again. Lovely.

Ethiopian food can be an acquired taste - if I'm honest I'm not absolutely sure I have acquired it. This is a lovely small scale restaurant though. Food comes on metal trays covered with injera and your spicy stew on top. They do a brilliant vegetarian option where you get 6 small dishes and a 50/50 one where it is half lamb and half of a vege dish of your choice. The service was incredibly warm and friendly and that is what sticks in the memory. They are licensed so you can buy wine and Ethiopian beer, I may bever get used to injera (they do have rice instead) but I would definitely go again. Great place

Hey Freta Fithi and Filee this Omar, just wont say hello and thank you for warm welcome, lots of love Omar.

Es un restaurante de comida Etiope, el lugar exótico y la comida aún mas, sabores distintos y sabrosos. Es un lugar recomensable para probar cosas distintas. Recomemdale para ampliar experiencia culinaria. Ojo, no te sirven cubiertos, lo cual lo hace mas interesante. Se como a base de una masa tipo crep, fantástico. El sabor de esa crep es un tanto ácida así que se ha de estar desprendido de los sabores tradicionales

My first time trying Ethiopian food. Love the way they eat. Their native wet bread (can't remember the name) tastes very sour but kind of fall in love with it after a few bites.

The kitfo here is amazing, there is a special spice used in it, that the chef and owner won't let the customer in on it. Kitfo is also one of the main Ethiopian traditional dish alongside dorowet.

This colourful stand that is hand made is a traditional stand known as a mosob this is used on special occasions such as weddings. Soon in merkato I hope customers will get the chance to experience eating out if this mosob.

If you've never tried Ethiopian or Eritrean food, make Merkato your first experience. The staff are friendly, welcoming and helpful. The food is delicious and unusual. The food presentation is unlike most other food and is great for sharing and socializing. There are many vegetarian dishes to choose from too. If you are a coffee connoisseur, the traditional coffee is a must and you have a sweet tooth, you'll probably like Brle Tej, the local brew.

The injera is too sour. (And before you say, 'injera is always sour', I have been to Ethiopia and I know what injera tastes like. Although, to be fair, this could have been a bad night. The food itself is not bad, but not remarkable. Considering the price, I would definitely consider returning, though I wouldn't say I would definitely return.

I totally advice this place for a tourist or anybody living in London. Very simple people, very nice staff caring a lot about you, delicious food, very exotic and tasty. We left full with my friend, I absolutely loved the food, it was my first time with Ethiopian food, I will go back there for sure !

I had been in Merkato restaurant last week for dinner Saturday the 25th of July with my friends and it was fantastic experience. They offers an Ethopian dish. The food was amazing. The meat and vegetables was very tasty and value for money. the service was fantastic they look after us very well.Dont forget to have a traditional coffee, its one the best Ethopian coffee we had.I would recommend this restaurant to everyone. Thumbs up! Would come back again.

Food is too oily, especially chicken dishes. Lack of taste in the food. I would not eat in this restaurant again. I will next time go to other Ethiopian restaurant. the previous owner of Merkato gave more better service, and food tasted better then.

Sunday afternoon after the Cally festival - this was an unpretentious restaurant with authentic food presented with great care. We [three] shared a large mixed vegetarian and meat platter. The food was gorgeous. The service was fioendly and very helpful. We will definitely be eating here again.

I go there every week, and I have never been dispointed. The mixed platters are a great way to enjoy the large variety of Ethiopian flavours, and species. The portions are very generous, and served by a very friendly staff. I have been in a couple of Ethiopian restaurants in London and other countries, and this is by far the best Ethiopian where I have been.

I love this place. I've to a few Ethiopian places in London, including a couple in Brixton, but this is the best.The food is exceptionally good (especially the Merkato Tibs) - I strongly recommend getting the sharing platters, which allow you try a variety of tasty dishes, and are big enough for a couple to share.The Ethiopian beer is tasty (honestly!), and the coffee (served on a platter with popcorn and smoking incense) is fantastic.The service is speedy and courteous.If you want to try Ethiopian food, or a looking for something a bit spicy and different - but are bored with curry and Chinese - look no further.

All i can honestly say is the food tasted okay.. (way better than Marathon Restaurant accross the rd i may add, theirs arrived half cold half heated from microwave and extremly blands another storie) Back to Merkato.. i found one dish was overtly oily.. also what i ordered.. got home to find it was another dish entirely? that dish was actually descent.. but still not the point! was looking forward to eating what i paid for so quite annoying.. not the best Etho meal ive tasted, i can honestly plug Zeret Kitchen Restaurant thus far.. I really dont like the taste of re-heated microwaved food. i can actually tell.. can you? Would even appreciate a quick pan fry or reheat or steam preferably. Anyway you get what you pay for at this joint a quicky.. that is.. definitely not fine dining!

A bunch of us meet up here once a year, and this year was as expected another lovely evening. The big, mixed platters are perfect for groups and the food is gorgeous. I'm usually the only vegetarian in our group (16 of us made it this year), but they always make up a platter of superb vege food too so I'm not left out. The service is charming and friendly, the food is excellent, the prices are good, and I'm very much looking forward to November 2015.

I had a mix of vegetarian food here, which was excellent - especially the shiro. The service was very friendly and the food exceptional value - I'd say it's great for a casual tasty treat, but probably too informal for a special occasion (though the food is good enough for one).

With a tastecard, our party of four paid under £10 for our meal - including drinks (beer and wine) so excellent value for money. However this is not the place to go if you want a dining experience - the surroundings were bare and rather... odd... and the service was completely absent. We had to wait an hour from ordering until our meal arrived and during the wait, they disappeared so we couldn't order any additional drinks. Having said that, what service we did receive was friendly and helpful, good suggestions and she made a sharing platter for us so we could all try each other's dishes with their authentic sour bread. Food was great, not pricey anyway, but obviously much cheaper on tastecard. Good variety, but watch out as some of the food is a bit greasy. Generally good for a group on the cheap.

I've been here twice and both visits have served up tasty satisfying meals. We tried the veg platter, the beef, the lamb and chicken as well. All of them were great. The lady is incredibly friendly. The coffee was good too.

It was my first experience with Ethiopian food. It's not for everyone, but I'm intrigued. I particularly enjoyed their traditional Ethiopian wine! What I really loved was the authenticity of the place. It's so common to come across knock offs of ethnic food, but this place serve pure and traditional Ethiopian food. They even don't have cutlery on the tables, because you're supposed to eat with your hands, which I found really fun. You usually get a big plate and everyone eats from the same one, it's really nice and social. The place itself is nice, cute little place, with nice atmosphere and music, staff was very friendly too, and the food was affordable

Amazing place with outstanding food for a reasonable price. Service was remarkably fast and people very friendly. Definitely worth the walk, a bit deep into Caledonian Road.

Had dinner here last Saturday evening - our first time back there in a couple of years. It is still very good. Portions may be smaller and prices a little higher than some of the other Ethiopian restaurants near by, but the quality of the food is better than most. The staff are lovely and attentive without being all over you. The Ethiopian coffee was superb, but given how long it takes to prepare, it's a good idea to let your waiter/waitress know early on if you want coffee at the end. Will definitely be heading back. I think we paid about £40 for two, which included a meat / vegetarian mixed plate, Ethiopian coffee, water, beer, and tej.