The World in 202 Meals

At university, I was fortunate enough to have a lecturer who spent nine months a year doing fieldwork in Ethiopia. In one memorable lecture, she described sharing a meal with a whole Ethiopian village—speaking not only of a rich and aromatic cuisine, but also of the fun she had dining with the whole community. Ever since then I have been eager to experience Ethiopian dining for myself, so for my birthday I arranged a large gathering at Lalibela in Tufnell Park.

Lalibela, named after the northern Ethiopian city and UNESCO World Heritage site, is a traditionally decorated restaurant with tables spread over two floors. The menu offers over 20 vegetarian dishes, in addition to a large meat selection.

At the heart of every Ethiopian dish is injera, a sour and tangy-tasting pancake unique to Ethiopia. On its own, injera is slightly bitter and unpleasant—but eaten in combination with other dishes, it provides the perfect balance to the often-spicy cuisine. The injera acts as a plate on which all dishes are served. Diners can scoop up their food with some accompanying injera rolls, and when the dishes are done, enjoy eating their ‘plate’ soaked in the juices of the meal. (As you eat with your hands, Ethiopian dining is a rather messy experience. Be sure not to wear your best clothes when eating this food!)

On our injera, three friends and I shared two we’ts (a type of Ethiopian stew), some side vegetables and salad. Lalibela’s generous portions were more than enough for the four of us. Served in a hot tomato sauce, the spicy chickpea and aubergine we’t certainly lived up to its name—my mouth was truly on fire by the end of the meal. Thankfully our side salad was served with Irgo, a raita-style Ethiopian yoghurt, which helped to neutralise the spices. Spinach and potato We’t and Lalibela mixed vegetables, our other two dishes, both had rich and intense flavours. The non-vegetarians among the group enjoyed a number of meaty stews, the favourite being lamb and pumpkin we’t, with the sweet pumpkin perfectly complementing the juicy pieces of lamb.

After the meal, we enjoyed an atmospheric “coffee ceremony”. Ethiopia claims to be the birthplace of coffee, so we were excited to be drinking one of oldest coffee varieties in the world. Our waiter brought some roasting coffee beans to the table, whetting our appetite as their aroma diffused around the room. Then he disappeared and returned with the same beans, now ground and served as coffee in a clay pot. Aromas from an accompanying bowl of burning frankincense mingled with the rich coffee scent.

I really loved Lalibela. The food was delicious, and the atmosphere relaxed. I was initially nervous at making so many friends try something so messy and so completely new, but everyone enjoyed the food and the communal experience. I would especially recommend trying Ethiopian food in a large group, as this allows everyone to taste as many dishes as possible. Since each we’t costs around £8, this is by far the most cost effective (and fun) way for a large group to dine.

In summary

Lalibela
137 Fortess Road, Tufnell Park, London, NW5 2HR
020 7284 0600
Open daily, 6pm to midnight

More Ethiopian

Lalibela’s neighbour, the Queen of Sheba, is slightly cheaper and serves a traditional raw beef dish (kitfo), but we give Lalibela the edge. We like to think the two restaurants get their ingredients from Engocha Grocery, the Ethiopian shop a few doors from Lalibela. As observed from the window, the shop looks sparse apart from a butcher’s counter and some earthenware pots—a little intimidating, like it’s the sort of place where you have to know what to ask for—but 202 Meals plans to visit soon anyway, to look for ingredients to make our own injera.