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| Our table |
We were amazed as soon as we entered the restaurant. It has a very different dining style. Small chairs were arranged around a round table, all knee high. So basically, you sit quite low. Maybe Ethiopians sit in such manner. It is interesting, but we ended up having back aches after sitting for a while. Do make a reservation, as you would get better seats by the window.
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| Hat-like food or table cover |
Since we are new to Ethiopian cuisine, we went blank after reading through the menu. Luckily it had some summary about the food, but one has to spend at least half an hour to get used to the terms and the type of food available. So, being newbies, both my husband and I decided to order something 'familiar' or 'safe'... a chicken dish! We ordered a Doro Wot. 'Wot' is a general name for stew and sauces.
It was described as "Chicken marinated with fresh lime juice and simmered
in a mixture of freshly chopped onions, garlic and ginger,
with Berbere and a hint of Kibe. (exact summary from the menu)"
Also written beside the dish was... Fillet/Drumstick, which means we can order our chicken to be in fillet or pieces of drumstick. We ordered a drumstick Doro Wot. What was weird for me though, is that we were literally asked about 5 times regarding our order. Unsure why that was, I asked my husband if we ordered something weird or unpopular. Nevertheless, the dish came, but sadly, in fillets. My husband informed them that we ordered our dish in drumsticks. The waiter answered us " Most people order in fillets, and usually this dish is better if the chicken was in fillets, so we decided to give you chicken fillets instead. To me, that was fair enough that they know their cuisine better, but if it was such, it should not be written in the menu such way. It is misleading and disappointed me that instead of consulting or informing us, they decided to change it.
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| Doro Wot served with Injera (white - sour dough) |
Forgetting the "not so good start", a waiter approached us with a pot of water to wash our hands in. Our dish came in a big round plate, which was based with Injera (sour dough pancake), and Doro Wot on it. We were provided with a basket of Injera (Injera tasted a lot like Dosa - a South Indian pancake). So basically, the way you eat it is, break a piece of Injera and scoop some of the Doro Wot with it. I can say, that the Doro Wot was very delicious! The gravy was a mixture of spices, which reminded me a lot of Malaysian Chicken Rendang.
After a delicious meal. I looked through the menu and saw Ethiopian Tea. Tea has always been one of my favorite drinks, so I decided to give it a try. Ethiopian Tea is made by boiling tea leaves and spices like cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. Tea was very good, but extremely hot. As we were quite in a hurry, I asked the waiter whether I can have some blocks of ice to cool the tea down. The waiter advised me that this will make the tea taste diluted, but if I still wanted to have ice, I can have it. Another attempt to keep the cuisine 'original' by the waiters, but at least this one gave me an option.
So, hopefully this review will give you some insight on Ethiopian cuisine, and when you decide to visit this restaurant, please go to their web site and study the cuisine and history, before you get disappointed by not getting what you ordered. Ethiopian cuisine is very delicious, so do try it!
Overall impression :
Food : 3.5/5
Drinks : 4/5
Service : 2.5/5
Ambience : 3.5/5
***Impressions are based on writer's opinion
***All reviews are independent, unanounced and not sponsored by any party
Addis in Cape
| 41 Church Street Cape Town 8001, South Africa |
Somehow the word tea reminds me of the tea you made for us at one of our gatherings. It was awesome!!
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