I’m a huge fan of the vegetarian side of african food. Be it from the south, the north or the middle, I just like it, it speaks to me in the right tongue. I have previously reviewed another great Ethiopian restaurant called Ma’ed( ). When I found Lalibela which does indeed have the cozy interior and friendly waiters(perhaps even more so), great food and great atmosphere I became a bit unsure on how to rate it, did I need to rate it relative to Ma’ed? I gave Ma’ed a 4⁄5 and not 5⁄5 because they lacked local beers and other local beverages. This restaurant does not have local beers, still the same Tuborgs as Ma’ed, but for me it was a better overall experience. We quickly found a table on this quiet night. The waiter brought us a couple of menus and almost instantly we found our vegetarian option. Quite a relief when there is not too much to choose from, plus many(most) of the selections are vegetarian which is ideal for me, you can’t really go wrong with anything. :) To go with our vegetarian taster-ish menu we ordered a Tuborg, water and Ethiopian coffee(only local beverage I could see on the menu). Not long after that the waiter came out with our classic injera bread well packaged in a straw container to keep it warm with our different sauces spread in craters on top of it. Extra injera bread was rolled up and placed on top should you need it. Needless to say it was delicious. So many flavours, there are few cuisines that can compete with this. The pancake looking injera just fits perfectly with the sauces and veggies, it promotes tasting the ingredients that you prefer without dominating taste wise. This injera was a little less bitter than the one we had at Ma’ed. It is worth mentioning that you eat with your hands, so for me it is quite an intimate experience, if that makes sense. I go here with people I know well, not large groups or for business meetings(which I’ve tried). A huge plus was when the woman that most likely cooked all of this came out to us with the Ethiopian coffee and asked us if we needed more bread and if we did, all we needed to do was to ask. Then she came out again an asked us if we needed more of the sauces. Almost like coming home after a long trip, nurturing, good stuff! Two good Ethiopian restaurants in almost the same area, suits me just fine! ;)
Tariki A.
Classificação do local: 5 Manhattan, NY
Opened just two months ago. Delicious food. The people that work and own the place are very friendly.