ASMARA RESTAURANT, Brixton

Just behind Brixton tube station (396 Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8LF, Tel.: 0207 737 4144) there is Asmara Restaurant. I thought that because of the vicinity of other Ethiopian/Eritrean and other African immigrant communities the restaurant may be a popular meeting point for them. But according to Yegennet, a young relative of the owner, Asmara Restaurant is rather popular among adventurous common Londoners.

According to her, Asmara Restaurant opened in 1995, and in its first decade it proved its reliability. Although the name (Asmara is the capital of Eritrea) and the decoration reflects the founders origin, the restaurant employs two female chefs, an Ethiopian and an Eritrean.

I ordered Zilzil tibs with a bottle of Castel. Yeshimabet, who acted as a manager on duty and waitress in the same time, asked me about side dish, i.e. should the tibs arrive on injera, or with rice. I opted for the injera. I mention here, that Ethiopian meat dishes with non-traditional side dishes, such as rice or potato, are not only blasphemous for me, but such mixtures are also against cultural traditions. The thing is, that injera is not a side dish but the main course. In the Ethiopian sense of gastronomy, they eat injera with something and not the opposite.

The zilzil tibs (stripe cut tender beef roasted with spices) was really excellent, the beef was tender, perfectly spiced and juicy. I like the Ethiopian tradition of "side spices" (like awaze, or mitmita, both special spice mixtures) but they were not available and I had to compromise with a small berbere (hot red paprika powder). However, I had problems with the injera (the pancake-like Ethiopian flat bread. It seemed it wasn't made of teff (or not pure teff, unique Ethiopian millet), and therefore it was very thin and very light (yellowish) and rather sweet than sour (as it should be). Nevertheless, the food was excellent, as was the beer. Would I have ordered tej (an Amharic word for honey mead, mez in Tigrinya) or talla (Amharic, home fermented traditional beer, suwa in Tigrinya) I should have ordered in several days advance.

The interior was really nice, reflecting style, care and a homage to the motherland. Apart from some interesting archive photographs of Asmara from the 1940s, the paintings also attracted me, especially the one showing a rural countryside home's kitchen because it reminded me how many times I spent beautiful times in them.

The price for the food and a beer was £ 12, more than fair for such a unique culinary adventure in the autumn fog of London.
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RATING
29 (strongly recommended)

 

RATING SYSTEM (CRITERIA)

Here is the rating system of points according to which all visited restaurants will be rated. A maximum of 35 points can be given.

I) FOOD AND DRINKS
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1) Food traditionality (Ethiopian/Eritrean food vs. other food on the menu, use of traditional ingredients such as butter vs oil, etc.) max. 5 points
2) Injera (availability of injera / different types of injera) max. 2 points
3) Ethiopian bottled beers and wines (availability of Ethiopian/Eritrean bottled beverages) max. 2 points
4) Tej (Mez) and Talla (Suwa) (availability of tej/mez and talla/suwa) max. 2 points
5) Side spices (awaze, mitmita etc.) (availability and quality of traditional side spices) max. 3 points

II) SERVICE
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1) Service waiting time (waiting time upon arrival, after order, waiter/waitress presence) max.  3 points
2) Kindness (waiter/waitress behavior, kindness, willingness etc.) max. 3 points
3) Extra demands management (such as answering questions about food, food culture, business details etc.) max. 3 points
4) Cleanness (cleanness of restaurant, including the toilet) max. 3 points
5) Prices and bill management (price-quality relation, bill details) max. 3 points

III) ETHNIC FEATURES
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1) Food knowledge (knowledge about food on the menu by the staff/management) max. 2 points
2) Furnitures (aesthetics and traditionality of the restaurant furniture) max. 2 points
3) Decorations (textiles, pictures, paintings etc.) max. 2 points
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TOTAL MAXIMUM = 35 POINTS

35 - 30 = must visit
29 - 25 = strongly recommended
24 - 20 = drop in if you are nearby
19 - 15 = try if everything else is closed
14 - 0  = better starve to death

GREETINGS

Hi Everybody, Lovers and future lovers of Ethiopian and Eritrean food!

Let me explain some issues shortly. First, the name, and we need a short glossary. Mesob is the traditional holder of the Ethiopian (and Eritrean) staple food, injera, a brownish, soft, spongy pancake-like bread. It is made of teff, a unique Ethiopian millet. The good news is it's gluten-free. So Mesob London means all places, i.e. restaurants, cafes and bars, where Ethiopian and/or Eritrean food is made in London. 

This is a mesob, usually a woven basket:

 And this is how injera looks like:

But this site is not just a propaganda for the Ethiopian and Eritrean food and its culture. This blog will evaluate and rate those eateries on a regular basis, to develop a kind of competition. I believe all of us just may win by such competitions, the owners and managers of the restaurants and the costumers alike. 

The Team of London Mesob will consist usually 3-5 people visiting restaurants randomly and unannounced. We will develop a rating system soon based on the following preliminary criteria: 1) Table reservation process 2) Decoration of restaurant 3) Service 4) Menu 5) Authenticity of food 6) Price and quality. 

Finally, an important statement: this blog excludes any reflection to political issues concerning Ethiopia and Eritrea while we believe that although politicians may divide people on a temporary basis, cultural ties like food are much stronger.

Check out our first visit and report soon!!!