Zigni House

330 Essex Road
London
N1 3PB

J joined me at Zigni House for a nice catch up over dinner. A Keynoir pass had given us £32 to spend at the restaurant, so we dived into the Combo Special for 2 people for £30 and then added a bottle of wine to go with it. Service was friendly but the food was very slow to come out - we probably waited about 45 minutes before it came out. Thankfully, it was good enough to be worth the wait. Using the soft, slightly sour injera bread to scoop up different meat and veggie dishes is one of my favorite ways to eat - then when you finish the little piles of food, you can attack the injera bread underneath which has soaked up all the remaining sauces and flavors. I've snapped up another Keynoir pass and will definitely be back.

Zigni House

330 Essex Road
London, N1 3PB

C and I both love Ethiopian food so it was easy to convince her to try Zigni House around the corner from me. A and I tried it once when we first moved here and thought it was ok but that portions were a bit small. This time, C and I had plenty of food and came out stuffed. We ordered the vegetarian sampler for two, and one order of the special kitfo as well (described as finely chopped lean beef seasoned with hot chili pepper and spiced clarified butter served with home-made cottage cheese and spinach). Now that I'm looking at the menu, I'm not sure we got the cottage cheese and spinach part. Hmm. The vegetarian sampler included a ground chickpea dish, a red lentil dish, a chopped spinach dish and a cabbage, potato and carrot dish. While everything tasted good, I think there are other places I still like better for Ethiopian, like Lalibela. Still, it's location is convenient, so I wouldn't be surprised if I end up here again.

Lalibela

137 Fortess Road

London

NW5 2HR

I love Ethiopian food - something about the slightly sour injera bread that you use with your fingers to pick up bits of the dishes makes the whole dinner experience really fun. We had dinner with old friends and new friends so it was a nice mix of catching up and learning about people over an absolute feast. For six people, we ordered two mains (kitfo, a ground beef dish that can be served rare although we asked for it well done, and chicken and spinach wat, which was tender and delicious) and two combination platters. The two combination platters resulted in mild lamb wat, spicy lamb wat, spicy ground beef, fried potatoes, white cabbage, greens, mild lentils, spicy lentils, lentils with raw tomatoes and peppers and an okra dish. Everything tasted fresh and like it was cooked with care - I couldn't stop eating, even when the only thing left was the injera that was soaked through by the sauces from the dishes.

Afterwards we had Ethiopian coffee which they present with a little ceremony - first they wave the roasted beans in front of you so you get a good whiff of the scent, and then it comes in a pot with tiny little cups about the size of espresso shots. Definitely better with sugar, I think - it tasted like there were some spices mixed in, maybe cinnamon and cardamom? I don't usually have coffee but this stuff was so good I couldn't help myself. Mmm. Highly recommended.