I occasionally get a craving for Ethiopian food, for the fragrant blend of spices but more for the spongy sheets of injera. A friend and I met up at African Palace, one of three Ethiopian restaurants in the neighbourhood and chatted over a vegetarian platter for two.

On the rare occasion I stray from my carnivore lifestyle, I don’t find myself missing meat if the meal is savoury and rich. This was the case at African Palace. For two of us, we ordered a Vegetarian Combo that came with 6 dishes and salad, served on a large round of injera and another on the side. I don’t know enough about Ethiopian cuisine to be comfortable ordering a la carte, so this was a comfortable and easy option.

Of the 6 dishes, my favourite was the Silsi (tomatoes, onions and garlic in berbere sauce) and Gomen Wot (spinach and carrot cooked with onion, garlic and ginger). Both of these dishes had strong flavours, a good hint of sour and sweetness that was enhanced by the injera. The lentil dishes were cooked to a soft texture, but not mushy. The fresh iceberg lettuce was lightly dressed with lemon juice and a refreshing palate cleanser in between bites. I found the Tikil Gomen (cabbage and carrot in mild turmeric sauce) to be the weakest feature and a touch bland. The injera was soft, porous and perfect for soaking up the many sauces.

Service at African Palace was relaxed and friendly. Walking in, I was the first customer of the evening and was invited to choose my own seat. Relative to their neighbours, I found the portions at African Palace to be smaller and the seasoning milder, but overall a more pleasant experience with no wait.

After my post on Ethiopian House, a friend mentioned that she was interested in trying out the cuisine. This was a great opportunity to try out Nazareth, which had been recommended to me by a regular blog reader.

Atmosphere: The interior is busy. There’s a lot of hanging foliage decoration, dim lighting and little natural light. The space is also quite compact and has about 20-30 seatings by my estimate. We were lucky to sit by the front windows and had a nice secluded table. Otherwise you’re within elbow reach of your neighbours and it seemed like there was always a queue of new customers eyeing your spot.

Service: I have to admit after reading reviews my expectations for service at Nazareth were fairly low and I wasn’t surprised. We didn’t have a bad experience by far but it was slightly below par. In general the feeling was one of indifference.

I had been warned of long wait times, so two of us lined up early but their policy is to not seat without your full party. When we reached the front of the line, our last member was still parking. We were allowed to move aside and wait at the bar until she arrived and kept our place in line, which was great. Once we were seated, the wait time was long to get our order in and then longer for the food to arrive. It looked like there was only two servers working the dining area which included taking orders, bringing our dishes and clearing up.

Food: Apologies for the low quality pictures, I forgot my camera and the restaurant was dark even at a window table. Prices are amazing with every dish being $10/$12 and filling enough for two people. We ordered the vegetarian combination and Kitfo. Originally we had wanted to try the chicken, but they were out for the day. I didn’t do my research before hand and did not expect the beef to be so rare (basically raw). While I enjoyed the dish, the strong herbs and hint of sour taste, it isn’t to everyone’s palate. If you’re not a fan of steak tartar, Tibs (sauteed beef or veal in seasoned butter) is a far better option.

Of the vegetarian selection, each dish was heavily seasoned and maintained the original texture of the chickpeas, lentils and cabbage. I would say relative to Ethiopian House, the flavours at Nazareth were stronger.

The topic of Ethiopian food came up recently at a friend’s place and the majority of people  were inclined against the cuisine because they didn’t like injera. The combination of the sour flavour and spongy texture was not a crowd pleaser. It would be hard to enjoy the rest of the dishes if this was the case. Like trying Japanese and not liking sushi rice. One of the things I love about Toronto is the accessibility to international cuisine and I think everyone should take advantage of this. The possibility to try injera and see how your taste buds react is there and that’s pretty cool.

My part time vegetarian friend has raved about Ethiopian food for years to me. Knowing my love for curries and the general dipping of carbs in sauces she was sure it was a cuisine I’d enjoy.

Atmosphere: We ate at the Ethiopian House on a beautiful summer day and was able to enjoy our meal on their patio. Irwin is a small side street off of Yonge and there was little to no car or foot traffic during our visit. The patio was decorated with large hanging flower baskets and art. I only caught a glimpse of the restaurant interior while settling the bill. There were a limited number of tables and the walls were richly decorated.

Service: Our server was friendly and our food arrived quickly. There was only one course to be brought out so it was low service required meal. It was fairly standard all around.

Food: My friend and I split the Vegetarian Bayaaynatu, which is a small serving of each of the 8 vegetarian dishes on the menu. The dishes come served on a piece of injera, and another side order to eat with. Injera is an Ethiopian flat bread that’s soft and spongy. It has a really interesting texture, not flaky, not dense and were great for soaking up the mains. Traditionally, Ethiopian cuisine is eaten without utensils so that’s the route we took.  Tear off a piece of injera and use it to scoop up or dip in the dishes.

There wasn’t a dish that I didn’t like. Each one was rich and full of spice consisting of lentils, split pea or chickpeas stewed in a sauce. My favourite was the Misir Alicha (split lentil stew in thick mild sauce with seasoning) but honestly everything was good. The dishes varied in terms of heat and the strength of the spices. If it’s your first visit, I recommend getting one of the sample platters (there is an option with the meat dishes) to get a taste of everything.