Ethiopian restaurant, Kensington

Slow food from the Horn of Africa

Welcome, everyone. Come in and share an Ethiopian meal with us.

Open Monday to Saturday, 5:30pm to 10pm.

4.8 on Google, from over 950 reviews

A shared table at The Abyssinian, with tsebhi on injera, rice, salad and Ethiopian beer

Chef's platters

The chef picks a selection of tsebhi for your table and serves it on one round of injera, so you try most of the menu at once.

The mixed platter from above: lamb, chicken, fish, lentils, vegetables and salad arranged on injera

Mixed platter

$62for two, dine in

Lamb, chicken and fish, with shiro, lentils, pumpkin, seasonal vegetables and salad on injera.

The veg platter: shiro, red lentils, green lentils, chickpeas, cabbage and carrot, zucchini in berbere, pumpkin and salad on a round of injera

Veg platterVegan

$52for two, dine in

Shiro, lentils, cabbage and carrot, pumpkin, seasonal vegetables and salad on injera.

How dinner works here

Three rolls of injera on a white plate, seen from above, showing the soft honeycomb surface

Injera

One of the oldest breads in the world: a big, spongy flatbread, a little sour and fresh every day. It lines the platter, and you tear off pieces to pick up the food. Photo: dbaler, Pexels.

Zighini, lamb slow-cooked in berbere sauce, in a metal dish on injera with salad and green chillies

Tsebhi

Our word for the dishes on the injera. Like at home, they start with onions cooked slowly until they melt, and most then simmer for a couple of hours. The red ones are hot with berbere, our chilli spice blend.

Sharing

Everyone eats from the same platter. There is a saying that people who share a plate will not betray each other. If you would rather use cutlery, just ask. Video: Cara, @carascrazycreations.

Sticky date pudding with sauce and ice cream on a white plate

After dinner

Our coffee with cinnamon and ginger, or kammam chai, a spiced tea, and dessert if there is room. Most people go home warm from the berbere and a little closer to the people they came with.

"A visit will have you wondering how the kitchen coaxes this much flavour from chickpeas, and why we don't eat more slow-cooked goat."The Age Good Food Guide 2025
"Every mouthful told a tale, a delightful harmony of tastes... diverse yet cohesive... More than a dining experience, it's a journey."Dave, The Culturlist

Come for dinner

Monday to Saturday, 5:30pm to 10pm. Closed Sundays.
277 Racecourse Road, Kensington. Tram 57 stops near the door.

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The dining room before service, tables set beneath the woven lamps, with gold marks on the front windows
The dining room on Racecourse Road.
Menu Book a table