From Massawa to Racecourse Road

Who we are, how we got here, and what to expect when you sit down. Come as you are. We will feed you first and ask questions later.

A family from the Red Sea

Our family comes from Massawa, the old port on Eritrea's Red Sea coast. We came to Melbourne the long way round, by way of Sweden, and took on the restaurant in 2014, eight years after it opened.

What we cook is the food of the highlands that Eritrea and Ethiopia share, cooked the way it is cooked at home, and served the way it is eaten at home, from one platter in the middle of the table. The name, the spice, the coffee and the calendar all have their own stories on the culture page, and the town has a page of its own.

Woven baskets and lids, small paintings and carvings on the orange wall of the restaurant

Dorho zighini with its egg, lamb with green chillies, yellow vegetables and salad in clay dishes on injera, from above

One platter for the table

The platter comes out on a bed of injera under a woven cover, which every household back home has, because it keeps the heat in until the cover comes off at the table, and it goes in the middle for everyone to eat from. A shared platter changes the mood of a dinner more than you would expect, and after ten minutes nobody misses having a plate of their own.

How to eat with injera

Tear

Clean hands first, with the sanitiser by the door or in the bathroom. Then use your right hand and tear a piece about the size of your palm from the rolled injera at the side of the platter.

Scoop

Lay the piece over whatever looks best, the dark red lamb, the shiro, a little of the yellow, and pinch it up with your fingertips so the soft bread wraps the food and takes the sauce with it. Bring it to your mouth with your fingers underneath and your thumb behind, so the thumb pushes it in and your fingers stay clean. The next piece of injera picks any sauce off your fingers as you go, so you will hardly touch the napkin.

Eat the base

By the end, the injera under the tsebhi has soaked up every sauce on the platter, and that is the piece everyone is quietly waiting for. You will not run out of bread, and if you want more heat there is fresh green chilli and a chilli paste on the side. There is always cutlery if you would rather; just ask.

What it is like inside

We have about fifty seats, plus seven small tables outside, heated and covered against the rain. We have orange walls hung with woven baskets and Abyssinian paintings. A long table seats up to twenty.

All our meat is halal, about half the menu is vegan, and the short answers on gluten, nuts, spice, kids and parking are on the questions page. Birthdays, work dinners and catering are on the groups page.