Bring the camera

What there is to film

The platter, the hands and the room

The food comes out on a round of injera under a woven cover, and the cover comes off at the table. That is the shot everyone gets and we are happy to slow down for it. After that it is hands, tearing the injera and scooping the tsebhi, and there is a short guide to eating with injera if you want a head start.

The room is a thatched ceiling, orange walls hung with woven baskets and Habesha paintings, lanterns, and Ethiopian lagers with the Ge'ez alphabet on the label, which is the thing people ask about most. About fifty seats inside, seven small tables outside, heated and covered against the rain, and the tram going past outside. People from home say it feels like being back there.

If you want the kitchen, or one of us explaining the food on camera, ask when you get in touch and we will sort out a night that suits.

What we are proud of

The story, as we tell it

• The food. One round of injera with everything on it, eaten by hand from the middle of the table. Half the menu is vegan because the Orthodox year has about 180 fasting days, all the meat is halal, and berbere, the red spice, is sent to us by family at home and is the taste people come back for. The culture and food page has the dishes, the spice and the coffee.
• The family. Eritrean, from the Red Sea port of Massawa, in Melbourne by way of Sweden, and running this restaurant since 2014 in a room that has served this food since 2006. Massawa and Asmara have a page of their own, mostly photographs, because they are beautiful.
• The name. Abyssinia is the old name for the highlands that Eritrea and Ethiopia share, and we chose it because the cooking belongs to both. Our menu uses the Tigrinya names and the glossary has the Amharic ones.
• The street. Racecourse Road is one of the places Melbourne's Horn of Africa families made their own, with Somali kitchens and grocers a short walk away and Footscray's coffee ceremony a few minutes on. The neighbourhood page has the neighbours, how to get here, and the good nights to come.
• The welcome. We know a lot of the room by name. The questions page has the short answers to what first-timers ask, from halal to hands to spice. The rest does not fit in a caption, so come and see it.

Practicalities

How filming here works

Tell us you are coming

Email us and we will give you a table with room to work, on a night that is not flat out. Photographing your own dinner needs no email.

Best time

We open at 5:30pm, and the first hour is the quietest room and, in summer, the only daylight. Friday and Saturday nights are full and loud, which is good for atmosphere and bad for audio.

Hosted meals

If you would like us to host a meal, say so in your message, along with who you are and where your work goes, and we will tell you straight.

Photos

Everything in our gallery is ours. Ask and we will send full-size versions for anything about the restaurant.

Space

Tables for two to twenty, and a long table for a crew. Mention tripods and lights when you ask so we can seat you where they fit.

Getting here

277 Racecourse Road, Kensington. The route 57 tram stops near the door, and parking in the nearby streets is free.

Who has been

Press and creators

Matt Preston and Dani Valent reviewed us for The Age in 2008, Broadsheet has a listing, Time Out wrote us up in 2024, Lifestyle Food listed us, and The Culturlist put us on their list of the best African restaurants in Melbourne. A Melbourne YouTube channel, Eddie & BigMem, filmed a first visit in February 2026. The quotes, links and the video are on the reviews page.

Captions

Quick facts

Name

The Abyssinian, Ethiopian & Eritrean restaurant

Address

277 Racecourse Road, Kensington VIC 3031, Melbourne

Hours

Monday to Saturday, 5:30pm until 10pm. Closed Sundays.

Prices

Platters from $26 a head. Most people spend $25 to $40 on food.

Diet

All our meat is halal. About half the menu is vegan. No dairy or peanuts in any savoury dish. Rice instead of injera on request.

Bookings

theabyssinian.com.au/contact-or-book/

Tag

@the.abyssinian on Instagram, or our Facebook page, so we can share it.