Blue Nile African Cuisine & Cafe

Building upon the success of my meal at the neighbouring Abyssina Ethiopian Restaurant, I was keen to visit Blue Nile African Cuisine & Café. The mostly Ethiopian menu here is a bit bigger, also taking in Somalia, Sudan and East Africa. The interior is a wee bit fancier too, with the walls wrapped in a willow twig fence that echoes the African thatch huts framed in pictures on the wall. Like its neighbour, Blue Nile is also a community hub, with the outside tables filled with African men socialising over coffee. Already a fan of injera, the spongy, tart flatbread that sits underneath most Ethiopian dishes, we order Yetakelt Beainetu ($15). Boasting seven different vegetable dishes, this injera-lined platter represents remarkably good value for your spend. Sweet, pickled cabbage is fragrant, and a good counterpoint to the thick vegetable stews (w’at) that include both mildly spiced puy lentils, and a hotter, redder version. There’s also thick, paste-like shiro w’at made ...read more