Ayat

Ethiopian

483 Seven Sisters Rd, N15 6EP

£

Around Seven Sisters you will find a number of highly recommended Ethiopian restaurants. Before Ayat, I had never actually been to an Ethiopian restaurant before, but given my partner is a massive fan of the cuisine, and the fact we have so much greatness on our doorstep, it was about time I tried it.

Ayat is probably the smallest of the options: with just 4 tables to eat from, as well as a popular takeaway option. The reviews rave of a lovely, gentle owner who really takes pride in the food and wants his customers to have the best experience possible. We were greeted by this very same man and shown to the largest table in the room (there were 4 of us). The rest of the restaurant was pretty much empty, aside from a man having a quick bite nearer the door, and something gave me the impression that Ayat doesn’t get full very often. We kicked off with ordering some traditional beers, after a slight language barrier almost got us 4 pints of whiskey instead. The beers were called Habesha, and were a full bodied strong lager with eye catching packaging and a nifty tagline of ‘Cold Gold.’

For food, we ordered two portions of Beyaynetu (£11) – a full selection of Vegan dishes, including two lentil options, some delicious garlicky greens, creamy split peas and fragrant potatoes. Each of these options came in a pile on top of an Injera: a fermented flatbread that is used as both a tasty side, but also your key eating utensil. On top of this, we wanted to order some Beef Awaze Tibs (£12), but were told that this would be ‘too hot’ for us, and we were better off going for the Derek Tibs (£11) instead as it was a milder sauce. After some deliberation and push back from Tom’s side, we agreed to go with what was recommended, but asked for a portion of the Ayat special Sauce (£1) to try regardless.

The Beyaynetu was absolutely divine – each and every dish on it had its own unique flavour, and the sourness from the bread complimented this brilliantly. My personal favourites were the Gomen (sauteed collared greens) for how garlicky and buttery they were, and the Kik Alicha (yellow split pea stew) for its creamy consistency, subtle spice and bold colour. My only gripe would be that everything arrived cold, which might be the way it is supposed to be served, however, given it was pouring with rain outside a little warmth somewhere would have been nice. The Derek Tibs came shortly after, and were placed directly onto our Injera with the rest of the dishes. The beef was tender and pink, swimming in a rich onion and chilli sauce which wasn’t hot at all. In fact, the Ayat special sauce was also very bearable – spicy, yes, but by no means blow your brains out. It made us slightly frustrated that we hadn’t been ‘allowed’ the Awaze Tibs we originally wanted.

When it came to paying, it was a seriously reasonable £15 each. We all left very full and happy with the food. I will definitely be trying out some of the other Ethiopian restaurants so close to home, and would recommend Ayat as a tasty first entry for anyone new to the cuisine. However, next time I will insist being able to order exactly what I want. OVERALL RATING: ****

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