Merkato

Slightly off the beaten track. If you don't live in the area, or pass through on any other business, you'll need to walk for about 10 minutes from King's Cross station to reach this address. When you do reach it, however, it's not a waste of time at all.

The restaurant itself is fairly small with a laid-back style of decor. There is a certain effort to show off art from the region, although one never feels truly immersed in it.

The food arrives in generous portions and, although I can't comment on authenticity, is very nice indeed. Those who prefer to avoid anything too spicy might want to choose carefully, however. Ethopian beers are on offer as well, which is a nice touch.

The service was very polite, although I had trouble hearing the waitress at times as she was very soft-spoken. There were a few communication difficulties, but nothing impossible to overcome.

Value is hard to gauge, as I don't eat in many Ethopian restaurants, so I don't know the normal expectations. But I felt I had reasonably good value for money. The food made for an interesting experience but I felt the restaurant was a bit bare when it was trying to be more.

It's certainly worth a visit if you are in the market for something different.
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Alan Ingham - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Friday, February 08, 2013

Sometimes I want to branch out and try new places, and this time it was a mistake. I should have listened to my instincts. When we walked in, there was an overwhelming odor of perfume and no patrons. I was tempted to leave, but ended up sitting outside because it was a gorgeous day and I was famished.

Our server absentmindedly swiped a dry napkin across the filthy table (which did absolutely nothing).

We ordered a veg combo, and after 30 minutes of sitting without food and watching another table come and nearly finish, I went in to say we were leaving. She said the food was ready. 10 minutes later, it did arrive. She forgot the salad. Decent but nothing special. A very strange lentil dish was spiced with horseradish. Salad arrived swarming with jalapenos.

I noticed a flyer announcing a 6.99 lunch special (after paying £12 for veg) when I was paying my bill. I said, "This would have been good to know!"-and she just said hmmf.

Will never return to merkato ewwwww!
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anushe
3 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 10
Sunday, August 26, 2012

Why would you order samosa in an Ethiopian restaurant? Perhaps you thought you were in an Indian restaurant. I have eaten here with my Ethiopian/Eritrean inlaws many times and the place and food is great.
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Rich
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, October 25, 2011

I love this place. They make authentic Ethiopian food from scratch. It takes a little bit of time, but you are rewarded with fresh, hot, delicious food served by very friendly staff.

My meal last night had big portions with great taste and not a big price.

Well done! I have eaten here twice. I will be back!
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DAO - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Really delicious and tasty food. Really slow coming out. Go but be prepared to wait over an hour to eat.
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Zoe
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Monday, February 07, 2011

I am frankly quite stunned at the reviews below. Are they referring to the SAME restaurant? My two vegetarian friends and I went to this place for supper on a very quiet night with very few diners. We went there because of the reviews on this site. We ordered a fairly simple menu : Two vegetable samosas and two meat samosas, followed by Ingera vegetarian meal, one fish goulash, and one lamb spicy dish. The starters came - the meat samosa filling was frozen and the vegetable samosas turned out to be meat. This was really upsettng as my friends had not eaten meat in several years. When we sent these back, the waitress wanted to show us she had ordered what we had asked for.... regardless, the wrong items had been delivered. Look, this is a small cafe with three diners (including us) - not a bustling place for getting orders mixed up with whoever DID order the frozen meat plate.... . To be fair she did bring replacement samosas, however the meat ones were again frozen and this time, although we did get the vegetables ones, they were frozen as well. I almost got frostbite on my upper lips. Giving up, we then waited for the main course whcih was average at best. Unfortunately by this time the meal was ruined and sadly two of us were ill the next day. I mentioned this experience to someone else who lives in the area and they told me they had bought a takeaway from this place a few weeks earlier because of the same reviews on this site and had had the same bad experence. There are plenty of other Ethiopian restuarants to try. I am frankly stunned that this place even merited a review on this site... the food was that bad although the serving lady was very sweet and pleasant. I will never go back again.
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1 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Thursday, October 28, 2010

The food was fantastic! Amazing flavours. Everything was well presented, and my server was very sweet and attentive. It's worth going to if you're into Ethiopian food.
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9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, September 22, 2010

I go to Merkato every couple of weeks with my girlfriend, and will hopefully keep going as long as I'm in the area. The food here is absolutely delicious, and the staff are charming and friendly.

This place is an absolute gem, and is easily the best Ethiopian restaurant in London.
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Henry_W - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Friday, July 30, 2010