Merkato

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

I find Merkato Restaurant to be the best Ethiopian restaurant in London. At times, I go for cinnamon tea and meal. My favourite meal is the spicy Lamb dish and Injera. A few years ago, my Ethiopian friends who love Merkato Restaurant took me there, and I found the food very tasty. The staff and manager working there are always very kind and friendly - in other words the service is absolutely first class. I fully recommend Merkato for tasty Ethiopian food.
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Raja Kalsy
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Sunday, November 01, 2009

I went to this restaurant because I have had Ethiopian food before, and was craving some. I made a special trip from Sussex to go, based on the good reviews below.

The taste of the food was very good, and service was appropriate - relaxed, very friendly, not rushed, but attentive enough. However one thing let it down. It was fairly obvious that the vegetarian mixed dishes had been microwaved, so one was crispy/dried round the edges, and none were hot. In fact some were almost cold. If the food had been hot I would give many more stars.

My partner had a lamb dish - recommended by the waiter. He very much enjoyed this and you could see the steam coming off it, so he was happy!

Value for money is good.

Visiting mid-week quite early in the evening is probably not the best time to go. We were the only people in the restaurant until just before we left. So I would give it another go at a busier time.
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7 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 8
Friday, August 28, 2009

Amazing food. Lovely restaurant. Never had a bad meal there. I bring all my friends and out-of-town visitors for something really unique and different. We actually have cravings for this place's food and get excited all week if we know we'll be meeting up there on a Friday. If you're not familiar with an Ethiopian menu, just ask and they'll give helpful recomendations. Be careful of the spicy dishes -- some can be really really hot! On the other hand, if that's what you like, then defn try this place out.
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8 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Friday, August 07, 2009