Addis in Cape - Ethiopian Restaurant

There’s a place on Church street called Addis in Cape. It is, quite literally, a chunk of Ethiopia slap bang in the middle of the CBD, and after our Crash Course in Real Taxi Driving, we rocked up there for lunch.


The place is awesome. The restaurant takes up three stories, with a roving smoking section and beautiful décor throughout. Intricate silver Ethiopian crosses, bright umbrellas hung from the ceiling and ancient papyrus books fill the space. The low carved chairs are surprisingly comfortable, and the service is, quite simply, amazing.


So is the food. Ethiopian cuisine consists of a vast selection of beautifully spiced curries. Each dish comes either spicy or not so spicy, and all of it is served in mounds on a gigantic sourdough pancake plate and eaten communally with baskets of rolled Injera (the same thing the plate is made of) that look like bandages and serve as both knife and fork. It is, quite simply, delicious.


Addis in Cape imports its spices directly form Ethiopia, and each dish is prepared separately, from scratch, to order- no mean feat when each table orders about seven different dishes a meal.  Though you may be desperately confused by the menu, ordering is really pretty simple. Just ask for chicken, lamb, mushrooms, butternut and so on, and tell the waiter whether you want it spicy or not. They’ll do the rest. When you’re done, you can eat your plate. Just make sure you finish with their insane Ethiopian coffee.


For more info, go to www.addisincape.co.za, and check our video below.