Asmara Restaurant

Reviews

• Thalia K.

  star star star star star_border 30 July 2026

  I visited here when I stayed in London for one summer.
  Great food, great price.
  I've tried other Ethiopian/African food in NYC where you can get pretty much the best of any cuisines. I think Asmara was better than any.
  I'd love to go back.

• Ste C.

  star star star star_border star_border 30 July 2026

  Something a little different. Quite novel, and a great experience. Service was super friendly! Eat with your hands and share food amongst your group. We went for the set meal. Tasty enough, but not outstanding. Moderately priced too.

• Eric K.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 17 July 2026

  If I had never experienced this vein of food I might have been wowed, but I know better. I'm not going to say it was bad, because I've never had Ethiopian food I didn't like. However, this was the most mediocre and overpriced in my experience.
  
  I recently moved to Brixton from North London where I was accustomed to ordering one veg sampler for £7 to share with my girlfriend and be stuffed and satisfied by the end. Asmara's veg sampler was embarrassingly petit, hardly a snack, and goes for £9. We also tried a stewed fish dish, which was a slightly better value.
  
  The bold spices that draw me to Ethiopian food were lacking here. I found all five dishes to be rather dull, mild, bland. The atmosphere was nice. I enjoyed the landscape artwork, and the server was very polite and conscientious. I won't be back.

• David J.

  star star star star star_border 10 July 2026

  Asmara has become something of a local feature, tucked away in the happily disorganised chaos that is Brixton's Coldharbour Lane.
  
  Eating here is a lovely but very different experience from most other cuisines, and it's a wonderful introduction to East African food, if you haven't tried it before. The restaurant itself is small, homely and intimate (though there is extra seating upstairs), and the staff are extraordinarily friendly and welcoming. They'll help navigate the menu and tutor you on the eating technique (read on..) if you need it.
  
  Essentially, the food consists of fairly dry stews of meat and/or vegetables (lots of veggie options), which is served in dollops on huge, sour pancakes called injera. You eat by tearing off bits of the injera and folding it around the stew - all with your hands - finally eating the base of the injera at the end, once it's been infused with the flavours. It's a communal experience, and can get a bit messy (so don't wear white). But that's all part of the fun.
  
  A traditional 'messob' dinner provides a variety of dishes served together, and lets you try out different things - a similar concept to Turkish or Greek mezze. You can go for meat or vegetarian or a mixture, if you want. Eritrean food can be quite hot, though less spicy than South Indian or Thai. The Eritrean dishes are better than the European ones (mostly pasta - but why on earth would you go to an Eritrean restaurant for pasta?).
  
  After the food, comes the coffee. Freshly roasted beans and incense are brought to the table and wafted under your nose before being ground and infused, and served in tiny cups. It is extraordinarily strong - think Turkish coffee, and then some. Don't expect to sleep.
  
  The whole experience should set you back about £10-15 a head - yes, this is a bargain. The informality and lack of cutlery means it's the last place you'd take your boss, but then you want to come here to enjoy yourself!

• Glen M.

  star star star star star_border 5 July 2026

  To be honest, it's a little on the spendy side.
  
  Though I used to live in East Africa, so I'm a bit used to £2 more-than-you-could-possibly eat meals.
  
  But the menu is good. and extensive. You'll get full, but you'll spend about £12 a person, really, to get the variety.
  
  There's stuff you don't often see on here, including this lovely livery thing that was, well, good. And livery as in liver-y, not your uniform-and flag.
  
  Perhaps a wee bit cramped, but you get super-African hospitality, even down to a hand on the elbow with your shake.  (did that make sense?)