Arhibu Restaurant — Restaurant in Brisbane City

African in this case means Eritrean/Ethiopian foods.

The food was fabulous, and the kitchen did its best to accommodate our wishes, making more lentils for us, and the staff answered our question about chilli accurately. Plenty of not-hot dishes to choose from.

We had: Lamb molokhia, Derek tibs, Doro wat and misir Keywot.

I recommend the spring rolls: 3 rolls, 3 tasty sauces for $5.00.

The service method is not a common model for Australia:

The meals all came at once on a huge central platter, no cutlery. You eat with your clean hands: use the sink and soap placed prominently in the main restaurant area.

To eat, tear off a piece of enjera (a pancake bread made of teff grain) and use it to pick up a piece of food, then pop the whole thing in your mouth. Yum.

We were provided with cutlery and little plates when we asked for them (Doro wat has chicken on the bone, and we couldn't eat it easily without cutlery).

PS: Make sure to ask when you'd like your drinks to arrive, they didn't just show up ASAP after we ordered them, but came quickly when we asked where they were when our spring rolls arrived.

The coffee was good - roasted fresh, not bitter, and strong (beware caffeine light-weights). It comes with popcorn, which went really well with it.

They don't serve alcohol, but they have BYO and serve Coopers ultra-light, so you can easily have a refreshing cold drink with any spicy dishes you order.

Only a limited selection of soft drinks available. I think most regulars like the coffee too much.

The service was...

At first glance, the menu and restaurant decor gives off an old school vibe, looking like something right out of the 2000s.

The dishes came together, and one massive plate. Beneath all the meat, veges and garnishes were the massive serving of delicious Injera.

At this point I need to mention Injera is not to everyone's taste - it is quite sour and has a really tangy aftertaste, but what's good is the restaurant offers unlimited Injera. You can have as much or as little as you want, with the dishes you ordered.

On to the dishes. The textures of Ethiopian cuisine were made clear to us. They like soft, mushy, juicy, oily texture, with flavours of salt, sourness, sweetness and the occasional spice. You won't find crispy or chewiness here, but I didn't feel like I was missing out.

You eat with your hands, which was an interesting experiencing considering the utensils we are so used to. The way you ate it was quite interesting too - first you rip off a piece of Injera, then you use it as a spoon in your hand to scoop up whichever dish you wanted, and then you eat it together.

The aroma and taste of the freshly roasted and grounded coffee bean is also quite different to what I’m accustomed to. Alongside the coffee, a mini stand with a small block of fragrance was served for its aromatic effect.

Overall it was a great experience, definitely not something I could eat every day, but I'd definitely come back some time to try out the...

We arrived and rang the desk bell. A friendly lady came out from the kitchen to serve us. She wiped down the table and directed us to sit there. It was a cosy spot, but unfortunately, the table was wiped in a hurry and not fully clean.

When we went to order, we asked that the dessert be brought out at the end. The lady mentioned that the coffee is usually brought out at the end as well and checked if we wanted that to be the case for us tonight, too.

The waiting time was a bit longer, but within expectations. The food arrived, and looked and smelled amazing! We all went to wash our hands, but there was barely any soap left, only a small, diluted amount :(

The food tasted really good and the lady was generous in providing an extra, small plate of injera to accompany it when we asked. The coffee and dessert were also very delicious.

The service was friendly, but they forgot some of our drinks and the popcorn that was supposed to come with the coffee. She didn't charge for the...