Jambo Jambo Africa — Restaurant in Sydney

If there’s a cuisine that should be in your regular dining repertoire that probably isn’t, it’s Ethiopian. Ever since discovering Blacktown’s cluster of Ethiopian restaurants, I’ve been a confirmed fan of eating wot (onion-based stews) over stretchy, sour injera (bubbly, crepe-like bread). Along with Alem’s House, who have brought a vegetarian (vegan) rendition of the cuisine to Camperdown, Jambo Jambo Africa offers you an atmospheric introduction to Ethiopian food, without the need to leave the Inner West.

Ethiopian-born Joseph Bekele made his first foray into the restaurant game in 2012 in Crows Nest. Transplanting his restaurant to Glebe a year or so back, Jambo Jambo Africa continues to be a celebration of culture. From the prominence given to the colours (green, yellow and red) of the Ethiopian flag, to brick walls jam-packed with tourism posters, art and memorabilia, the net effect is a warm, personality driven space fronted by Bekele and his easy-going smile.

Even what’s in the glass, chenin blanc (or steen, as the grape is known in South Africa) and pinotage (South Africa’s signature red wine grape), celebrate the African continent, though if you prefer a less immersive drinking experience, Bekele also allows BYO. The best way to experience this cuisine is with a Combination Platter ($95/2 people). Built over injera, it’s a collection of any six dishes – wot or milder alicha – of your choosing, meat, vegetarian, or (preferably) both. At Jambo Jambo Africa this all-inclusive meal kicks off with an entrée platter where chapati (flatbread) and pastry triangles called sambusa filled with lentils cooked with onions, garlic and green chilli are dragged through honey. The highlight is kifko, raw beef mixed with spiced clarified butter, eaten as a generous pinch wrapped in fresh lettuce.

Ethiopia’s spice mix is called berbere, and includes dried chilli, pepper, ginger and fenugreek. You’ll find it in wot (stews), including misr wot made on onions, garlic, ginger and split lentils. I found the version here too mild, so I asked for mitmita, a hot Ethiopian chilli powder, and Bekele was happy to oblige. It added more tingle to my vegetable selections, like gomen, mild simmered collard greens (brassicas) and a slightly less compelling turmeric-based vegetable curry called alicha.

The highlight of the meal was key wot, a slow-cooked goat stew served on the bone because goat meat is quite lean. The rich, onion-based gravy is so good, it should inspire you to eat the injera that lies underneath it. If you find that too messy with your fingers, circulating staff bearing wicker baskets will dispense additional scrolls of the fermented (and gluten-free) injera. The expectation is you use it, rather than cutlery, to eat your meal, but they do supply both. Kitffo is another winner, though I regretted ordering the finely chopped spiced, lean beef as lightly cooked rather than raw, as is traditional. If you don’t like spicy food, lamb tibs leans more towards a black pepper, garlic and rosemary-based stir-fry, offset by juicy red capsicum pieces.

Jambo Jambo Africa also throws in a (non-traditional) dessert featuring mango and salted caramel ice cream, or coffee roasted from green coffee beans in a method that arose in Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee. I only chose the former because I wanted to have an...

Eat with your hands grab some injera scoop some curries and veg presented on top of a gebeta. Best come with a partner, even if they aren't vegan like you, you will still enjoy it!

The meal has a fermented gluten free bread, where curries / dishes are lay on top. Since they are all shared, regardless of if it is vegan or meat dishes are on same bread base. Don't worry it was clearly divided separated in the middle.

"What is injera? Injera is made from a grain known as teff, which is ground into flour, made into a batter, slightly fermented, and then fried on a heavy skillet into a giant circular pancake. The texture is soft and spongy and the flavor is lightly sour.

Food in Ethiopia is served on a platter known as a gebeta, a large circular, usually metal platter. First, a circle of injera is placed on the gebeta, then the different stews, curries, or vegetables, that you’ve ordered are placed on top of the injera. From a single dish to a mix of different dishes, everything is piled onto the plate of injera."

It should be noted , the base bread is on a giant paella looking silver flat circular plate. And on that dishes are places on top of it like a mixed platter. So you either go combination (price are cheaper 3,6,8 dishes) or if you really want pick the other number of dishes which is more expensive. So just pick the combination really, unless you are here on your own. Although the food is such that it is better to come with someone. Really important !

The flavors is subtly different to other types of curries in other cuisine. Although familiar ingredients are used, onion, garlic, lentils, chickpea etc. I had collard green one and chickpeas , both delicious. My meat eaters companion had beef and I shared my vegan dishes with him.

Bonus: We got told about Ethiopian coffee making process. Something to ask about, quite interesting for a non coffee drinker ;) but you might enjoy it too.

I'm not much of a sobert dessert person and don't think that's an Ethiopian thing. It comes as part of the combination set. Would be interesting if they have an authentic Ethiopian dessert.

Would come back :) with more people to...

I was very excited to try an Ethiopian restaurant as I have read many 5 starred reviews and every time I walked past Jambo Jambo Africa, it was full of people. So it definitely seemed worth a try. Words like burst of flavours, scrumptious, tasty, highly recommended, top notch Ethiopian — have been engraved in my mind.

We had the combination plate for 2 with 3 dishes - $75.

The mixed entry - which was two sambosas and two servings of kitfo. The sambosa was quite tasty if you like lentil. The kitfo was somewhat underwhelming.

For the three dishes we have chosen 3 meat dishes - Doro alicha wot (mild) — chicken leg Key Wot — beef Lamb tibs

Basically, all the dishes were served on a huge plate with one pancake — injera bread, laid underneath; one pancake sliced and rolled in a short cigar shape for dipping.

The injera bread - tasted more like a pancake rather than bread and very bland. I don’t mind the spongy texture but expected some kind of flavours and there’s none. I understand that I supposed to hold the injera and dip into the sauce/curry/stew and eat with them but so is a naan bread, roti or simply a piece of sourdough and they are a lot tastier.

Lamb tibs was our least favourite dish. While the lamb was tender it has no flavour. It supposed to have been cooked in onions, black pepper, garlic, rosemary and special Jambo sauce but the dish tasted like a simple Asian stir fry but bland and unexciting.

Doro alicha wot, tasted like a very mild yellow curry dish but there’s no depth in flavours.

The beef key wot tasted better but it reminded me of a rogan josh or vindaloo dish which were both superior in flavours.

It was a very disappointing experience for me and it was actually quite expensive for the quality and amount of the food served.

I don't mean to be unkind but if this is the top notch Ethiopian restaurant some reviews said it is — to me it really is just a very distant and way poorer cousin of Indian food. I hope I will get a chance to experience a better...