Lalibela eldelicios . Ethiopian cuisine — Restaurant in Barcelona

I was going to give 4.5 stars but since that isn't an option, I'll give the benefit of the gap... My husband and I are transplants in Barcelona and while we know the city fairly well, we like to try new places more often than revisiting the known quantities. This place has flown under our radar for too long - it's close to our flat and easy to reach, so I know we will be back sometime when we aren't in the mood for trying out a new place.

We started with the sambusa appetizer, which was quite tasty, but I think the fry oil was too cold, because they could have been much crispier and would have avoided the soaked-in-oil texture. I think we were the first customers of the night, so I get it, maybe the fryer wasn't up to temperature yet, but the sambusa suffered a bit for that. This was our only disappointment. The combination plates were really great; husband had the veggie, and I the chicken, and everything was lovely. I especially loved the spinach. The injera was some of the best I've had, and the portions were just right; I've often left Ethiopian restaurants absolutely hating myself for overeating, but in this case I was full but not uncomfortable. The desserts seemed not house-made, but quality anyway.

The owner(?) was extremely friendly, gracious and informative, while he was the only server and sole chef. The place is very small but clean; frugally decorated, but clearly with great care. The kitchen is open to the dining space, and there is something really nice and homey about listening to kitchen sounds while your meal is being made. It seems clear this place is built on a love of sharing good food, which is why it gets my...

It was our first time trying Ethiopian food. The restaurant was small and very local. First, we tried Ethiopian beer out of curiosity but it was just an average beer, nothing very special but pricy. Also, we ordered one appetizer and this one was pricy too compared to its presentation and simple ingredients. The taste was pretty good but still too pricy. The main dish was injera with beef. We had no choice but to order beef because the owner said only beef was available that day. It was huge and we could not finish everything. To me, I would say it was too blend for me. But if you like injera, I think the quality is pretty good. However, we felt a bit uncomfortable because we had an impression that the owner wanted us to order more food, and also he even asked us if we would be coming back...kind of awkward and weird. For the record to the owner: I've never mentioned we went there for dinner. It was a lunch. Thanks. And the worst of all, not sure if it was the food or the fact that we ate with hands (but we washed our hands before eating), we both felt very weird inside and that night, we both threw up a lot.. So, unfortunately, it was not such a pleasant experience for us. ❗️Additional comment to the owner: I've never mentioned we went there for dinner. We went there in January for a...

The food is really good with the right level of spice

Now I can't fully recommend this place bc of 3 reasons

1 the service was almost nonexistent bc the restaurant is run by pretty much 2 people, I even had to call the "boss/chef" to his cellphone when I arrived bc there was no one to check my reservation with. I do gotta say that the chef was extremely friendly and kind tho. It's just a matter of professionalism and service

2 You're gonna have a huge problem communicating. I'm native/fluent in both English and Spanish. Ordering felt like a guessing game with the waiter and I was never sure that they understood what I was saying. Only the chef spoke a so so Spanish. If you have any allergies I'd suggest not eating here just in case you need to make substitutions.

3 The price, We were a big group and we order 2 entrances + one of the main dishes which was supposed to be for 1 person but the chef said that he would make 2 big specials with enough food for how many we were.The total was over the 160euros, so yeah good food but definitely not cheap + some people did say that they were still hungry after it, same with me.

Anyway nice place if you want the experience of eating Ethiopian food but I wouldn't recommend going more than once or rather look for a different place if you...