Salam — Restaurant in England

I glanced at this place as I quickly exited my car and dashed across the road to the shops. What is a 'habesha' restaurant I thought? A hour later I was hungry, and it was lunch time (a bit late actually 1330 but I digress). I wonder if that strange named place is open? So my 10 year old son & I wondered over. Good news they were doing lunch (as far as I can work out the daytime menu is the same as the evening one). Reading the menu didn't really offer me any clues as to the ethnic origin of the menu. The decor of the place was clearly North African, but not Mediterranean north. I would just have to ask! Ahhh it's Ethiopian. The pleasant young Woman who served me was surprised that I would come into a place without knowing what I was going to eat. But hey in for a penny! The menu was full of things I had never heard of. Great! We plumped for mixed platter for 2. I find that when trying out a new style of food then a 'meze', 'thali' or 'tappas' theme is best. Lots of varied small pieces. I loved the fact that we were not given cutlery but given a friendly explanation in how to use the supplied bread to eat the food. I cook a bit myself. I can say that this was the best meal I have had in ages. The style reminded me of Middle Eastern and Persian cooking. You could really taste the influences coming from across the gulf. Cardamon & Dried limes were a strong flavoure in a couple of the dishes. There was a little spice. But not too much. The tabboule was lacking enough mint for my taste. But no one can agree what makes a perfect tabboule anyway! If you are looking for a quick lunch, this place is not for you. But if you are looking for something different that takes a wee bit of time & effort to cook then this is the place for you. Oh and try the mint drink. It wasn't what I ordered, that was lemonade. But some mistakes are...

Started badly with poor service. Took the drinks order and food order but the drinks didn't appear for about 25 minutes. One drink arrived (unopened can of Coke no glass, had to ask for a glass) then about 15 minutes later the second drink arrived (now over 40 minutes to get 2 drinks). The main meal took roughly 45 minutes to 1 hour after that. These aren't exaggerated times in any way. Unlike some people who might visit this restaurant, I have tasted good African cooking before. The meal here when it arrived was very bland. The Injera was completely cold like it was just out of the fridge. I know this bread (like pancake) is not served hot but very cold pancake is not particularly tasty. Top that off with a supposed chicken stew and you have the makings of a very poor meal. It was basically cooked chicken on the bone with a none descript very spicy brown sauce covering it. Oh and all that cold pancake to eat it with, Mmmmm. I really do doubt these reviews saying how good this restaurant was. My experience was terrible. The atmosphere there was like the moon, none existent and very cold. The last thing was paying he bill, they said the prices had gone up since the menu was printed. Yeh, right. I've only given 1 star, they don't do half stars or minus stars unfortunately....

First time trying Ethiopian cuisine and I’m so glad we finally tried it.We ordered a sharing platter for two.The food took awhile to be served but it’s because Salam cooks everything fresh.Additionally their portion is huge.The platter came with lots of meat variety and we had to eat it with the injera which is the flat bread.The flat bread is so soft, taste a bit sour but when eating it with meat options that we had ordered the combination worked so well together.Hence it’s a 10/10 for me.

Afterwards we ordered traditional Ethiopian coffee.The coffee tasted so good with the ginger power and they do not have any milk in their coffee.The coffee came with popcorns that are freshly made.Overall it’s a 10/10 for me as well.

The highlight for me was the staff working that night, they were brilliant.After she found out we were trying Ethiopian food for the first time she got so excited and she took the time to explain everything to us, which we really appreciated.

The only thing that everyone should be aware is that Salam only accepts cash.So made sure you have cash in hand with you.If not you’re welcomed to make your way to Sainsbury to withdraw cash.

I would highly recommend everyone to come and try Ethiopian...