Engocha London — Restaurant in London

Summary: insanely good coffee, value for money food, fun traditional coffee ceremony, friendly and knowledgeable staff!

First things first: best coffee I have ever had in my life. Traditionally roasted by hand, beans directly imported from Ethiopia, they produce some actual coffee magic here: strong, aromatic, rich with no sour/bitter aftertaste. Almost every other black coffee I've tasted has had varying degrees of that harsh aftertaste, and I thought that was inevitable in coffee, but this place proved me wrong. I'd come back just for the coffee.

As for the food, it's great value and very tasty for what it is. They have a selection of 6 vegan bulk cooked dishes, kept warm like in a cafeteria, and you can get all 6 plus rice or injera for £10. If you're expecting restaurant style cooked to order dishes or a wide selection of options, this is not the place for you. If you want some quick and good solid homecooked style food, then this is a great choice with authentic Ethiopian flavours. My rating for the food is given with this context in mind and I'm not even vegan lol.

Ok, that all said, special mention goes to the service: it was exceptional! First couple times we visited, the staff were friendly enough if a bit hands-off, but third time we visited, we chatted with them a bit and they offered to let us experience a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony ourselves. They have this lovely corner set up after their recent renovation, and they gave me a traditional outfit to wear and walked me through the whole coffee roasting and ritual process with a history and cultural lesson thrown in! This definitely could be a cute little thing to do with friends some time.

Atmosphere was a toss up between 4 (sorry!) and 5 stars. I was thinking 4 as the overall feel is a little bare bones, some music and air conditioning or fans for ventilation would be nice (went in on a hot summer day tbf). However, went with 5 stars in the end as it's actually well done for, again, an almost canteen style cafe. They had fresh flowers for every table! Some lovely thematic decor too. (Also they did have a clean and serviceable bathroom for customer use, saw some reviews saying they didn't.)

Overall, a good comfy homey cafe for your value for money meals. Thanks again to Aman and Mahi for patiently and warmly guiding us through the...

I visited this place few weeks ago on a Sunday after passing it often. Guy there was pretty rude to me, barely looked at me and said hello after I said first. I sat down, after being ignored a minute or two I realised there was no service to tables. I went to the counter to order and I felt like I was a nuisance wanting to eat there. When I left, I said thank you and bye very clearly. The guy was sitting like 4 feet away but didn’t react in any way. There was two girls eating as well, I had noticed that they were served friendly and I know they also noticed I didn’t get a response to my thank you. I’m a regular in vegan places, but I won’t be returning here ever. I felt so unwelcome....

Great value food which tastes waaay better than me and my friend expected. Only downside is that food is batch cooked and kept warm under heat lamps. I didn't think this affected the taste or nutrition, but some of the customers after us didn't get to eat the more popular servings (it was a Saturday evening). When it's gone it's gone! But this is a fair trade off considering the low price.

Very friendly owner and the place had a very "small town" vibe to it.

I had the five serving food convo with the Ethiopian bread (injera) for £10. The owner kindly gave me a taste of the sixth flavour....