Mesi's Kitchen — Restaurant in London

July 2019

Absolutely must come here!! Hospitality, high quality of food, wide range of dishes and great value for money.

I’ve come here the first time on a weekday evening and found a quiet yet amazing place to enjoy authentic Ethiopian food. The head of the restaurant is incredibly hospitable and friendly and a great help in advising what to choose. Additionally, she is well informed and considered about allergies too. I had a vegan selection platter which consisted of 7 small individual portions served on a large pancake-like bread (GF available upon request). It is eaten by hand (yeeey!) and the dishes on the bread had the ideal texture to do so. Each dish was rich in flavour, yet not excessively strong so you could also combine few of them in one bite and still have a great balance of spices. The portion is very generous, it would be an ideal starter to share between two or (as it was in my case) it is a very satisfying, filling portion when really hungry. In general, eating is not rushed in this place, you can take your time in going through the menu without ruffle. The dishes are served within a reasonable time as they are made to order. The dishes are appealing, tasty, generous and satisfying. I’ve come back another time in company and my friend is of the same opinion. He had a Mesi’s Combo platter (meat and veggies). He said the main meat dish was tender and the other meat dish had a great flame-grilled taste. As already said, the combo-platters are ideal if one wanted to try several dishes or wants to share, serving it on bread (or alternatively rice) gives you an additional authentic experience of Ethiopian cuisine. Definitely one of my favorite restaurants in London.

tipp: if your group has different food preferences (gf/meat/vegan/veggie/...) say so when ordering or order seperate platters/dishes as combo-platters are served as one platter with all different types of food...

Authentic Ethiopian Cuisine & Great Hospitality!

This was the second time I tried Ethiopian cuisine, and it did not disappoint. We visited Mesi Kitchen as a group of 22, and the experience was fantastic. Since Ethiopian food is traditionally shared, we split into smaller groups of four to enjoy the meal.

Our group ordered a sharing platter for four, along with lamb tibs and doro wat. The food was flavourful, well-prepared, and truly enjoyable. I definitely recommend having a sharing platter, as the portions are much larger, and I feel you get more variety. A couple in our group shared a platter for two, and it seemed much smaller in comparison. We had a few Ethiopians in our group, and they were really happy with the food, which is always a great sign of authenticity!

The staff were incredibly friendly and easy-going, even with our large group moving around to chat. They were helpful and patient, which I thoroughly appreciated.

One thing I’d recommend for the future is avoiding a single large bill at the end. Unfortunately, I forgot to mention this in advance, and it made splitting the payment quite tricky. If one person makes a mistake, it can leave others trying to figure out who owes what, which can take away from an otherwise amazing experience. The owner did mention that they could have handled it differently had we informed them beforehand, but for large groups, it would be helpful if the staff gave a polite reminder about this option in advance—it would definitely save a headache when it comes to paying.

Overall, Mesi Kitchen delivered an excellent Ethiopian dining experience with great food and welcoming service. Highly recommended for anyone looking to enjoy authentic Ethiopian cuisine in a friendly and...

We went in the restaurant because it was a recognized vegan/vegetarian restaurant and it wasn't busy at the time (i.e. a lot empty tables) and thought we could get a quick service while our baby was asleep and wanted to enjoy eating together. Food took a long time to come out (for almost 1 hour) and one of us ended up scoffing food down and the other had only managed a spoonful because our child woke up just as the food arrived and made it impossible to eat. One of us is a vegetarian and when the food came out it was all served on the same platter as meat dishes. The vegetarian dish ordered was portobello mushroom as written in the menu but what came out was not portobello mushroom and for £8.95 it was a rip off because it was stir fried what looked liked mushroom from a tin can with chilli flakes. The food is eaten by hand which is fine and part of the experience but they don't provide you with any way to wash/rinse your hands before and after the meal. Therefore hygiene can be an issue. Other places alike serve a bowl of water for this. The only positive was a refreshing jug of water with...