Asmara — Restaurant in Cambridge

Me and my girlfriend went to Asmara for a date night a couple weekends ago. We had never tried Eritrean food before, but it was close to the Havana dance club we were going to so it peaked our interest. I started off with their tea which was so woody, sweet, smooth and a great way to start the meal. I ordered the Derho Fitfit (spicy chicken over injera) and my girlfriend ordered the Alitcha Begeeh (mild lamb over injera.) The meal came fairly quickly, on a table with a basket on it and it was a new experience eating this way. Atop a handful of injera (a spongy flatbread made of teff flour,) our meals were separated by a really nice Mediterranean style salad. We were told we eat this with our hands (no problem for us) and we started off. The salad was very familiar with a nice light dressing that soaked into the injera nicely. The Derho Fitfit was really interesting, the flavor was spicy and sour and it was very tender. It was not a flavor I was used to but that made the experience even better. The spice level was just below too much (our server even checked in to make sure it wasn't too spicy.) While the sourness was just an unexpected but welcome addition. The Alitcha Begeeh was our favorite of the two but the contrast between the two may have made the meal better. It was a much more mild flavor that was familiar but still exotic. The lamb was tender and the sauce was hearty, also the potatoes and carrots included with it made it in between a light lamb curry and a stew. The injera was the vehicle for all this food and I will say it was a new experience. Its akin to tortillas as far as it's function but it's spongy and kind of like a wheat bread flavor. It wasn't the star of the show but an excellent vehicle. Then we ended the meal with a pistachio gelato and a coffee. This was such a great choice, the gelato was so creamy and the flavor was amazing with real pistachio and chocolate throughout, it capped off the meal perfectly cooling off the spiciness from the Derho Fitfit. My girlfriend said the coffee was very strong and the flavor completely unique to any coffee she tried before but was a great contrast to the gelato. Our server was very nice and asked us questions about our meal. She was very helpful guiding us through the experience and including information to help elevate our meal. Walking in this restaurant was clearly not like many we've been to before, the tables were very small and there was food on baskets and there was an Eritrean music video playing but by the end we were very comfortable and felt like the meal was more than...

I walk by this restaurant constantly, and something about it had been calling to me for months before I got the chance to go. Perhaps it's the difficulty of actually getting seated at a table to eat here - I had planned multiple excursions here, only to be turned away, before I was actually successful. They had a month-long closure earlier this year, then they were closed on a Friday evening that I came out (so note that the listed hours might not always be correct), and on top of that there are often long lines. Because it's so busy, don't expect service to be quick, but everyone we interacted with was extremely nice!

The interior isn't very large, but it has quite an intimate feel with seating clustered together. In fact, on one end of the restaurant, there are chairs without any tables typical to Western restaurants, which certainly invites a feeling of authenticity.

The menu was accompanied by a description of the cuisine. As someone who is not overly familiar with Eritrean food, it was lovely to learn more about the culture and components of the meal.

We ordered the ahimilti bebaynetu (vegetable combination) and sega bebaynetu (meat combination). All the orders for the party are served on a single platter/basket, along with a few pieces of injera, which looks like a cross between a porous, spongy pancake and crepe. Injera doesn't have a strong flavor on its own, but it's a good base when you tear off a piece and use it to scoop up the dish.

The vegetable combination included yellow split peas, chickpeas, and lentils, all of which I really enjoyed. They were well flavored with spices and cooked to a soft, stew-like consistency. Portion sizes were pretty filling as well.

There are no utensils here, so wash your hands before eating! Also note that they don't accept Google/Apple Pay (credit cards are fine). Prices aren't super cheap, but I think it's well worth at least trying once for the experience and exposure to a culture and restaurant that may be different than what...

We have been to A LOT of Eritrean/Ethiopian restaurants around the country (several dozen). This is one of our favorite cuisines, and one of the first things we look for when we eat in a new city. Asmara is the BEST we've ever had! We would consider going back to Boston just to go here!

The atmosphere is relaxed, welcoming, and unpretentious. Our server was very friendly, and the chef has been nourishing her community for decades. You can tell she takes great pride and invests great care in every single dish.

For example, it's common at Eritrean restaurants to serve a leafy green salad with each dish, frequently with tomatoes. It's also common for the salad to feel like an afterthought, and not a dish unto itself. Not here! The house salad is made with exquisitely fresh produce and perfectly dressed and topped with feta cheese. Feta and injera are such a good combination, it made us wonder why we'd never seen this before! It betrays a deeply ingrained commitment to quality. There are no "throwaway" dishes served here!

In addition to the standards, we were delighted to find ingredients we don't often see--spinach, eggplant, jute. Everything "fits". It would be hard to pick a favorite because each dish was treated as "first class" and received equal love and attention from the artist in the kitchen.

We intentionally ordered more than we could eat because we knew we'd want leftovers. We ate them in the car the next day during our ten hour drive back to Virginia, and they were just as good the next day.

I'm so glad we found Asmara, and I can't wait to have a chance to go back! Highly...