Restaurant Review: Awash Ethiopian Restaurant
AWASH ETHIOPIAN RESTAURANT 12952 118th Avenue Instagram: @awas.hethiopianrestaurant Co-Diners: The E.A.T Crew
There was a time when Ethiopian food was once an enigma to me and I can easily see how it might feel that way if you've never tried it. However, after you've familiarized yourself with the world of wots and tibs you will soon learn why this cuisine is so beloved. The flavours are bold and the dining experience is special. Edmonton has several options for Ethiopian dining but the most popular these days (after Langano Skies sadly closed their dedicated space) is now Awash which has been open since 2017. Edmonton Journal named them Favourite African Restaurant 2022 and Favourite Ethiopian Restaurant 2022, while EDify Magazine awarded them Best Ethiopian 2023. I'd never visited myself and was very interested to try this highly favoured east African restaurant. Interestingly, Ethiopia is the only African country that has never been colonized, therefore the food has essentially remained uninfluenced by other countries. As such, the cuisine has retained its unique taste, style and tradition. I absolutely love that we have the ability to take part in this beautiful culture right here in our own city. You'll find Awash located in Sherbrooke, right at the traffic circle. In fact, you've probably driven by it a bunch of times. Named after a town in central Ethiopia, the restaurant itself is very cute and you'll notice it right away with their obvious signage and lovely patio area out front. Inside, the atmosphere provides a wonderful taste of Ethiopia with bright, earthy coloured walls in red and orange. Decor items have been thoughtfully selected to reflect the region and there is plenty of greenery as well. I noted that there are several large TV screens around the space, each showing something different. I found this a bit distracting but otherwise the vibe was on point. There was only one server working in the entire restaurant and she was very friendly. However, as more customers began to fill the space on the Saturday evening I did find that her attentiveness slowed considerably. There were a few instances where we had to approach the front counter ourselves to ask for a glass of water or to order dessert (which they do not have even though the menu lists two dessert items). Ethiopia is quite famous for their coffee (and coffee ceremonies) but I generally try to avoid getting ultra caffeinated during the tail end of the day. As such, I was pleased to find the Spiced Tea ($2.50) on the menu as an alternative.
The tea arrived steeped to perfection with nothing else added to it. The server suggested that I could add sugar (which was on the table) if needed. This tea tasted exactly like the Bengal Spice blend from Celestial Seasonings and I wouldn't be surprised if that's exactly what it was. Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable cup filled with the warming aromas of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and clove. As an appetizer, Awash offers Sambusa ($2.95) which is a very common Ethiopian dish that you'll see on most menus. I love them and was even more pleased to see that theirs are stuffed with lentils - my favourite type.
My co-diners wanted to order the beef version but we were told that they didn't have any. This was okay by me because as I said, the lentil option is my preference. These triangular pastries are similar to an Indian samosa but with an African flavour profile. The golden shell was perfectly fried however I did find their dough to be different than other sambusa that I've had in the past. Awash's pastry is a lot fluffier and soft on the inside compared to the very crispy types that I'm used to. It was interesting to see that the preparation can vary depending on who is making them. The menu described the filling as "minced lentils" however the lentils were certainly not minced - they were whole. The flavour and texture was enjoyable but maybe not the best sambusa that I've ever tasted. If you've never tried Ethiopian food before the menu may seem overwhelming what with all of the wots and tibs up for grabs. My opinion is that you should just wing it! Try a few dishes and soon enough you'll get a feel for which items you like best. The enticing flavours will surely win you over! Another aspect of note is that there are no forks, knives, or any flatware at all. Everything is eaten with your hands and it's all a part of the experience! Awash boasts that their food is prepared using homemade spices and of course all meals are served with injera. Injera is a sourdough-risen Ethiopian flatbread that is made out of teff flour and barley. It's a lot like a spongy crepe. I've said this before but injera is like if sourdough, a crumpet, and a crepe had some kind of a weird three-way baby. Injera is used as a utensil of sorts in the absence of forks, similar to the use of naan in Indian culture. The menu features plenty of choices and I was easily drawn to the Shekla Tibs ($21.00), short ribs roasted with onions, jalapeño pepper, and seasoned with butter. Served with awaze (chili powder seasoned paste). Deciding on a second dish took a bit more effort. I really liked the sounds of the Lamb Tibs but how many tibs (sliced meat) are too many tibs? I figured that it might be prudent to order something completely different. I thought that we should get a wot (stew) but I wasn't sure which one. My co-diner suggested the Quanta Firfir ($19.00), a mixture of injera, sauce with onion, tomato, garlic, special dried lean beef, and herbed butter served with hard-boiled egg. This did sound interesting, but I find that firfir (made with shredded pieces of injera) is just too much bread on bread. Nonetheless, we went with that.
Served on a platter known as a gebeta, our server removed the lid revealing our feast within. Ethiopian food is served not only with rolls of injera but also on top of injera. The tibs arrived still sizzling on a clay tibs serving vessel and was then emptied onto the gebeta with the rest. The dishes didn't automatically come with a salad but I requested one for some freshness on the plate. With injera in hand, I began to dig in (literally), reveling in the aromatic flavours. The shekla tibs were easily the favourite around the table. The pieces of short rib were delightfully caramelized, the flavour of rosemary prominent. The vegetables mixed throughout were deliciously stewed in butter - an overall delight! Unfortunately, I didn't like the quanta firfir as much because as suspected, it just seemed like too much bread. Don't get me wrong, I love injera. The porous flatbread was warm, soft, and full of delicious, tangy sourdough flavour. However, too much of a good thing is a real issue and it felt redundant. I really liked the hard boiled egg on top because that was an interesting element. The "special" dried lean beef caught my attention in print but wasn't as good in reality. The bits of meat were very small and hardly noticeable. I enjoyed the spicy heat within the dish but again, felt ultimately overwhelmed by the abundant injera. I was happy with my choice to add the salad as the acidic dressing serves as a good palate cleanser and helps to cut through all of the delicious butter. We had wanted to order a dessert however, as previously mentioned, we were informed that they didn't have any. I know that many people like Awash a lot but I did find my experience somewhat hit or miss. Overall, I did enjoy the great atmosphere and their wonderful and iconic Ethiopian flavours. However there were other parts of my visit that could've been better. All in all, I'm very happy to see a growing amount of options in our city for different cultural experiences and Awash is certainly a part of this rich tapestry. Each of us are better for having all cultures represented by their food in our city.
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