Hwunet Bar & Restaurant – 856 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M6G 1M2
Country: Eritrea
Must-try Dish: Special Qelewaa/Tibs
Dinner Guest: Darth-Sid, Suited Sebastien

With the diverse eating scene in Toronto, there are many exotic types of cuisines that are less familiar to us, therefore we took our sense of adventure by the horns and got a table for four at Hwunet Bar & Restaurant. This Eritrean restaurant is located on Bloor just east of Ossington, and has a bit of an inconspicuous vibe from the outside. But don’t judge a book by its cover, and get in there for some deliciously flavoured dishes from the African and Middle Eastern part of the world. 

Eritrea borders Ethiopia to the north, and we were very excited to learn that they share similar cultures and almost identical cuisines. This meant using our hands and loading everything into that spongy, fluffy injera flatbread. For those who are unfamiliar with injera, it is a massive crepe-like bread, and essentially acts as a vehicle to get food into your mouth. As recommended by our server, we ordered three dishes that were all placed atop of our precious injera and accompanied by a salad and vegetables. We instantly dove into what lay upon our injera. 

• Special Qelewaa/ Tibs
  • Cubed tender beef and lamb marinated, then cooked with tomatoes, jalapeno, garlic and berbere sauce

• White Qelewaa
  • Cubed tender lamb sauteed with onions, rosemary, tomatoes, jalapeno pepper

• Merek Fitfit/ Tibs
  • Pieces of homemade injera soaked in lamb stock, onion, turmeric and jalapeno served with cubes of lamb

When eating with your hands, please remember to have a supply of sanitizer at the ready, confirm with your friends that no one has an oncoming cold, and at the end of the day, have fun getting handsy in the traditional method. Personally, I enjoy eating with my hands, it adds an extra depth to the experience and connects you closer to food culture as well as the people you’re sharing a meal with. You wouldn’t eat sushi with a fork and knife, so you shouldn’t eat Eritrean with one, especially if you have a good supply of injera. 

There are several utensils available to eat around the world, and hands down, fingers are a favourite. Our dinner guest Darth Sid is from India, and he has had a great deal of experience in the art of eating with his hands as a result. You wouldn’t think that this method requires much skill, however according to Darth Sid, there is a certain technique and Mandrea Bike seems to be born with it.  

Overall the experience at Hwunet Bar & Restaurant was fantastic. The similarities between Eritrean and Ethiopian cuisine was an unexpected treat, we were accompanied by top-notch dinner guests and we had yet another opportunity to stuff our faces with all of those beautiful Eastern African flavours nestled between our fingers and the injera flatbread. If you haven’t yet experienced this type of cuisine, we urge you to check out Hwunet Bar & Restaurant. Another option is Lalibela – an Ethipoian restaurant that we have reviewed earlier this year.

Eat with you soon,

Mandrea Bike
(Mat & Andrea)