Lucy Ethiopian Restaurant  – 1690 Danforth Ave, Toronto, ON M4C 1H8
Country: Ethiopia       
Must-try dish: Special Meat and Vege Platter with Chacha Tibs (#16 with #13)
Seating: Only indoor seating. 
Dinner guests: Dancing Queen, Pornstar Sam, RyHy & Suited Sebastien
The high: This is a women owned and run operation with delicious food. 
The low: We wanted to order more but it would have been too much food. 

Sharing is the name of the game with Ethiopian food, and it’s also one that you’ll want to ensure your hands are clean for. With no cutlery available, you literally dig into the food with your hands and a piece of injera (sour, fermented pancake like flatbread). It can get messy, but it’s in fact the easier method of getting the food from the table to your mouth. 

The culture of Ethiopian cuisine encourages people to enjoy a meal together. Instead of dining alone, you come together as a community to eat. It’s part of the social makeup in the culture as a belief among Ethiopians is that people who eat together will never betray one another. 

Our group was made up of seasoned Ethiopian diners, and others who enjoy eating with their hands, and even a couple virgins to the cuisine. There are several vegetarian and meat dishes to pick from, but all of them include injera, to use as a vehicle for picking up the food and dropping it into your mouth. Lucy’s was no different. 

A group of six people meant that we needed a lot of variety in dishes to sample, and we would have a lot of injera. The main event was the Special Meat and Vege Platter with Chacha Tibs added to it (#16 with #13 on the menu). The large piece of injera covers the entire platter and then all the meats and vegetables take up small sections to themselves all over it. It’s a quilt of edible flavours and textures. This is what you start the order with and then expand from there. 

The rest of the dishes accompanied our platters and plates of injera. The Doro Wat (#8) is a slow-cooked chicken stew with onions and spices in a berber sauce. It’s accompanied by a hard-boiled egg and cheese. This was a welcome change from the heavier meats in our order, and it was extra delicious because the chicken melted in your mouth. 

A classic dish that pleases the crowd are the Tibs (#12) – chunks of beef cooked for hours with onions, spices, and pepper. It’s not too saucy but you’ll want to make sure you get some sauce as you grab the beef with your injera. 

There was debate about ordering the Melasna Senber (#18) because not everyone was comfortable eating tripe and tongue. Although it’s often one of the chewier parts of the cow, it’s also packed with flavour. This one is worth getting whether you’re a fan or not simply based on the sauces and ingredients that accompany the meat. The onions, jalapenos, garlic and ginger are a hit in this dish. 

The Kitfo (#11) is one of Ethiopia’s most traditional dishes. Anyone who loves beef tartar will go crazy for this recipe. Despite being served either raw or cooked depending on your preferences, the authentic way of eating it is raw. The meat is mixed with spices and chillies, and not surprisingly, it pairs well with injera! 

One of our favourite things about Lucy’s is that it’s a family and women run operation, and that’s immediately evident in the level of care that each table gets. The servers are also invested in ensuring that the diners are happy with their orders so they give explanations of the food and help with portion control. Based on this alone it would make us want to return, but the food is also a hit. Ethiopian food is always a pleasant experience and we love introducing more people to it. If you’re in the mood for injera, Lucy’s is for you. 

Eat with you soon, 

Mandrea Bike
(Mat & Andrea)