Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Dahlak Restaurant


www.dahlakrestauranttoronto.com

- Christopher Tuckwood

For our first review of 2011, we returned to the West End and visited Dahlak Restaurant (840 Bloor Street West) just east of Ossington Avenue. Our dinner was on a cold night and the first thing that struck us upon arriving at Dahlak was just how welcoming its interior was. The space seemed open and yet cozy with the overall decor being dominated by warm earthtones and moderate lighting. The reddish-brown walls created an atmosphere reminiscent of East Africa despite the absence of the distinctly African decorations so often found in other Ethiopian restaurants. The furnishings were comfortable, particularly the spacious booth by the front window where we settled down, which was ideal for a group as it seemed to encourage conversation and socializing.

Our server was friendly and attentive, bringing out two platters of food (our ever-growing group had welcomed yet another guest this evening) for us not long after we ordered them. The only complaint - and it is a minor one - was a delay of a few minutes between the platters but this was likely due to the size of our order and was not enough of a problem to cause any annoyance. As an interesting aside, a friend of this blog recently explained from Hawarya that the reason Ethiopians eat from a common platter is that those who dine together are believed to be less likely to fight against each other. Fortunately, we were able to avoid any major conflict at our table and remain a united group of restaurant reviewers despite having our food divided in two.

As for the food itself, Dahlak provides an impressive offering. As usual, we ordered the vegetarian combo, which was attractively presented with a single generous helping of each dish distributed around the platter and separated by tightly rolled cylinders of injera. Most of the standard dishes were offered and warmed to just the right temperature at the time of serving. The only exception here was a cold injera-based dish made with a mild vinegary seasoning similar to the dressing on the lettuce salad which accompanies every Ethiopian meal. This was a welcome addition since Ethiopian platters generally tend to have have similar offerings at different restaurants so any increase in variety is highly welcome.

All of the standard dishes were delicious and the only possible complaint is that the kik alicha (yellow split-pea stew) was a bit blander than usual. Additional spice would definitely have been welcome. The tikil gomen (a stew of cabbage, potatoes, and carrots), which is always a favourite of mine no matter where I go, was particularly good, as was the misir wat (red lentil stew). One member of our group commented that the latter had significant kick to it but, while it was probably the spiciest dish on offering that day, it shouldn't be too much for most people.

Overall, Dahlak stands out from the crowd and is easily one of the best restaurants that we've visited so far. Its comfortable atmosphere and delicious food will be sure to please both new visitors and experienced aficionados of Ethiopian cuisine.

Ratings (out of 5 injeras)


Service





Food





Ambiance





Overall

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