Motherland Africa is home to some of the oldest cultural traditions in the world, with traditional cooking techniques passed down over thousands of years. Footscray might be known as the Melbourne destination for African food, but if you're in need of an injera brea fix and looking for somewhere even closer to the city, give the Abyssinian in Kensington a go.
This welcoming restaurant on Racecourse Road describes its offering as "slow food from the horn of Africa" with dishes slow-cooked over hours, using a diverse combination of authentic African ingredients and time-honoured preparation methods. The vegetarian dishes are just as delicious as the meat-based ones – great for group dinners requiring adaptation to different dietary preferences – while an interesting list of alcoholic beverages features Ethiopian and Eritrean beers.
Anticipate a combo of traditional and spiced-up Ethiopian dishes including kifto beef, goat with kemmam sauce and the lamb hot pot shiro bozena. We recommend ordering the mixed platter feast to get a chef's choice of curries and a small salad served on a giant serve of delightfully spongy injera flatbread. We personally can't get enough of the foul medames, an original Sudanese dish of slow-cooked lava beans, lemon, ghee and spices, and you should also try the rich kangaroo zighini for something a bit different. Hello African-Australian fusion!
Though cutlery is available, it's not the traditional way to eat this food, so get your hands in there and sop up all the flavours. Trust us, it's much more delicious this way.