Andu cafe

Just down the road from us, the ANDU CAFÉ with a sandwich board outside saying ‘vegan Ethiopian food’ we have been intrigued.. The decor isn’t particularly inviting but at £12 for two people how wrong can you go?
They gave us a warm welcome and have a BYOB policy, so the boy nipped out to get a bottle of light and crisp white. We settle back down in the window, look at their laminated menu and pick the only thing they have on offer, a selection of vegan Ethiopian food with rice or bread. The food is already made and in a counter behind us so with a few scoops it is in a dish and served with cold traditional Ethiopian bread..

This is what we were presented with, as much as I would love to tell you what everything was, Ethiopian is not my native tongue so we were left to try everything and find out. What I can tell you is that we were pleasantly surprised at the selection of different flavours and textures. As diehard carnivores we are not those people picking the vegan dish on the menu, but as an affordable midweek meal we both really enjoyed this new variety of tastes. The bread has to be mentioned as well, when you pick it up it wobbles like a damp flannel but it has the texture of a very thin crumpet and the taste is slightly sour, works well with the rich flavours of all the pulses and potato in the dishes. The bread also comes in a gluten free form!

Probably not the best place for a first date, but a mid-week dinner with an awkward vegan gluten-free friend and I have solved a lot of problems here =) Looking for more veggie restaurants? What about one of my favourites, Persepolis in SE London. Or for another cheap eat try Indian Veg in Angel.

Little map below as the Andu cafe are not on ‘the internet’ yet…

Andu cafe

528 Kingsland Road

London, E8 4AH