Axum

This East African den serves drinks or an Ethiopian feast against a soundscape of rhythmic music. It claims to be Kansai’s only Ethiopian restaurant. Ethiopia-born Nunu Hadis has been dishing up unique cuisine and, on weekends, a party atmosphere for 11 years.

For the uninitiated, Ethiopian cuisine consists of spicy meat or vegetable stews served with injera, a sour flatbread that resembles a spongy crepe. And the food doesn’t disappoint. Go for doro wat – meltingly tender chicken stew served with an egg – the most popular dish both at Axum and back in the motherland. There’s a good selection for vegetarians, but the must-try dish is atr kik – a rich red lentil dish. Nunu is strict about etiquette, so be warned that he may come to your table to demonstrate the proper way of handling the food. (Using the right hand, injera should be unrolled and placed on the plate, stew spooned on top, then a piece of injera torn off and used to scoop up the sauce.)

Culturephiles wanting the real deal should opt for the “traditional dish”. A variety of stews will be dolloped onto an enormous disk of injera, which serves as both plate and food. Another treat is to experience the real Ethiopian coffee ceremony, which Nunu does by reservation only. Alternatively, you can sit at Nunu’s expansive bar where he will pour you a drink, play some music, and entertain you with stories about his homeland.

[box]Where: 5F, 1-17-15 Higashi-shinsaibashi
Tel: 06-6241-5838
Hours: Tue-Sun 5pm-late[/box]