eatWelly

Adulis is an Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurant situated on Tory Street.  It’s in the place that The Meeting Tree used to be, but we think Adulis is an improvement.  Ethiopian/Eritrean food is more unusual in New Zealand, so we were eager to try it out.

Adulis has two for one vegan and vegetarian mains on Mondays (when we went) so it pleased budget-conscious Nicole.  Demi wanted something meaty, so we ended up ordering three mains in all.  (Nicole got one to takeaway as lunch the next day.)  The vegetarian mains are around $15, so two for one is a good bargain, given that one main is filling . The mains with meat range $17 to $22. There are also platters which allow people to sample a range of the likely unfamiliar dishes on offer.

Demi ordered an extra super spicy Siga Wot, which is an African spice paste stew containing little strips of beef.  The meals are all (or most – we haven’t tried them all yet) like curries, served with either rice or injera.  If you’ve never had injera before – it’s a mildly sour, spongy pancake-type thing that you mix with the curry.  Nicole had tried injera before at The Meeting Tree, and didn’t like the strange sour flavour too much.  This time she enjoyed the injera though – whether that’s because it’s grown on her or because Adulis’ injera is simply better is unclear.  (If you want to try a little bit of injera before deciding on injera vs rice – you could perhaps ask the friendly wait staff/owner if you could try a little.  Nicole went back for a group dinner after this first time, and the accommodating owner brought out some injera samples before the group ordered.)

The Siga Wot did deliver on the spice, being hot enough to slow down the chilli-loving Demi and make her want to order it again next time!  Nicole tried a little bit as well and enjoyed the flavour, although it was far too spicy for her to eat more than a little.

Nicole ordered the Meser Wot, at the owner’s recommendation.  Spice level was around mild, at Nicole’s request.  It was a tasty lentil dish, and felt like a healthy option.  The spiciness was just enough to give it a bit of a kick, but not overpowering.

Seeing as we’re not that familiar with Ethiopian/Eritrean cuisine, we found it hard to see how either dish could possibly be improved.  The presentation was a little lacking, but the owner has since fixed this up by including a little bit of salad with the dish (see main photo above).

Adulis’ menu is very vegetarian/vegan-friendly.  Nicole has since also tried the Defen Meser (the consistency was a bit rougher, like the lentils were almost undercooked – but this may be how the dish is supposed to be), Shiro (good, but not quite as good as the Meser Wot) and Yatakilt Alicha (vegetables in turmeric – a little bit bland, probably the least preferred dish of the bunch).  Not that Nicole’s a vegetarian – she just loves two for one specials!

The decor is fine.  It’s a small casual eatery, clean and comfortable.  On the night we went there were quite few tables needing clean up – it looked like they’d had a busy night and were perhaps understaffed.