TICTAC MAN
I did not expect to find a shop that captures a drop of Ethiopia's vast culture, food, and hospitality so well in the city centre. You have to take a staircase above a takeaway to reach this spot.
As soon as you enter, you can hear Ethiopian expats talk in their native tongues enjoying their local food. The menu is very small, unfotunately I do not have a photo. They serve 9 stews, 2 are vegetarian, all served with a flatbread called Injira. This is similar to a Dosa/Thosai. They make it by fermenting soaked rice and wheat flour for 10 days and frying it on a large pan.
The portions are huge! I was stuffed by the end. Each stew and Injira ranges are between 10 and 11 pounds, which I believe is a great price. We ordered Yebeg Wot (Lamb stew) and Shiro (chickpea stew). You use the spoon to scoop a little onto the bread, then tear the bread around it to scoop and eat.
We also had tea, which was infused with cinammon bark giving a deep and complex spice and sweetness. This is much better than mixing cinnamon powder in teas. I was surprised to learn they buy green coffee to roast in house! Ethiopian coffee is some of the best in the world. They pull a shot with Ethiopian cardamon, giving the already rich coffee a complex spicy note.
I can't recommend enough. I understand if people do not enjoy, I myself am not used to this type of cuisine and flavor. However, I encourage you to try at least once ❤️
Akshata Shenoy
What a fabulous place this is. Before talking about the food, i would like to appreciate the staff, so smily and cheerful. Nebew was such a fun host and server. The food is outstanding. This was the first time we tried Ethiopian Cuisine. We tried the Wot which is a medium spicy stew which is slightly thick cooked with meat. Doro Wot is
tender chicken slow cooked with onion, garlic, ginger, spices and herbal butter served with a boiled egg.
Shiro - Powdered chickpeas cooked with onion, garlic and ginger, mildly spiced
Beyaynetu is a traditional national dish served with various components - Yetsom Beyaynetu is spicy red lentils, yellow split peas, cabbage and carrots, shiro and house salad. The Injera is a flatbread similar to a pancake which is made from teff flour and is served with all the dishes. The total bill for 6 people was £60 including 5 Ethiopian Beers and food. Would love visiting again. Thank you for all the hospitality ❤️
Steve Pickess
Absolutely beautiful food. Ive been here now three times and each time the meal has been absolutely perfect. Really friendly waiter served us and was happy to make recommendations to my partner who hadnt been. Also incredibly reasonable.
Will definitely be back
Mackenzie Hull
Such a nice hidden gem, my fiancé and I wanted to try a different cuisine after being in Manchester for nearly 10 years. The food was delicious and a real experience. Im not sure on what the servers name was but he was so nice, incredibly polite and had great advice on the menu. If you’re wondering where to eat next choose this place!
Stephen Harris
Very tasty and reasonable price, we paid about £68 for 5 people, which was 5 main dishes, 3 Ethiopian beers, 2 soft drinks.
It’s essentially a bowl of stew, with some soft bread (like a sour savoury pancake)that you dip in and eat it with…we had lamb, chicken & mixed vegetarian option. We went in the evening- the restaurant area is upstairs via a spiral staircase and from the outside it’s not immediately apparent that anyone is in..but they are! Service was very friendly and all the meals explained, as we were Ethiopian food novices.
Shivank Sharma
Popped by for a quick dinner and was not disappointed. The staff were very friendly and I had the spicy lamb stew with traditional Ethiopian bread which was lovely. Also tried the Ethiopian beer which was nice light lager. Very much recommend if you’re looking for a different choice!
Richard Turk
Never tried Ethiopian food before.
So pleased we went. 4 of us tried a different plate each.
Spicy beef
Berber lamb
Chicken
Veggies
All served on a sour bread in a great atmosphere with the best smiley service ever. Brilliant.
Kaitlin Harris
Visited lastnight, chuffed to eat cheap yet great food. Shame the portions were small but the traditional sour flatbread filled me up enough at the time. Each meal was about £11 minimum and cheap bottled beer at around £3.25. Lovely atmosphere seems very authentic and the staff were super friendly and polite, a tip well deserved. Only thing is finding the place was confusing but it’s on the corner and you’ve to go into the fast food place below then follow the spiral stairs up and you’ll have landed yourself in the habesha restaurant :) the lamb was lovely and tender. Open late as well (11pm)!
Ranjit Chagar
An amazing find. Truly authentic with a lot of attention paid to the the quality, taste and presentation of food. We shared 3 dishes between us and were unable to finish despite wanting to eat more since the flavours are so amazing. There are 2 amazing vegetarian options, we had one and it really was great! Great service, comfortable environment and service was first class. Will definitely be back!
Florence K
They sell very good Injeras if you want just the injeras, food at the restaurant is great too. I tried key tibs and it was good. I highly recommend this place.
Daniel Noble
Lovely food & great service. Would recommend any of the dishes & the coffee to finish!
Osho Oluwafunmilayo
I had lunch at Habesha restaurant with a group of friends and it was a great experience. We were attended to by a nice waiter that was always smiling, we tried the Ethiopian dishes and it was awesome. The ambience and african decorations was also beautiful.
Naomi Doe
Amazing service + delicious food. Had the slow cooked lamb and it was fantastic. Proves that a simple menu goes a long way! Cheap prices for the amount as well - it might not look huge but it is a filling portion for sure. Felt cared for by staff.
Connie
We decided to book Habesha after reading Giles Coren’s rave review of the restaurant in The Times. It is a very small restaurant up a spiral staircase, accessed through a disused kebab shop. We were looked after by one person who was incredibly polite and helpful. There are not many meal options, which helped us pick 4 dishes to share comfortable amongst 6 of us, plus several plates and baskets of injera, the Ethiopian fermented pancake.
It was a novel experience scooping up the food with torn pieces of pancake (spoons are provided) and the beef, lamb, chicken and lentil dishes we ordered were excellent. The chicken in the thick, rich gravy I think was the group’s favourite, but I also really loved the lentil curry which came with pickles and a salad, as well as the cubed lamb. Very delicious, and ridiculously good value - £65 for 6 of us.
A.V. Amane
Came here today with my friend as we liked the look of the small menu - always a good sign that they know what they're on about!
We arrived at 2pm on the dot when the restaurant was just opening up, so we were the first people there. It took some time for our food to arrive, but when it did we were very pleased with it. My friend ordered kitfo and I ordered a lamb whose name escapes me but it tasted incredible. We couldn't quite manage all the injera that came with the meat, there was a lot of it, but we came away very happy and having not blown a hole in our wallets. 10/10 would go again.
Shweta_3D DIVA
A very rare cuisine “Ethiopian” place with traditional stretchy bread and spicy lamb curry, wasn’t savory but very eclectic dish. The chef was sweet and very courteous, it was nice to see the depiction of cultural life in Ethiopia exhibited through the food, wall murals and baked coffee beans 🫘 originally from Ethiopia, value for money meal!!
Jonathan Homer
Amazing authentic food. Small choice on menu but it is all about the quality. Restaurant owner very friendly and helpful.
Watch through hard to find. Shop almost looks closed! So check door and go up the spiral stairs. Didn't see a lift so if you can't do stairs this will be a problem.
Still very good. Reasonable pricing. Definitely recommended.
woody green
Went in for early dinner on my own, wanted to try something new and being inspired by the Simpsons I thought I'd give Ethiopian food a try. Really weird location, above a kebab shop in the gay village. Decor was nice inside, clean, service was friendly but a little slow given how few people were inside, prices were amazing however. Ethiopian beer was cheap and good, and the food was only £11. Ordered one thing and couldn't even finish it. Loads of lamb in my stew, I have my reservations ordering lamb because usually places tend to skimp on portions but not here. The bread thing served with every meal was nice too, a strange but not unpleasant sour taste. I would come here again. The stew was delicious.
Nick
Excellent food and lovely owners . The lamb was tender, the lentil and split pea dishes were seasoned well
Suhani Dhar
One of our faves in Manchester - a hidden gem!<br/><br/>Habesha is one of our favourite places to pop out for a treat when we are both off work. The food is just gorgeous - so tasty, authentic and reasonably priced. The staff are always really lovely and the service is great. Ethiopian cuisine is hard to come by in MCR - so this is a welcome change to the status quo of English/Indian/Asian cuisine. Definitely give this place a try - you won't be disappointed :)
Sanjeev
An Ethiopian restaurant located above a kebab takeaway may not sound like everyone's first choice but try it, I found it really tasty and something a little different from the usual! The waiter was excellent, he helped with recommendations and also with how to eat the dishes I was unfamiliar with. Most dishes were £7.50 and some of the soft drinks were only £1. <br/><br/>Great service and lovely food at a very reasonable price, not much to complain about there.
Arantxa
I really like this place! The staff is extremely friendly and the food is great. We had sourdough flatbread (injera) which you have to tear and use to grasp the food with your hand. It's also a good option if you are vegetarian and want to try something different! We've visited this place a couple of times already and it has been consistent in it's good service.
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