Nakfa - Montreal
If you have been following me on TikTok for a while you know that I am a die-hard Ethiopian/Eritrean food fan, but it wasn’t always like this. The first time I tried Ethiopian/Eritrean food was actually in Toronto and I was not a very big fan whatsoever. Of course, I had to give Ethiopian/Eritrean food another chance though because I think the restaurant in Toronto just wasn’t very good so I tried a couple spots in Calgary and Montreal which is when I absolutely fell in love with Ethiopian/Eritrean food.
It is now undoubtedly one of my favourite cuisines, certainly my favourite African cuisine, and I absolutely NEED to share with you guys the best Ethiopian/Eritrean restaurant that I have been to in Montreal!
Also, just to clarify, this restaurant does present itself as an Eritrean restaurant but a lot of the dishes I had are also available at Ethiopian restaurants so I am grouping the two together for the sake of this post. Perhaps in the future I can try to dedicate a post to the difference between Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine but for the sake of this post they are similar thus why I am comparing Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurants. For simplicity’s sake I will refer to the food as Eritrean food for the remainder of this post.
An Overview of Eritrean Cuisine
Eritrean cuisine is rich, spicy and savoury with a lot of vegetarian and meat dishes. There are generally two components to each dish, the starch of choice which in Eritrean cuisine is most commonly injera, a type of fermented flatbread, and a meat or vegetable stewed dish. I think injera compliments Eritrean food beautiful because the sourness nicely contrasts the richness of the stew and the sponginess makes it really easy to scoop up the stews with the injera, which is the traditional way of eating Eritrean food.
This is second nature to me because coming from South Asia I generally eat my food with my hands using roti and I actually have a whole blog post on eating with your hands around the world which you can check out here!
The stews as I mentioned are generally slightly spicy, savoury, and amazingly seasoned owing largely to the pervasive use of berbere in Eritrean cuisine. Berbere is a mixture of many herbs and spices which is a staple in Eritrean cuisine and the defining flavour of many dishes. After trying Eritrean food you’ll want to rush to the store and buy some berbere or make it yourself because the flavour is just so ridiculously good.
In terms of serving, stews can generally be ordered separately but the classic style of serving (which I absolutely love and I highly recommend you get) is on a large platter called a gebeta consisting of multiple dishes over a layer of injera. I love this because it is perfect for sharing with friends and you get to try a bunch of different dishes!
Restaurants will also typically have meat, vegetarian, or mixed platters so there is something for everyone, and injera is naturally gluten free so there are usually also a bunch of options for my friends with Celiac disease (just make sure to ask in advance because some dishes may be thickened with wheat-based flours).
What Should I Order at Nakfa - Montreal?
I HIGHLY recommend ordering the vegetarian combo platter because it is my favourite but if you (understandably) want some meat you can also try the vegetable and meat or simply meat combo platter. I believe each of these is $45 which I think is great value because it is a great portion of food for 2 people!
Honestly what differentiates Nakfa for me from the other amazing Ethiopian/Eritrean restaurants I have been to is probably how good their vegetarian dishes are, seriously, even if you are a big meat lover you have to try at least one vegetarian dish from here! For those of you who want to know what my favourite dishes are though or want to order individually here are my must try dishes at Nakfa!
Shiro
Of course, I must start with an Eritrean staple, shiro. The key ingredients of this dish are chickpea flour, onion puree, tomato puree, garlic, and berbere. This sounds simple but the flavour will knock your socks off! In fact, this is such a simple dish to make (not to master though of course) that I bought chickpea flour and started making it at home because of how delicious it is!
When made at home you can also limit the use of butter/oil so the macros can actually be really great with 100g of chickpea flour containing 22g of protein! This is probably my favourite Ethiopian dish and if you are looking for a healthy and delicious dish then shiro is perfect for you, I bet you’ll want to start making it at home too after you’ve tried it!
Ades
This is actually a dish I tried at Nakfa for the first time and I was absolutely blown away. Similar to shiro, ades is also a pureed sort of stew but I think the difference is that lentils are used instead of chickpea flour. When I had it, the flavour also seemed a little different, like it was maybe a little bit smokier.
In any case, at Nakfa specifically I think this dish is a must try because shiro seems to be more common than ades at restaurants and this dish surprised me the most when I went to Nakfa and is something I get every time now! I think this dish is similar to or the same as Ethiopian “misir wat” but I am not entirely sure, I just know it tastes amazing!
Zigni
Now for a delicious meat dish that is apparently the national dish of Eritrea! I completely understand why as just with ades this was my first time trying it and I was blown away. Zigni is a beef stew that again contains tomatoes, onions, and berbere as the base. I am now realizing that I think this will pretty much be the base for all of the dishes I mention in this post not because there aren’t dishes that don’t use this base of ingredients but because these dishes just happen to be my favourite hahah.
Each of these dishes does have its own distinct flavour though and as far as meat stews go zigni is super delicious with a perfectly rounded profile of spices and tender beef. This is like how many South Asian dishes consist of a base of chilis, garlic, ginger, and pureed tomato but then each have their own twist! So, if you are looking to order a meat dish I would definitely prioritize getting zigni!
Red Tibs
I had tried tibs before at other Ethiopian/Eritrean restaurants but the one at Nakfa is probably my favourite! This dish consists of beef that is less stewy than the other dishes because this one is stir-fried with a sauce. I recommend the red tibs because I like the red sauce compared to the white sauce of the white tibs. The beef is soft but not ultra-tender which I think is perfect for this dish and the sauce is savoury and spicy like the preceding dishes.
An essential ingredient to this dish along with the berbere and other herbs/spices is an ingredient that I totally forgot to mention, but like berbere is pervasive in Eritrean cooking, and that is niter kibbeh. Niter kibbeh is clarified butter, like South Asian ghee which many people may be more familiar with, along with the addition of herbs and spices. In this dish the meat cubes are stir-fried in the niter kibbeh which is apparently essential for achieving the desired flavour.
Sadly, I have never come across niter kibbeh for purchase at any grocery stores that I have been to but I will have to seek it out because I really want to try using it in my cooking, especially if I want to prepare Eritrean food that is as authentic as possible!
If this hasn’t convinced you guys to go to Nakfa I don’t know what else will. This is an amazing hidden gem in Montreal and is a restaurant I have been to multiple times now because of how much I love it. The workers are always so sweet as well and the interior is bright and inviting. If you have never tried Eritrean food before then do yourself a favour and try it for the first time at this beautiful restaurant!
That is all for this post, make sure to check out my other blog posts for more restaurant recommendations, recipes, and other foodie content that I find interesting!
Restaurant Nakfa: 5900 Upper Lachine Rd, Montreal, Quebec H4A 2C1
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