Bar Nazareth
969 Bloor Street West
416-535-0797
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip and soft drinks: $21

Consuming a meal with no utensils is, well, a bit strange, but it’s all part of the fun of going out to an Ethiopian restaurant. And as I learn at Bar Nazareth, eating this type of cuisine is more about the experience of communal dining than the food - although the food is pretty darn tasty.

Hidden away on the stretch of Bloor, west of Ossington, Bar Nazareth is a small (we’re talking 6 tables) Ethiopian eatery with a kitschy charm. While the exterior looks run down, the inside is cozy and intriguing. The walls are lined with mirrors and faux brick, and the glass-topped tables show intricately-patterned fabric underneath. The only downfall is the two large TVs on either end of the room, which are distracting and oversized for the space.

Choosing from the one-sheet laminated menu doesn’t take long - it’s bare-bones. There are a couple of breakfast options, and four main platter choices - two kinds of beef, chicken and vegetarian - all ringing in at $7.99 each (tax included). Between the four of us, we order three items. The food takes awhile to arrive, but when a mountain of saucy goods comes out on an enormous platter lined with injera (the spongy, crepe-like bread that takes the place of utensils) we understand why. With all the orders on one plate, it’s hard to immediately tell what’s what, but I use my plate of injera to dig into the sautéed collards, which are salty and delicious. The accompanying mashed lentils pale in comparison, but pair nicely with the sour tang of my scooping device. My carnivorous friends rave about the brown, gravy-like sauce on the chicken, but aren’t thrilled about picking out the bones. They also love the beef “tibs” - chopped up beef swimming in sauce and meaty juices. While the injera is tasty, we find it makes us fill up faster and there is still a lot of food left on the plate when we decide to call it quits.

There are a few times during the meal when I go to reach for a fork and miss its presence (I’m grateful for the provided hand towelette), but my friends and I enjoy laughing at our clumsiness and attempts to eat gracefully. I always find great conversation ensues with communal eating - everyone’s leaning in to chow down, so there’s an added closeness. We regret not having the time to stay for coffee (something Ethiopian restaurants take quite seriously, I hear).

While the food at Nazareth was good, I enjoyed the atmosphere even more. There’s something cool about finding a tiny, out-of-the-way restaurant that you haven’t heard much about. Most of the tables at Nazareth seat four people, a sign that sharing is key. And with the amount of food you get for a ridiculously low price, it’s a meal that can be shared with just about anyone - even those pesky pals who complain that eating out is too expensive.