Mesobena Restaurant

6 of us went out tonight and thoroughly enjoyed our first experience with Ethiopian food. Two of us eat plant based, and I need to eat gluten free. Our waiter/manager, Issayas helped us all navigate the menu. His guidance and suggestions were spot on. We all liked what we ordered. All the dishes had unique flavors with different spices and levels of heat. Do your self a favor and try it. We all agreed we would return.

We popped in to try the food this morning right when they opened, it felt so relaxed almost like eating at someone’s home. Groups of friends popped in to visit and share food. Issayas greeted us and explained the menu, we opted for the vegetarian platter and some spicy beef Tibs. We sipped tea and coffee and anticipated the arrival of our delicious food. Once it arrived the aroma from the platter made us feel like we were no longer in Edmonton, a quick cultural travel experience as we ate with our hands and savoured every bite. Issayas also gave us a healthy serving of beef K’ay Wot to try, which turned out to be one of our favourites from our meal. By this time the indoor and outdoor dining area began to fill up with regulars, laughing, eating and shaking hands. Certainly a place we look forward to bringing our friends to and sharing a meal.

The owner is very friendly and helpful. The interior is cozy, there are beautiful paintings of Eritrea or Ethiopia in the hall. The food is authentic. It is specific and not for everyone. From the outside the building looks bad. It was raining that day and the walkway was all puddle, so my legs were all wet. We ordered kitfo to go, but were a little bit afraid to eat this dish with raw meat, so fried the meat. Was not bad. They also seem to have some musical band performances