From the other reviews, it looks like this place might have off nights, but I went on an on night! A friend recommended we go check Beza out since I'm vegan and love Ethiopian. She'd been a few times and really enjoyed it.
Arriving around 6:30pm on a Friday night, we were glad to have made a booking for the small restaurant. There aren't many tables, so if you're set to come be sure you reserve a spot. We both ordered the vegan platter. From older pics, I can see the price has gone up. It was £19 each, which I thought was a bit much. (That's what's holding this back from being 5*). I'd say it's definitely worth £15, maybe £16, and yes there's a cost of food crisis, so I get it. Just felt steep.
Money talk aside, the food itself was gorgeous both for the taste buds and on the plate. There were nine small portions of various dishes spread out on injera, a spongy semi-fermented Ethiopian and Eritrean flat bread used to wrap up bites and eat with your hands. Injera is made of teff, an ancient grain, and is incidentally gluten-free. On the side were two small bowls of chili sauce, one green and medium hot, the other red and packing a nice kick (spice is nice.) The platter was completed by one additional half-roll of injera.
All the flavours were great. I especially liked the mushrooms, which had a deep, rich taste (wish there had been a bit more) and the spinach, which balanced with the garlic it was cooked with delightfully. I also relished the berbere spice in the red lentils comprising the centre piece of the platter.
Service was friendly. The place was warm in ambience and temperature, which was nice on a drizzly night. Taking our time eating and chatting, my friend and I didn't feel rushed to leave. We slowly finished our entire tray, and at the end felt pleasantly satiated but not overstuffed. A wholly nice evening. read more