Ethiopian Restaurant

[philmayfield 6,203]

Driving up Mansfield Rd. today I noticed an Ethiopian restaurant. I can’t imagine you’d get a very filling meal in there. Whose going to try it and report back - not me for sure!

[catfan 14,793]

Me neither.

[philmayfield 6,203]

It gets good and bad reviews on Trip Adviser. I always go by the bad reviews and in this case they were pretty dire. 

[Rob.L 1,090]

There are two Ethiopian restaurants. One on Alfreton Road which has the poor Trip Advisor reviews, and the other, Balageru, on Mansfield Road, which has excellent reviews on Facebook.

 

Tempted to give it a try, as it's not a style of food I've had before.

[catfan 14,793]

I honestly don't trust the hygiene standards in some of these eateries.

[philmayfield 6,203]

Too bloody right!

[Brew 5,427]

Part of my job was investigating complaints and some the 'restaurants' i went into were like something from a horror movie. One lucky customer in Hyson Green finished the day with me turning his electricity off and the health inspector I reported him to issueing an immediate prohibition and closed him down. A very well known Indian eatery was also disgusting and only just avoided the same fate. I don't want to come across as racist but most (not all but most) were run by, err, non indigenous staff.

[Compo 10,328]

Having lived in Ethiopia during the so-called famine of the mid-eighties I can tell you that Ethiopian food is not as unpleasant as you might imagine.  Next ime I am in Nottingham I will positively seek out the Ethiopian eateries and have a feast.  May I recommend that you go in and order "Doro Wot" with "Injera".  If you fancy a meaty treat ask for "Tibs" with Injera. 

 

Doro wot is a chicken dish with a red pepper sauce served with a large flat spongy thing that looks like a grey, flat drop-scone or pancake.  Tear of pieces of the injera and use it to soak up the sauce and as a picker-upper for the chicken pieces. 

 

Tibs is a pile of meaty pieces, in a spicy, thinnish meat sauce or gravy. In Ethiopia it is goat meat but here it will probably be lamb or beef.  Eat with Injera as per Doro wot.

 

The Ethiopians make superb creme caramel and it is always on their menu.

 

Go on....gi it a try and let me know what you think.

An Ethiopian fish meal 2010. I Tilapia fish per person:

 

An Ethiopian woman making an Injera plate:

 

 

A bee skep. Honey is used as a sweetener and for a drink called Tej, which is a honey mead:

 

A mixed Injera and Wot iin Addis Ababa, served in a mesob - lovely!

 

[DJ360 6,734]

The only time me or Mrs Col have contracted anything nasty was from Subway.

 

It seems to me that a lot of 'bad' reviews are based more on the fact that the reviewer didn't like the food than on any real notion of quality.  There's not a fish resataurant on the planet that would get a good review from me...

[Compo 10,328]

Don't you like the look of the fish in the above Tilapia picture, Col?  Writing a review is about giving a balanced view of all aspects of the restaurant.  I soemtimes don't like th efood but it would not alter my score for service and cleanliness, etc..

 

 

[catfan 14,793]

Subway, Halal meat.

[philmayfield 6,203]

I don’t think we’d eat in a lot of restaurants if we saw the kitchens and watched the prep, but what the eye doesn’t see ....... Most pub and restaurant food is bought in pre-prepared. Companies like Brakes have vast factories making ready meals. The idea of pub and restaurant food being freshly prepared is a bit of a con. How could they produce meals so quickly? I’ve had two cousins in the pub trade some years ago with establishments in Lincolnshire and the Cotswolds so I’ve seen what goes on behind the scenes. I’m not saying that pub food is bad but it’s not lovingly prepared by a rosy cheeked landlady in a chef’s hat. All she does is stick it in the microwave and put a sprig of parsley on the top to make it looked home-cooked. Even in the fine dining establishments the prep has to start early in the morning and there’s an army sous chefs to support which is why you get less value for your money with a minute portion. As for the ethnic restaurants- have you taken a peek when the kitchen door is opened? God help us on that one!!

 

 

[catfan 14,793]

A selection from the Nottm Post website.

 

http://www.nottinghampost.com/whats-on/food-drink/19-nottingham-food-businesses-council-275582

http://www.nottinghampost.com/news/local-news/unsafe-notts-takeaway-shut-down-140208

http://www.nottinghampost.com/news/local-news/hucknall-takeaway-closed-due-serious-401778

http://www.nottinghampost.com/news/cafe-operator-fined-27731-after-299956

 

Not a rare occurrence either, these places should be closed straight away after failing an environment health inspection & not allowed to remain open.

[philmayfield 6,203]

They all look pretty seedy from the outside so that should serve as a first warning to the customer. What must the food preparation and the staff hygiene be like? Having said that, what do you do at home if you drop the steak on the kitchen floor or the cat licks it? I bet you wouldn’t eat at the Savoy Grill in London if you were a fly on the wall and saw what went on. Perhaps flys on the wall are zapped!

[NewBasfordlad 3,599]

Back in the mid 60s when an apprentice with EMGAS I went to a supposed posh restaurant on High road Toton near the junction with Nottingham road.

 

Lovely dining room with waitress's all in uniform, guy with a chefs hat on etc lording it over everyone. The kitchen was a disgrace, the cooking ranges coated in old congealed fat, box of uncovered wet fish (trout I think) chucked on to a dirty concrete floor, ice melting and running across said floor. It was an eye opener I can tell you...

[benjamin1945 16,206]

Grange Farm NBL..........used to supply all there Cheese and Bacon mid 60s,.......from Marsdens high st Long Eaton.......top stuff only,

[FLY2 10,109]

Phil, the thing I often look for when out travelling, and I'm in need of a decent meal, is a sign that says 'Home Prepared Food'.

 

[philmayfield 6,203]

Don’t believe a word of it. “Home Prepared” means taken out of the catering pack and put into the microwave. I was at a restaurant in Cornwall a few years ago and I accidentally walked into the kitchen when I was looking for the gent’s. I couldn’t believe what I saw - rows of microwaves pinging away! It really is the only way they can give fast service. I don’t eat out much these days unless someone else is paying!

[FLY2 10,109]

When I lived at Saxondale Village in the 80's and 90's, I regularly dined out at the local establishments, namely The Haven at Whatton, The Pauncefoot Arms at East Stoke, The Welby at Denton, and many others in the area. I never encountered any problems, and the meals at the Haven especially were superb.

[Chulla 4,946]

Stick to fish and chips. You know they haven't been through a microwave. Some of the extras might have, but not the main meal.

[FLY2 10,109]

The recently opened one on Andover Rd, The Anchor  is superb . Always fresh !

[philmayfield 6,203]

There are a large number of companies that make ready meals for the pub and restaurant trade. You must have seen their vans on your travels. Have you seen the large Brakes factory near Grantham and the hugh one at Bilsthorpe which can be seen from the top of Oxton hill. The food is of prime quality, probably better than can be made in the average pub kitchen with the available staff, but the eating establishments, in the main, can’t claim to have prepared it. Don’t be deluded. Work on the basis that the larger the menu the more likely it is that the food is “imported”. Don’t ask for the menu - ask to see the Brake Brothers catalogue and see the look on their face!

[catfan 14,793]

Lets hope it's better than this one FLY !

 

http://www.nottinghampost.com/news/nottingham-news/dirty-fish-chip-shop-shut-924085

[philmayfield 6,203]

14 minutes ago, FLY2 said:

When I lived at Saxondale Village in the 80's and 90's, I regularly dined out at the local establishments, namely The Haven at Whatton, The Pauncefoot Arms at East Stoke, The Welby at Denton, and many others in the area. I never encountered any problems, and the meals at the Haven especially were superb.

My local village pub down the lane does reasonably good food but I regularly see the “Pilgrim Foods” (ready meals) van delivering. Its next drop is the local farm shop which also claims “home cooked food”. I just don’t believe it.

[FLY2 10,109]

I think you take a chance wherever you go, but I'll never let the fear of food poisoning deter me. I've had 5hit meals in good hotels and restaurants, and super meals in little tea rooms and transport cafes. You pays your money, and you take your choice. 

The ones I detest are the 2 meals for £9.99 etc. They really are crap.