Ethiopian food may be a mystery to many but it can also be a revelation. From a country where thyme and basil grow wild, bee hives are built in trees and the markets are full of obscure spices used since the days of the real Queen of Sheba, this Kentish Town Ethiopian restaurant is a fine place to start your education.

The Venue
Easily accessible from Tuffnell Park or Kentish Town tubes, Queen of Sheba is a quiet corner restaurant, where part of its charm lies in the distinctively Ethiopian aromatic blend of incense, coffee and spiced butter that greets you on its doorstep.

The Atmosphere
The Queen of Sheba is a pleasantly low-lit space decked out with the paintings, basketry and timber furniture typical of Ethiopian, particularly Addis Abbaba, restaurants. Ululating Ethiopian music contributes to the pleasant atmosphere, which can be a little quiet on a week night but is often much louder in the small space at weekends.

The Food
Ethiopian cuisine is varied and regional, despite the almost ubiquitous accompaniment of injera (a fermented pancake-like bread, made of the highly nutritious but gluten-free teff flour). For Orthodox Ethiopians much of the year is made up of fasting days, where no meat is consumed, and so in addition to the robust and rich meat dishes that mark feasting days on the calendar, the cuisine has a broad range of vegetarian dishes, from the deeply satisfying, silky smooth shiro (made from roasted ground chickpeas, £9.50) to gomen (£7) a dish of sautéed spinach laced with fresh jalepeno.

Start with a beer and a bowl of the deliciously moreish and possibly heart-stopping chips of spicy fried injera called kategna (£5.50) while you wait for your communal feast. Ethiopians traditionally eat at a shared table where enormous injera cover the basket or plate like a spongy edible table cloth, which is used to pinch up morsels of food as well as soak up the wonderful juices.

The Ethiopian version of steak tartar (kitfo) is a must try, a very fine dice of lean beef, glossy with spiced butter and served with chopped sautéed spinach and a fresh white mild cheese (£11.50). The doro we’t (9.50) is perhaps Ethiopia’s most famous dish and this is an excellent version – a rich slow-cooked chicken curry, hot with berbere spice blend and studded with boiled egg. If the choice is worrying you, a chef’s selection (£30 for vegetarian and £40 for meat) of a number of dishes on injera, will easily feed three people, and is highly recommended.

The Drinks
There are a changing range of Ethiopian beers on the menu, all of which are perfectly enjoyable lagers. There are some Ethiopian wines (check what is available) of varying quality, but fun for at least the novelty value. Do not leave without experiencing the Ethiopian coffee – they really do know what they’re doing.

The Last Word
The Queen of Sheba is simply one of the best Ethiopian restaurants in London. To introduce yourself to this unique style of eating and fascinating menu of dishes you could do no better than come here with a group of like-minded friends and break injera together.

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