Arhibu Ethiopian Restaurant

Arhibu is an authentic Ethiopian/Eritrean restaurant found in the heart of Brisbane's Little Africa in Moorooka.

Hidden in the basement of the retro Ranchhod Arcade on Beaudesert Road, this little gem of an African restaurant serves traditional Ethiopian cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

All-day breakfast ranges from fulmedames (slow-cooked fava beans, chopped tomatoes, onion, fresh chillies, feta cheese and eggs combined with aromatic spices), and inkulal firfir (scrambled eggs with tomatoes, onion and chillies), to chechebsa (freshly baked, shredded bread infused with berbere (Ethiopia spice blend) and butter served with yoghurt. 

Snacks or starters include hand-wrapped spring rolls filled with vegetables, lentils and spices, crispy filo parcels stuffed with sambusa beef, and injera (sourdough flatbread) served with three homemade vegetable dips - baba ganoush and yoghurt, cucumber and garlic, and Ethiopian spiced salsa. 

An ideal way to experience Ethiopian cuisine is to order mahberawi - a share platter filled with a variety of tasty dishes. Choose all vegetarian, all meat, or a mixture of both.

Mouth-watering meats include key wot (tender beef cubes cooked in berbere), lega tibs (tender lamb cooked with spices, hot peppers and garlic), and lamb molokhia (Sudanese spinach cooked with lamb and spices); while delicious vegetarian dishes to try are atklit alicha (string beans, green peppers, potatoes and carrots cooked with tomatoes, onion, garlic and ginger), duba (pumpkin sauteed in berbere sauce), and shiro (finely ground chickpeas cooked with onion and garlic). These dishes can also be ordered as mains.

If you still have room for dessert, there's homemade busbusa (coconut semonlina cake) served with vanilla ice-cream and panna cotta served with fruit salad.

Besides the flavoursome fare, and warm hospitality, a highlight of your visit to Arhibu is the traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony. Ethiopian green beans are freshly roasted over a small stove in the centre of the room, then ground, and served black and strong in a jebena with a basket of popcorn. 

By Deb Lidster