Alem's House ~ Ethiopian - Camperdown

Camperdown gets an Ethiopian Cafe. The lure of vegetarian dishes and injera pull us down Parramatta Rd to give it a burl.

Alem's House is a bright space along busy old Parramatta Rd. Inside is a big multi coloured mural that fills up most of the main wall, like a bright 70s kids cartoon dream sequence. The setting inside is a handful of tables and chairs and seating along the big window looking out to the street.

All the dishes are vegetarian in keeping with the Ethiopian tradition of meat free days, which makes it an easy sell for an increasing vegetarian and vegan market. We love a good veggie dish too, especially in the Ethiopian style. There's minimal African available in Sydney (although it's slowly increasing) and we always hope for something similar to what we've tried in Marooka in Brissie.

The way the meals work is to order a number of dishes at $8 each, which are served on top of a plate covered in a round of injera and curls of the bread on the side. The injera is a big spongy fermented bread, much like a soft and gently sour pancake.

We pick four dishes - misr wat, red lentils with spices and onion; beetroot potato salad; mushroom tibs, cooked with green chili and fennel seeds; and gomen, sauteed spinach, onions and ginger. The flavours are fresh and mildly spiced, except for the green chili in the mushroom tibs which has a punch. They're tasty morsels each one, especially the lentils.

A second go around, this time with three dishes ($24) and extra bread ($2). The shiro wat is a smooth spiced bean stew, and a potato and carrot mix. Same chilli hot mushrooms.

At $32 for four dishes on a platter for two people, or $24 for three, we do admit we walked out feeling a little undernourished, especially compared to the $12 belly-filling bargain we got in Marooka or the $16 veggie platter from the now closed Aaboll. Each dish is around about a large spoonful, more side dish in serving size, with one piece of injera between two. 

At dinner there is a $20 per person menu which works out at about 8 dishes for four people, perhaps a better deal.

Alem's House is at 132-134 Parramatta Rd, Camperdown.  Ph: (02) 9857 4328