The Queen of Sheba Restaurant

Queen of Sheba was our first try of Ethiopian food and it was perfect! We ordered the Queens special platter so that we could try a bit of everything. Every single dish was so flavoursome, I honestly wouldn’t be able to pick a favourite. It was £45 for the platter which served 2 of us but could easily do 3. We weren’t able to finish everything so it is so worth it from a price point of view. We dined early as we were going to a show, so it was really quiet and staff were still setting up. However everyone was friendly and helpful, there’s a real family run feel about it. The Ethiopian beers on the menu weren’t available but we had an alternative one that was delicious, so I would recommend going for them. We also had the night cap at the end of the meal, which made a perfect alternative to dessert as we were too full to eat anymore! Delicious food at a very reasonable price. I also feel like the laid back environment and platter options are such a good way to get into Ethiopian food if you’ve not had it before 😊.

The food and the experience were quite interesting. Had a meat platter, shrimps, spinach, lamb and injera bread. It was shared between 2 people each £22. The bread's texture was interesting. It was kinda spongy as well. We had to eat by hands, so don't forget to wash your hand. I like the spinach and shrimp. The portion was quite generous, I was struggling to finish it. Had to give 3* cuz my friend had bad stomach ache afterwards. Maybe they weren't too accustomed to strong spices or something else.

From the moment I walked in, I knew this restaurant was something special. The atmosphere strikes a perfect balance between warm and inviting, making it an ideal spot for both relaxed dinners and special occasions. The food was absolutely exceptional especially the mandi, which was hands-down one of the best I’ve ever had. Perfectly cooked, beautifully spiced, and served in generous portions, it was the kind of dish that stays with you long after the meal ends. What truly set this place apart, though, was the service. Every member of the staff was genuinely kind, attentive without being intrusive, and clearly cared about creating a great experience for each guest. It’s rare to find a restaurant that delivers on every front but this one truly does. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Some of the best coffee I've had is here. The Ethiopian coffee ceremony is such a rich and relaxing experience and the food is delicious! Sophia is not just very kind, attentive but also living up to her name! She is very knowledgeable and she can tell you a lot about history and culture. The interior is full of interesting stuff like Ethiopian crosses and many other Ethiopian traditional stuff. The atmosphere is very relaxing, especially when they light up the frankincense- that's one of my favourite parts!

It’s like being transported to Ethiopia!! Such amazing food at great value. Perfect for group meals out. It’s a very laidback atmosphere and chill vibes, yet the servers still manage to be very informative and give great suggestions. Fully recommend the mixed selection, it’s so full of flavour and taste. Will definitely be back to this gem.

The food is probably the best Ethiopian I’ve had (including what I’ve tried in Canada and Spain). The shrimp dish is to die for. The local beers are fantastic. Service is slow, but going with the local culture of just slowing down and being in the mood. 🚽 🚨 needs a renovation.

Generous portions, we ordered vegetables, chicken & prawn (3 of us) couldn't finish it . Taste lovely! We had a pot of spices tea for sharing, bang on! Impressed by the food presentation, great surprise. We just walked in without any information, turned out a great dinning experience, plus friendly service & welcoming staff, definitely on my 'return" list!

Such a find! Amazing authentic food, lovely atmosphere and very good value. Visited with my Husband, our waitress helped us order as we had never had Ethiopian food before, and we were not disappointed. Fully recommend, if you fancy something a little different.

This place is simply amazing! From the first time I visited it some 10 years ago to my recent visits this week while on vacation in London, the food is consistently fresh and tasty! They have so many great menu choices and a selection for every diet! They also serve it under an Ethiopian traditional dinnerware called Messob! ! It gives a sense of being somewhere else in time and space! From the wonderful veggie variety to tender chicken, lamb or beef, you will find dishes to please your taste buds! Queen of Sheba simply serves an amazing time no matter the occasion! Do yourselves a favor and visit the spot, it won't be your last time! Cheers!!

This place served some of the best Ethiopian food I've ever had. Their menu was also more comprehensive than most Ethiopian places I've been to. We got the doro and gomen which was my favorite because it was packed with flavor and the chicken was tender, the lamb tibs, and the shiro wet. All of it was good and kept me wanting for more at the end. We are the very last bit of injera just to soak up the flavors left on the plate. So yummy!

Ethiopian is top 3 one of my favorite foods! When I was visiting my friend one weekend, we stopped here for lunch. It's a small establishment with character. We ate here for lunch and it wasn't busy, just a group of ladies, my friend and me. We shared the Sheba's Vegetarian Special (30 pounds) and by the end of the lunch, we were ready to take a nap. The food was flavorful, plenty, and the perfect amount for the two of us. I highly recommend this place for authentic Ethiopian food.

I have been meaning to try this place for aaaaaages, so I am so glad that I finally made my way here! I tried one of the sharing platters with 2 friends. It was way too much food for three people, so I really think it would be worth coming here in a group of four if you are planning to try the sharing platter! Everything was gorgeous and presented beautifully. The injera here is less lemon-y than some of the other Ethiopian places have been to in London, but I like it more and if you ask, they bring you more to soak up all the yummy flavours.

I absolutely love Ethiopian, and this spot was perfect for the craving I was having. I came with friends, and we split a bottle of the house dry white wine (there's also a house medium-bodied white wine). We ordered a meat dish, a vegetarian dish and a side, and it was more than sufficient and incredibly delicious. The waitstaff was friendly and helpful (our waiter, instead of encouraging us to order more as some restaurants do, advised we first see if this was enough and then order more as needed). The spot is clean and classy, although a little small so reservations are recommended. Would definitely recommend!

We wanted to go there already since some time. The first time when we tried to go there the restaurant was packed and unfortunately we didn't have a booking. This time where smarter and booked ahead. The food was just amazing. We had the £ 40 sharing platter. It says it's for 2 to 3 but it would rather say it's for 3 to 4. We couldn't finish it despite everything was really delicious. To finish everything we had the coffee ceremony. This means freshly roasted coffee the ethopian way. Great flavours you have to try this. The restaurant itself is cosy and nice. The staff is very friendly. We certainly will be back.

Another great African restaurant near Tufnel Park, though from the outside it might not seem appealing. Don't let the fade 70's presentation put you off though as this has some excellent dishes and is great for groups of people or friends/ Price wise the food is good, most main dishes for under '£10 and I'd recommend the lamb with chili which is lovely. Lot's of dishes for the veggies amongst us as well. Service is friendly but slow; I hate restaurants where everything is rushed and you feel forced out after dining so this suits me fine. Very good African food then with lots of flavour and at a good price.

I've always wanted to try Ethiopian food, and finally I came across with this little restaurant. It is not situated in a good area of London, IMO. The neighbourhood didn't appear all that interesting to visit, although you can get there by subway pretty quickly. The restaurant looked small although very cozy and clean. It was already packed by 7 p.m and the owner told us to wait for half an hour to come back later. We felt ourselves stranded and with nothing to do for the duration of the waiting. But finally he arranged a place for us and the staff became extra nice with us as a compensation for our long wait, which was a plus for me! The food was absolutely amazing. First we ordered some samosas and kategna, which was spicy as hell, and the the chef's special meat combo dish for three people. The food was filled with flavour, spices, condiments and everything which makes us love food! Although we were three, we're not able to finish the plate. The size of the plate was just too much for us, even though we loved it. After we finished eating we had a long conversation with the owner about the place and the food they make. This was one of the best gastronomical experiences I had in London. Everything looked authentic and new for me - from the decoration, eating with my hands, the size of the plate, the ingredients used in the cooking, etc. This restaurant is highly recommended for anyone fond of spicy food. Price range is average.

One of my favourite parts of going to gigs in London is deciding where to eat beforehand. The geographic diversity of London venues (and the staggering number of gigs I attend) has fortunately resulted in many great restaurant discoveries across London over the past year and a half. So when the recent MGMT gig at The Forum brought me to Kentish Town, an area of London I had not yet explored, I enthusiastically took to the internet to determine where to dine pre-show. I settled on The Queen of Sheba due to its proximity to The Forum and because my bf and I are fans of Ethiopian food. (I first encountered Ethiopian food on Los Angeles' Fairfax Avenue, where Ethiopian restaurants peacefully coexist with Jewish delis, while the bf discovered the cuisine in Berkeley's ethnic enclaves.) When we arrived for our 6:30PM reservation, we were greeted by our friendly server and the strong smell of incense. Our reservation proved unnecessary as the restaurant was half-empty, but it was early on a Wednesday night after all. After deliberating over the menu with refreshing St George Ethiopian beers in hand, we decided on the following dishes: + Kategna - crisply toasted injera coated in chili + Veggie selection for one - misir we't, atkelt we't, and kik alich'a we't (spicy red lentil stew "simmered in the chef's special hot sauce," cabbage with potatoes and carrot, and split yellow peas with turmeric, ginger, and green chili) + Yebeg We't - lamb simmered in red pepper sauce and seasoned with ginger, garlic and black pepper From the first bite of the addictively crisp and spicy kategna, we were hooked. Though slightly too greasy (your napkin will be covered in dangerously red oil in no time), kategna are my new favourite accompanying snack to beer. Similar to chili-dusted pita chips but with that sour tang particular to injera, TQoS' kategna should be packaged and sold for home enjoyment. I wish I had a pack next to me as I type this. When the main dishes arrive, they are spooned onto a platter of injera the size of a bicycle tire. Additional rolled injera is served on the side at no extra cost. While we enjoyed the lentil vegetable dishes, we fought over the final bits of the lamb stew. The tender lamb and fiery sauce wrapped up with the sour and spongy injera is, to use the amusing English expression, decidedly moreish. I could picture yebeg we't injera wraps as the next street food hit at KERB or one of London's other wonderful food markets. You read it here first. I rate TQoS 4.5 stars, taking away half a star for the slightly excessive oiliness of the kategna and the blandness of the cabbage dish. TQoS is the only Ethiopian restaurant I have been to London so far, so I cannot proclaim it the "best" in London. However, it is the best Ethiopian food I have ever eaten, and I will go back for more of the kategna and yebeg we't, gig at The Forum or not. (Visited October 2013.)

I was always a little afraid of this place. How wrong I was. Possibly it was because of the connotations of Sheba. Sounds a little close to the cat food of the same name. That aside, I can honestly say this is probably one of the best places to eat should you find yourself in the K-Town Tufnell Park area. The decor has a simple Ethiopian vibe and the chairs are a little hard. However, the atmosphere, the food and the staff make this a truly awesome place to experience something new and delicious. I can thoroughly recommend the creamy mushroom chicken dish and the spicy lamb dish (£8.50 each) Forgive my ignorance, but I can't remember the names of them, but if in doubt as to what to have the, quite frankly, stunning lady that runs The Queen of Sheba who will be happy to help out with any choices that need to be made. The food arrives and then the bread arrives. You may ask yourself where is the cutlery? But my sweet sausage friend, there's none to be seen.. That's right. It's a very hands on job and it's important to wash your hands before hand. The bread has a slight vinegar taste to it, which may not be to everyone's pallet, On the other hand I think it compliments the the strong spicy/creamy flavours of the food. Best way I have found if people like TQoS is just to throw them in at the deep end. 4 visits down and I've never had an unsatisfied friend. This restaurant whilst punching out some of the best food in North London still feels very unique in its approach. If you have a problem of where to eat, and you can find it.. maybe the Queen of Sheba can help you. Sexy Rob

I have been visiting TQOS for many years and have not been disappointed with the food or the service. The standard has remained high all these years and my visit on Friday confirmed this. The service can get slow when it gets busy so if you are the Mount Rushmore type you may find reason to complain. It is not negligently slow; the kitchen is slow with only a couple of staff. I eat vegetarian or fish when I eat out and the vegetarian platter at £30 to share is great value. Choose wisely from the menu; many of the starters are not good value for money and you're probably better spending extra on a main. For example, I ordered stuffed chilli and got two teeny weeny chillies for £3.50! I have learnt my lesson and will stick to main dishes. In comparison to other Ethiopian restaurants in London, TQOS strikes a good balance in terms of value for money and quality of food.Check it!

The service was great and the food even better. I went with a group of five people and with drinks and sharing four dishes and three salads, our bill came to about £80 and our stomachs full. The atmosphere was really relaxed...we stayed chatting and finishing our drinks well after our meal was over and never felt rushed to leave, only receiving our check when asked. Unlike other Ehiopian restaurants where the food comes out already served on the bread, our server came out with our main courses and served us all individually. The raw beef dish we shared was excellent. The salads we had as sides, I could have passed on---though good it would have been better to have tried the other side dishes. All in all, highly recommended.

I was excited to try Ethiopian food here in London as I'd not had it since living in New York. Queen of Sheba didn't let me down - my friends and I got the £40 meat special between the three of us and it was more than enough. We were all much too full to finish everything and we found ourselves complimenting the food through the entire meal, especially the chicken cooked in Ethiopian butter. The restaurant is small but the atmosphere is very cosy and relaxing, it feels like the kind of place I'd be happy to return to. Very close to Kentish Town station and chilled out pubs for after-dinner drinking.

Excellent food served quickly. Great staff, very friendly. Great to be able to experience new cuisine. Will definitely go again.

A local gem. Very warm and friendly dining experience in a uniquely decorated setting. It's a family owned restaurant and this shows itself in every part of the experience - from the service to the cuisine. Generous servings - great portions - great service. You really can't go wrong.

It's always a pleasure to discover Ethiopian food. Fish, vegetarian, meat: everyone will find something to please their palate. The restaurant and staff are lovely too.

Awesome food, sweet family driven service, great time with great friends. They answreed my online booking request within the hour, saved us a table, and fed us like kings. They even got us a car after dinner. Will return soon.

I had never tried Ethiopian cuisine before i went here, so this would be as much a review of the place as of the cuisine. I had heard from two independent sources that Ethiopian food is somewhat similar to Indian. So i thought this would be a safe place to take my vegetarian friends. I felt the food was good (except the Katinga ... way too oily). The meat dishes were very much South Asian in appearance. They provide customers with an option of ordering small portions of 3 main course dishes together ... enabled me to sample more of the food :) The concept of multiple people eating from a huge portion of bread (which is a lot like dosa btw) kept on a huge centre plate is pretty unique. Although i really liked the non-veg dishes, the others in the group found the veg dishes to be about average. The service standard left much to be desired. The service was excruciatingly slow. We spent more than 2.5 hours there, and not willingly. The Ethiopian wine was not available, and they ran out of bread. However they did redeem themselves partially by the efforts of the lady who waited on us. She politely accepted their mistakes and said there had been some incident in the kitchen (they burnt the lentils perhaps ... who knows :p). I have seen very few restaurants acknowledging their mistakes and not treating customers like blind idiots. We weren't charged for drinks because of the delay. Plus one star for this. Overall, not a very good experience ... but i will give them another chance some day.

This was one of my favorite places to go to in London. The food and drinks are great. I ordered the vegetarian combo every time and am always impressed. The restaurant is small, so I recommend making a reservation. The service is a bit slow, but I think that's the norm with Ethiopian restaurants. Definitely recommended!

Awful service, disinterested staff, mixed feelings on the starters, poor main courses, bland meat with rice, no condiments or salad to help it go down. £44 for what was no better than a very poor kebab. Large family group on the table next to us talking about blowing up westerners that didn't agree with Sharia law being implemented in the uk, really added to the experience. Probably one of the worst dining experiences i've ever had, be warned, you're better of going to a kebab shop. I've had better from a service station or microwave meal, hell, even a pot noodle would have been better!

I first experienced this delightful little restaurant on a whim with two friends, before a concert (Gov't Mule) over the road. Suffice it to say that it helped make a brilliant evening magical. Great value, fun, friendly to an unbelievable point, and above all, incredibly tasty! This is a true gem. I live in 'sarf lundun', but it's wurf the effort, innit. A diamond (as is the proprietor).

WOW! This was the BEST Ethiopian restaurant I have ever been to and I've been to dozens! The place gets busy, so I recommend making reservations. They had plenty of vegan options and the shiro wot was probably the best thing I have ever tasted in my entire life! I ate here two nights in a row. I honestly can't wait to come back to this place. Don't forget to have some Ethiopian beer!!

My friends and I had a really pleasant meal here. We ordered a vegetarian selection and a meat selection. The portions were generous. The service was friendly but kind of slow which wasn't a problem for us because we were mostly there to talk. We were keen to try out some of the Ethiopian beers to complete the experience but unfortunately they were out that day. We walked out stuffed. We really loved the music and ambiance as well. Would eat here again.

This Ethopian place in Kentish Town was good to try. I had never had this type of cuisine. Had Sheba's special meat selection. Which served two-three people. Was fun to mop up the meat sauce dishes with the pancake bread it was laid on. I'm not sure I'd go again because texture wise this type of cuisine with this type of bread even for me who likes to experiment was quite strange, but I applaud these type of food becoming more aware to the public.

I went a couple weeks ago now and absolutely loved this place. It had come highly recommended by a lot of different friends and I was glad to get the chance to try it myself. I was really pleased to find it lived up to the hype. The food was great and the staff lovely. They had my favorites on the menu and it has a much nicer atmosphere than other Ethiopian restaurants I have been to in London.

The reason this place doesn't get five stars is simply that they are a bit lax as far as customer service goes. For one thing, they don't answer their phones, or bother to update their website about the correct opening times (FYI, they don't open on Saturdays until 6 p.m., though the website says 1 p.m. onwards A bit annoying when one makes the trek to Kentish Town for a Saturday lunch!). And the wait for the food is fairly excruciatingly long. That being said, the food itself was excellent. We had the single meat sharing platter, and a mild chicken dish, and that was more than enough food for the two of us. The tab was about 28 quid, and the place is definitely good value for money. The lady who waited on us was also very sweet :) Unfortunately, none of the Ethiopian wines we wanted to try were available for some reason, so that was a bummer. But definitely worth a visit!

This restaurant serves "entry-level" Ethiopian cuisine for the uninitiated. The atmosphere, food, and prices cater to a non-Ethiopian palette, i.e. relaxing, bland and expensive. On the strength of its reviews, we went and ordered the "Sheba Vegetarian Selection" and the staple doro we't (chicken). The food was fresh but tasted "home-cooked" in the sense that you could have steamed the vegetables better yourself. The veggie platter for two came to £30. I would not normally slag off a well-meaning restaurant but I found it criminal that for interior cuisine they'd charge so much more than such winners like Kokeb (N7) or Addis (N1). We've been to the latter two over a dozen times and have never been disappointed.

This is one of my favourite restaurants in London. Great food and good prices. Give it a go! You won't regret it.

Good Ethiopian food and terrifically friendly staff!

Tastes like good home cooking. Ethiopian restaurants in my experience fall into two categories: food that is so good tastes like your mom cooked it and then there are those that the food was just prepared by some cook going through the motions. To enjoy an ethiopian restaurant the only way to go is to find one that tastes like home cooking. Queen of Sheba did it for me. The food was good, the service friendly and attentive and the environment is really cozy and everything from bathroom to chairs was clean and well maintained. Good value for money too.

It took 3 tries to get into this restaurant. Benches a bit narrow, and always booked, but the food is delicious. A slightly broader array of vegetarian (and possibly meat) options than many other Ethiopian restaurants. Very conveniently located near Tube.