Warsaw hole-in-the-wall-heaven: Queen Sheba, authentic (and spicy!) Ethiopian food

It’s just tiny enough that you might miss it, but Warsaw’s first Ethiopian Restaurant is making its mark with authentic fare and a remarkable atmosphere in what is likely at most a 65-square meter joint in the famous/infamous pavilions that run along the side of al. Jana Pawła II.

The brainchild of Nebiyu Tesfaye, an expatriate from Ethiopia, Queen Sheba boasts true authenticity, ranging from sambusa to kifto to keywot to quanta firfir.

Now if you 1) don’t read Ethiopian and 2) have had no experience with Ethiopian food, have no fear. First, it’s hard to go wrong at Queen Sheba (although caution is the word when it comes to the spice factor), and second, what follows will be a quick walk through of meals that should come to the aid of even a complete keywot-sambusa novice.

But first a bit of background. With regard to my own experience with Ethiopian food,it is limited.  Once, while living in the Czech Republic, I had a close friend from Ethiopia who was a master chef. He had quite the laugh when I boasted that I was inured to spicy food due to my youth in Texas—and I quickly found out he was laughing for a reason. There is spicy Tex-Mex, spicy Indian and then there is Ethiopian. None of the above are the same so be conservative when it comes to “hot.” But more on that in a moment.

As far as background on Queen Sheba, Tesfaye passed through Poland for the first time only early during the war in Ukraine in order to deliver aid. While briefly in Warsaw he spoke with his cousin and realized that Warsaw lacked anything Ethiopian.

“My cousin  mentioned about 1,500-2,000 Ethiopian expats here," Tesfaye said. “I knew from the past that there were many Poles during communism who lived in Ethiopia, as there was cooperation then, and I guessed they would know Ethiopian food." .

Tesfaye guessed right: Queen Sheba opened approximately seven months ago, and it has quickly amassed thousands of followers and fans (as evident by the restaurant’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/restauracja.queensheba), but its quickly growing popularity has come primarily through high-quality food and word-of-mouth.

Now for the fare. Dishes at Queen Sheba are traditional, which means most of the are served on fresh injera bread, an Ethiopian specialty that was a treat in itself.

Again, the bread is absolutely top notch. Yet Tesfaye emphasized that the current injera is in a sense is the beta version, as it does not yet conform to 100 percent Ethiopian authenticity. True injera is 100-percent based on teff flour, with teff being a cereal grass native primarily to the Horn of Africa (i.e. Ethiopia and Eritrea).

This means that it is not easy to source.

The current Queen Sheba injera is teff-based, but it is not 100-percent teff. Yet Tesfaye noted that this is about to change.

“Right now we are using injera that is up to 80-percent teff, and this is simply because there is not a direct flight to Poland from Ethiopia, but we are sorting this out," he said. “We will soon have 100-percent teff injera, but the injera we have now is quite popular so we plan to offer both."

Traditional injera bread also means eating is also traditional in the sense that a diner tears off pieces of injera to scoop up whatever he/she desires from the plate. It’s a bit messy and fun—and if you have a bit of chemistry going, it’s likely going to be quite the date-night hit.

And judging from the questions we heard from other patrons, there is also the wonder of just what you are digging into. But as Yours Truly has hit Queen Sheba twice in as many weeks, here are a few suggestions:

For starters, think a sambusa of your choice. You are not getting messy yet, as these are pastries filled with vegetable or beef. These are somewhat similar to Indian samosas. although I found the pastry more delicate. The spices also differ remarkably, with these being based rather in berbere rather than curry.

As for mains, vegetarians have much to choose from, and we tried a mixed plate that included miser wot lentil stew, a “split-lentils” dish made with onion, garlic, ginger herbs and berbere sauce, as well as kik alicha, comprised of split peas and turmeric

Meat lovers also have a plethora of options. On my first visit, I went with the kitfo-beef platter, which consists of finely chopped prime beef seasoned with  purified butter, Ethiopian spices and home-made cottage cheese. This for me was pure Ethiopian bliss, and it took me straight back to my first contact with the culture and the food. But it was also spicy with a capital “S.” Be ready for this one.

We also tried a mixed-meat dish that included keywot, doro tibs and doro wot. Doro wot is a chicken stew and national favourite in Ethiopia, which features marinated chicken on the bone cooked with a mild spiced-onion, tomato-based sauce. This came with a hard-boiled egg and cottage cheese. Keywot was a spicy beef stew comprised of lean beef in berbere sauce and purified herbed butter. Doro-tibs is cubed beef sautéed in butter, turmeric, garlic, ginger and other spices. Of the above, my favourite (I think) was the keywot, although soon I found that everything on the injera began to mix and muddle… as it should.

Now for those worried about the food simply being too spicy, there is a bit of latitude here. We requested toned-down versions of some dishes, and while not always possible, Kaleb guided us with care. Personally, I found I preferred the real deal. Burn my palate and I’ll thank you for it, but once again, this is AUTHENTIC Ethiopian, so buyer beware as these spices got to 11. I also found that this version of spicy has a bit of a build-up. The first few bites may seem like nothing, but then comes a kick.

That said, such meals are supposed to be spicy. At my request, we were also served less-spicy versions of some of the dishes mentioned. These were excellent, but my vote goes to the real deal. In short, when in Ethiopia, once again,  go for 11.

As far as ambience, the location had some notoriety years back--a fact that Tesfaye acknowledged. Yet times (and Warsaw) have changed. There is a bit of a student vibe inside and outside, but perhaps if the size and location tells you hole-in-the-wall, it’s definitely the right kind of hole-in-the wall, and happily on both visits Ethiopian expats showed up to eat and party.

This made an impression.

In fact, I’ve never been to Ethiopia, but the music and culture in Queen Sheba were both fun and convincing and made me want to go.

Finally, it’s not cheap. Our bill (a veggie mix for one and a meat combo for two plus juices and  imported St. George beer) hit PLN 200, but on the other hand, we had plenty to take home and eat for lunch the next day. In short, the food is filling and your eyes tend to be bigger than your stomach. Which is a good thing.

The Corners hole-in-the-wall ratings?

* Five of five for food.

* Five of five for hospitality.

* Five of five for food.

* Five of five for the ambience and hole-in-the wall feel.

* And five of five for real Ethiopian beer

FINAL VERDICT: This is my personal new favourite restaurant of any type or class in Warsaw, and yes, I will soon be going back.