Ras Dashen has been sating the appetites of inner westies for more than a decade, and it shows no signs of abating. The colourfully eclectic interiors of Ras Dashen are as inviting as they were when Ethiopian refugee Wondimu Alemu first set up shop on Nicholson Street in 2011. Having since moved to Barkly Street in 2017, paintings and scarves striped in the green, yellow and red of the Ethiopian flag hang from terracotta-coloured walls alongside ornate bowls and woven hats – if you look closely, you can even see Alemu’s beaming face memorialised in one of the paintings.
Alemu and his wife Alemitu Aberra are the heart and soul of Ras Dashen. Alemu is as friendly to first-timers as he is to seasoned visitors, full of such mirth it’s impossible not to smile in his presence as he punctuates each sentence with a merry cackle.
Ras Dashen’s Ethiopian fare has something for everyone (vegans included), but what you do need to be is someone who’s comfortable eating with your hands. There’s no better way to enjoy torn off bits of injera – the fermented flatbread that's one of Ethiopia’s most famed exports – laden with your favourite curries.
The best thing to do is order several dishes, all of which will arrive on two different kinds of injera: a white sorghum one and a brown sorghum one. Doro wot is traditionally exceedingly spicy and in Ras Dashen’s iteration, it retains a singular heat. Spiced with berbere – the fiery and aromatic Ethiopian seasoning blend – the doro wot is suitably thickened from caramelised onions and pleasantly oily, clinging to the crevices of the bone-in chicken pieces and hard-boiled egg.
Another mainstay in Ethiopian cuisine, tibs are sliced beef or lamb pan-fried in butter, garlic and onion. Ras Dashen’s dehrek tibs are a harmonious counterpoint to the saucy doro wot; the dry-fried slivers of lamb are moreish and light. The next time we visit, we’ll be sure to order the special clay tibs that appear on more than one table.
Pulses are an integral component of Ethiopian cuisine and the number of shiro (chickpea stew) dishes on Ras Dashen’s menu speaks to this. We opt for the ful instead, where fava beans are cooked and topped with butter so rich it has to be clarified, quartered tomatoes, crumbled feta and halved hard-boiled eggs. Often ingested in the morning, Ras Dashen’s ful would qualify as a breakfast of champions, so hearty and fulsome (heh) it is.
A greens dish is paramount at this stage and the gomen – collard greens cooked with herbs and spices – delivers on every front. Basic yet somehow still a standout dish due to how Ras Dashen excels in rendering the simplest combination of ingredients exquisite, the gomen cuts through the heaviness of some of our other dishes. Also not to be missed is the unassumingly named ‘small serve of veggie dish’ under the extras, which turns out to be a well-balanced potato, carrot and cabbage stir-fry.
Melbourne diners are by now familiar with West and Central African food due to more recent waves of migration from Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon, but Ras Dashen remains one of the local pioneers of East African food – introducing many a Melburnian to injera bread and the dishes that are so integral to Ethiopian cuisine. It continues to attract a devoted crowd and so it should – the food remains impeccable, the service is the friendliest you’ll encounter, the restaurant a home away from home.
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