I've tried several Ethiopian restaurants in Melbourne -- both in Footscray and in other suburbs -- and Ras Dashen has been the best by far! The owner is an older gentleman who's so nice and helpful. The food tastes amazing, the atmosphere is pleasant, and the prices are good. Really, nothing to fault here.
The menu has the usual suspects like ful, tibbs, and injera bread with a variety of platters, both meat and vegetarian. There were also a few surprises on the menu too (like Lebanese bread). They have a small variety of beers including Ethiopian ones, and they also do spirits.
People who don't think they're a fan of injera bread might want to try the bread here, because it tasted way more mild and less "fermented" than any other injera bread I've had. (Or you can get your platters with rice instead of injera bread, if you prefer.)
We went with the vegan tasting platter for two people (and yes, they totally know what "vegan" means here) and it was so delicious and filling. It came with injera bread and several little dishes to scoop onto your bread -- three different kinds of lentil dahls, one beetroot dish, some potatoes and greens, and another dish of mixed veggies. Everything was seasoned with different spices and each dish tasted completely different -- and there wasn't a single dish we disliked. The brown lentil dish in the large bowl in the middle of our platter was my favourite, but honestly, everything was delicious. I wish I could cook like that -- with everything perfectly seasoned!
Atmosphere-wise, it's a narrow little place, dimly lit, with interesting art on the walls and a TV in one corner showing Al-Jazeera. Clientele is a mix of backgrounds, some Ethiopian folks, some not.
Prices are about the same as other places in Footscray (i.e., cheaper than most suburbs in Melbourne -- I think we paid around $35 for our MASSIVE platter for two as well as two Ethiopian beers) but in my opinion the value for money is much better than a lot of places because the food quality here is so high.
I probably still want to try other Ethiopian places in Footscray, but it's honestly hard to go past Ras Dashen!! If you've never had Ethiopian food, or even if you've had it heaps of times -- give this place a try! read more