"Tobia, a newly refurbished 50-cover restaurant ...provides some of the most authentic dining experiences in town....and for Londoners keen to experiment this is just the ticket. "
Caterer & Hotelkeeper
"...if you fancy a more casual, but authentic experience, this quirky Ethiopian restaurant may be just your scene. ... This turned out to be an evening we'll never forget, enveloped in a warm, unique atmosphere with beautiful music and genuine hospitality. "
Louise Elgin
Dine Online Restaurant Review
September 2005
" ...This lot can be washed down with the 'Abyssinian Tej' - a home-brewed honey mead. As Ethiopia is also the birth place of coffee, it's only right that there's a suitably indulgent ceremony which includes roasting beans and burning frankincense in front of the recipients. ...It's an interesting example of the diverse range of cuisines available in London (now almost 70!) Just for the record, Tobia actually means Ethiopia"
www.bbc.co.uk
September 2005
"There's a really authentic African feel to this Ethiopian restaurant... let Tobia's beamingly enthusiastic owner, Sophie Sirak-Kebede, choose for you. You'll probably end up with a huge tray of assorted stews & salads dotted on top of a vast expanse of injera, the fermented bread used to pick up a pinch of the food & convey it to your mouth...A visit to Tobia ...a voyage of culinary & cultural discovery" www.squaremeal.co.uk
September 2005
"...tempting reports have begun circulating about Tobia, a homely restaurant above a community centre in north London. Its menu looked varied, interesting and refreshingly unfamiliar. ...The welcome, from owner and chef Sefanit Sirak-Kebede (Sophie to her friends) was warm. I liked her from the minute I called to book a table, ..."
The Independent
9th July, 2005
"I'm a longtime fan of Ethiopian food, and have been to a few places in London in the last couple of months, ending up at Tobia, in an Ethiopian community center on Lithos Rd., next to Finchley Rd. tube, last night. It was really excellent, the best I've had here. ...but overall this was my favorite by a good bit."
www.mouthfulsfood.com
June 2005
"...indeed the restaurant has a relaxing family atmosphere. Tobia is well worth a visit, good value, interesting foods and a nice atmosphere."
www.london-eating.co.uk
June 2005
"...a restaurant that offers a taste of Ethiopian cuisine and culture... a glass of Yemar Tej - an Ethiopian mead made from pure honey - which delivered a highly potent kick....Of course no meal is complete without coffee. At Tobia, this comes at the end of a half hour traditional coffee ceremony. Raw green coffee beans are roasted to their more traditional darker look, while frankincense is burned to eliminate bad spirits. The coffee is brewed slowly, before being served in tiny china cups. The experience feels reverent, and gives a taste of Ethiopia. As the ceremony is communal, it also brings together the restaurant's patrons, which gives a charming sense of community and shared experience to finish this unusual culinary experience. The open-minded will fin Tobia a great alternative to the norm."
www.restaurantguides.co.uk
"...This is a very good place for vegetarians, not only because there is a variety of non-meat dishes on the menu, but because it follows the Ethiopian Coptic Church tradition of eating an entirely vegan-only diet on Wednesdays and Fridays (although some fish dishes are still available on those days). We ate ourselves to a standstill and couldn't possibly...manage desserts on offer.... Our meal for the three of us cost the princely sum of £26.50 for the food, which arrived in such quantity that we couldn't finish it. Even including a bottle of wine, some water and the 10 per cent service that we added, it all came to just £50 - or about £16.50 a head. You just can't get more reasonable than that."
Ham & High
3 June 2005.
"...At the recently refurbished Tobia, above an Ethiopian Community Centre, owner and chef Sefanit Sirak-Kebede (Sophie) offers up a heroically authentic experience: it doesn't get more real than this. You may feel as though you've gatecrashed a private party but you'll be genuinely welcomed..."
Metro
25 May 2005
"If you're after a quick caffeine fix in Hampstead, beware of Tobia, the Ethiopian eaterie off Finchley Road. 'I nipped in for a cup of coffee, ... and found myself embroiled in a 30-minute ceremony during which the beans were roasted before they burnt frankincense to eliminate bad spirits. It made me late for a meeting - mind you, the coffee was good."
Evening Standard Magazine
13th May 2005
"...So, if you're into caffeine in a big way, enjoy it at Ethiopian restaurant Tobia, 2a Lithos Road, NW3. But also try the scrumptious food. Every delicious dish on the menu is utterly unique - from the 'enjera' pancake-shaped bread that you use instead of cutlery, to the banana lead-wrapped leg of lamb, to the 'tej' - a home-brewed honey mead not to be missed. It's a great place for your vegetarian friends as the menu is meat-free Wednesday and Friday (although includes fish) but has meat the rest of the week." Ms
London Magazine
3rd May 2005
"It goes against every inistinct to tell about this gem. Come here for remarkable Ethiopian home cooking delivered with warmth. There are treats galore. On Wednesday or Friday, when the Ethiopian Coptic Church dictates a menu free of meat and dairy, the compensation is excellent fish. Try the gargantuan portion of zingingly fresh raw tuna: accentuated by coriander and oil clarified with ginger and garlic, this is made perfect by a dusting of chilli. Onion and green peppers add fragrance to a lentil dish, while a spiced chick-peas sauce has big flavour. All come on a more-ish sour pancake - enjera. Accompany with tej - mead tasting of wild honey - and finish with the sweet-smelling ritual of the Ethiopian coffee ceremony. Simply superb."
The Guardian - The Guide -
Saturday April 16 - Friday April 22, 2005.
"... there's much to enjoy in chief-proprietor Sophie Sirak-Kebede's honest, homely cooking and warm hospitality " Time Out Eating and Drinking Guide 2005 . If you want to read the full review, please click here .
"... Sheila Dillon visited Tobia restaurant where she met owner and chef Sophie Sirak-Kebede... and was- also joined by Rita Pankhurst. ...having been to Tobia ...I can certainly vouch for the excellence of the food and hope that members will note that this is where the Society Christmas lunch will take place.
- who knows, it may even be that our Supper Clubs will soon have to fight for space in the London restaurant!"
The Anglo-Ethiopian Society News File
Winter 2004 issue.
Please click here to litsen to the interview with The Food Programme the BBC's Radio 4 on 19th September 2004.
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