TOUKOUL - ETHIOPIAN GOLD

What does the name Ethiopia conjure up for you? Probably long-distance running - if you can name one Ethiopian it will be Haile Gibreselassie, marathon man par excellence. You may also think of coffee (quite likely they invented it). You may be aware that Ethiopia had a great influence on reggae music through the Rastafarian religion, but jazz may come as more of a surprise, unless you've seen the Jim Jarmusch film "Broken Flowers" which featured the hypnotic Ethio-jazz of Mulatu Astatke. Oldest Christian church in the world, anyone? And going even further back, Ethiopia can stake a valid claim to be the birthplace of civilization. If that proves to be the case, then we are all Ethiopians.

If you're around my age - that is to say, mid to late 40s (Come off it! Ed.) - you will have grown up with depressing images of Ethiopia - famine, disease, war, refugee camps - so it is heartening to learn that Ethiopians are not sad people at all. In fact they are regular party animals, and smiley Haile Abebe, the de facto ambassador of the Ethiopian community in Brussels, is out to spread the word with co-owners Natalino Arena and Serge Anton. He already scored a hit with his first restaurant Kokob, and music and cultural venue Le Cercle des Voyageurs which he still runs with a business partner. The new restaurant on the Rue de Laeken, a stone's throw from Place de Brouckère and Sainte Catherine, is called Toukoul. (A toukoul is a small thatched hut where the Afar people of the highlands live). The huge high-ceilinged room has been inventively and tastefully decorated by Serge Anton with genuine Ethiopian artworks.

At the official launch of Toukoul in January, live bands played smoky jazz and lively dance music and the place was packed wall to wall with fans of Ethio jazz funk. At one point the chef gave an impromptu demonstration of vigorous Ethiopian eskesta dancing on the bar, to noisy stamps and whistles of appreciation from the mixed Ethiopian and European crowd. I returned in February for a less frenetic evening, with my editor Tony Mallett and a couple of other novices to Ethiopian cuisine. Not knowing much about it, we trusted in our waiter to serve us a typical selection, and were not disappointed or hungry when we left.

The traditional Ethiopian meal consists of a large spongey sourdough flatbread called "injera" made from teff flour indigenous to Ethiopia, which is used as both plate and cutlery. It is served with small portions of various meat and vegetarian dishes, some spicy, others less so. Strips of injera are used to scoop up food. The various stews and mixes made from vegetables, pulses or meat such as lamb, beef or chicken, are known as wat or aticha and are seasoned with a hot chilli sauce called berbéré, ginger or erd (similar to turmeric). There are also fish dishes and a selection of salads. The “discovery menu”, ranging from 18 to 25 euros a head depending on how hungry you are, is the nearest thing to a typical Ethiopian meal, consisting of a selection of prepared dishes served with a tray of injera and served with an explanation of how to eat it.

Vegetarians are easily catered for, with a good selection of veggie dishes on offer, including spinach with mushrooms, lentils, split peas, ratatouille, ayeb (cottage cheese); the meat dishes range from diced chicken with spinach, minced beef spiced up with berbéré, and diced lamb in a creamy yogurt sauce to chicken with ginger and vegetables. All the dishes are extremely tasty, some are surprisingly mild - apart from the berbéré, nothing will blow your head off. An extra bowl of rolled injera strips is provided for you to break up and use them to scoop up the food on the tray. It’s a convivial and fun way of eating in a couple or a group, and apparently the typically Ethiopian way to do it is to feed each other with a mouthful of rolled and filled injera, called a "goursha". The bigger the goursha, the deeper the friendship. If you don’t fancy your friends' fingers in your mouth, or even your own, cutlery can be provided on request.

After a communal meal eaten with the fingers from the same plate, treat yourself to an abridged version of the Ethiopian coffee ceremony, where diners are enveloped in burnt-coffee smelling steam, as the freshly-roasted beans are waved over the table like incense. The roasted coffee beans are then taken away and ground on the spot to produce a light coffee with a delicate flavour that will not keep you tossing and turning all night. Alternatively, you can sip an Ethiopian herbal tea flavoured with ginger and cinnamon.

Toukoul serves tasty food in a warm and friendly atmosphere. During the week, discreet Ethiopian background music provides background ambience. On Fridays and Saturdays there is live music, but not necessarily Ethiopian sounds. The night we went was just after the death of Whitney Houston, and the whole restaurant ended up singing along to "I will always love you", not entirely soberly I might add. Our waitresses said, with a perfectly straight face: "She is here with us tonight". Ethiopians also have a dry sense of humour.

The service is efficient and extremely friendly, and accompanied by helpful explanations of the different dishes and how to eat them. The kitchen is permanently open to the main room so you can see the chefs at work (when they're not dancing on the bar, that is). Haile, Natalino and Serge make a point of going round chatting to all the customers, and everyone gets a warm handshake and a dazzling smile on their way out, with a genuine invitation to come again. I can endorse Toukoul for a night out with a difference. The word is already out, and the place gets very busy on weekends, so you are advised to book your table by Thursday at the latest for Friday or Saturday night.

Another gold medal for Ethiopia – this latest venture should run and run. Haile recommended.

Toukoul
Rue de Laeken 34
Tel: 02 223 73 77

Le Cercle des Voyageurs
Rue des Grands Carmes 18
Tel: 02 514 39 49

KOKOB

Ethiopia has more to it than long-distance runners. Kokob on the rue des Grands Carmes was a delightful surprise, situated in Fontainas, the trendy downtown district close by the Grand’Place and St Géry.

When you enter the restaurant, your nostrils will immediately flare from the olfactory memory of old-style torrefaction shops, such as the Algerian Coffee Shop in Soho, where they roast and grind the coffee beans on the premises. The slightly burnt aroma of freshly roasted coffee wakes your senses up from the minute you set foot in Kokob. Coffee is one of Ethiopia’s most important exports – it may even be what keeps those long-distance runners going – and if your sleep patterns permit, you should aim to round off your meal with the juice of the bean.

Charming Ethiopian-born co-owner Haile Leoul Abebe has a permanent smile on his face. As well he might have. Despite being a fairly new kid on the block, (they have just celebrated their first birthday) Kokob is enjoying huge success, blessed by an early visit from President Barroso and his team, as proudly displayed on their website. “Kokob” means "Star" in Amharic, and after the rave reviews they have had in the Brussels press, they soon will be. Smiley Haile described how he and Moroccan-born business partner Nassim worked for months through nights and weekends to give Kokob its distinctive contemporary but hand-crafted atmosphere. The artworks on the walls are eclectic and all made by arty pals. One in particular caught everyone’s eye, a backlit collage of citrus slices which aroused in me a deep nostalgia for a gin and tonic.

A covered terrace at the back of the restaurant transports you temporarily into the atmosphere of an East African hotel lobby in the 1930s, where you would not be surprised to see the ghost of Lawrence Durrell in his white suit and panama hat. This sheltered spot is the ideal place to down a Belgian beer or some real coffee after an afternoon’s Christmas shopping in the trendy boutiques of the rue du Midi, and peruse one of the collection of picture books on Ethiopia. The restaurant is composed of separate spaces – bar, terrace, main dining room, function room – where afternoon tea or coffee, sundowners (as we used to call them in the colonies), lunch or dinner can be enjoyed, as well as private parties and public events. Kokob also act as a cultural centre for recitals of traditional music, storytelling or promotions. Events are advertised on their website or you can join their mailing list to keep abreast of what’s coming up. They also do outside catering.

Despite the trendy location and modern décor, Kokob does not compromise on authentic Ethiopian style. Wat is the most popular dish. No that’s not a question, wat is the name of a stew made from vegetables, pulses or meat such as lamb, beef or chicken, generously seasoned with a hot chilli sauce called berbéré. There are also fish dishes and a selection of salads. The “menu découverte” or “discovery menu”, ranging from 18 to 25 euros a head depending on how hungry you are, is the nearest thing to a typical Ethiopian meal, consisting of a selection of prepared dishes served on a tray of spongey millet pancakes called injera which serve the purpose of both plate and cutlery.

Thanks to the influence of the early Coptic Christians who did not eat meat, vegetarians are easily catered for, with a vast selection of veggie dishes on offer, including spinach with mushrooms, lentils, split peas, ratatouille, ayeb (cottage cheese), to accompany the meat dishes such as diced chicken with spinach, minced beef spiced up with berbéré, and diced lamb in a creamy yogurt sauce. All the dishes are extremely tasty, and surprisingly mild - apart from the berbéré, nothing will blow your head off. An extra bowl of rolled injera strips is provided for you to break up and use them to scoop up the food on the tray. It’s a convivial and fun way of eating in a couple or a group, and apparently the typically Ethiopian way to do it is to feed each other with the mouthfuls of filled pancake. The mad, romantic fools! If you don’t fancy other people’s fingers, or even your own, cutlery can be provided on request.

Sticking on the same continent, we chose to drink a South African Nederburg Shiraz at a most reasonable 15 euros. After the meal, we were enveloped in burnt-coffee smelling steam, as the freshly-roasted beans were waved over the table like incense. If you are one of the poor unfortunates who can’t drink coffee, you can inhale it for maximum effect. The roasted coffee beans are then taken away and ground to produce a light coffee with a delicate flavour that will not keep you tossing and turning all night. Alternatively, you can sip an Ethiopian herbal tea flavoured with ginger and cinnamon. There are no desserts on the menu, but the coffee is served with a piece of homemade cake to sweeten your dreams.

Kokob is really something new and different, and serves tasty food in a warm and friendly atmosphere. Discreet Ethiopian background music is soon drowned out by the chatter of diners, as the place is invariably full by about 9 p.m. The service was discreet, efficient and accompanied by helpful explanations of the different dishes and how to eat them. The kitchen door is permanently open to the main room so you can see the chef at work. Haile and Nassim make a point of going round chatting to all their customers, and everyone gets a warm handshake and a dazzling smile on their way out, with a genuine invitation to come again.

A gold medal for Ethiopia – this new venture should run and run.

Kokob
10 rue des Grands Carmes
1000 Bruxelles
Tel: 02 511 1950
www.kokob.be

Open: Tues-Sun 12h00 – 24h00, Mon 18h00-24h00