Gatur’s Ethiopian Cuisine opened on Allen Street this week (see back story). My wife and I ate there last night, along with a number of other people who had been waiting for the doors to open. Ethiopian is the perfect cuisine for Allentown. It’s an extremely social and varied in its ability to create dishes for meat lovers and vegetarians alike. Being vegetarians we found the ful (appetizer) to be excellent, especially when combined with the green spicy chutney and the pita bread… a real hit! The ful was also very satisfying and could easily be ordered on its own.
For our main course we ordered the shiro watt (ground chick peas with veggies and spices), the misier watt (red lentils with veggies and spices), the gomen watt (collared greens with onions, garlic and pepper) and the key sir (red beets with veggies). It was nice because being a vegetarian we wanted the main components to be protein based, yet the vegetable choices that we added on the side for a nominal fee, really rounded out the platter (served on injera). The fact that the meal was so affordable, this doesn’t need to be a special treat. We spent $25 for two appetizers and two mains with additional sides of veggies on each – not a bad deal considering that we walked out and could barely move.
The atmosphere at Gatur’s is very comfortable, with cushy chairs, colorful walls and world music playing on the radio. The front windows allow diners to have a front seat view onto the activity of Allentown. There is seating for approximately 30 people, and there is plenty of space to spread out. This will be the perfect restaurant for the cooling temps of fall and winter. Soothing food and comfortable seating… what more could you ask for. Gatur is a big win for Allentown, and if we’re lucky it will be around for many years to come.
Gatur’s Ethiopian Cuisine (Facebook) – Open for lunch and dinner Mon-Sat
69 Allen Street
Buffalo NY 14202
716-881-1832