Friday, November 20, 2009

Oak of Mamre: East African Restaurant at 14th and Pennsylvania

I was handed this flyer while walking out of Methodist Hospital this morning:

Intriguing. A quick googling of the name shows that they participated in the Indy Winter Farmers Market that kicked off last weekend. I don't believe that Eritrean/Ethiopian cuisine is represented in the downtown area, so give 'em a whirl and see what you think. Personally, I'm curious about the 'traditional Eritrean coffee ceremony'.

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Please let us know what it is like. The only Ethiopian restaurant that I can think of is on the west side near The Lafayette Square Mall, which is delicious.

Kevin said...

Very nice. Thanks for the update.

cdc guy said...

Wow. I can't think of a more invisible location. Hope the rent's low enough that they can crack the nut every month.

This is in the St. Regis building, NW corner of Penn and 14th, facing the backside of the SS Peter and Paul Cathedral complex.

Here's a parking tip: park at the south end of the CVS lot off Meridian and walk a short block down to 14th and around to the St. Regis.

AmericanDirt said...

Nice to hear about something opening closer to downtown. For the record, there's a good Ethiopian place on Mickley Avenue at Morris Street, called Major Restaurant, just on the inside of I-465. There are at least two others on the west side of town, in addition to Abyssinia.

Anonymous said...

Some coworkers and I walked to Oak of Mamre for lunch last week. Very good food. Decent selection. The only concern was the extended lunch. It took a longer than usual time to get the food after ordering. I am willing to forgive/forget that in the case of a recent startup. Overall a great experience.

Anonymous said...

I haven't made it over to the restaurant, but I've gotten Oak of Mamre food at the Winter's Food Market. It was delicious. The Mesir Wat spiced just enough but not too spicy. It's great you can pick up ijera and mesir wat for two people for $5.

Anonymous said...

This plpace is not for intercultural wimps! Delicious, authentic cuisine that's worth waiting for! Leave extra time if you go for dinner. The proprietor will treat you to a traditional coffee ceremony, one of the highest honors when visiting an Eritrean or Ethiopian home.

Anonymous said...

This is what i said on yelp and urban spoon. I thought it might be helpful.

I am a huge fan of Ethiopian food, but since I reside on the northeast side of Indy I have little occasion to eat it. My positive past Ethiopian dining experiences include the former Queen of Sheba in Indianapolis, Seattle restaurants, and a Boulder, CO restaurant.

Oak of Mamre is currently very much a whole in the wall. The chairs are mismatched and the ambiance is definitely not currently the restaurants draw. Despite this lacking, the waitstaff is very friendly, the decorations are definitely authentic, and the food is definitely tasty.

The menu is hard to fully grasp and you might not be getting quite what you thought, but it will be tasty. I recommend asking for a recommendation. The menu has a lot to offer vegetarians and meat eaters both. I did not see some of the dishes I knew from past experiences on the menu, but I went with a group of five and everyone was extremely happy with the food they got. We were also given free Shisha(sp?), a delicious hot tea, and a free dried nut, bean, and seed appetizer.

There are options to buy larger shared dishes for different sized parties. We all bought individually which can run with tax from about 8.50 to 15.00 (dinner prices).

Please go eat at Oak of Mamre!!! I want this restaurant to be a success not just an attempt.

. said...

Thank you for your post. I haven't been there yet, but know the owner from the IWFM. She's a really great lady!