Bati Ethiopian Restaurant is a Vegetarian's Delight

The night I went to I relinquished all self-control.

The crucial elements were in place: a blustery evening to spend on a date, excess swilling of wine beforehand, and a romantic vibe fostered by soft light, brick wall and latticed windows.

But most importantly, there were three words, a symphony to herbivorous ears: vegetarian combination platter.

An Ethiopian restaurant on Fulton Street and S. Portland Avenue, Bati takes its name from a town known for its open-air market, where people of all persuasions rub elbows. On a recent Friday night, it was crowded with couples bellying up to candlelit tables.

Our meal started with injera, a spongy flatbread used instead of cutlery to pick up portions. Usually a table orders one large platter of stews and sautéed vegetables to share, but my date and I opted for separate trays. As he besmirched our stack of bread with his beefy fingerprints, I devoured my vegetarian platter, a medley of four vegan entrée selections.

The plants-only quadrant did not disappoint. The blend of beet and potato called key sir boldly stood on its own with lemony flavor. Buticha, a mix of ground chickpeas, harmonized with the gomen (collard greens perked up with garlic and ginger), which was tantalizingly tender.

The most salient island on my plate was the missir wett (split lentils in a piquant stew), a peppery revelation, and noshing on its feather-light texture was like gulping spicy clouds. It was just so easy to eat, and therefore, I gourmandized with reckless abandon.

As our feast slowed down, I spurned the baklava for red velvet cake, which our server warned would be sprinkled with sparkling wine. To be fair, the cake was absolutely soused in Champagne, creating a boozy tang balanced only by the rich vanilla frosting. Undaunted, I terminated the dessert, while my date waited in postprandial fatigue.

You’ll be hard pressed to find anything unsavory about the Bati experience — aside from the check. The vegetarian platter was $15, while a single entrée ($13) comes with two sides. The cost isn’t unthinkable, but it feels more worthwhile when everyone at the table can have a hand in the same plate.