Small London cafe ranks as top London restaurant on Tripadvisor

London cafe beats Michelin-starred restaurants in Tripadvisor rankings

An Eritrean cafe in Woolwich has beaten Michelin-starred restaurants to be ranked number one in London, according to Tripadvisor.

The Blue Nile cafe, on Woolwich New Road, has been transformed by its owner, Shewa Haggos, after being on the brink of closing under a different name last year.

She now serves up delicious home-cooked fare for under £20 a meal, that is proving more popular than the likes of Michelin-starred Gauthier Soho, Pied a Terre, and Jamie Oliver's Barbecoa.

And, according to the Evening Standard, it's so popular that this week it was ranked the top restaurant in London on Tripadvisor.

It has not received one single bad review, so far only garnering reviews rated 'Excellent' or 'Very Good' on the website.

One review, entitled "A beautiful little surprise in the heart of Woolwich", read: "Last Friday I went along to the Blue Nile. Fortunately I booked a table as every table had been taken – it's clearly become a very popular place.

"The staff are absolutely lovely. The owner came over and described in detail each of the dishes and what they consisted of. We were recommended the Bebiaynetu set menu, as it would give us a selection of all dishes for us to try. We didn't really know what to expect having never eaten this kind of food before, and I can honestly say that we were very pleasantly surprised! The food was delicious."

According to Wikipedia, the main traditional food in Eritrean cuisine is tsebhi (stew), served with injera (flatbread made from teff, wheat, or sorghum), and hilbet (paste made from legumes; mainly lentil and faba beans). Eritrean and Ethiopian cuisine (especially in the northern half) are very similar, given the shared history of the two countries, but Eeitrean food features more seafood than Ethiopian fare.

TripAdvisor spokesperson, James Kay, told Aol Travel: "The TripAdvisor Popularity Index dynamically ranks places to eat based on the popularity among travellers of a given business, as measured by the quality, quantity, and recency of reviews and ratings submitted about that business on TripAdvisor.

"Online reviews are a great way for locals and holidaymakers alike to unearth some of the city's hidden gems, and it is great to see a small independent business like this shine for the right reasons – excellent customer service, experience and value."

Have a look at TripAdvisor's top 20 restaurants in London in the gallery below: