Yikes. I hate leaving negative reviews but there is no choice here. I am leaving this review to protect another potential customer from becoming extremely ill. I entered and it was a drab environment and I was the only customer. I visited yesterday at 4 pm. Upon arrival I was brought a water with a lemon (which was molded). I said ok I just won't drink the water. Well I ordered the vegetarian combo. It was delicious. I left and woke up today and am violently ill. Throwing up the entire day unable to leave my house. I called the restaurant and informed them so they can rectify the situation and stop it from happening to someone else. Their response was "I'm sorry this happened it's never happened before". I haven't ever been so ill from food poisoning in years. And no I didn't eat anything else yesterday this IS the culprit. No question. read more

Africana Cafe - Veggie platter - Ethiopian Near Me - Denver, Colorado

My first time eating Ethiopian food. I loved the teff as it's similar to sourdough. So many flavors, good African beer, and cool vibes inside read more

Africana Cafe - Veggie meat platter - Ethiopian Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Placed an online order through their website, but arrived at the restaurant and was told the kitchen was closed. Since I had already paid, I asked if there was a way to get a refund and was rudely told that they couldn't help me and to try calling customer service for their online ordering portal. read more

Delicious and filling authentic Ethiopian food. The best Injera was the foundation for Aziffa and a Vegetarian Combo, the red lentils were my favorite, then so were the curry lentils a favorite. My friend had the meat and said it was great. Oh and the potatoes and carrots melted perfectly and helped calm the spicy side for me. The staff were super friendly and welcoming. Was too hungry, I did not take a photo, trust my words that the food looked beautiful and tasted amazing. Highly recommend read more

delicious and seemed really authentic! great and friendly service. welcoming atmosphere. definitely recommend giving this place a try:)

I was happy to find this gem next door to my new place. I've only ordered the Vegetarian Combo (repeatedly, because it's that good!) which is misir wot, red lentils, gomen, collard greens, fasolia, etc. Prices are reasonable and portions are very generous. The people there are really friendly as well. You can tell a lot of regulars go there but you are made to feel welcome anyway. read more

Africana Cafe - Veggie Combo - Ethiopian Near Me - Denver, Colorado

I hate to write bad reviews, but there were just so many things that went wrong. But first, the pros: they were open at lunchtime for dine in. Most African/Ethiopian places were only open for dinner or takeout. When we arrived, the hostess/waitress checked our temperatures and required us to sign our names and contact info in case of an outbreak. Great! That's about where the pros ended. There was only one other party dining when we arrived. The waitress dropped off menus and left. Within our group of 7, we each received a menu but then realized that there were 3 versions with different items and prices. We asked the waitress to clarify portion sizes and prices- she confirmed that the menu with the $12.95 Banatu special was actually from a few YEARS ago (apparently the price is now $22.95). Anyway, we ordered sambusas to start. Our friend was sure she had asked for beef sambusas so she was surprised when they finally came out and were all filled with lentils. Ok, no big deal, they tasted good, but she'll just order another one for herself because she really wanted a meat sambusa. The waitress then said that they don't do meat sambusa. Alright... but the menus had different options for fillings. We ordered a couple entrees to share. I don't remember what everyone ordered but I know we had the Banatu special, veggie combo, and lamb tibs at least. When the food came out, it was decent, but there were a couple of very burnt pieces of meat from one of the plates. Their injera was also more sour than I've had before but that's just personal preference. I get that we're living in COVID times, but unless our waitress was also the one cooking the food, service was waaay too slow for the number of people dining (we didn't get refills on water until all our cups were empty and we waved her down). Unfortunately, I can't say that the food was worth the wait. If you plan on dining here, make sure your afternoon is free. read more

Africana Cafe - Decently sized sambusa - Ethiopian Near Me - Denver, Colorado

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This was an African/Ethiopian restaurant. We started with two sambosas as an appetizer! The sambosa came out within 10 minutes and was crispy on the outside with the inside slightly spicy and lentils pouring out once I put my fork into it. Next, we got both the veggie and meat combo (which of course came with injera on the side). The entire plate (as in the picture), came out in about 15 min after the appetizer. The lamb, chicken and beef were sublime. The chicken drumstick was covered in a coffee tasting brown sauce and was easily the tastiest of the meats (in my opinion). The veggie side was filled with lentil and chickpea pastes. Very creamy and also slightly spicy. Every item on the plate tasted very nicely with the injera. Definitely will come here again! read more

Africana Cafe - a plate of ethiopian food - Ethiopian Near Me - Denver, Colorado

My cousin and I met up for a catch up session and she had never had Ethiopian cuisine before. We started with the lentil samosas and upon the suggestion of the server drizzled honey on them. It went really well together and I will be doing this combo from here on out. For our mains we both got the veggie sampler platter. I thought it was among the better Ethiopian cuisine I've had and the injera was deliciously fluffy. My cousin wasn't quite used to the sourness of the injera so preferred the veggies instead. Service was really friendly and it was a lovely meal for a cousin catch up. read more

It's a shame, this place used to be good, I'd been there several times. But now the food was bad and the service was just bloody awful

After passing by Africana Cafe many times over the years and making note to try it out someday, I finally did. It is a large building, perhaps formerly a jazz club or the like, with one half being carpeted, colorful, and slightly sparse dining area, and the other half as a tiled cafe-style side. When we first walked in we looked around like a deer in the headlights for one quick second, then a kind gentleman called over the waitress. Once seated we quickly ordered one veggie and one meat combo on the same plate, and within 15-18 minutes food was on the table. Everything was seriously tasty, and we were completely stuffed and satisfied. The salad served in the middle was bright and tasty and parsed out the salty and umami deliciousness around it. Be warned, the meat dishes have a little hot chile kick! Perfect to chase with the milder but also very tasty veggie dishes. Their plentiful serving of injera is perfectly tart and beautifully aerated, as it should be. All and all, you are safe from the hip crowd here. As a devoted lover of hidden gems, I treasure this type of establishment. Africana Cafe has true heart and incredible flavors that can't be replicated by many of the newer establishments popping up in the area. Worth your business and support. read more

Delicious Ethiopian food in Denver, went with two friends (we were only in town for a few days) and it was worth the visit! It doesn't look super impressive from the outside, but the food and service are fantastic!! There's a cafe portion and a restaurant portion, as well as a little stage area in the restaurant portion where it looks like there might be performances in the evenings. Loved the ambiance and decorations on the walls. Service was friendly and fast, looks like a family-owned place and we met a couple of regulars (including two people who said they come for coffee everyday). 5 stars!! Food was amazing!!! read more

Really, really good. We ordered a meat combo and a veggie combo to get a taste of the menu, and each item was flavorful and unique. I love asking Uber drivers where to find the taste of their hometown, and many Ethiopians have pointed me to great restaurants. Of course, some are better than others. Africana stands out for its wonderfully spiced and prepared food, unique ambiance, and reasonable prices. read more

About as good as I remember. I still enjoy this place. Only real downside to this meal was that the doro wat chicken was wayyyyyyy too tough. It was almost like it was days old. Otherwise, the veggies and injera were good, as always :) read more

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Delicious food and great, friendly service! We were greeted immediately and offered a great variety of regional beers. The appetizer samosas were so fresh and had just the right spiciness. The vegetarian combo and meat combo had great shareable portions for three people. We also loved the Lega Tibs. After dinner we tried the traditionally brewed Ethiopian coffee and it was so light and tasty. The owner, Simon, was a great host and he visited with us and shared stories. The dinner exceeded our expectations and was very memorable. read more

Tried this Ethiopian restaurant for the first time. I normally have my regular place I go too which was closed. Was a great experience and was very happy with the quality of food. Everything tasted great and very authentic. Their Injera bread is great something i always critique, they have the perfect amount of flavor with fermentation which is very important to complete the dish. They have been understaff with covid so I say give them a break they are Doug. Their best! Give them a try! read more

Africana Cafe - Ethiopian Near Me - Denver, Colorado

This is only the third time I've had Ethiopian food so by no means am I an expert. So I guess this means if you're just looking to try this out for the first time then my review might be somewhat meaningful! ;) If you haven't had Ethiopian before, you basically rip a piece of (injera) bread that is similar to a crepe and then scoop up whatever entree you want and it eat it. Read: the fingers + bread = your fork! ;) With that said, it's normally served family style. There are a number of meat dishes to choose from including a couple samplers as well as a few vegetarian options. We had a little bit of everything and there is really nothing I didn't like. We covered about half the entrees so I am not going to get into them individually but I don't think you can go wrong with anything you choose. We did have a sambosa (similar to a somosa) and it was excellent. They only had the vegetarian ones and they really had a nice kick. If you're into beer, I'd recommend checking out some of the local beers. They had a number of Ethiopian beers to pick from, which was great!! The one thing that sticks out about this place is the ambiance. When I walked in it felt like I was transported to another country. From the outside it might be unassuming but you definitely get into a different mindset once you step inside. I thought they did a really nice job with the interior. There are a number of places along Colfax to choose from. I haven't been to many but this should be an option to look at. read more

The atmosphere was perfect! The tea was delightful. We got the tibs and veggie plates. Extremely flavorful + delicious read more

Africana Cafe - a painting of giraffes at sunset - Ethiopian Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Absolutely delicious. First time having injera and I'm in love. Excited to visit again!

I have been eating Ethiopian food since 1985. I have been to numerous Ethiopian restaurants all over the United States. My visit here today was definitely one of the best I have eaten at in many many years. I came here with my Mata g Kali and we ordered the vegetarian combination we ended up with both the meat combination that was very tasty my favorite dish out of all of it though was the zig tibs absolutely scrumdiddlyumptious. The owners zabeab and her husband are absolutely amazing ,totally welcoming totally friendly ,one of the best places I have been to that has Ethiopian food in a long time. I know I already said that but I said it again hopefully in the future hopefully they will have aziffa for an appetizer and also a desserts would be great. All 5 stars! read more

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I'll start by saying the food was delicious. We had the veggie combo and two lentil Sambusa and everything was very tasty. When we received our bill, the prices were more than what was on the menu. The veggie combo is listed at $13.95 and we were charged $16.50. Sambusa was on the menu for $3 each and we were billed $3.75 each. After coming home I've read several reviews on Yelp and Google with people experiencing the same issues. The manager has commented on some saying the menus are old or they're updating their POS, yada yada but these reviews are from two years ago, one year ago, seven months ago, one month ago, etc. I call BS. I'm most disturbed that one person said their veggie combo was billed at $18-something...so, he's getting charged that, we're getting charged $16.50, and it's on the menu at $13.95? Are they just charging people what they think they can get away with? Shady. There's plenty of Ethiopian restaurants on Colfax. They may have gotten a few extra bucks from me today, but we won't be back so it's ultimately their loss given we're big fans of the food and live walking distance away. read more

Although perhaps not as heralded as some of its East Colfax brethren, Africana Cafe nevertheless puts out some darn good food from it's jazzy little headquarters. So without further ado, here's the scoop - or two or three as the case may be. Are you a bit tired of the usual breakfast items? Are you hankering after something a little more... substantial? Then Chechebsa may be just the thing for you. A staple of Ethiopia's largest ethnic group, the Oromo, this dish consists of chewy slabs of the wheat bread known as Kita torn up, then liberally doused with clarified butter and the spice mixture known as Berbere before being served with a bit of sour cream to cool things down. Alternatively, you can try the fava bean stew called Fouel, made with crushed fava beans mixed with tomatoes, onions, and peppers (mmmmmm). Some have called it "Ethiopian chili con carne" - try it out and see if you agree! If something a bit more traditional appeals after all, there are a couple of egg dishes for you to sample as well, so don't despair. Oh, you got there just a bit too late for breakfast. No problem! Africana Cafe still has a full slate of items to WOW you. The vegetable fans among you will get a kick (pun intended!) out of the spicy cabbage/cottage cheese combination called Tikil Gomen, or the rich, almost buttery (yes, really!) split pea puree better known as Kik Alicha. Meanwhile, options for meat lovers include the beef stewed in chickpea powder (Shiro Tegamino), the chicken and hardboiled egg cooked in Berbere sauce (Doro Wot) or even the exquisite raw beef dish called Kitfo (this can also be ordered in cooked form incidentally). And the very adventurous among you will appreciate the offal offering Melasena Sember, consisting of stir-fried beef tripe and tongue. Yes, Africana Cafe's menu will appeal to both the bashful and the brave. read more

Ok, let me start off by saying that the service was very polite, but slow as molasses. It took 30 minutes to get the food. However: When my $8.50 spicy lamb meal came out - Oh... Absolutely delicious. Way more food that than I could finish, and for the price, unbeatable! The atmosphere in there was wonderful too. My mommy always told me to look for the restaurants where the cars are at, but in this case, look for the restaurant where the Ethiopians are at. In the hour or so that I was in there, the only English spoken was to me. They had African music playing, and not a fork in the place. I ate a salad with my fingers... Authentic. Awesome. Minus a star for speed related issues... read more

I was looking to continue my takeout tour of Ethiopian restaurants during Covid, and I decided to work Africana Cafe into the rotation. While the Yelp link to their website didn't work, I found them online at www.africanacafe.co, so I decided to order directly to save any Grubhub associated overhead. The website was clunky, but that seemed pretty par for the course for a lot of businesses I've come across lately, so I went for it anyways. I placed an order for the "cash on delivery" method. I got a confirmation email right away, but oddly it was dated for the day after I placed the order. (Not for subsequent delivery, but just literally misdated). I decided not to worry about it, and an hour went by. Then more time. No email update, no contact from the restaurant, nothing. So I called. Someone eventually picked up the phone, set it down on the counter without saying anything, and then hung up on me, after my repeated: "Hello?"s. I never did get any food, so I can't speak to that, but I definitely wouldn't recommend ordering from their website. And you probably can't count on them to answer the phone either. read more

I love their meserwot. I always get the veggie combination and it's alllwaayysss good. In fact, I'm up waiting for them to open right now so I can eat. Africana Cafe are open until 2 a.m. Awesome. All the Fat City Music graffiti is awesome. The atmosphere including the African art, music, and setup is awesome. Food is awesome. There is always a smiling waitress but the service is slow. It does take about 20 minutes for the food to arrive, but it's well worth it. We're too much of an impatient people anyway. Sometimes the slow burn is good. Ask for a fork at your own expense because they'll look at you crazy. My sister tried it. read more

Let's start by saying this is an Authentic Ethiopian place, with Ethiopian staff and not a lot of frills. If you want the pampered, American version you will probably come here and be disappointed. As soon as I walked in this placed smelled like Africa! (I traveled through West Africa for two months and haven't smelled that nostalgic smell for years!) The food was incredible. We had a party of ten, so we ordered two platters with basically everything. The Derack Tibs (beef) and Dero Wot (chicken drumsticks) were delicious and both lentil dishes were so tasty! The staff was attentive, but you can expect everything to be a little slow paced. If you have time, get coffee after dinner. They roast the beans and percolate it in front of you. It takes a good 15 minutes, but it is worth every enjoyable sip. read more

Africana Cafe - Dinner Platter that fed 5 - Ethiopian Near Me - Denver, Colorado

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Africana has some great food! I went their with an Ethiopian friend which is always better as they know where the great food is. It was pretty quiet and a few people over lunch which was a bit surprising as the food was so great. We had a mixed plate of lintels, veggies, salad and some beef and it was all so great. Fantastic flavors and really lovely service. The place has a good location but it would be nice to see the owner upgrade the spot a bit. If you want some very tasty Ethiopian this is a fine place to go! read more

The food was fantastic and the service was extremely friendly and helpful. Tibs are amazing. Highly recommend giving them a try. Overall, great experience. read more

I went to this place last night with my girlfriend and I am appalled. I am white and she is Hispanic and this is the first time I've dealt directly with racism and prejudice against my sexuality. They were extremely abrupt and disrespectful and made it known that they were not a fan of the fact we were not black and openly gay. The comedians went out of their way to make us feel uncomfortable. The food was okay, but if you're not black and you're gay, deter from thinking you're getting an Ethiopian experience . Disgusting establishment all around. read more

First time for everything! This Ethiopian spot is super delish . The staff is very accommodating and helpful as I had no idea what I was doing. My brothers and I started our meal off with a vegetarian sambusa. Reminded me of an Indian samosa. It was filled with spicy lentils. When you put honey on it it is the perfect combo of spicy and sweet. For the main course we got gigantic family platter of the vegetarian combo with the febeg alecha (marinated lamb). The flavors were so so good! I can't wait to go back!!!! read more

Africana Cafe - Vegetarian combo with febeg alecha. Amazing meal! - Ethiopian Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Their veggie combo and shiro are so good I could eat here every day!! The staff are also really nice and welcoming. I usually get it to go and it's quick, give it a try! read more

Regular place was closed so we went to Africana. We were the only ones dining but there were people who seemed like regulars hanging out in the cafe area. Our waitress was great. She roasted some coffee as part of the traditional coffee ceremony and got the place smelling so good. Reminded me of home. We ordered the veggie and meat combo. It was all delicious, especially the lamb probably the best in town. Had great leftovers the next day. read more

I ate here on a Tuesday at 2:30pm. I ordered the meat combo. They don't carry draft beer or diet pepsi, but they do carry diet coke. The flavor of the food was good, it tasted fresh, spices were decent, not outstanding. Service was good. My complaint was more with the somewhat small portion sizes. But then for $12, it certainly was reasonable. I'd rather have 10% more food at a 10% higher price. It wasn't a knock your socks off experience, but I've certainly had worse Ethiopian food experiences in Denver, either related to slow serve or food not being fresh. read more

We went here for a family dinner and had such a great time! The food was amazing and the service was wonderful as well. The two ladies that were there were so kind and helpful. We will definitely be back soon! read more

Africana Cafe - Ethiopian Near Me - Denver, Colorado

We had the vegetarian platter and it always blows my mind how they can make lentils and veggies taste so good. I thought the salads and veggies in the middle of the platter were a nice touch. Service was great and our server was very friendly. I would love to go back and try something different or maybe try the Ethiopian coffee ceremony. read more

Africana Cafe - Vegetarian platter - Ethiopian Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Huge meal, even accommodated us at a weird time of day. Yummy authentic food and pleasant, helpful, owner and staff. We ended up taking some home. Great, will but back when we return from Montana read more

So first of all, it seems like a neat place - a bit of a different atmosphere. I was digging it until I saw the manager walking around with her crying baby (which we had to listen to for most of our visit). Well, whatever, we already got the groupon so lets see how the food is. We both asked for two honey wines, two of the meat combination plates. 10 minutes to get seated in an almost-empty restaurant, 15 minutes to get our glasses of wine, and another 20-30 minutes to bring out the food. Meanwhile, we watched the table behind us (started out as one man who came in just before us, who then had three other friends join up later) all get their meals. This was all before we even got the wine. While waiting, we also saw them put together eight total takeout boxes for other people who came in after us. Eventually, after about an hour of being there, we got our food. The portions were RIDICULOUSLY small. The combination plate shared between the two of us had one hard-boiled egg, one small chicken leg each, and two other kinds of meat servings. To give you an idea of how small these other two meat portions were, I ate one of them in two bites and another in three. I resorted to eating all of the bread they served to try and fill my stomach, but we still ended up getting something else after we left the restaurant. By the way, the "coffee" that was included with the group- on was equivalent to measuring out a shot-glass worth of coffee, then splitting that between the two of us. Don't get the group- on, the price of everything you get added up doesn't come close to the value. By the way, remember that baby I mentioned at the beginning? The "manager" was handing her baby off to the waitress whenever she had to go talk to a customer or take a phone call. I didn't see the waitress wash her hands again afterwards. Never going back. Edit: Today (the day after), my girlfriend has profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting; I had nausea/malaise the whole day. Again, if you DO happen to go there, make sure whoever's touching your food/plate hasn't been holding the baby in the restaurant. read more

This was amazing authentic Ethiopian food, the flavors were so delicious and tantalizing I will definitely be visiting again! read more

Africana Cafe - Delicious!!! Ethiopian food!! Definitely would go again, and again!!! - Ethiopian Near Me - Denver, Colorado

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Believe the lady when she says the Gored Gored is spicy. It was so frickin bloody delicious but I felt like my insides were going to turn into pure liquid and I couldn't stop eating it. It's like packed with flavor but just hot enough to where a notch more and it would be literal fire. Also, expect to eat with your hands; like a real tourist experience. But thats what the Injera bread stuff is for. Also the tables had an adequate amount of space between them so it felt like if there had been a lot of people I wouldn't have felt caged in. I went during off peak hours and it was greatly peaceful and even though there weren't a lot of people the server was very professional. 10/10 Would beg for the spicy freight train again all the way to flavor town. read more

I love Ethiopian food, and I came here one day (africana cafe #2) with two friends for lunch. The place was empty and they were playing really loud techno music. It took them a while to get us our water and menus, and when were ready to order, the waitress wasn't around. We got our order in, the veggie combination, and a few meat options. we also asked for extra enjera bread. The service was very slow, and look us maybe another 30minutes for the food to come out, without our extra order for enjera. We asked for more, a roll for each of us (3) and she came out with one. The food was good, very spicy, but I've had better Ethiopian with better service for the price we paid. read more