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    Blue Nile Restaurant

    4.2 (401 reviews)
    ModerateEthiopian
    Closed 4:30 pm - 10:00 PM

    Order Blue Nile Restaurant Takeout or Delivery

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    BLUE NILE RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Outdoor seating
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Blue Nile Restaurant

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    Lega Tibs Combo Doro Tibs Combo Siga Wat
    Mary Ann V.

    I haven't had Ethiopian in years! I forgot how good it was! Small restaurant and modern. I love that Ethiopian is about using hands and sharing The injeri bread has a slight sour taste, but balances so well with curry type foods

    Josiah D.

    Stopped into Blue Nile for the first time tonight. I've lived in the area for about a year and Blue Nile has been on the top of my list to visit -- I'm happy I did! The decor inside is very warm and tasteful, it feels elevated and is a perfect date night spot for a casual evening. We ordered the Veggie sampler and had each of the vegetable options. We also ordered two extra primary dishes and an appetizer. This was enough food for all 4 of us. The food was really yummy -- it was my first Ethiopian food experience, and I thoroughly enjoyed the range of flavors and spices. I will definitely be returning in the future!

    Veggie combo + beef/lamb
    Mary C.

    We went to Blue Nile while visiting friends in Boston. We have an Ethiopian place we love in St. Louis so we decided to compare the two. They both offer a vegetarian injera combo platter--Blue Nile's veggies weren't as flavorful. Our gomen wat (greens) in particular were very bland. The misir wat (red lentils) had good seasoning and a little spice, and out of all the vegetarian sides was our favorite and would be my recommendation. The yelik alicha (yellow split pea) needed seasoning though, and the tikil gommen (cabbage) and yatakilt wat (carrots) could've been saltier/sweeter respectively, but these were ok. The vegetarian dishes overall didn't give the feeling of "wow you could have a great completely vegetarian meal" that I expected. On the other hand, Blue Nile's veggie platter also came with a side salad that looked boring but was dressed well. The meat at Blue Nile was spiced better than the veggies, and in both the lega tibs (beef) and yebeg tibs (lamb) the tomatoes and onions mixed nicely. Some of the beef was tough, but the lamb with tomatoes and onions was the standout. Finally the injera itself I would've preferred less dry/more squishy. It's still a lot of fun to eat in a group of 4, since everyone can reach over and grab everything. It's a nice place to share food and talk. It was open to the air during what felt like an unpleasant Boston summer - kind of hot and humid, including inside Blue Nile - so I felt a bit sticky. The servers constantly refilled our cold water though which helped us stay cool. In general the service was nice and helped resolve some confusion with our order. On a side note, and this is probably simply a STL vs Boston thing, I felt like the portions at Blue Nike were smaller for the price. And Meskerem (our STL place) serves quickly, like they have most of the veggies made already, whereas Blue Nile took ~30 min (but maybe because we got vegetarian at Meskerem but meat here). Still fun overall but again as a venue it was humid.

    Taj T.

    Getting to try a little bit of everything is a love language for me, and boy did Blue Nile pile on the love for me With an assortment of veggie dishes that I'd never even tried before at the countless Ethiopian restaurants I've been to before, Blue Nile easily earns its reputation for great, plentiful, and fairly priced foods. This is a family joint, and they make you feel like a family when you're there. We had our infant with us, and they were very accommodating of our need to take extra time placing our menu, extra napkins, and extra love. Vegetarians are spoiled for choice here, but not only did I get a Vegetarian Revenge to try all the veggie dishes, I also tried the Legna Tibs. If you can eat meat (and don't worry, it's halal!), definitely go for this delicious dish made of streak strips in a striking berebere spices. To accompany these all comes the injera, the spongey bread that here has only a subtle fermented flavor that perfectly complements your curries. The ambience is definitely cool. Under the dim, neon lighting of a surprisingly high ceiling, you'll enjoy a dinner that's both cozy/comfy/intimate while also feeling grand. If I'm ever in Boston again, I'm definitely coming back!

    Injera
    Alice Z.

    Highly recommend the honey wine! Come hungry the portions are large and leave you feeling stuffed. Fluffy injera and the veggie and meat options are all great.

    Doro and Lega Tibs Combo
    Thomas T.

    The restaurant is cozy and a reservation is a must. Street parking can be a little difficult in the area. The interior gave a nice impression and the staff were attentive. Once ordered, the food comes out quickly. My fiancée and I got the Dora (Chicken) and Lega (Beef) Tibs Combo and they put it together on a large injera with extra injera on the side. We got the Misir and Shiro Wat and we both loved the Misir Wat a lot more, it had a lot more flavor. The chicken and beef came out warm, I would have preferred if they were hot. I enjoyed mixing the different combinations together. Overall this is a great experience for Ethiopian food.

    Veggie combo (6 veggies) + doro wot + spicy lamb
    Madow N.

    The food was super bland this time, especially the veggie combo and the lentil appetizer. Just seemed like there was no seasoning. Even the spicy lamb was not spicy. Service was very good even though the restaurant was packed. Parking is never easy there but a few spots on the same street opened up around 7:45pm (Thursday). There's a Whole Foods nearby but I don't know if I would risk parking there.

    Siga wot (fine) in the front, doro wot and side of misir in the back (not very flavorful)
    Stephanie N.

    Honestly disappointing. Got siga wot, doro wot, and side of misir. They did not have kitfo, one of our favorite dishes, but we generally enjoy the other dishes as well so we were happy to try them here. Honestly was on the bland side, which is shocking for Ethiopian food, although the siga wot was somewhat more flavorful. Didn't have any classic buttery or umami + berbere strong spice notes, just a more generic mild spice. Also only two very small chicken drumsticks in the doro wot, surprising given the price, and a very small couple of spoonfuls of misir on the side. We have eaten a lot of Ethiopian food in many cities, particularly numerous times in DC, and this fell very short of our expectations. I was disappointed enough to let my partner finish most of it and try the Ethiopian Cafe nearby, which was much more in line with our expectations. On the plus side, service was fast and kind. Thank you to our server.

    lean beef

    The food here was delicious. The sambosa was crispy and filled with slightly spicy lentils. The meat dishes are all served on a slightly sour and very tasty bread/pancake called injera. I had the lamb (yebeg tibs) and it was great - so flavorful and tender. I didn't try the 2 kinds of beef or chicken that my company ordered, but according to them, it was great! My side of collard greens was equally delightful. The reason it's not 5 stars is the price of the food for the amount you get. Ordering a combo (meat dish + a side order of a vegetable dish) helps the price, but the helpings were noticeably small for the price. The service was great -- super friendly and accommodating to both my friend with allergies to dairy and someone in my company who asked for a fork. Blue Nile is a great place to check out if you're in the area.

    Veggie combo, left to right:  Gomen (collard greens), misir (Split red lentils), Yatakilt (Carrots, string beans), and Ye'kik Alicha
    Chirag P.

    Somewhat intimidating at first since the menu didn't really have descriptions on anything (even though the online menu does?). So was kind of fumbling through my phone figuring out what to get, and plus have a chick pea / chick pea flour allergy which some of the items have. The waiter though was very friendly, asked if first time eating Ethiopian (YES!), and told him about my allergy and was accommodating. So, intimidation disappeared after that, went for the veggie combo. I looked to my left table and noticed was either their doro (chicken) or siga (tenderloin), and was thinking next time I got to try those out. I live right around the corner too so definitely ordering soon. Injira is an interesting thing. It reminds me tastewise like indian appam cooked, but more filling. Love it! The Misir and the Ye'kik Alicha were the top two items. The Gomen and Yatakilt were OK, not as much flavor as the other two. Great food though overall, recommend it.

    Veggie Combo Six Lega Tibs Doro Tibs
    Holly C.

    What a great Ethiopian staple in the neighborhood. Food was tasty, service friendly. Definitely worth visiting!

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    5 months ago

    Absolutely amazing food and fantastic service! This charming little restaurant in JP is a true gem--can't wait to go back!

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    9 months ago

    Excellent outdoor seating and the food is very good. Definitely recommend for folks looking to have authentic Ethiopian cuisine

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    1 year ago

    Great food, great service, lovely setting. It's a particularly wonderful spot for family meals.

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    Page 1 of 11

    Blue Nile Restaurant Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Blue Nile Restaurant

    Do they have dine-in?

    Yes, both in the restaurant and on a patio!

    Are there any dishes that are mild for people who can't handle spicy hot?

    You can specify heat level when ordering. I'm sensitive to heat, and found both the Doro Tibs and Yebeg Tibs dishes to be pretty mild IMO, as were the Gomen and Yekik Alicha.

    Are these guys closed forever now? Is all lost?

    No, they're back open for takeout now!

    View All 4 Questions

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    Ethiopian Cafe - 19A. Meat Combo for 2 Person

    Ethiopian Cafe

    4.7(83 reviews)
    0.0 miJamaica Plain

    We came here on a weekday and had the restaurant to ourselves. Upon walking in, we were welcomed by…read morethe sight and smell of (incense?) which bothered us a bit but otherwise, the meal was good. We had two orders, which they were welcome to combine into 1 shared big plate as we planned to all share together. They were happy to accommodate a gluten-free meal for my friend (we believe most things on the menu are gluten free to begin with) which was great. They have a sink next to the restaurant counter for customers to wash their hands prior to using their hands to eat their entrees. As for the injera, it was a bit dry but they did have a decent amount of quantity for the price. Overall price and service for the restaurant was good for the food you get. Service was decently quick! As for the food, it was pretty flavorful. We all enjoyed all the veggie options, especially the lentils. The lamb really good and flavorful and I would return just for this! Again, my only gripe is that the injera is a bit dry. In addition, the sauces for the chicken vs beef tasted pretty similar so we wish they were differentiated a bit more. What we ordered: - 2 person Combo (except lamb) w/6 veggies (we chose Doro Wet (Chicken) and Siga Wet (Beef) - Yebeg Tibs (Lamb entree)

    This is one of my favorite Ethiopian places in Boston (Addis Red Sea was a favorite while it…read moreexisted!). It's a small, cute place with a few tables and chairs for dining. We usually get takeout and I'm always impressed by how well it is packed. We got the meat combo for 2 which includes 2 meat dishes, 6 veggie sides, and injera. Injera is the soft spongy "bread" that you eat the curries with. For the meat, we ordered the chicken dish, Doro Wet, twice and each order contains with one boiled egg and one chicken drumstick. For the 6 veggie sides, we ordered all the six listed on their menu - the collard greens, mix veggies, different types of lentils. I wanted to sub one of the veggie sides with the cottage cheese appetizer but they said they couldn't do that - boo. The food was ready quickly about 15 mins or so. The portion sizes were great. And wow, the food was tasty. The injera was perfect, not too sour which is something I always think about before getting Ethiopian food. If it's too sour it can overpower the curries but it should have a slight hint of tanginess to be tasty. The Doro Wet was spicy and having the 6 veggie sides helped with balancing it out. We enjoyed our meal, especially the injera on the bottom that gets soaked in all the juices - yummy!

    Photos
    Ethiopian Cafe - Cute little table

    Cute little table

    Ethiopian Cafe - Combined in 1 plate= 2 person Combo (except lamb) w/6 veggies (we chose Doro Wet (Chicken) and Siga Wet (Beef) + Yebeg Tibs (Lamb entree)

    Combined in 1 plate= 2 person Combo (except lamb) w/6 veggies (we chose Doro Wet (Chicken) and Siga Wet (Beef) + Yebeg Tibs (Lamb entree)

    Ethiopian Cafe - 19A. Meat Combo for 2 Person

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    19A. Meat Combo for 2 Person

    Lucy Ethiopian Cafe - Beef Combo 2 Beef - Mild.

    Lucy Ethiopian Cafe

    4.1(516 reviews)
    1.9 mi
    $$

    This has been my favorite Ethiopian restaurant I've found in Boston so far! I've ordered delivery…read moreon several occasions, but this was my first time in the space itself. I love it because it actually is like a cafe, just with a full service menu. There were people doing work or having a quiet meal to themselves. (I went on the evening of Marathon Monday). My sister and I ordered the meat veggie combo for 2, where you get 1 meat entree and four veggie sides of your choice. We got the lega tibs, tikil gomen, shiro wot, misir wot, and kik alicha. We were quite hungry so we cleared the entire thing. It was a perfect portion for two! The injera is soft and the proportion was perfect. I would love to come back for a meal or to even grab a quick lunch! Or to study and eat at the same time ...

    Excellent! Highly recommended. I am new to the cuisine, but niece invited me to try. The beef combo…read morefor two was great. The variety of vegetables sides were wonderful with different flavors and textures. The sides were so good that next time I might just try the veggie combo. We got a medium spice and it was warm and flavorful, but not over powering. Priced very competitively for Huntington Avenue Boston. I would highly recommend it. Just be prepared that the cuisine is eaten with fresh flat bread not with utensils so wash your hands and get ready for a delicious experience. Note you order at counter, but the service was quick and friendly. Also try the traditional Ethiopian coffee. The presentation is amazing and it is a deep flavorful coffee. My niece recommends the peanut tea - she said it taste like like drinking a yummy peanut butter smoothie.

    Photos
    Lucy Ethiopian Cafe - The back dining area

    The back dining area

    Lucy Ethiopian Cafe - Ethiopian coffee

    Ethiopian coffee

    Lucy Ethiopian Cafe - Dining area

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    Dining area

    Karibu - Beef stew

    Karibu

    4.5(192 reviews)
    7.4 mi
    $$

    You could say I drove up from South Western Virginia, just for this restaurant. I was not…read moredisappointed. We arrived a little less than an hour before closing time but we were still happily served. Let me be clear, this is a Ugandan restaurant. Okay, moving on. Our food came out, steaming hot and fresh- nothing seemed like it was reheated (try eating reheated posho y'all). We stayed long after the restaurant was closed to finish our food which really gave me the real homey Ugandan vibes. There were also a bunch of Ugandan uncles in the corner just chatting it up the entire time which was fun. Also, there's a store with Ugandan products, raw frozen cassava/matooke, bitenge, and some other Ugandan staples like Royco, Blueband, Majaani, etc!

    People who have traveled in the 3rd world will immediately "get" Karibu. Think of it as being a bit…read morelike having dinner with a family from another country. I can see from the reviews that some people are expecting a smooth assembly line operation like you might expect if you were eating at a cafeteria in Den Bosch in the Netherlands--which I've done. This ain't that. But bring your patience and adaptability and a smile and you'll be rewarded with a hearty country meal East African style. If you want anything spicy ask for it. In the 3rd world in my experience my Anglo looks meant they leave out the spiciness unless you ask otherwise. The vibe is like a Ugandan version of a British village pub full of locals socializing. If you want to meet every Ugandan expat in the Boston area, come on by. But while most of the people were Ugandan we obvious non-Ugandans were greeted with open arms. We asked them to just bring us dinner, and so they did. One interesting thing was the Indian influence--Uganda had had a large Indian community there until Idi Amin appropriated everything they had and kicked them out of the country. I guess some? many? have returned since Idi Amin was kicked out himself. So among the more obviously indigenous chicken stew and cooked plantains as a major starch was samosas and chapatis, much as you'd expect to find in an Indian restaurant. Portions were so big I got two and a half additional meals out of it. I've tried a lot of cuisines--I live in the SF Bay Area which is one of the most multicultural places on Earth--so for me this wasn't all that exotic. Ethiopian food is a lot moreso and a lot hotter, for example. So someone who's only mildly adventurous should do fine here. Actually Cajun cooking from Louisiana is more exotic, frankly. And hotter. And there's nothing on Karubu's menu like that Gulf Cajun fave "Bucket of Mud Bugs" (crawfish). Both my wife and our local friend who dined with us enjoyed our meal, and I look forward to returning on our next trip to Greater Boston. Interestingly both one of our Uber drivers and the night clerk at our hotel were Ugandan and familiar with Karibu and very pleased that we planned to dine there. A lot of the infrastructure people we deal with as we travel are really very interesting people if you talk with them and don't just treat them like they're invisible. And it can make your travels more interesting than just going somewhere and doing the standard tourist things.

    Photos
    Karibu - Menu

    Menu

    Karibu - Sides

    Sides

    Karibu

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    Sugar & Spice - Chicken on Fire: Char-grilled chicken marinated with Southern spices and coconut.

    Sugar & Spice

    3.9(955 reviews)
    4.7 miPorter Square
    $$

    This is my FAVORITE Thai place in all of Cambridge and probably Boston. I so so recommend it, I'm…read morebaffled at some of the lower ratings. I've gotten lucky with walking in but they have enough seating for one to generally be able to snag a table even around dinner time. During the summer, they have lovely outdoor seating! I've gotten take out here once and the food holds up well. Now onto the food... - drunken noodles: occasionally these are very spicy and occasionally they are appropriately spicy. They are always so excellent and the noodles are bouncy and chewy! I usually get this with pork. - pad see ew: this is my favorite Thai noodle dish and it's no exception here. Not as spicy as the drunken noodles but just a massive portion of filling noodles, chicken/tofu, and Chinese broccoli. There's something about the way they do the sauce here that is just so savory and delicious. It feels less greasy than it usually does at other Thai places, which I really like - pad mee korat: my friend always get this and raves about it. I felt like it was worth sharing that this comes in a huge plate and was finished completely. They have a lot of variety in dishes!!

    We ordered takeout for two noodle dishes: Pad See Ew with chicken and Pad Thai…read more The Pad See Ew is usually one of my favorite dishes, so I was excited. Flavor-wise, this version was lighter and more lime-forward than the sweeter, dark soy profile I'm used to. It was also very liquidy, which didn't mesh well with the noodle type. The Pad Thai was fine overall. They use a different kind of noodle than I've eaten before, which was fun and unique. The flavor was solid, though not especially memorable. Portion sizes were very generous, especially for Boston. That said, at $17 per dish I didn't feel the quality quite matched the price, even with the large portions. Overall, it's not gonna be my go-to spot, but I'd be open to ordering again if a friend really wanted to.

    Photos
    Sugar & Spice - Guay-Jub: Eater Boston Must Try Guay-Jub noodles with crispy pork, tofu, boiled egg in a five-spice soy broth.

    Guay-Jub: Eater Boston Must Try Guay-Jub noodles with crispy pork, tofu, boiled egg in a five-spice soy broth.

    Sugar & Spice - Somtom Boo Plara: Shredded green papaya, pickled fish & salted field crab, tomatoes, crushed nuts tossed in a chili lime sauce. Gluten Free

    Somtom Boo Plara: Shredded green papaya, pickled fish & salted field crab, tomatoes, crushed nuts tossed in a chili lime sauce. Gluten Free

    Sugar & Spice - Hor Mok: Steamed salmon curry, shrimp, egg, vegetables, served in a fresh whole coconut. Vegan and Gluten Free Available

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    Hor Mok: Steamed salmon curry, shrimp, egg, vegetables, served in a fresh whole coconut. Vegan and Gluten Free Available

    Blue Nile Restaurant - ethiopian - Updated May 2026

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