Lunch special was good! Very nice flavors and seasoning. A little too spicy for me with the lamb but overall I would come back. The vegetarian parts were good. Not a fan of the bread thing it was a bit sour to me. Overall it gets a lot of awards and I would try it again for something less spicy. read more

Cafe Desta - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

It was nice to find a place in Tucson with decent Ethiopian food. We ordered The Works and the beef Tibs which was presented colorfully on a platter. We asked for it to be served traditional style which is how it's typically served in Ethiopia. The vegetarian dishes were my favorite- flavored and savory! Seating was limited but with good flow. Food takes a while to come out which is a good thing because it comes out freshly prepared. Servers were very polite. read more

See all

We are from out of town and asked locals for a suggestion for vegan options. One of them is this Ethiopian restaurant. We tried the Vegan Signature plate which feeds 2-4 people. There were 3 of us. It turned out the plate was about 20 inches in diameter and topped with all 8 vegan dishes on the menu plus salads. Each of us had 1 basket of injera. It was the best vegan Ethiopian I have ever tasted! There are a few Ethiopian restaurants in LA area but it is not as good as this one. I was totally impressed! My group was also impressed by the quality and quantity of the food. The service was also friendly. After dinner I was full but I didn't feel bleh like I ate oily and unhealthy food. The food here is healthy and delicious! We will be back when we return in town again! read more

Good is an understatement. Food was excellent, service was quick and friendly. Always come back when in Tucson. Cold lentils, spicy beef and lamb are top choices. read more

Simply put. Great Ethiopian restaurant. Their service is great too. Pictured is the family platter with 100% teff injeera (a big plus they have it). Everything was good, the shiro could be improved but overall between everything it deserves 5 stars. The staff are very friendly as well read more

Cafe Desta - Vegan soup - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

See all

I went here today having never tried Ethiopian food. I didn't know quite what to expect having only gone off pictures. I have to say the food was excellent, very flavorful and aromatic, similar to Indian food in many ways. I ordered a meal for two where we could choose five different meats/vegan options. Instead of using silverware you use a special bread that works very well for soaking up and wrapping up the food. I recommend the chicken and beef options, wish I could remember the specific dish names. The coffees and teas were also very good. Atmosphere and service was nice. I'll be back for sure now that know how delicious Ethiopian food is. read more

Wonderful service and food! This was my first time trying Ethiopian food and what a great experience!! I got a chicken dish and would recommend anyone to try something new on the menu and to try this place out! read more

Always delicious -- and healthy too. You'll have no trouble eating enough vegetables when you eat here! Delighted they now have delivery.

Went for dinner last night and loved it! My friend is Ethiopian and ordered for our table. We had the beef tibs which was seasoned perfectly and so flavorful. The sides we got were cabbage, lentils, and something like collard greens. There was nothing I didn't like. I didn't want to fill up in the special bread so I asked for a fork and they were happy to bring one. It's a very casual restaurant and the service was great. I would definitely go back! read more

Cafe Desta - Beef tibs - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

It's packed at night but during the day it's pretty slow. The service has always been quick. It's a small establishment but very cozy. The food is very tasty. I enjoy eating the spicy chicken and lamp the most. I have also tried the greens and they were flavorful. The lunch time specials are about 2 dollars off the entre with the same amount of food. It's a very great place to eat. read more

This place is great. It offers what I think is good Ethiopian food. I've only had it twice, but it was spicy and flavorful. My dining companions loved the food too. The service was fast and polite. This establishment is BYOB and if you're looking for some to go beverages you can get them at next door or at Roy's a block away. Definitely try this place out if you want Ethiopian. The price/value of this place is great. My dish was $20, but was a good sized portion that could be two meals. read more

See all

Desta is besta! If you read nothing else then that's all you need to know. But if you feel so compelled, carry on... The menu features vegetarian and meat dishes, each expertly spiced and flavored to perfection. The standout dishes for me were the Fosolia, Gomen, and Shiro. The Fosolia, made with green beans and carrots, was a delightful side dish with a bright and bold flavor profile. The Gomen, a savory collard greens dish, was tender and packed with flavor. And the Shiro, a vegetarian stew made with chickpeas, was hearty and comforting, offering a rich and satisfying taste. The injera bread was the perfect complement to the dishes. read more

Cafe Desta - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

My favorite restaurant in Tucson! The best Ethiopian food I've ever had! My go to place when I have guests in town!

First time trying Ethiopian food and it was a great experience! The food was very flavorful and the combo for 2 was great because you can choose 5 different entree items to try more. I had the lamb, chicken, and beef. The staff was very friendly and the cafe is very nice. They also have espresso options and other drinks available. read more

Cafe Desta - Combo for 2 - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

See all

Not being very familiar with Ethiopian cuisine, we thought we'd give this place a try. No reservations accepted, so we had to wait about 20-25 minutes for a table for two to open up. The place is very small with not that many tables. But the short wait was really worth it. You eat with your hands using a "sour bread" to scoop up your food. We ordered the combo for two which has five different choices between meat and veggies. The food comes out on what looks like a large pizza pan. It sits on a very large piece of sour bread. Although each selection of meat and veggie is not large, it is more than adequate. We both were full but not uncomfortably so. When the bill came, we were pleasantly surprised at how inexpensive this dinner turned out to be. In fact, the cheapest of our trip so far. Good value for the price. read more

It was my first time eating Ethiopian food and what an awesome experience! This restaurant is very clean, the food is fantastic, and the woman who helped us was gorgeous, but I didn't catch her name. Super friendly great service I would definitely recommend stopping by for lunch. read more

Excellent food. Now Yelp is forcing me to add characters, so I guess that's what I'll do here. read more

Delicious! The lamb tips were perfect,. Cubes of lamb pan seared in Kibe, Awaze onion, jalapeños and fresh rosemary. Served with salad and Fosolia. I opted out of the Fosolia (green beans) and added the Gomen ( collards), they were different from what I'm used to but still good. The small salad, really small, more like bits of lettuce were good but I needed more. It came wrapped in injera (bread) which wasn't my fav but I enjoyed it. Sidenote: it was empty upon arrival, the was a bell, he said he'd be right with me. The meal was made fresh upon order. He came to the table with a bottle of hand sanitizer and set my bill down, I placed my card on the counter, he took it, brought it back after cleaning it and set it back down for me to pick up. This place is A1, I appreciated the effort. read more

See all

Always an exceptional treat for the taste buds eating here. This is a family-run restaurant that offers true Ethiopian food at its finest. Look at the gorgeous colors in the photo! Heaven on injera! read more

Cafe Desta - Veggies with one fish in the middle - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

I eat here every time I am in Tucson. It's a truly great place if you love Ethiopian food

Made it to this restaurant yesterday and the food was amazing. Ordered the Lamb Tibs, Black Eye coffee and a side of Ambasha (Bread). It's a nice small restaurant with relaxing music. Service was good and would definitely come back. read more

Cafe Desta - Ethiopian Cuisine - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

See all

The food and the ambiance are amazing. I think both of them make for my favorite restaurant in tucson. The owner is here everyday and will great you with a wonderfully big smile. The food itself is made with love and pride. My favorite foods are the Kaya doro and Kaya beg, Kaya meaning spicy but the lamb and chicken are wonderful together. The first who works up front is always friendly and handles the whole room with grace and genuine care. All in all I love this place. read more

Cafe Desta - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

See all

Some of the absolute best food in Tucson (and it's always consistent-never had anything less than a fantastic meal here)! Staff is wonderful as well. Highly recommend! read more

First of all, I commend Cafe Desta for being one of mere handful of restaurants to even be on Restaurants.com and offer $5 discount for $10 min purchase, while all other restaurants require min purchase $45 to save $15, or I have to spend $20 at a burger joint for only me to eat, just to be able to use a $5 off Restaurants.com voucher to save $5. I am in Tucson for the Gem Show, and came to discover Cafe Desta only because owner chose to participate in Restaurants.com, which I got gifted $260 worth of cards from timeshare presentations, cards that I have not used since 2013. I first came for dinner Jan 30, 2022. I like lamb, so ordered Kaye Beg Lamb cooked in berbere (chilis). I was almost shocked the lamb was just 2 tablespoons of tiny bits in the gravy. I showed the manager (owner) cos I thought it was a mistake. But he said "that's the way it is" and that he was busy with othet customers and something about me "complaining". The couple at table next to me ordered the beef and fish or lb and their plate was awfully flat with nothing but gravy, too. So I guess, "that's the way it is" When I was in bed that night, I got to thinking that "this food served with tiny bits if meat" is truly how they make it in Ethiopia, because they are so poor. Meat is such a luxury so you use it only as sparingly in Ethiopia as I was served here. Americans are so rich, they eat meat as a big hunk of steak at one meal all to himself, when that steak for one American person is an Ethiopian family's meat for a week. They make the gravy spicy and tasty with minimal meat, and lots of rice, to stretch their food to make a meal. My deduction is from all those memories of seeing starving Ethiopians on the news over the years I am giving 3 stars not only for the 2 tablespoons of lamb my dinner, but when I came for lunch special the next day, I got more lamb my lunch special portion of same dish. Also dinner sever did not have a clue or even know what Restaurants.com voucher was and how to help me select and redeem for that restaurant, ony phone. So she went to get the manager who did it for me. (I had never used it before.) Also another ding was I called beforehand and to find out if they had wifi for customers to use. Yes they did. So I chose to eat lunch there for that reason, as I am attending the gem show living in an RV with no internet for a week. But when I got there, server did not know how to access, what the name of their wifi was, and even if she did, she did not know their password. She tried to text her boss, but he did not answer, so I got my lunch special to go, since my reason for coming in again to sit (to use their wifi) could not be fulfilled. So three stars for aforementioned experiences. But even without the wifi access, my lunch special only cost me $5 because of the Restaurant.com $5 off $20 minimum purchase. The only employee there at lunch was soooo beautiful, her eyes, and flawless skin, and I told her she was so beautiful. She said she was born in Sudan and came to US 15 years ago. I would rate the food taste 4 stars if it had more meat. read more

Cafe Desta - $14 lamb , but where's the meat? I got only two tablespoons of little cubes of lamb in my spicy gravy. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

See all

It's a prefect place to have lunch with friends :) we all shared a plater, the coffee was not the best but I'm picky when it comes to coffee

I had never had Ethiopian cuisine before our lunch at Cafe Desta, but I can now say the restaurant will enter our regular rotation! My partner and I each had the lunch special and were stuffed by the end. The portions are decent, especially considering the low price tag. They have tons of options for all taste preferences, spicy foods, meat options, and lots of vegan options. They are also able to boast gluten free options for their items! We also had the recommended tea, one hot and one iced - it was the perfect compliment to the meal. The ambiance is also lovely, there is traditional artwork and nature photos from Africa around the room. read more

First time ever having Ethiopian food. No complaints! Staff was friendly and informative. We did the combo for 2, you get to choose five dishes to share and it comes w lettuce and Injera. We did a lamb dish, chicken dish, Spicy chicken dish, beef dish and cabbage. It was delicious and flavorful. The cabbage (Tikil Gomen) and spicy chicken (Kaye Doro) was my favorite. I'll definitely go back for that. We also had the mango Juice and mango fizz (mango juice with soda water) and both were delicious read more

Cafe Desta - Mango Juice Fizz - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

See all

Very tasty! My favorite is always the tikil gomen, which seems like it should be pretty simple (cabbage, potatoes, carrots) but is absolutely incredible. read more

Cafe Desta is definitely a one-of-a-kind Ethiopian dining experience that I would highly recommend to all! Cafe Desta grants diners the opportunity to discover delectable Ethiopian cuisine, especially with their "The Works" combo. Whether you are curious or just indecisive, The Works combo allows you to sample all vegan and meat dishes served at the restaurant! Fortunately, our group was indecisive so we decided to go with The Works. Overall, all of the dishes were phenomenal, but the Alicha Sega (beef) and Azifa (lentils) were particularly noteworthy. The injera served complemented all the dishes well, and in the end we were so stuffed but also so satisfied. I do look forward to the next time I dine here! read more

See all

Delightful. Healthy! Ordered Ubereats today and got the platter vegan for 2 people and it was just the right amount of food and you can pick 5 items to add to your plate. Spiced so nicely. I've been there to dine in before and that was a lovely experience. read more

Friendly service despite being busy with takeout orders and a large group dining in. We shared the combo for two ($30) and selected five vegan dishes from their menu (hard to decide between because they all sounded so good). While the portions were a little smaller than I'm used to seeing at Ethiopian restaurants, it was definitely more than enough food for the two of us. 4 stars out of 5 because it's quite a bit more expensive than I'm accustomed to for what we got. The peppermint tea was also lovely. read more

My boyfriend had never had Ethiopian food before so I had to bring him here. Service is really good, we got to talk to a couple people who work here and they were so lovely. I got the works so the bf could try a bit of everything. Everything was delicious. I really enjoyed the mild beef and the lamb, and he really enjoyed the spicy beef and the chicken. I've been to a lot of coffee shops, but nothing beats the coffee here; It's incredible. We got the almond raspberry tart with our coffee for dessert. Perfect combination. If you enjoy food with flavor, this is the spot. read more

Cafe Desta - Raspberry almond tart and Mackato coffee - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

See all

Cafe Desta never disappoints and if you want a deal of the century bring some friends and dig in to their "the works" combo!!! It's a crowd pleaser for sure with a little bit of everything and they really proved they have their stuff together when they gave it to me on this beautiful platter when I ordered to go!! The service was beyond kind and inviting and it was ready in a timely manner. If you want good food and good service, this is the place to be! read more

Cafe Desta - The Works Combo to go! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

The best Ethiopian food in town! Lovely people. Delicious food. It doesn't get better than this!

This place is great! I shared the combo for two with my partner we got: Misir, kik, Kaya Doro, Kaya beg and Ayeb. All of it was very good, cost effective, and I was comfortably full by the end of dinner. There was some Injera left that we were unable to eat b/c we were so full~ I also got a Latte and the dessert. The Latte was very well made and a very good dark roast. I'm in Tucson for a long work trip & want to try as many places as possible but I really want to go here again! read more

Great lunch special, vegan options, and coffee! The physical space is adorned with beautiful photography and Amhara basketry. The staff is welcoming to all and proactively attentive to customer needs. The restrooms are clean and the entire space is kept impeccably clean throughout the day. Def a Tucson favorite! read more

My first experience ever trying Ethiopian food and I was not disappointed! My friend and I tried the sampler for two which included 5 of the vegan dishes. ALL of them were phenomenal, honestly. We couldn't choose a favorite. The presentation felt very authentic and sharing from the middle of the table truly immerses you into the experience. The "sourdough-like" injera was one of the most unique foods I've ever tried and was surprisingly flavorful for such a thin type of bread. The range of flavors between dishes is unlike anything I've ever tasted. Simple yet spice-forward and packed with flavor! The one thing I will say is that the menu is a little overwhelming because I had no experience with this type of cuisine, but the server was extremely patient and helpful. We ended up letting him choose three of the five dishes lol. Overall I can't speak highly enough of this establishment. Clean, great speed of service, excellent communication/help, reasonable prices, and delicious food! read more

Cafe Desta - Sampler - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

Amazing food and service. So good we had to go 2 days in a row. Bring a loved one to share a plate with and I guarantee you will leave happy and satisfied. Bathrooms are really nice. read more

Cafe Desta - Combo for 2 - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

In times of COVID, Cafe Desta has one of the best takeout experiences! Ordering via phone is very easy, and the pickup process feels so safe and clean - they clean your card and the checkout area as you pay and pickup food. The food is freshly packed into the takeout containers right as you pick up too so not too soggy from being in a container too long that we often find with takeout meals. The lunch special is such an amazing price: $9 for 3 items (choice of vegan or meat) with injera or rice - a big, filling portion of delicious food! I definitely recommend trying their vegan/vegetarian options - so flavorful and so good that I prefer it over their meat options. My favorites are the Tikil Gomen (cabbage, carrots, and potatoes sliced with turmeric) and Kosta (spinach with garlic and onions). If you like lamb, my husband would recommend the Kaye Beg. I wish we lived closer - we'd probably order pickup here all the time! read more

We fell in love with Ethiopian food when we lived in San Diego and now we always search for a good Ethiopian place wherever we move to in Cafe Desta, we found that. This place does excellent Ethiopian food, all very flavorful. We chose this place to take my parents to when they were visiting for their first experience of Ethiopian food and we all enjoyed it. read more

Cafe Desta - Family enjoying Ethiopian food - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Tucson, Arizona