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

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

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

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

Well, yesterday I had my first Ethiopian food! I had been saying I was going to try it and I decided yesterday was the day. As I ate, it was kinda funny because I wasn't sure exactly what each dish was because I just ordered the vegan platter. Most of the dishes had a delicate flavor. A couple of the dishes had some heat to them, which I really loved. The green beans were my stand-out favorite. I also loved the injera. The lentil and potato soup was also delicious although when I make mine I'm going to put some more spice in it. Oh and I also enjoyed the cabbage. It had a slight vinegary taste to it which was actually quite pleasant. Overall, I was impressed and definitely enjoyed the experience that Café Desta provided. read more

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

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

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

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

First off, we love ethiopian food. Upon walking in, it smelled freaking AMAZING!!! The service was quick and friendly. The food, mmmm.....mmm.... still dreaming about it. As a vegetarian I ordered a variety of things (can't recall now) but everything was absolutely perfect. My gf ordered something called Ayeb Doro (chicken dish) and she said she'd never had anything quite like it, it was so delicious she is still talking about it and we visited in January! Anyhoo, absolutely loved our experience at Cafe desta and will definitely return next time we are visiting Tucson. If you have never had Ethiopian or have and want legit delicious food, give this place a try! 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

Crowded, but staff was awesome and the food was just about the best dishes we've ever had. We should have taken a picture of the menu but we got the combo for two and picked a spicy lamb, not spicy chicken, the cheese dish, the lentil dish, and the split yellow peas. We also got a beef soup. Everything was incredible. read more

Love going here! Been going here for my birthday the last two years and it does not disappoint. The waitress is great and attentive. The food is consistently amazing - the injera is perfect in texture and taste. read more

Cafe Desta - Two lunch specials with a mix of veggie and meat choices and Injera - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

GET THE GIANT COMBO PLATE. My bf and I share it after a long day of doing hard things. And it's freaking amazing every time. So many veggies so much injera read more

Cafe Desta - a platter of mexican food - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

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Delicious food!! Wonderful variety and the serve is top tier! Thank you for sharing your wonderful food! read more

What a great surprise how wonderful this place was, the service was wonderful the food was delicious ! Never have I eaten food like this and with some suggestions to start with was greatly appreciated. Will definitely come here again when I'm in town. read more

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

Not bad, but not amazing. The combo for 2 was $30 and we both left hungry.. so for us it wasn't worth the money. Good flavor, but again nothing amazing. We've had better Ethiopian food.. We are visiting from out of town, so I'm not sure we would recommend or go back. read more

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

The food, the bread, the coffee, the experience, everything amazing. I was is in $$$$ restaurant last night, and had better experience here

So I never had Ethiopian food before. I have to let you know that the food at this place was delicious. Now I did order to go, so I really don't know about the service but it did have a nice ambience and the staff was nice. I ordered the lunch special with lamb chicken and this Injera bread. read more

I really love this place! The food is always consistently good and staff are always friendly. It has a nice neighborhood restaurant vibe. I go often and will continue to do so! read more

I can't believe I still haven't written a review here... after 5 years of being a regular. I honestly can't express how much I love Café Desta. It's one of my favorite restaurants ever. First of all, because of the people who work there. I have never, ever, anywhere in the world encountered such hospitality as I have at Café Desta. These people make this place more than just a place to eat, you feel like being part of the community there. Every time we come there we are met with a huge genuine smile and treated like friends. Regarding the food, it's basically as great as the service. It's comforty, always super fresh, hearty, and simply divine. I'm vegan and I always have plenty of options to choose from, though, in reality, I keep choosing the same meal over and over again :) Kik is just a dish made by gods for gods. Misir that I've only recently discovered for myself is the same, absolutely perfect. If you're vegan and love rich combination of flavors, I would highly suggest ordering half and half Kik and Misir with injera (obviously). If you dig milder flavors, you would probably enjoy Tikil Gomen which, surprisingly, tastes extremely Russian. I have to also mention their soup, vegan Shorba. Again, divine. Simple, healthy, delicious, it checks every box. It comes with their amazing homemade Ambasha, bread which also very much resembles a typical Russian bun (I don't know whom I writing this for, but if you're by any chance Russian/Ukrainian/Belorussian, you'll know it when you taste it). Finally, Café Desta's location is great as well. After your epic feast there you can always go for a walk in chill and quiet Barrio Viejo or Armory Park and lose a few calories that you just gained :) Please, never change, you're PERFECTION (is it too much? it probably is, but anyway, we only live once). read more

I've been fortunate to live in places with really good Ethiopian food like DC and the San Francisco, Bay Area as well as Addis. Cafe desta is right up there and by far the best ethiopian food in Tucson. the lunch special is also a great deal for $11.50. read more

The food had a so much flavor. There are some their dishes I can't wait to go back and try. I didn't care for the sourdough bread that is offered as part of some of the meals although it gave the dish a great contrast when you scoop the food up with the bread. Service was good, one waitress and she handled the place fairly well. Could probably use another person to speed up the service. The sever was on her phone via ear piece the entire time we were there. I would go back. read more

The turmeric and onion in the Tikil Gomen with the subtle lemon flavor in the Injera was an amazing combination! The salad had a refreshing lemon and vinegar dressing. Very friendly staff, and the food was impressive. I can't wait to try their other vegan options and try some of their coffee. I ordered the Vegan Entrée with Tikil Gomen. read more

Cafe Desta - The Vegan Entrée with Tikil Gomen - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

We found this spot last minute and it's a cute, cozy place!! First time in Tucson as well as eating Ethiopia food. I did the lunch combo which was pick 2 or 3 items. I picked 1 veggie and 2 chicken. The 2 types of chicken dishes were so freaking good and love the sauces on them. The chicken in the red sauce is spicy but worth it. I love spicy food so it was perfect. The veggie was cabbage and carrots. It had a sweet after taste and we liked it alot! It was fun eating with the injera and learning the culture of Ethiopian food. I loved how the menus translated the words that way we knew what we were eating. The staff is really nice, super clean place even during Covid. I would definitely come back to eat there! read more

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Food is absolutely amazing! Lunch special is awesome! Meal for 2 is awesome! First time trying Ethiopian food and fell in love! The food/spices are great! Will be a regular customer for sure thank you Cafe Desta! read more

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

Food is just Devine! Love the gluten free injera! Staff is great! Always clean! I love their vegan options!

We love Café Desta and we will never stop coming. The ambiance is cozy, authentic, and unpretentious. Service is always great, usually by the very same owner. Now the food is the real highlight. Having tried many Ethiopian places, their shorba with the ambasha bread are a must --this is a very light minestrone-ish type of soup with their homemade bread on the side. For our entrées I love just ordering a couple of vegan dishes with injera. My favorites are tikil gomen, kik, misir and shiro. This a regular spot for us. I love tibs but since I only do pescetarian, I hope for fish tibs one day! I Highly recommended! read more

Hands down my favorite Ethiopian restaurant I've been to! I have dined at Cafe Desta multiple times before Covid happened, but I have also gotten take out during quarantine. I'm pretty amazed at how fresh the food stays in the takeout containers. I thought that it would be soggy and sad, but the quality was just as I remembered pre-Covid. To me, eating Ethiopian food is a social event, where more people equals a more fun experience. With more friends around, you can get the combo dish, which comes with 5 different meat or veggie dishes. Between 5 people, we got two combo dishes with plenty of leftovers to spare! Each dish is so flavorful and has a unique flavor profile of it's own. Every bite is like a new flavor experience! I'm getting hungry just writing this review. Do yourself a favor and try out Cafe Desta! read more

I enjoyed every single thing on my plate. Flavors were on point and the crepe that lines the bottom of the plate was delicious. Crepes instead of bread for gf option was so good. read more

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

I forget they are here and when I remember I am glad. I have probably eaten here 8 or 9 times since they opened. The atmosphere is great, the food is super, the service okay not stellar. I forget about it because it is not downtown and not in South Tucson either, nothing else around to draw a crowd. With all the roadwork it is a complete pain in the ass to get south of downtown. The twin sisters are the wait staff for the most part and seem overworked and tired, I think that is why the service is just okay, maybe when they are making more money they will hire more wait staff. They always seem to be busy and they have expanded into the other part of the building. Regardless of all of it the greens are amazing and that will keep me coming back. read more

You don't have to love or know anything about Ethiopian food to want to try this cafe. Yes, it's very traditional cuisine, but if you like healthy, flavorful food, that's really all you need to know to try it. Yes, they do serve most dishes with injeera, but you can sub rice or salad if you prefer! They have a TON of vegetarian/vegan options that are delicious, well-seasoned, and healthy, but I just love the stewed meats. The gomen (collard greens), misr (spicy lentils), and tikil-gomen (cabbage and potatoes with tumeric) are my favorite side dishes. The lunch special for $9 is great and gets you three options of veggies/meat. I generally get lamb or fish, misr and gomen. YUM. I'll be honest, I've never even tried the chicken because the lamb and fish are my absolute favorites. The lamb is slow stewed, deeply flavorful, and tender. The fish is always fresh, spicy, and a perfect compliment to the gomen and injeera. The location is cool, though there's not much around, it's between downtown and South Tucson, so not very convenient, but for downtown workers (like me), it's great because it's off Congress and, therefore, has better parking options. The restaurant is sunny, clean, and welcoming, the wait-staff reserved and helpful. It's a great place for a work lunch or date because you can hear yourself speak unlike, say, Street Tacos at lunch! Overall, it's "niche" cuisine, but if you care about your health, it's a good niche to be in! I love Ethiopian food, but even if you didn't, you can find something here that you would really enjoy! read more

1st time eating Ethiopian food. The flavor profiles and spice are not just so amazing , but you will find yourself craving the cuisine.

Delicious Ethiopian cuisine and efficient service with a smile. Just what we were looking for! Top rate!

Outstanding food, good ambience and reasonably priced. The Ethio Latte was surprisingly good. I arranged to stay near here just so I could eat here. read more

Yum. The soup was devious and pairs great with the side of bread. The vegan plates are so yummy!! Mango juice also delish! read more

Unbelievably delicious. I got the veggie plate and shared with a friend and it was more than enough but we could not stop! We also had this reallly nice warm tea. Staff is nice, clean and nice atmosphere. This is definitely going to be my go to spot. read more

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

delicious food wonderful variety great flavor amazing service !!! 10/10 stars !!! thank you cafe desta for feeding my family! read more

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Can I give ten stars? Because they deserve it! I'm a big fan of Ethiopian food and have eaten a LOT of it (even wrote an e-book cookbook of Ethiopian recipes), and Cafe Desta won my love. All of the dishes were super yummy, injera is fully gluten free, and ambiance was really fun, lively, and cozy. Our server was really kind, helpful, and efficient. We loved our experience here and were still talking about it the next day and sort of wishing we had taken our leftovers with us (we didn't because we were traveling). But that's also of note. We ordered the vegan platter with all of the options to share between 3 people. It was more than we could eat, and we had all come VERY hungry and enthusiastic to eat some good food. read more

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

BEST FOOD I HAVE EVER HAD!!!! Great service, vegan options and so so savory. 10/10 restaurant and food, if I lived in AZ I would be here at least once a week. Muy rico, sabroso. read more