this was my second time having ethiopian. it was delicious! the injera wasn't too vinegary but still very filling. my favorites were the beets and yellow chickpeas (i think that's what they were...). the meats were good, too. we also had the vegetarian sambussa. it was delicious but oh so spicy! i wasn't prepared for the heat! make sure you have some injera or water handy. all the servers were attentive, stopping by to chat. our serve that took our order was SO ADORABLE! she had this awesome hairdo...she was so cute like a polly pocket! overall, great atmosphere, great food, good service, and good times! read more

Great Ethiopian food at affordable prices. Due to my lack of knowledge about Ethiopian food, I always ask for the waitress's recommendation. The waitresses are always very friendly and eager to offer their suggestions. The lunch special is great also, with four dishes on bread for around seven dollars. I went with a friend who is a vegetarian, and there were plenty of options for her to chose from. read more

I was so impressed with this place! The service was great and the food was even better! My first experience with Ethiopian at Demera was a great one, and I can't wait to go back for more messob! read more

The food is simply delicious. DELICIOUS. The service is decent, the restaurant is clean. Did I mention how good the food is?

Really good vegetarian food and dessert. Friendly staff, good service, good ambience, reasonable price.

I've eaten here many times and each time is amazing. It's the best Ethiopian restaurant in Chicago. I would definitely come back

We had initially arrived due to an awesome groupon we had. We came back for the amazing food and good service. I took a friend from out of town who wanted something he had never had before. He's had quite a bit, but knowing where we grew up, I could easily bet he hadn't had Ethiopian food. As a new vegetarian, I hadn't recalled how vegetarian the menu was the last time prior. I was not disappointed, I was even genuinely surprised to see how amazing their lunch specials were considering how cheap the prices were. I had a decent size plate of delicious vegetarian food, while he had some meat choices that i recalled were great. He loved it, it was one of his new favorite places, and I was happy to introduce him to such an awesome, previously unknown food to him. A ton of flavor, the waitress was nice and kept up on our water as well as tea. She was quick to bring us additional bread as well. I've never had any other Ethiopian food, so I can't compare it to other things, but all I can do is make a comment on how the flavorful spices are very in relation to many Middle Eastern foods (which makes since when you think about trade routes, cultures, foods, you know). The atmosphere is nice and the honeywine is to die for. I just recommend, don't be a Eurocentric prick and refer to it as honey mead since its totally plausible for other cultures to have created things independent of Europe. The first time I was there, I heard this would-be hipster ordering the honey mead, despite clearly saying honey wine, and if he had any inclination of world cultures would've just stuck to saying honey wine. If it wasn't inappropriate, I would've laid him out (verbally) on the spot. read more

Great Ethiopian food. My favorite Ethiopian restaurant in Chicago, along with Ethiopian Diamond and Ras Dashen.

Solid Ethiopian cuisine, decent service. The spicy dishes are consistently (and disappointingly) under-spiced, particularly compared to other Ethiopian places nearby. read more

Really delicious food, inviting dining room, darn good wine list (bottle & glass; I liked the Dry Creek Chenin Blanc) & really nice service. The server easily recommended several dishes according to our tastes; she also remembered my question about flour & brought gluten-free bread for me. The food is delicious & varied, but you need to know it can be HOT-spicy or just spicy. Also, folks need to know it's a real city neighborhood. I can't wait to go back. read more

Awesome food! I've eaten here and had delivery several times. The food is great eaten both ways which is sometimes not the case with delivery. The food is delish and fresh. read more

One of two Ethiopian restaurants we've tried in Chicago, with pretty decent food. But we were disappointed in the amount of food we received for the price. Especially the meat portions, which were lacking. We normally don't eat a lot of food but the fact that we still felt hungry after clearing our plates was not a good sign. On the other hand, it's a great sign food quality wise that we cleaned our plate. We ordered a meal for two, the three vegetarian and three meats. Because we still felt hungry, we ended up ordering desert and wine in addition. Our total bill was more than anticipated for such a light meal. But Ethiopian dinners are hard to come by in Chi as there aren't too many options that we know of. read more

Great place to dine. Wonderful service. Different than the usual wines. Large portions. Great variety. If you like Ethiopian cuisine then this restaurant is a must do! read more

Went their last night and had a great time. Good food, great service, and love the atmosphere! Make sure to try the honey wine, it is delicious. read more

This place was great!! I came with only having one other experience of eating Ethiopian and that was when I was in Rome. The experiences were very comparable. Soft, spongy bread, used to pick up an assortment of stews and vegetables. I would suggest ordering the family style for all.. it was like $15/person and we got to try about 8 or 10 different meats and veggies (way more food then the three of us could finish). It was the best way to go and they had a great assortment of African beer that intrigued me. I commend the restaurant for not even giving the option of a fork and knife! Hands only and it is truly the best way to experience it. Also, the communal way of dining is great for the group I was with as we almost always pass and share dished when we go out, this simply took away the confusion! One final note, for those that are apprehensive to try Ethiopian, it really is not what I would place as the most "adventurous" food.. it is simple meat stews.. nothing scary! I believe there is a lot of Indian influence to their dishes.. so if you can do Indian, Ethiopian will hit your plate just right! read more

Hands down, my favorite Ethiopian restaurant! Maybe even my favorite place to go in Chicago! Surely, whenever someone is in from out of town, I take them to Demera. The platters are fantastic & the vegetables are fantastic. What else can I say? read more

I asked in the reservation for a server that would be patient and explain the food to us because we were a group of 4 Ethiopian newbies. Our waitress offered no help in explaining the food or answering our questions. We ordered an appetizer only to find it not arrive at all, but our entrees did show up. We asked the server and a host/manager type came over to tell us the appetizer would be removed from our bill and they would send it out anyway. They did not remove it from the bill. There was some great live music, but it was extremely loud from where we were sitting. If you are looking for a food adventure, go to Marigold across the street for Indian, amazing service, great prices, and delicious food. This was not so great. read more

Good Restaurant - Not Great, We liked Ras Dashen better. The honey wine was pretty good.

After eating at all of the Ethiopian restaurants locally we found this one to be the best. We got a groupon and it was well worth the money. It was slightly crowded with people coming in. Always a good sign. Great service and the homemade honey wine was great. read more

Great food!!! We had three vegetarian and three meat. The flavors were wonderful - not too overpowering. The only complaint I had is that when the food came the waitress didn't tell us what was what. Since this was our first time it would have been helpful to know . Will definitely be back! read more

This is a very good Ethiopian restaurant. They offer a nice variety of dishes, and the portions are large enough to share. The food is cooked well and very flavorful. The service can be slow at times, but overall it's not bad. You will be happy with Demera. The restaurant is located just a block from one of the Red Line stops, so it's convienent to get to. read more

Decent entrees. Good samosas. I had trouble actually making it there though because there always seems to be a show at the nearby venues and a million people in the way. read more

Demera has been one of our favorites for quite a while. We went yesterday. As much as it pains me to say this because I have a fondness for the place, everyone in our party of seven (we've all dined there numerous times) was disappointed. The food seems to have diminished in quality and portion size. The doro wat was all sauce with two very small chicken legs. Food cost must be 50 cents for chicken legs that small. The food tasted good, and the service was essentially the same as before. Still, we'll probably take a break for a while and go to one of the other Ethiopian places we also like next time. read more

I'm a long-time fan of Ethiopian food, especially the community platter ("messob"). It was excellent here at Demera--fresh and vibrant flavors. I also had a wonderful modified margarita, which was made with this wonderful fruity liqueur that invoked African flavors... cardamom was one of them, but I can't recall the rest. We'll be back!! read more

They were more than happy to accommodate our table of 8 on a Friday night (we did make a reservation the night before) and service was great! Family style is the way to go if you have a group of 4 or more. Everyone had more than enough to eat and we all spent about $15 per person (and we had 3 bottles of tejj!) They also did a great job of accommodating our 3 vegetarians and one gluten free person. I would definitely go back, particularly because this is probably the most accessible of the Ethiopian restaurants in Chicago--right off the Lawrence red line stop. read more

I would always advise calling ahead and making a reservation because they get really busy! The food is pretty good. I'm not very good at interpreting the menu so I usually get the sampler and tell the waitress to surprise me, I have yet to be disappointed. Both times I have gone I went with my husband and we have figured out not to order the sampler for two because it is enough food for five hungry people and we cannot finish it. For two to three people I'd recommend splitting the sampler for one, although be aware that they charge you a sharing fee. I would have given them four stars except that when they brought us dessert the last time we were there, the forks were dirty. read more

Delicious and great service. Not sure what else to say. Top-notch. Worth the trip to Uptown.

The perfect vegetarian meal. Fairly healthy, quality, and well developed flavors. If you're a vegetarian looking for a reasonably priced yet abundantly flavorful meal, this is a great choice. Average decor and service but certainly no complaints either. read more

I've been a loyal fan of Ras Dashen for years so when a friend suggested we try Demera for a change, I was skeptical. What a great restaurant!!! We started with the Demera Selata - mouthwateringly delicious - then shared the Demera Messob for two. The Kik Alicha was the best I've had and overall, I felt the vegetarian dishes were more flavorfully prepared than other Ethiopian restaurants I've been to. A new dish I tried was the Ye-Shrimp Wot - nice and spicy kick yet not over the top - so good! We also really liked the Lega Tibs. The only slight disappointment was the Demera Kitfo. Not as good as other tartar-style dishes I've had in the past (note: we still ate it all!). Great job, Demera! I will be back! :) read more

Best Groupon experience to date. My husband and I purchased a coupon for Demera's and enjoyed a perfect meal for two, plus wine service. The plate included a mix of meats, veggies, all prepared in decadent sauces. The wine was paired perfectly. I rated a (4) out of (5) because we ended up having to pay more than expected for the meal because the waitress told us at the end of the meal that the items we ordered were, "not covered by the Groupon." We felt frustrated, but the food was so good, that it was worth paying for. We actually ended up coming back another time to use the Groupon, so worth it! I highly recommend Demera's for the casual setting and great food! read more

My experience this evening was so wonderful; I can say with certainty that this was one of my most memorable and enjoyable meals of my life, definitely in my top 10 meals. Tigist runs a great show there; she's a gracious host and knows how to make customers very pleased. Our waiter Dejan and all of the other bus staff and assistants were pleasant and efficient. And of course, there was the fabulous food; this time around, the flavors were strong and aromatic, the way I like food to be. The stars of my meal: kitfo (lub-lub style) coupled with ayeeb (that addictive cheese!), the samboosas (especially the lentil!), doro wat, lega tibs, kik alitcha, and gomen. It was my friend's first time eating Ethiopian food, and she loved it, too. The Ethiopian music playing over the sound system added to the atmosphere (I love this music!). I've been eating Ethiopian food for over 25 years, and this was the best of all meals I've had in this culinary heaven! Thanks so very much, and I will be back with many more friends and family! My previous experience there was unpleasant because of a waiter who is no longer there, but that is all behind us now; this evening's experience was simply amazing! Thanks again!! read more

This is one of my top two favorite Ethiopian places in the city. The veggie options are all incredible.

Good food, but arrogant and absent service; they weren't busy, so that wasn't the problem. This is why I tend to avoid restaurants that have Zagat and other stickers in their windows-- it goes to the staff's heads and they treat you like you are privileged to be admitted to their exclusive domain. It looks like this place jacked their prices up to go along with the attitude. Pfffft. read more

Have never had Ethiopian and was worried I wouldn't like it, but I was very wrong. Great food! Great wine! Get the messob as a way to try a little of everything. read more

I live in northwest Indiana and I will take this 40 minute drive to eat here. It's well worth it. I've been twice so far and plan to visit again. I love this place. I'm actually thinking of going this Friday read more

Great food! Try the vegetarian and meat combo (2 of each) to get a sampling of many things. The service was good, the food delicious, and prices reasonable. read more

I really like Ethiopian food, and I've only had it at one other restaurant, so I may be a bit biased. But I really like this place. The portions are big... If there are 3 of us, we'll order a combo for 2, and there will be plenty of food and even leftovers that we take home. Ethiopian food is definitely an acquired taste so if you've never had it before, go with an open mind. The waitstaff has always been friendly every time I've gone, and service takes an appropriate amount of time. Also, they have outside seating in nice weather, which is always a good thing! read more

This place is pretty perfect. The food is great, staff is nice and the place is clean. We came on a Monday night when at least half the tables were occupied so it wasn't too busy or awkwardly empty. The host was really kind, gauged our background in Ethiopian cuisine and was ready to give us any introduction necessary. We shared the vegetarian messob and a couple appetizers. Each dish has its unique spices so flavors weren't too redundant and a real pleasure to share. The menu has some amazing options, definitely worth revisiting to plow through a little more of it. read more

I had a good experience with the staff- they give a personal touch that's refreshing. They were happily accomodating to my party's various special dietary needs (no nuts, no seafood, vegetarians, etc)... They pointed out how I could save some cash on an event I asked them to cater. They gave careful reheating instructions and just generally took care with my order. For a large party- you can get family style for $12.50/person. Hard to beat that price in Chicagoland. read more

Fantastic food (made even better because it was GLUTEN FREE- just order the injera bread GF, and the rest of the menu was GF anyway- how exciting)... friendly service... busy atmosphere (which made it seem fun). I would absolutely go back- great flavors you can't find anywhere else. read more