Cheap and very good. Never had Ethiopian food before so tried a variety of dishes. It was good but too vegetarian and too messy for me. The Indian food was quite good - nice spices, big portions. Patient service - explained everything quite well. Plain, but comfortable, dining room and fortunately (and necessarily) includes a handwashing station. Public garage parking right next door. Out of most beer selections when we were there but did have a couple of Indian brands. read more

This location has street metered parking or a paid parking lot close by. This space is big and open. The service is efficient. We have eaten here several times sometimes for the Ethiopian food and sometimes for the Indian food. Their food is consistently good. The garlic naan is good. All the flavors from the curry and tikka masala are good as well. We typically get our food quickly. read more

Elephant Walk - Samosa time - Ethiopian Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

I rated five out five based on food quality, dining experience, amount of food, and price, read more

Elephant Walk - Lunch item 2 - Ethiopian Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

the food does not seemed great and was a terrible experience. I had ordered chicken tikka masala and garlic nan. And also every nans of their has egg in it so it is not vegetarian for the people who prefer vegetarian food read more

The food is very good and the service is friendly and quick. The atmosphere is warm, clean, and inviting. I had the butter chicken spice level 4 and it was great if you like some kick to your dish. The samosas are also delicious. It was a tasteful experience and would recommend. read more

Such high expectations and completely dashed. This (on paper) looked like a restaurant that would be exactly my favorite kind of food (Ethiopian and Indian are my top two favorite cuisines). Once I settled in on the bar, the bartender didn't offer water right away, I order a mix of indian and Ethiopian food. The Saag Lamb was very little meat (1 and a half pieces) and it was given in a overfilled dish. The rice was not basmati, only the injera was good. The chai was super sucky and the whole experience was way below average. Very sad ambience and very disappointed that this establishment is not taking care of its customers. read more

Elephant Walk - The order - Ethiopian Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Combined Indian and Ethiopian food restaurant? I've never come across this combo in any of my culinary travels. Unfortunately, my skepticism was validated. I tried this restaurant for lunch (craving Ethiopian food) and was met with just an Indian food menu and surround by Indian decor. The server was super accommodating and said that the kitchen could make some of the Ethiopian dishes on the fly. So we ordered a large smorgasbord of classic Ethiopian fare. The food looked amazing when it came out, but whether is was because it was "made on the fly" or maybe reheated from before, everything was kind of bland and the lentils were extremely dehydrated and almost the consistency of mortar. The best dish was the doro wat, by far. I think this place is definitely an Indian restaurant that dabbles in Ethiopian food. I did not try any of the Indian food, so I'm not reviewing that portion of it, but the Ethiopian food was VERY mediocre. I'm going to continue to hunt the streets of Cincinnati for a good Ethiopian restaurant. read more

This is THE best lunch special! $10 for all of this food! If you are new to Indian food this is a great way to sample everything. It comes with: Saag Paneer, Chana Masala, Mushroom Matar, Basmati Rice, Naan, and Gulab Jamun for dessert! Everything was so delicious and fresh. They also have an Ethiopian version of this lunch special that looked equally as delicious. read more

Elephant Walk - Indian Vegetarian Lunch Special - Ethiopian Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Great stop after a long day of visiting Xavier and the Zoo! Good food, friendly staff, and reasonable prices; a perfect end to our day!

Food was decent. Spice level 5/6 was more like a 2/6 option and wasn't very spicy at all. The lamp was overcooked and didn't have a lot of taste. Service was ok in terms of waiter but the bar was out of two of the drinks I ordered and the third one wasn't strong at all. Charging extra for credit card vs. cash put a bad taste in my mouth. Ambiance was fine, nothing to note here. read more

The ambiance for a college place is great, the non typical dishes were done well and the lentil soup was good, but if you are trying basic Indian, and not wanting to experiment, the food is pedestrian. read more

I've ordered delivery from Elephant Walk quite a few times but have yet to dine in person. The food varies depending on if the Ethiopian chef is working the kitchen. Their injera and shiro are ok as are the traditional sides such as gomen, atikilt wot and misir wot. The fish, although well-seasoned, lacks an umpff and would be greatly elevated if tossed with cooked tomatoes and sautéed onions. Lastly, their definition of upping the spice level is adding chopped jalapeños! I'd expect any Ethiopian restaurant to achieve this by increasing the amount of berbere. Major letdown in this area as Ethiopian food is usually prepared quite spicy. I'm not convinced I find them good enough to warrant an in-person dining experience but may decide to try after testing out the other Ethiopian restaurant in town. Overall, a solid 3 at this point. read more

Elephant Walk - Veggie Platter + Fish tibs - Ethiopian Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Great food and good service. My son enjoyed the naan nachos. Definitely a unique non classic Indian experience The korma was my classic dish and it was made spicy at my request and was perfect. Great flavor, good texture, and healthy portions of protein We arrived late, close to closing and they still happily seated us. read more

Elephant Walk - Naan Nachos - Ethiopian Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

See all

Really tasty food- there were 7 of us so we ordered both Ethiopian and Indian and both were delicious. Service was good. The only negative is that, because of the location, parking is crazy bad. I would return- esp for the eggplant wot. Yummy! read more

Unacceptable! Rather than receive my food in individual carry out containers, I received all of it mixed up together in a Styrofoam container. The pictures demonstrate exactly what my food looked like when I took it out of the bag. I can't believe this. They should've known better. The food tasted good, but not mixed together. It is also never appropriate to place foods that contain juices in a Styrofoam container that spill out of the sides and create a mess. read more

Elephant Walk - Ethiopian Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

See all

We thoroughly enjoyed our food and experience at Elephant Walk! I am a huge fan of Indian food, but I eat it quite frequently, so I decided to give their Ethiopian vegetarian platter for one a try. It was served with the traditional injera, which is perfect for scooping up all of the delicious food. The veggie combo included red and yellow lentils, seasoned collard greens, and cabbage. My favorites were the lentils. I chose a spice level 2 out of 6 and it was the perfect level of spice. I definitely want to come back again and try their Indian food as well! read more

Elephant Walk - Ethiopian sampler - Ethiopian Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

I've been going to Elephant Walk for the past few years and can definitely say it's one of my favorites to go to when I'm craving Indian, Ethiopian, or both! The service here is wonderful and the food has always been excellent quality for both dine in and takeout. My favorite dishes are the fish tibs, vegetarian combo, and the saag curry. I also appreciate that they can substitute coconut milk for those who are vegan or can't have dairy ! read more

Decided to try this place because the restaurant I normally go to wasn't open yet. I love that they have a full bar and expansive menu. The wait was about 30 min for carryout. The staff was friendly and attentive and are still practicing social distancing. The carryout portions are huge. I enjoyed the chicken tikka masala. The saag paneer was a little salty, but good. Definitely would try it again. read more

Elephant Walk - Full bar - Ethiopian Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

See all

Indian and Ethiopian; a marriage of the best spices and flavors! This restaurant is a unique jewel. As a traveler from Indy, I'm jealous we don't have such a great menu offered in our city! We loved the curries, the biryani, the spicy beef tibbs, and everything else we ate! We went at night on a Saturday, so they had an open bar and music playing! Great service, great food, and inspired menu! We will definitely be back next time we visit Cincinnati! read more

See all

Since moving to Cincinnati in 2012, I've always loved the flavors of the Ethiopian and Indian cuisines at Elephant walk, but my last two visits have been disheartening. For years, I would rave over the dishes and even pack food to take to my grandmother in PA, but this visit was so inedible after an extended wait for the items to arrive at the table (ice cold) that I left without eating. Our server was very kind and apologetic, but I hope things seriously improve in the kitchen. If you give them a try, I hope your experience resembles the Elephant Walk I previously loved. read more

We went on a Friday evening about 6. Not packed, we were seated right away. We ordered from the Ethiopian menu and the Indian menu. First time trying Ethiopian food. We had the chicken tibs and the mushroom tibs. Both were delicious. Mushrooms tibs had this pan seared taste to them that made them more flavorful. I personally preferred the mushroom over the chicken. The platter came with injera and rice. We also ordered from the Indian menu. A chicken curry dish and vegetarian mixed appetizer platter. The chicken curry had a great flavor. The mixed platter consisted of 2 types of pakoras ( veggie and paneer), aloo tikka ( potato patty) and a veggie samosa. The veggie pakoras had been refried and were drenched in oil. The other items were fine. This Restuarant is worth trying. Great food, good ambiance and service was good too!! read more

I was looking forward to this one, as this is only one of two Ethiopian restaurants in Cincinnati, and I love the idea of combining Ethiopian and Indian foods under one roof. But I was sorely disappointed. I had gotten one dish of both cuisines. The Ethiopian dish did have the expected injera, which was okay. But the dish itself was very one-note. Instead of the traditional layering of complex flavors I expect from Ethiopian food, I just got heat -- it seemed like a cheap short-cut in flavors. Strangely enough, I had the same experience with the Indian dish, also. Decent enough, but not that authentic. It was a shame. Because the interior was very nice, and the staff seemed very polite. This is in a popular student section (and, yes, parking is the hassle you expect it to be), so I'm guessing they do a good enough business. But for my tastes, I'll keep looking for a place that can provide more authentic flavors. read more

For a fusion restaurant the flavors did not disappoint. I was nervous at first because we were the only table, but as the night progressed, the restaurant filled up pretty quickly. We have a combination of Indian and Ethiopian food. Everything was seasoned nicely but would say comes. 7/10 to authenticity. Overall solid place ! read more

Elephant Walk - Ethiopian combo - Ethiopian Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

I was on the search for authentic Ethiopian food and this place really hit the spot. The veggie combo dish was delicious and the service was pretty quick. Elephant Walk also has a number of Indian dishes too if that's what you're looking for. Was very satisfied. read more

Elephant Walk - Bey Mixed Platter - Ethiopian Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

See all

The food was good but we were alarmed to see 12 health code violations that you can read about here. And not minor violations but serious food contamination issues. read more

I really hate to write this review. This was a favorite place for me and my husband. We were semi regular customers before the pandemic. So much so that many employees recognized us on sight. We haven't been in awhile because we live 20-25 minutes away and take out didn't make sense. Well, we've been craving it and looked at their website online and saw that it said it was open for dine in. We drove down and when we got there we were told that it was not open for dine in. My husband wanted to order to take home and, against my better judgment, I agreed. We asked for a menu and were handed a dirty paper menu that was splattered with food. The same menu that we watched them hand others that walked in after us. We both ordered the Kitfo. It comes either rare or medium rare. My husband asked that his be kept raw and I ordered mine rare. With a spice level of 0-6, my husband told him that he wanted his "the hottest" - level 6. I ordered mine a level 3 spiciness. While we waited I noticed the two older gentlemen at the bar having a drink. I then noticed that they were first brought out appetizers and then meals. They were brought out a total of 4 plates of food and a plate of injera. I guess you get to eat in if you sit at the bar and order beer?? While we waited & waited & waited we noticed plenty of people coming in to pick up orders for Doordash. Our order took 45 minutes to get done, plus the 10 minutes that it took to get a menu and order. We were there almost an hour for a take out order. When we got home my heart sunk when I pulled out my dish and saw a note on it that said "cooked" How is rare confused with cooked??!! It's beef tartare for goodness sakes! My cheese had cooked and gotten mushy. There wasn't any Berbere seasoning included with our Kitfo like there usually is when we dine in. Mine, what I could eat of it, was bland and had no spice. It tasted like unseasoned ground beef. My husband's was very lightly spiced also. I checked the grill slip and he had my husband's listed as 'raw' and spice level of '4' (instead of the '6' that he ordered) and mine was listed as 'lil cooked' and spice level of '3'. I specifically said rare. Since my husband specified that he wanted his left raw - I was asked how I wanted mine prepared and when I said rare I was asked if I wanted it 'medium rare'. I told him, "No, I'd like it rare, please." Never was I asked if I wanted beef tartare to be cooked! Rare is not cooked. Even if I had ordered it medium rare - instead of the rare that I ordered - it still would not/should not have been cooked. The word 'cooked' was never mentioned. Mine tasted awful and I threw it away after a few bites. I tried to eat it but it was just not good enough to choke down. My husband ate his but said that it wasn't very good. We've always enjoyed our food from Elephant Walk but this was a huge disappointment. ` We won't be back here until the pandemic is over and we can dine in again. And even then it may be awhile considering how terribly the Kitfo had been prepared. Such a shame since we had really liked this place. read more

See all

Overall, solid Ethiopian food. The star of that side of the menu is the kitfo. Raw beef is always a little intimidating, but this one is so different than your standard beef tartare or the like. Give it a try! Lamb is pretty much always good in my book, but somehow the lamb tends to come out a little bit on the chewier side whenever we've gotten it. Nevertheless, this has been dinner for us many an evening. The Indian side of the menu is also solid, if somewhat basic. My main disappointment: why isn't it called "Injera Gandhi"? I swear if I see another combo Indian/Ethiopian place that doesn't have this name I'll just have to open one myself (only soon to close it because it will be a flop because I don't know anything about running restaurants.) read more

My fave place for Indian because they have such a big menu for either Indian or Ethiopian! Also the staff and very friendly and the environment is very clean. I would recommend coming here for tasty Indian food! Sometimes they even have $2 beers! read more

Elephant Walk - Ethiopian Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

See all

Loved the Elephant Walk. The smell alone is worth walking in. I had an Ethiopian dish of beef tibs. They let you choose your level of hot and as I had never been before I went conservative. Mine was not hot at all, I should have gone higher. That being said, it was delicious. The naan was outstanding as well. It was a cheese naan and I could have eaten every piece. Great food and a good experience as well. read more

I love Ethiopian food and while I don't eat it a lot, it's so nice to have this spot in Cincinnati! They offer Indian cuisine as well if you're feeling something different. I ordered the vegetarian version of their platter to get a bit of everything end the delish bread and I was not disappointed! Flavors on point, such a good quantity, and it was so affordable for the slight you get! If you've never tried Ethiopian before I highly recommend stopping here. read more

Elephant Walk - Ethiopian Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

This is an Indian restaurant in downtown Cincinnati near UC. It kind of focuses on like Indian street food as opposed to some of the fancier ones with the big menus and fancier dishes. There was a lot of good here as the restaurant looked very nice and the staff did a mostly good job (it took a while for them to cook the food but unless it's ridiculously long I don't complain about that and won't here either.) I went with my favourite Indian which is Lamb Vindaloo which is chunks of lamb (or whatever other meat you prefer) with a tomato based sauce with lot's of spices. I got mine a 4 out of spicy instead of my normal 5 because I had never been to this restaurant and didn't know how much they would spice it. I could have definitely gotten the 5 as the 4 wasn't all that spicy. It had some pretty good flavour and the lamb was cooked perfectly and was in pretty good sized pieces. Their naan was quite good as well which is vitally important at an Indian restaurant to soak up all of those sauces. I probably should have tried their street food which is their specialty but there will be a day for that. What I had was good but not great Indian food. When I come back and try the street food dishes I will reevaluate. I'd rate this about 6.5 out of 10. read more

See all

Absolutely amazing! I had the Ethiopian Vegi sampler. So good! The Injerra is perfect. Also had Samosa filled with lentils as an appetizer, they were heavenly and the chutney was spectacular. Not only is the food spectacular but the service was fantastic. It's also very affordable. I will be back, repeatedly. read more

The perfect Sunday lunch? $8.99 buffet ft. endless CTM + rice and injera carbs, free Clifton Sunday meter parking and best of all... the Teff flour is gluten free! 11AM -2:30 PM and recommended that you come ravenously hungry from your Saturday night partying. read more

Elephant Walk - Buffet! - Ethiopian Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Not much experience with Indian food, but I enjoyed and they had $4 beer pitchers not bad. read more

THE FOOD IS GREAT.... but... I came in with a coupon for 10$ off to use and it was from an app that when you activated it you only had 10 minutes to redeem the code. I redeemed it and then the workers there (kind as they were) refused to apply the code? They said they were unable to for some reason. I know it's only 10$, but still. The restaurant should be more organized with stuff like this. That aside the food is great, the drinks are cheap, and the owner is a very kind woman who has poured her soul into this establishment. Do yourself a favor and eat here, just don't expect to use your coupon! read more

Best meal in as long as I can remember! I'm mean it was awesome! I ate from the Indian side of the menu, but the Ethiopian food looked good too! Trust me, if Indian is in your wheelhouse, this is the place. read more

Consider as 2.5 really! In my years living in the lovely Cincy so far, I've consistently heard mixed reviews about this place. Some found it good, some didn't like it at all. So I just never tried it. UNTIL LAST WEEKEND! So the parking could be tedious as it is located in Calhoun, but if you feel rich for the day, there's usquare garage very close to it. The place is pretty big for the amount of seats inside or the people present on a Saturday night. The decor is nice. There's not a lot of ambience but that's fine. Service was okay. Now the menu is pretty vast with Ethiopian food on one side, and North Indian on the other. I've had Ethiopian food previously in another place and found the Injera with lentils and stuff pretty tasty. So i ordered the veggie platter. After sometime, the server informed that they were out of injera and had naan only. I thought- what's the worst that could happen, and agreed for naan. The food arrived looking good. BUT it wasn't. The naan was cold. Who serves naan cold? Each of the individual bits in the platter were very bland. And not served hot. It's supposed to be flavorful. Maybe I ordered the wrong thing. But for $13, this meal wasn't worth it. read more

Elephant Walk - Food - Ethiopian Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

See all

So I've seen this place several times and decided take my wife. Their menu is Ethiopian/East Indian. Their recipes are delicious. My wife enjoyed her meal and stated she'd love to come back and taste other items. She's very picky and that says a lot that she'll return. Very busy menu, one side is Ethiopian and the other side Indian. However, that's a good thing. They also have a full bar and can mix drinks. Restaurant is beautiful very well maintained with clean restrooms. Smells fresh throughout. Ethiopian culture in America most often pride themselves on good sanitation practices. Staff are extremely kind and helpful. Note: this restaurant is near Cincinnati University so Friday's it's said young adults can become buck wild on weekends at bar. They do have a beautiful bar. Parking can be a bit challenging but public paid parking is across street. read more

Hope you like staring down your toilet or shower drain for the rest of the evening. Not a fun night last night. I gave a second star for the times I ordered here and didn't throw up all night. read more

I'm sorry. We were expecting a grandma to throw down in the kitchen, and snatch our souls with the flavor. It was okay. A little awkward because they didn't have 3 of the 5 things we asked for :( read more