Tasty food , excellent ambience, friendly staff. We tried Chicken and lamb options which are pretty…read morenice

Lamb seems like a popular option among the reviews here. However, my friend and I don't eat lamb so…read morewe skipped it. It was a bit hard for us to choose what to order despite there being descriptions in the menu. It'd be great if they add a star or something for the most recommended orders. We ended up choosing sambussa, qeiy wat, and kikil kitfo. The sauce that came with the sambussa was slightly spicy but very salty. It wasn't bad, I just wish it was less salty. I wouldn't highlight it as a must get though. We were surprised by the amount of injera that came with our order. It's pretty cool they split the orders into two portion. My friend and I were bloated and yet we still have half to save as leftover. The injera was good- as expected. The two beef items we ordered was supposed to be spicy but I didn't taste any spice at all. I liked the kikil kitfo (finely chopped beef) more than the qeiy wat (stewed beef cube) when we were at the restaurant. However, when I reheated the leftovers and mixed the proteins w ayib (cottage cheese), I actually preferred the qeiy wat more.

Went here tonight and had an amazing dinner. We ordered the veggie and meat combo plate and we ate…read morethe plate clean! We were taken care of by the lady working the restaurant and she was so sweet; she gave us extra injera too! We love trying the Ethiopian food around the area and we're glad we got to try this place out tonight! Definitely will come back here soon!

This was a really yummy spot, we got the veggie and meat sampler. The owner was working by himself…read morethis night, and was understandably overwhelmed but it was worth the wait for others. We lucked out and got there first among the clientele. We enjoyed the food,and hope others will too! The njera was perfect, the chicken was well spiced and fall off the bone , and the salad on top crunchy to name a few highlights

stopped by for dinner on thursday night. ordered the meat combo, veggie combo, and a glass of the…read morehouse wine. the veggie combo comes with yesimer wot (split red lentils), kik alitcha (split chickpeas), gomen wot (collard greens) and atakilt wot (cabbage/potato/corn). the cabbage mix was the least spicy so it was a good palette cleanser while the the lentils and chickpeas were my favorite. the meat combo comes with doro wot (chicken drumstrick), key wot (prime beef), alicha wot (beef stew), ayib (cheese) and salad. the key wot was very buttery. my favorite from this combo was the alicha wot. the combo is a good choice if you would like a little bit of everything. everything was so saucy, flavorful and fragrant. i enjoyed every bite! the food was good, the service was great and the ambiance was nice. i would recommend and even come back again.

Restaurant It is…read moreinside a non descript strip mall. I traveled here from Fairfield. There are 8 booths and 10 sets of tables and 3 areas where it appears you would experience the authentic ethiopion coffee service. They were in the back preparing an order when we arrived so we waited short of 5 minutes for them to know we were there. When the waiter arrives she warmly greeted us and instructed us to sit anywhere. She quickly returned and provided us menus. Shortly thereafter our order was placed and we were provided water. We ordered our favorite no matter what ethiopian restaurant we go to and that is Gored gored Veggie platter Sambusas, the lentils inside were a bit hard and there wasn't much seasoning. I also ordered a cup of tea as I still had a cough from a cold Food The cabbage and greens were luke warm. The lentils were somewhat hot. The salad was fine and the gored gored was delicious. I wish their injera had more of a sour taste too it but overall food was good, service was good. I give them a 4 star review. Minus 1 point for the lukewarm food.

The food is solid, first time having Ethiopian food. Personally really enjoyed the greens and the…read morebeef / lamb parts of the dish. Service is great too, they were super friendly and the place was lively when I was there. I know you're supposed to eat with your hands but we did ask for spoons 3 times that never came for some people in our group . ALSO THE FOOD Portions was massive it said 3-4 people and we order more food. We over ordered. The family dish was definitely more like 5-6 people.

I've had this place bookmarked for a while but haven't been able to make it to this side of town…read more Finally stopped in for a quick lunch date. Upon walking in, you're met with a calm yet inviting ambiance. I'll guess that the music playing from the speakers are of Ethiopian musicians, and the paintings for decor represent Ethiopian culture and history. Love when a restaurant proudly represents and showcases the heritage and culture around the cuisine. We ordered the Meat and Veggie Sampler which is described on the menu as "a combination of our veggie sampler with stewed lamb, beef, and chicken accompanied by 8 rolls of injera." I've tried Ethiopian cuisine in San Diego, Sacramento, Texas, and Michigan in the last year -- and I would argue that Walia probably makes it to the top for taste, quality, presentation, authenticity, and cultural experience via the ambiance. I'm looking forward to our next visit to try other menu options. Will definitely recommend this restaurant as family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues look for their go-to Ethiopian restaurant in the South Bay.

Amazing food and ambience. It felt very cozy and intimidate. Prices are reasonable given the area…read more Liya was our server and was very kind!

The food was delicious and our server Debbie gave us some great recommendations for what to tryread more

Authentic Ethiopian flavors and generous, shareable platters. Food was flavorful injera and hearty…read morestews along with vegan/gluten-free options. The staff were very welcoming and attentive. Very clean and spacious. Ordered: meat combo, vegetarian combo, honey wine, and lamb Derek tibs. Free parking lot next door.

3.5 stars. Delicious Ethiopian platter. This was shared between our party of 4. It also came with…read moreadditional injera (we also dug into the sauce soaked injera under the food, yum!). I think it would have been plenty even if we had one more adult. The restaurant space is clean, plenty of seating, and street parking was not too hard to find. Service could be a little more attentive, but I would say still worth the visit.

This is a little hole in the roll restaurant in a strip mall. It is clearly frequented by members…read moreof the Ethiopian community as a hangout. We were seated at a table in the corner. Our server identified that at least one of us was vegetarian. My wife had the vegetarian combo and I had a meat combo. In my case of meat combo consists of lamb, a chicken leg, and the dryish beef. As others had noted, it can take a little while to place your order. We enjoyed our food and look forward to coming back.

Came here on a Sunday at around 2PM. It's a small-midsized restaurant with a few tables available,…read moreand a single restroom - very sterile looking actually. Service was fine, waiter came to take our order pretty quickly but the food did take some time (10~15 minutes?). There were four of us and we ordered the veggie combo, meat combo, and half and half meat with Misto and Minchet Wot. Everything came out on one giant injera, and we also received a basket with some cut up injera to share. It was a pretty sourdough/tangy flavor with a nice stretchy texture that was the right level of thinness. I don't know if it was because we were all hungry - or it just looked and tasted that good - but we absolutely devoured it... Everything was so delicious. From the stewed veggie options, to the tender goat and beef mixtures, we honestly inhaled everything. The chicken drumstick was fall off the bone and juicy/flavorful, and the vegan cheese (?) was light and the texture was reminiscent of feta. The collard greens were hearty and had a good chew to them without being fibrous. It's also important to note that this wasn't super costly. It was less than $20 per person (4), and offered plenty of variety and goodness. We even got the baklava which was pretty standard, nothing too excellent but a nice way to add a sweet treat. Definitely will be paying another visit when I'm in the area!!

Great food! Friendly service. Really good music. Top shelf beer selection. Overall wonderful…read moreatmosphere!

People here are great, and I had a great time listening to Pink Floyd with 'em. The Buddha Bun was…read moreperfectly savory and soft, and a generous size for one.

Loved the food, and the prices were from 10 years ago... $5.50 for a glass of red wine! wow. I had…read morea mild lamb dish and gomen wat - both were delicious! The spice was mild, as I had requested, but still very flavorful. generous portions, and lots of injera to accompany. The family was very friendly and the owner checked on us a few times. We are definitely going back to this lovely, family owned restaurant!

Very friendly service, tasty food, and generous portions. I've been to many of the other East…read moreAfrican restaurants in San Jose, and many have declined in quality, become much more expensive, or just closed. I'm happy to have found the Lunch Box!

ORDER Meat Combo Platter (2 persons)…read moreVeggie Combo Platter (2 persons) Lamb Tibs Fish Goulash STARS (stand out qualities) -Food (5/5 stars) - everything was tasty and I especially liked the fish goulash dish; most veggies were not spicy some meat or spicy; fish was sweet and sour and lamb tibs juicy -Service (4/5 stars) - very friendly and attentive service, even when they are busy and understaffed -Ambiance (4/5 stars) - small, very warm and clean restaurant; the bathroom was super clean and smelled good (above average compared to other restaurants) STAIRS (areas of growth) -Add napkin dispensers at each table -ideally get napkins that are a little thicker; I felt like I was wasting the thin napkins TIPS -the bigger tables can fit about 4-5 people and smaller tables can fit about 2 to 3 people -there are about 2-3 big tables and about 3-4 smaller tables -pay at the counter -call ahead to order. if you want to save time

Very disappointed and confused about the raving reviews. I am not new to Ethiopian/Eritrean…read morecuisine, so as far as the food and flavors go, it was satisfactory at best. I ordered the meat combo. The injera doesn't have the sour flavor I was expecting, so I suspect it's blended and not made with all teff. The best part for me is to finish the left over stew-soaked injera at the end, but this experience was robbed from me when I discovered that they rinsed my plate and placed the injera on the plate while it was still wet, leaving it extra soggy and cold from the water. The service was good as the owner was attentive & made sure I was good. He gave me extra injera to remedy my complaint about my food being served on a cold, wet plate. I've never had a bad experience with Ethiopian food before, but this was what honestly killed it for me and literally left a bad taste in my mouth. Ambiance is good, the place was clean, it was quiet & peaceful when I came in on a Friday evening right before sunset. I probably would not visit again due to me having much better food & experience at other locations.