This place is about a block south of the Italian Centre on 97th, and it's easy to walk past without…read morenoticing if you're not paying attention - it was clearly originally a residential house that was converted to a restaurant later. Even now when you enter, you're stepping into what looks like someone's front hall, and then you go through a door on the right to get to the actual restaurant, which may once have been a living room. The decor isn't anything fancy, but the owners are friendly and the food is delicious. I was recommended this place as one of the best in town by the folks serving at the Abyssinian booth at HeritageFest last year, so I had to check it out. The injera is fresh and soft, and the beef tibs I tried was excellent although not as spicy as I'd expected (they probably dialed back the spice for the newcomer). I was sad they were out of lamb the day I was there, but hopefully can go back and try some of the lamb dishes another time!

inexpensive and excellent food. I wish they were a bit more web savy so I could find a menu. Kay…read moreWot is my favourite, and we always get the mixed veg dish (lentils, shredded beets, and I forget the other two). Among the half dozen or so Ethiopian/Eritrean restaurants that we've gone to, this is our favourite.

Great authentic Ethiopian dishes. I came here with my father during opening week and found the…read moreportions generous and spice level just right for an authentic Ethiopian meal. Definitely coming here again. Also customer service was quite dedicated.

I have limited Ethiopian food experience but I'm glad I tried Langano Skies. Service was…read moreexceptional as the lady was very helpful and her passion and character was the highlight. In terms of food, I tried the Yebeg Tibs. I don't typically like sour food but the Injera was really good. The Yebeg Tibs went well with the Injera. That being said, I agree with the lady that the platter experience is the full experience so I'd recommend trying that. Overall, I'd give them 8.8/10. Note that they have moved to Old Country Inn since the pandemic.

Best Ethiopian food - friendly great service great food what more could you ask for? You can taste…read morethe love and pride in every bite

Must try coffee ritual. Communal eating. No Utensils. Delicious african food!…read more A locally family run business with a great showcase of African style food. The decor in this place was beautiful and the paintings and decor really were nice and visually appealing. I knew it would be eating sort of family style. So I was prepared to share. Eating entirely with my hands was a different experience all together. It was neat at first but the mess was kinda hard for me to handle. The food was top notch and I really loved all the meat dishes. So flavourful with each bite. Not too spicy at all. The yogurt at the end was very palate cleansing which was filled with fresh fruits. My favourite part of the night was the coffee ritual. It was very cool to see them roast the coffee beans on a open stove. Served beautifully with bread and popcorn. It was a perfect ending to a fun socializing night out. I HIGHLY RECOMEND COMING HERE FOR THE COFFEE RITUAL!

I understand that this is a fairly new eating establishment. That made it a great choice for our…read moresupper today. We've been meaning to eat at an African restaurant because it's been years since we have last done so. In fact the last time was at an Ethiopian restaurant that is long gone. This is an Eritrean dining establishment. It's an African tradition to eat with your hands, using the rolls of injera which is a bread like food that comes in rolls and is used to pick up the food from a common plate. I think that if we were better at this technique we could have finished the plate without asking for more of the injera to pick it up with. The food was flavourful but not as different as I had anticipated. That's neither good nor bad as the food just didn't taste unusual to me. After the meal we had a light dessert which was ideal to cleanse the palate. Then we received a real treat, coffee from beans roasted just minutes earlier. The coffee was superb. The owners clearly take a lot of pride in what they create and it shows. This is a family run restaurant. Woe be the day that there are Eritrean franchised restaurants! If you are looking for African food you can't go wrong with Mesobena.

We met friends for dinner here. We found it clean, warm, and inviting. It is really bright and…read morewelcoming inside with a lot of Ethiopia knick knacks inside. It also smelt amazing. We decided to spit a few things. This is communal eating so don't go with people that you aren't comfortable sharing with. Also, you eat with your hands. You take the bread called injera, grab a section and scoop the food with it and pop it in your mouth. Probably not good for a first date either. We split the veggie platter which contained missir wot (red lentil stew), shiro (chickpea stew), gommen (cabbage), K'e Sir (beets) and a salad. Then we got two meet dishes, one of tibs and kifto. Our server seemed confused that we wanted our tea first, because typically you have the tea at the end. It took us forever to get it last time. Food (and tea) came in a decent time. Everything was delicous. It is not in a great area and maybe hard to spot but it is worth seeking out.

dirty and gross. not worth the visit. Food is boring and too expensive for what it's worth and the…read moreservice sucks even tho it's empty

I just moved downtown and after a morning of unpacking I was starving - so I decided to treat…read moremyself to lunch. Turns out Bete Africa wasn't far away, and I love Ethiopian food, so easy choice. Late lunch time on a Thursday was super quiet, I was the only one in the restaurant till nearly the end of my meal, but they were open and super friendly. I ordered the shiro wot with beef, which came with some of the best injera I have ever had. Thick and spongy and unbelievably fresh - wow. I complimented it and was told they make it fresh on site, which I can definitely believe. The shiro wot was delicious too, I was expecting it to be a bit spicier but I didn't actually state a preference and they may have just assumed I would prefer it mild. It was very tasty though and served sizzling hot in a clay pot. I think this is the fourth Ethiopian restaurant I've tried in Edmonton and definitely my favorite so far (the others being Blue Nile, Walia, Langano Skies). All this and a fruit drink came to $20, and there were lots of left overs for lunch the next day. I will be back!

A hidden diamond in downtown Edmonton. A labor of love run by Jamila, the owner, chef, and server…read more Food made fresh everyday you may even catch some items off the menu. A restaurant that takes you outside of Edmonton. Stop by for a freshly roasted coffee experience, meal, or shareable platter - make sure you ask for some beef tibs and come with an appetite!

The Blue Nile was probably the first Ethiopian restaurant in Edmonton, and I remember years ago…read morewhen it was in its original location by the Royal Alex. I really preferred the decorations and atmosphere at that location rather than where it is situation now. In general it was fine...but not a fantastic experience. Perhaps because now there is more competition in this food area, or maybe because we have travelled more than 20 years ago, I wasn't floored by our lunch. The atmosphere wasn't as pretty as the last location but I have to say, most of the Ethiopian restaurants don't really factor this into their priority. Langano skies is beautiful but you are also paying for the atmosphere there. Even though it was not busy, during this week day lunchtime, our server was quite slow to come to the table to hand out menus, to get us water, to place our order, and for the food to come out. So if just one of these things was slow, I would dismiss it, but ALL these things are slow....for not much reason because there was only one other couple dining in the place. We decided to try the Meat Combination - Key wot, Gomen, Key Sir, Misir Alicha Wot , Derek Tibs & House Salad. Basically, red split lentils with spice, spinach with garlic and ginger, yellow split lentils, beets with onions, and beef with spices. Everything was tasty and well spiced. I didn't think that the portions were large though. We also tried the Ethiopian coffee which was probably the highlight of the meal. It comes as a ceremony where they bring the smoking beans to the table. The coffee was delicious and served with popcorn which is super fun. This wouldn't be my first place for Ethiopian food, but a very consistent runner up.

Another hidden gem! This is a family run restaurant close to Oliver with ample parking…read more The family is gracious and patient answering any questions about the food if you have never experienced Ethiopian cuisine before (like my guests!) The Injera was awesome as was all of the food that we were able to try between the four of us. It was spicy, but not overly so. The flavour and the texture of the meat was spot on. The son was the one doing the serving. He was friendly and good with all of the customers. When my guests wanted to compliment the cook, we found out it was Mom in the back cooking all of the delicious food. It is another one of those places where you feel like you are getting a good home cooked meal. Great value for your money, the portions are more than ample. The food was so good that this foodie didn't even get pictures, I just dug right in! This is a great place to take a group of 4 or more, then you can order a variety of dishes and get to try out more of the food. We will be back, it was awesome!

Comfortable atmosphere. Very pleasant service. Excellent food. Also reasonably priced. I will…read moredefinitely support this business in the future.

We made reservations 3 weeks in advance for our table of 10 (we ended up being a table of 7) - they…read morehad no clue who we were when we arrived - - however, restaurant was completely empty when we arrived - so we had no issues getting a table. All our chairs were broken when we were seated. Server took 10 minutes to greet us and ask for drink order. We thought we would share a bottle of wine - as there is an entire PAGE in the menu illustrating the white and red they have. We were then told WE DON'T SERVE LIQUOR - - ????? Once our drink order was taken - it took quite a while - when she did come from the kitchen she brought out 3 drinks at a time with a 10 minute lapse between. We then ordered our appetizers - 2 each of 4 items - 2 sets came out together. At that point we had 3 plates and 2 sets of cutlery (table of 7) - - after waiting a few minutes one of our diners, frustrated, went into the kitchen to fetch our server. Another 5 minutes - she brought out 3 more plates - - still short 1 plate - and NO cutlery was brought. Another few minutes - out came cutlery and a final plate. After all this - our 3rd appetizer came. We finished all 3 sets of appetizers when one of our diners said - "wait we ordered 4" - Same diner went back into the kitchen to fetch our server a SECOND time - and at that point he was told not to come into the kitchen again. At this point we had to remind her about our final appetizer. This was beginning to be a wee bit of a nightmare. We tried to place our entree order - - only to be told many items were "unavailable" - we waited well over 30 minutes before food began to come out of the kitchen. Out came the first whole tilapia (raw in places), another 15 minutes - out came dish number 2 - kingfish - not terrible. 10 minutes more - second tilapia came out - this one was cooked through, 15 minutes later out came curry chicken - completely bland - by this time the kingfish diner was finished eating, and the first tilapia diner was also done. Then came 1 of the 2 jerk chicken ordered - another 10 minutes came the goat, and 5 minutes later came the 2nd jerk chicken. By the time the final dish arrived - 4 diners had completed eating - and 3 were only starting. At this point, we were not checked on to see how are meals were or if we needed anything else - never saw our server again. After waiting a significant amount of time - I PHONED THE RESTAURANT AND ASKED FOR OUR BILL TO BE BROUGHT TO US !!!! Once the bill was presented - we needed change for a 5 dollar bill only to be told WE HAVE NO COIN CHANGE - - I'm sorry? what business establishment doesn't have COIN CHANGE? Needless to say - we felt like we had slipped into the twilight zone with this restaurant - never had any of us had such poor service - such oddities going on - and we just simply couldn't believe how things went. PS - if you sit at the back of the restaurant - up high - which we did - you can see into the men's bathroom and look at a urinal - one diner said she could smell the urinal pucks. As a note - we as a group get together and try new ethnic restaurants every 3 weeks - so this isn't our first time eating out together - this restaurant was the 18th we have tried in the city. With that said, when we all agree this was the worst dining experience we had ever had together or even privately - we aren't kidding.

Pretty good quality food but, as another reviewer says, the service is excruciatingly slow. We…read moreordered the vegan platter for 4 ($23 each), and it took about 45 minutes to come out. The restaurant wasn't busy; the restaurant is apparently just extremely inefficient. How this can be a profitable operation working at this pace, I have no idea. The food was admittedly good, especially the misir wot, but the slowness killed the experience, and I wouldn't return because of it. The portions were on the small side too for the price. We were barely satisfied and needed a snack later on in the evening.

The food is good but the service is slow. I returned twice to see if it was a one time occurrence,…read moreunfortunately it was not. The first time was in person with sit down service, the ambiance was nice. There was one other couple in restaurant yet the service was still slow to get orders and there was no refills on the tea even when we asked for more hot water for the pot. The food was good, asked for spicy but it was mediocre spicy. The second time I decided to call in for a pick order, repeated my order twice for a specific time and when we went to pick up we had to wait another hour. I won't be returning for a 3rd time.