Very different and super delicious. I only came for an appetizer because I had to kill time before another dinner but would have loved to stay for more. Authentic food, great ambiance, relaxed friendly service. Great for a romantic dinner. Even the crowd was awesome here. Will come again! Remember to come here with an open mind to new food. read more

Goorsha - Ethiopian Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Straight outa Ethiopia. The owner/head chef uses passed down family recipes to create authentic flavors for his menu. As a lunch special, you can select up to four options from the vegetarian and/or meat menu. Your meal, in the traditional style, will come served on or with plentiful injira (Ethiopian flatbread) that is cooked on one side, and bubbly on the other. This serves as both plate and utensil, as diners are supposed to use it to scoop up the variety of curries and sides. Well-spiced, complex flavors, nothing overpowering the next. Not a bad deal for $9-$11 for lunch. read more

We are big fans of Ethiopian food. So, We went to Goosha with our family friends on a Saturday night. It is a very busy place, and the service was a little slow. That might explain the following:- 1. the appetizer, sambosa, was delivered frozen!!! 2. The lamb soup that we ordered never came, and still got charged. Overall the good was good, and we enjoyed the dinner. Would probably come back again, but will have to weigh other options too. read more

I went for dinner here with a friend last weekend, which was pretty wonderful, though I am unable to speak on the authenticity of the Ethiopian food. The variety and quantity of vegetarian/vegan options was a very pleasant surprise! Although at the time of writing this review, their menu is not yet available online, it looked like there were plenty of possibilities! Furthermore, the amount of food for 12 dollars was very reasonable-- enough to have some to take home. The service was extremely friendly as well. The waiter explained how to eat Ethiopian food and even threw in a little extra food in my to-go box. Overall, as a Duke student, I am really happy to add Goorsha to my list of Durham restaurants operated by people of color that I would like to support. Its prime location across from Brightleaf Square also makes it convenient for students to walk there from East Campus on the weekend or before a night out. I hope that Goorsha considers speaking to Duke about being added as a vendor on Merchants on Points. read more

3.5/5 The entree portions are large, spicy, and well cooked. I got the awaze ribs with rib eye. It was enough for two meals and I appreciated how spicy it was. I wasn't a huge fan of their sides. The tomato side did not have that much tomato in it, mostly small pieces of injera. The beef salad was not bad. If you have trypophobia the injera (flatbread) will definitely bother you, which I didn't think about before coming, but I definitely noticed and tried not to think about. Overall I think it definitely fills an empty category in the Durham food scene. It is a bit pricey for a more casual restaurant, but the portion size helps make up for it. I probably wouldn't come very often, but if I was craving spicy stewed meats, this would be a solid choice. read more

My sister stumbled upon Goorsha and asked me to go with her. She's the one that first introduced me to Ethiopian cuisine. First plus was that the restaurant had its own parking lot so we didn't have to scour for street parking in Downtown Durham. We had the option of sitting inside or outside and decided to sit outside as it was still pretty warm in September. We were super hungry, so we started off our meal with the Sambusa appetizer. It's a savory, crispy pastry that has lentils, onions, garlic, and jalapeños stuffed inside. It is served with Deko sauce. It was very delicious! You don't get too many (I mean, it is an appetizer). However, as soon as we finished with it, the main course came. For our main entree, we had Kitfo (cooked medium), Awaze Tibs, Kik Alecha, Gomen, and Tekil Gomen. It was probably the best Ethiopian food I have ever had. If you want to tone down the spice of the food (but why?), you can ask for cottage cheese. It pairs very well with the meats. Now, one of the BEST parts about this place is that THEY DON'T CHARGE FOR EXTRA INJERA! I've been to several Ethiopian restaurants and they typically charge extra. My sister and I were in Injera Heaven. I have no negatives about this place. The wait staff was very kind and attentive as well. I'll be back! read more

Another great meal --Goorsha. So delicious, such warm service! I always follow recommendations! read more

Goorsha - Kekel & Sambusa - Ethiopian Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Ok in Durham for my buddy's wedding after a long 9 hours from NY. Got to the hotel safe after a messy snow fall needed to wash my car found on and after that needed some food. Well came down on main and voila there it was Ethiopian food. ;) and what a feast it was took the beef chicken combo if you ask me you don't need more for two people. ONE Word Amazing very very flavorful. If I need to pass Durham again I will surely leave space for the great meal. Please come and enjoy this great place. Also to all the Duke students a must try. Wish them all the best. I would say happy cooking with a smile. :) read more

The food is good. I've had plenty of Ethiopian food and this, while not the best, is a good start for a town that has had no Ethiopian food until this. The food tastes good and the restaurant folk were friendly; it will definitely be a spot I hit very often. I do hope they have a delivery service soon because then I'll be ordering from them atleast once a week. The portion sizes could be better - especially as they seem to serve very little of the lentils and meat on top. Their coffee machine wasn't working one time which left me disappointed that they didn't inform me until the end of my meal. Definitely recommend! read more

My favorite place to eat in Durham. The injera is tangy and soft. The vegetable combo is colorful, flavorful, and filling. Zilzil alecha and beet root salad are my go-to's. The zilzil alecha is just so rich and delicious, and the beet root salad is a nice, light, fresh counterpart to the heavier entrees. They're amazing! Really hope this business makes it through this pandemic. read more

Disappointed... On Mother's Day. We ordered the chicken stew and collard greens and short ribs: Doro Wot and Zilbo. All entrees are served with 2 sides. Our server never shared this information...we never received our side orders. The food wasn't hot, just warm. My first experience eating Ethiopian food, not a good one. read more

Visiting Durham on business, this place was right near my hotel, so I thought I'd give it a try. I had never had Ethiopian food before, and let them know that while I was looking at the menu. The staff offered guidance on not only what I might like to order and what sides would best go with the main entree I was looking at, but they also showed me how to best eat the food (i.e. "mix these two together" or "try a bite of this side right after eating a bite of the entree". The food was outstanding and the service was even better. I will definitely be back the next time I'm in town. read more

Great food. We got the beef combo and a vegan selection, both were very tasty. Food came out super fast. Good service. An easy restaurant to do with our 2 year old. We will definitely be back! read more

Goorsha - Ethiopian Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

I love the cocktails and the ambience at the bar. If you're in to exploring new drinks (esp drinks that reflect the culture) this is a great place to start! read more

Goorsha - Ethiopian Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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I went here on the recommendation of a friend and was unfortunately disappointed. First on arriving we weren't even offered a table inside and were told we could only sit outside (and it wasn't exactly warm outside and there is no heating on the patio). Then it took more than 20 minutes for someone to even come to our table, and we didn't get water until we asked twice. It took a long time for food to come out. The food itself is good, but is greasier than other Ethiopian food I have had in the past. Then we had to go back inside to ask for the check to leave. In general it seemed like the service on the patio was pretty poor. At least three groups of people were seated and left before ordering due to the wait. read more

This place is terrible. The customer service is bad, disgusting establishment. Dirty plates and silverware. They over charged me for my food and didn't even tell me until I checked my bank account two days later. This place is a disgrace to all other restaurant and business in Durham. read more

This place gets points for being what seems to be the only Ethiopian restaurant in all of Durham, but it's just OK. I'm a huge, huge fan of Ethiopian food, have eaten it A LOT in multiple cities (Boston, Seattle, DC, Minneapolis, Oakland/SF, and now Durham), and this doesn't stack up. 1) Injera comes cold. This is not ideal. It should be at least room temperature, but preferably should come nice and warm. 2) Flavors/spices were off. I got the veggie combo which included collard greens, red lentils, and cabbage/potatoes. The red lentils tasted almost...sweet? Nothing was spicy. These just didn't taste like they have at other restaurants. read more

YUM!!!!! The "Kashka" appetizer was the absolute best! I actually got it at the end because one of the meat platters left me a little hungry. The Sambusa was okay - not the best but not the worst. The environment was good. Definitely recommend making a reservation beforehand. read more

Many of my friends recommended Goorsha to me, so I finally went with friends. I was not a fan of the food, restaurant and service. I was a bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong it's definitely pretty cheap, and you get very full with one plate, but the waiter was not super helpful with us, even though we had never been and didn't know much about Ethiopian food. The room was very bright and had bright colours. I love to see my food while eating, but it was not cozy at all. The service was not super fast. I got the vegan options (metin shirt, kit alecha and trail gomen with sides of beet root salad and azifa). It was good, but I wasn't a fan of the bread it is put on, which tasted sour to me. (the spongee sour flavour was not my cup of tea). I probably won't go back, but if you think you like Ethiopian food, then I would recommend. I'm sure they do take out and it's pretty cheap. Just not my favorite cuisine or quality of service. read more

Excellent service and cuisine. Would go back and bring friends from out of town. We went at 3pm on a Saturday, before the hectic downtown dinner rush. Having eaten at several different Ethiopian restaurants I can say that this has been my favorite. read more

The food was different of course but really tasteful and had some nice spice favor. Had tge rips and collard greens Must try service was great and the manager was knowledgeable about the menu read more

I am a huge fan of Ethiopian food, but unfortunately Goorsha wasn't great for me. The service was fantastic, but I found the food overall bland, but with a few winners. We each got a Vegan Combination: you pick 3 of the 6 vegan mains and 2 sides. The Metin Shiro (my favorite Ethiopian dish) and the Yemisir kik were both fantastic, but the rest of the items I felt lacked a some salt. The sides were overall great, though I didn't feel the need for them because I had to use up my injera to eat them. I would have just preferred a larger portion of the main items. The injera also tasted bland, it usually has a more tangy/fermented taste which I missed here. I also got an "iced ginger tea," which was a slight disappointment. It was just ginger infused water and wasn't really refreshing or worth $2.75. The leftovers are a little messy, but we ended up with plenty of leftovers to take home for the next day. We don't have many options for Ethiopian in the triangle, so I may venture back here, but I'm not in a huge hurry to return since I am spoiled by DC Ethiopian food. read more

Goorsha - 2 veggie combos; left: shiro, spicy red lentils, collards; right: cabbage, shiro, yellow lentils. - Ethiopian Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

The food and service were wonderful! Really enjoyed the many vegetarian options on the menu. Four stars because many of the dishes were served cold. Would have been way more appetizing if the dishes were served warm. read more

Update: 09/26/2017 My wife recently went back to Goorsha for lunch and the experience was pretty much exactly opposite from our first visit reviewed below. She brought some leftovers that she couldn't eat back home for me to taste. The misir was pretty bad. It didn't have much flavor and just filled with berbere. The shiro was fairly bland, and the injera had a weird taste to it. I don't know if the chef we had the first time was gone or if it was just a bad day in the kitchen. I gave the experience an overall 3 stars for an average of the 5-star first experience and this one. I'll still go back to try it again to see if this was just an outlier. Hopefully, that is the case. read more

I wish I was able to recommend this restaurant but it's a complete NO for me. I wanted to cry because I was so hungry and ending up cooking myself. Something I should have done to begin with. read more

This was my first time here and it did not disappoint. My food was delicious and the atmosphere was cozy.

It is a very nice place with nice staff but a few of the dishes were too sweet for my taste. I got the beef and chicken combo and half of it was too sweet to have its own flavor to me. I am tough when it comes to food but you should definitely give it a try the appetizers were good. read more

Goorsha - Ethiopian Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Best place for vegans, I'm told - I'm not a vegetarian but I still love the food. Reasonable prices and unique drinks that compliment the menu. The owners are very kind and welcoming, and it's neat to learn about other cultures. Totally recommend you try it, especially if you like unique flavors and spicy foods :) read more

Almost loved it!! It's on the sour side so it's perfect for me. The portion is so huge that I always end up saving the leftover for another meal. read more

Entire experience was very authentic! Service was great and food was even better! My fiancé and I ordered the beef and chicken combination and it was cooked to perfection. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to others as a date night destination. read more

The staff were so friendly & informative. The food was amazing. It was a wonderful experience.

Absolutely delicious! Was traveling in Durham for work and decided to come here for dinner. The vegetarian platter was honestly phenomenal, and an immense bang for your buck. Every single dish I tried was so flavorful, and the portions are huge. Will definitely be back! read more

Quaint and quiet with lots of smiling faces. The food is awesome but there are no forks. I don't mind the authenticity but others may not like it. This food is so amazing. read more

Goorsha - Ethiopian Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

The food was delicious, and we felt that the restaurant took appropriate precautions to keep us safe during this pandemic.

The food was not good. We just moved from DC and used to eat ethiopian food about once or twice per month. During the first month we were craving ethiopian so we tried this place. What a bad decision. The food was a pathetic imitation of what it should be. We ordered kitfo, tibs, and a few other dishes. All were barely edible, I left most of what I ordered on my plate. Also, I ordered one of the mixed drinks that sounded flavorful, but was not good. It tasted like a college bar mixed drink, too much alcohol and not enough balance, but it was not priced like one. I left dissapointed and hungry. read more

I loved the food here! You get so much for a low price. The staff is super sweet, helpful, and willing to give you recommendations. I had the Sambusa for appetizer. Super flavorful and adequately spiced. My entree was the Doro Tibs. Loved the mix of spices and jalapeños. I will definitely return and recommend it to friends! read more

This was our first time trying Ethiopian food so we weren't sure what to expect. We got here early on a Friday night and were seated immediately, but that's when the good service ended. It took about 15 minutes before a waitress came to take our order. 10 more minutes to get tiny glasses of water. A table next to us who sat down after us got their orders well before we did. The food was not good - meat was basically overcooked and tough and all dishes were overly salted and spicy. The pancake things they serve with the food are like sour soggy pancakes. We had to ask for water refills twice (did I mention the tiny glasses - and the food was so spicy we were dying for water) and I also had to ask for our check to be brought to the table after waiting and waiting. I actually asked a different employee to get our check to us because our waitress was not coming to our table ever. All and all it was a terrible experience and we were very disappointed. read more

Good experience! 1st time dining out in almost a year. Good clean veggie food is that's what you need.

I had high hopes for this place and I was quite disappointed. Flavor was just not there for me and the spices seemed off. I have been to other Ethiopian restaurants were I have really enjoyed the food and this was just not up to part. read more

I have lived in DC (with its seemingly endless supply of Ethiopian restaurants); recently, I was also lucky enough to travel through the north of this amazing country. Given what Goorsha *could have been*, it feels like a letdown. This is an Ethiopian restaurant for people who have absolutely no idea what Ethiopian food is, and it exploits that by delivering food that is high on price, low on portions, and tepid (literally, the awaze tibs were lukewarm) when it arrives. Ethiopian dishes feature a multitude of options and generous portions -- not at Goorsha. Underwhelming entrees combined with a measly dollop of 'sides' form plates that are essentially designed to be eaten by one person (not communally, as is traditionally the case with Ethiopian cuisine). Should you mistakenly assume they are designed to be shared (at a place ironically named after the Ethiopian custom of feeding your dining partner with your own hands), you'll walk away unsatisfied, having struggled to find enough food to divide between two people (despite having ordered two entrees), and generally unimpressed by the quality of the food itself. And no honey wine? At an Ethiopian restaurant? Who is this place for? Two stars only for being the only place serving Ethiopian food in Durham, which desperately needed one. Disappointing otherwise. read more