The food was amazing and the portion large so come hungry! I ordered the vegetarian platter so was…read moreable to try a variety, and all were delicious. If you are not familiar with this food, you do eat with your hands, so get ready to dig in! The staff could be a little more helpful, especially if guests are not familiar with the food. This is an upstairs location and I am not sure if they have an elevator, so check options if you are unable to do stairs.

If you're craving a hole in the way dining experience of delicious Ethiopian cuisine, D'Afrique is…read morethe place to be! The highlight of the evening was definitely the lamb--succulent, flavorful, and a definite 10/10. The mixed platter we chose was perfect for sampling a variety of dishes. It included a delightful assortment of vegetarian options alongside two chicken dishes and a savory beef dish. Each item was bursting with unique flavors and perfectly complemented the injera bread. We were able to ask for medium spiciness and some extra spice on the side so we weren't overwhelmed. The service was friendly and attentive - our waitress was able to give us great recommendations - adding to the overall enjoyable dining experience. The easy to miss entrance leads you upstairs to a nice dining area with table cloths but comfortable ambiance. Great for your dairy free and pork free friends plus there are gluten free options.

I tried Ethiopian years ago and didn't like it. I couldn't get over the using your hands aspect of…read moreit. Fast forward 20 years and my friend suggests Habesha for lunch and I go along. We ordered two Habesha platters (mix of meat and veggie dishes) with injera bread. I found out you can use the bread to pick up the meat or veggies. The cabbage was my favourite. Great flavours! The beef cubes/stew was great too. Lentils were well prepared too. The tea and coffee were unique and good. I am converted. This was delicious! Service is a bit slower so plan accordingly. The decor is plain but it doesn't matter when the food is good!

Highly recommend this restaurant!!! Every single item we tried was delicious unique with different…read moretextures and flavors. Family friendly and staff is happy to explain dishes to people new to Ethiopian cuisine. I definitely recommend getting a platter so you can try more than one thing. Each person can have an individual plate or you can share a large platter to eat communally (our group of 7 asked to eat together and we were given two large platters). We just said we wanted to try a variety of meat and vegetarian dishes and asked to add on the special stewed lamb that isn't usually included on the Habesha Platter. It was the best lamb I've ever had and my daughter still talks about it months later! I don't know the name but it was super tender small cubes of lamb meat stewed in a very spicy red sauce. Even as a meat lover, many of the vegetarian dishes like the cabbage, green beans, and yellow split peas were among my favorite bites of the meal. We will definitely go back next time we're anywhere near Ottawa.

Food wise, it's cheap and large portion. But there's little variety. Everything is big bread with…read moredifferent variations of toppings. For mine, it was soggy where the toppings were placed because of the olive oil. Service was close to non-existent. They forgot my Coke until I reminded them. It also took time for the food to be ready or to get the bill. I only saw one star, so I assume he's the wait staff, the chef and the cashier.

Pre-pandemic, I had an appointment down the road and I decided to walk the 15 minutes to get some…read moreEthiopian food. I used to live in the area and visited their old location on Gladstone ages ago, so I thought it would be a nice opportunity to try their new(er) location, also on Gladstone. I've only had Ethiopian food a few times in the past, including at Blue Nile, but I was in the mood to try a dish I never had before. The restaurant had just opened for lunch so it was empty. I was grateful to have the full attention of the server, who I realized later was also the cook - the one and only staff member there! He was patient with me as I took a look around and debated over what to get on the menu before asking him for a suggestion. He asked if I ever had tibbs before, a staple in Ethiopian cuisine, and I hadn't, so that's what I ordered. I definitely read the menu, but I didn't pay attention at all to what he was making. I just said yes and got excited lol. It was about $12 at the time, before taxes and tip, though the price didn't matter at all because I was hungry and drooling at the sights and smells of him making the food. He made it with such care, packed it for takeout with such care, and rang it up with such care. He was very kind and courteous. Top-notch service. It was about 20 minutes or so before I was able to sit down to eat it and it was still piping hot. I had no idea what to expect. Whatever it was, it was fully wrapped in a huge piece of injera. When I unfolded the injera, there was a giant portion of sliced beef, onions, and peppers in a tomato-based sauce. I looked at the menu online and saw you could get juicy or dry, so I assumed I got juicy. My coworkers kept asking what I got, saying it looked and smelled amazing. A couple of them even tried some. It was delicious! The beef was tender and the sauce was very flavourful. The injera was light and spongey, not too sour. The meal was super filling, too. The injera soaked up some of the extra juices and it was all great to eat it with your hands. I would, however, separate the beef from the injera if saving leftovers, as the injera at the bottom would be super soggy. I would definitely eat here again. Maybe in person next time! I was tempted to buy some of the snacks, spices, and other pantry items by the cash, but I get carried away with that stuff and I knew I wouldn't be able to carry it back with me. But I totally regretted not getting anything. Definitely next time, too!

My husband and I had lunch at Safia Restaurant recently and overall we loved it!…read more My husband was going to a Hobby Show nearby, so we were in the area. We had been to the restaurant at this location when it was called Far Jano, and I found out from the staff at Safia that the owner of Far Jano sold her business 2 years ago and they believe she went back to Somalia. So Safia took over the place. They also sell Somali food. We got a few dishes to share. We got the Liver with Anjeero ($14), which comes with Somali Ginger Milk Tea. We also got the beef and chicken mixed suquaar plate with rice ($17). The liver dish is called "Beer." It comes with your choice of malawah, chapati or anjeero. Since I've already had the 2 former breads, I really wanted to try the anjeero. The man taking my order advised me it's a bit sour. I had heard it's similar to Ethiopian injera, which I like, so I told him I was good with that. The anjeero was delicious! It's less sour than injera. The best I can describe it as is if a crepe, a crumpet and some sour dough starter got together and had a magical baby, it would be anjeero, lol. I dream of anjeero now. I need more anjeero! Lol. The Somali Ginger Milk Tea is also so good. It was a bit too sweet for my tastes, but I still enjoyed it. It's creamy and full of ginger flavour. I would get this again. The liver was also good, but too oily for my tastes. It's fried with lots of onions, tomatoes, and some bell peppers. I would love it if they used less oil. The spices were amazing though. It masked the "liver flavour" well. I don't really like the taste of liver, but I eat it to boost my iron levels, so I like it when it's prepared in a way that it doesn't really taste like liver, haha. The beef and chicken suquaar with rice was also a hit. The chicken is slightly spicy, while the the beef is not spicy at all. The chicken was so tasty. It was moist and tender and full of flavour. The beef was also full of flavour, but it was tougher and not as tender, but still good. The rice was soft and fluffy and rich with warm aromatic spices. There were lots of onions in this dish, but also some peas and bell peppers. This dish came with a side salad. The salad was really boring with just romaine lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers, but the vegetables were fresh. It came with a ranch dressing on the side which I did not use. We also got 2 sauces. A red one which was mild and a brown one which was spicer, but I would describe as mild-medium. Since I dislike ranch dressing, I actually used the red sauce on the salad. Service was really friendly and welcoming. The restaurant is right next to a mosque and it appeared that all customers other than us were members of the mosque. So even though we obviously stuck out, the staff did not make us feel out of place at all. The dining area inside is small, but they have this nice more private area where you need to remove your shoes to enter and it's furnished nicely and is somewhat separated from the rest of the restaurant. There's also 2 tables outside, which is where we ate. It's covered with an awning and is well shaded, which is great when it's hot and sunny out, like it was on the day of our visit. Lots of free parking in the plaza. The parking lot is also shared with the mosque. It's a pity that this place is far from me and is in an area that I no longer frequent. Although they have another location on Cobden out near the Ikea, which is not close to me either, but a bit more convenient. I'll have to give that location a try sometime ;)

The food is a must try ! The samosas are delicious , I bought them 2 days in a row!…read moreGood food and great service ! Prices are good too ! Will definitely recommended

I went here upon a friend's recommendation. I refer to the shop name as 'Suya Joint' rather than…read moreAfrican Grill. Food: I ordered a side of plantains and Assorted Suya which came with 3 meats that they had available that day, in my case, it was chicken, beef, and goat. I also got to try the combo which comes with jollof rice, plantains, and salad. The combo comes with a generous amount of jollof rice. The seasoning in combination with the grill cook was like a delicious barbecue dance in your mouth. I didn't get to try the chicken but was told it is really good and is moist on the inside. The goat and beef had a chew to them but the flavours are 100%. I really enjoyed the goat meat. Service/atmosphere: The staff who took our order was courteous, gave positive customer service, and answered all my questions. There are tables for dining in, but everyone pretty much comes here to pick up, deliver, or take out. Throughout our time waiting for our food, there were customers coming in left and right. I will definitely be back again! They speak French here too.

It is the only place I know of that sells goat meat. The service is good, by the owners I presume…read more I'm not sure if they are still in business. new parking lot & no sign.

I love Ethiopian food, but admittedly don't know the names of all the different curries, except for…read moreDoro Watt which is the curry with spicy chicken legs and boiled eggs, and happens to be my favourite, lol. This location of D'Afrique Restaurant & Bar is their second location. Their first location is on Laurier Ave. This location has been many restaurants in the past. It was a Peruvian restaurant called Petit Peru and then it was a Mexican restaurant called Los Tacos de Mauro, both of which were excellent, and I'm happy to report that D'Afrique Restaurant keeps the trend going, as it was also excellent. I saw their big sandwich board by their entrance advertising a Special of the Day for $13.99 which consisted of chicken, beef, lamb and vegetable curries with injera and thought this would be a great way to try out a variety of their products. So I got it for takeout. Admittedly, the takeout presentation is not as aesthetically pleasing as the dine-in version, but the taste was good. It came with my favourite Doro Watt, as well as a beef curry, a lamb curry, and some vegetable curries (lentil, cabbage, split peas, and I think ground chickpeas curries). The injera was soft and tasty. The chicken leg in the Doro Watt was so tender and fall off the bone and had a good spicy kick to it. The beef was also tasty, but not as tender. The lamb portion was small and be warned that it's bone-in, but it was good and not too gamey. The vegetable curries were good too. Everything was really flavourful and fragrant. Service was friendly. I did hear the microwave go off a few times in the kitchen though. So I suspect some of the items are reheated when ordered. Also the takeout container was styrofoam, which I don't like. I really hope they didn't microwave anything in styrofoam! Anyway, use of styrofoam and microwave were the only two negatives. I would return for the Special of the Day again. I also want to try the samosas. The restaurant is up a steep flight of stairs on the second floor of the building. The space was at one time a discotheque. It's quite pretty inside and no longer looks like a night club, lol. Street parking only.

They are awfully nice. All smiles! The food is average. I thought the Injarra was rubbery. I wish…read morethey would pay more attention to cleanliness too. The staff was watching a soccer match when I arrived and were very enthusiastic about one of the teams. The tables and floor were dirty from the night before. A little more effort on their part could make this restaurant a standout in the area.

This place is legit! I grew up not too far from Little Jamaica in Toronto (Eglinton and Oakwood),…read moreso have had my fair share of Jerk Chicken (oh man, I miss the days of Toonie Tuesdays where I could get jerk chicken with rice and peas for $2, but I digress). The jerk chicken at Island Grill is amazing! The chicken was tender fall off the bone, and nice and spicy and full of flavour. The chicken thigh was cut up, but no bone fragments, which I appreciated. The jerk chicken meal was $13.50 and came with rice and beans, 2 pieces of plantain and the best coleslaw ever! The coleslaw was vinegar-based and slightly sweet. I much prefer this type of coleslaw to the creamy mayo-based ones. The cabbage was crunchy and really tasty. The rice and beans were excellent, soft and fluffy, not mushy at all. The plantains were soft and sweet. Island Grill usually has space for dine-in, but that section was closed off and they are only doing takeout at this time (Covid Pandemic still on-going). Service was quick and efficient. They sell hot sauces, plantain chips, and a few other items. They also had coconut cake and other desserts. Street parking only.

This place is hands down the best Jamaican place I've had since my trip to Jamaica like 3-4 years…read moreago!! So authentic and flavourful!! We came here by fluke walking down bank street and feeling hungry.. we saw the sign and as we came in , the scent of epic Caribbean spices just hits you right away. Service: Very friendly girl at the counter was super sweet and explained the menu perfectly and we ordered within 10-15 minutes our food was ready! It's a hole in the wall but don't be fooled the food is To die for. Food: FRESH PACKED WITH FLAVOUR!!! We got oxtails & Jerk Chicken. It was literally fall off the bone! The oxtail was my favourite part because it's such a rare dish prepared Jamaican style and it was super tender definitely worth every penny. The plantain was super delicious usually its hard to get it cooked right but this place definitely did! Veggie Fritters were amazing , rice was soft and delicious love how they drizzle the ox tail sauce on the rice and the beans were pretty good. The patties were alright but not the greatest..I would skipp the patties next time & go for everything else again instead ahaha Overall: Food /Quality Price , Service and ambiance was amazing super impressed and you definitely need to try this place out if you're in the area and craving an authentic homemade meal!!! Cheers

I've only eaten here a few times, but it had been awhile and I was in the mood for Caribbean, so…read morethought I'd order from here. I don't get to have Caribbean food very often, so I got both of my cravings - the curried goat roti and oxtail meals. The curried goat roti was buss up shut. I actually like buss up shut (not wrapped) better because curry goat is always bone-in, so I find it less messy this way since you don't have to open it up. Flavour was great, not too greasy, more meat on the bones than I've had at other places. I just wish there was more of it! There were some large onion slices that I had to cut into smaller pieces, but that didn't bother me. I liked the hearty fried plantains, but could've done without the salad that wasn't as fresh as I would've liked. The roti was perfect, made with chickpeas (flour?), soft and moist, flaky, and still warm. The oxtail was marinated then braised, and came with fried plantains, steamed vegetables, Congo peas (pigeon peas, which are actually beans), and rice. The gravy was good - salty, but very tasty with the peas and rice. Like the curried goat, it also had large onions slices and more meat than I expected. There was more meat than the curried goat dish, but I still wish there was more. The veggies were nice and firm and just had a bit of butter. My husband had the bbq ribs and a side of jerk chicken (chose the white meat only option). The ribs came with fried plantains, peas and rice, and salad. He really enjoyed the ribs but also wished there were more. The jerk chicken wasn't very spicy or had much jerk flavour and had the same barbecue sauce on it, which did help the dryness. Maybe the dark meat would be better next time. We also had the fire wings with tamarind dip. There were four wings in one order - two drumsticks and two flats. They were breaded and crispy and came with the both the fire sauce and tamarind sauce on the side. We thought there would be more and would come tossed in the sauce, but I'm glad they were plain so that they weren't soggy. The fire sauce seemed to be the same barbecue sauce used for the ribs and ribs, which we didn't find very spicy. Tasty but not the spicy "fire" we thought they would be. That was okay, though, because the husband doesn't like it too spicy, anyway! The tamarind sauce was spicier with chunks of tamarind, a bit more watery than saucey, but not too sweet and good flavour. We ordered a side of fries to munch on, but they never came, and we received a refund. Our order came with a free can of coconut water. It a 500ml can of sweetened coconut water with coconut pieces from the Grace brand. All in all, the food was delicious, we just wished they had more meat in the dishes for the price, as we could've easily eaten so much more of it. Sorry, some of the photos are blurry - the husband was too hungry!

This is a Lil secret in Ottawa! The food is delicious. Lots of vegan options. I had the Buss Up…read moreShut Roti with vegetables. Everyone at the table enjoyed their food. The service was local style. Great conversation, very knowledgeable about the menu and food options. Very willing to make changes to the menu to accommodate your preferences. The place is very clean and welcoming. A must do when you are in Ottawa. A taste of the island in the middle of cold Canada. Thank you to the Lil Negril staff. Complements to the chef.