We've been craving Ethiopian food so decided to try Jebena Cafe near Northgate. Oh my, what a good decision! Kind waitstaff who helped with menu selection. Excellent Injera. We shared a combination plate and two Samosas. So good! read more

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This was my first time trying Ethiopian food and definitely won't be my last! The interior is humble, seating maybe 10 parties maximum, and my friend and I were the only ones dining in on Saturday night. Ample parking. There is a sink and bathroom in the back where you can wash up before the meal. Service was gracious and attentive and even brought out freshly roasted coffee beans for us to smell, which was divine. All the sides in the Vegetarian Combo were delicious and hearty, though I found the spinach a bit too salty. The Doro Wot was savory and quite spicy! Their injera was distinctively and deliciously tangy and sour - I loved the contrast between the crispy edges and the spongy bottom that soaked up all the juices from the sides. These were the biggest plates I'd ever eaten out of, perfect for sharing family-style, and I left fully satisfied. A wonderful experience. read more

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This was my first time trying Ethiopian food, and I loved it! The restaurant is small but very cute and decorated inside, with a decent amount of seating. The owner is very welcoming, with quick service. She discussed the different vegan options with me, which there are lots, and was super friendly. I ordered the veggie samosas first, which were super hot and fresh, crunch and delicious. They weren't as spicy as other samosas I've had, but a lot bigger in size. They came with a free. spicy dipping sauce that was great. For my main dish, I ordered the vegetarian combo, which is naturally vegan! It was 6 different vegetarian options served on injera. There was a potato, carrot and cabbage mix, chickpeas, yellow lentils, brown lentils, cooked greens and fresh salad greens. You use your hands to scoop up the different vegetables in the middle with the bread, and it's delicious and very fun. I had leftovers for a second meal which was great. I ended the meal with some black tea, which was good. The vegetarian combo was $19, but it was a lot of food, enough for 2 meals for myself, and worth it. The food is made with love and the service is very lovely. I definitely recommend trying out this place if you're ever in north Seattle! read more

Jebena Cafe - vegetarian combo (vegan!) - Ethiopian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Really perfect spot for real African food So delicious, good quality, and great service read more

Yummy food and superb service. The lady is so friendly and warm. My favorite is meat combination 2. Everything is so flavorful due to the spices utilized. The portions are huge too! 1 meal can serve 2-3 people. read more

Selam habesh. amit a myna bounya.. Thank you for the great food I love it it's to die for.. read more

Very warm and amazing service, Martha made us feel right at home. Food was amazing, so many delicious flavors. We will certainly be returning soon! read more

Jebena Cafe - Jebena Combination - Ethiopian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Really tasty vegetarian combo. The dish is huge. They have the best Injera I had in my life. The lady is motherly and makes sure that you like the food. read more

We unexpectedly ended up at Jebena when the nearby Ethiopian restaurant we typically frequent was closed. Jebena is now where we will always go!!!! The food was incredible with spectacular flavor, truly the best Ethiopian food I have ever had. The coffee was amazing and so perfect with the meal. They were so accommodating to all our dietary needs and just truly truly felt like they cared that we had a good dining experience. I will be recommending their restaurant to everyone!!!! read more

This is one of my favorite places to get Ethiopian food. The staff is so nice and friendly. They have a little store next door where I get my berbere spice. read more

Super tasty, got the Jebena combo and each option was delicious. Pretty setting, wonderfully bright staff, terrific value.

Really pleasant little place. Small and only noisy when there's conversation -- there's music but it's chill, not overbearing. It is a family-owned place rather than a franchised place, and it shows in the way it is very clearly what the owners want it to be, rather than what's popular right this moment. It has been basically the way it is for years, and the way it is, is good. The food both tastes good and is good for the price. Special mention to the coffee, though! If you like coffee, definitely check out theirs, they roast their own and most of it is sourced by one of the owners going to Ethiopia himself for it. This is what the restaurant dream used to be: nobody's getting rich, they're just making good food for people who appreciate it, and if something goes wrong, you can talk to a person whose hands are on the work, not to some anonymous call center employee who can't fix your problem but who can get penalized for taking time to listen to you. Jebena is good and if you like Ethiopian cuisine you will like the food at Jebena. read more

So yummy, fair prices, and the owner is so kind! Had a very hole in the wall feel. The owner brought us out extra injera. The samosas were so yummy too! Will be back. Leftovers tasted great read more

Jebena Cafe - Jebena Combo Platter - Ethiopian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Tiny portions of some of the worst Ethiopian or Eritrean food I've had in my entire life. Maybe Seattle just doesn't have any good restaurants serving this cuisine? I legit laughed in disbelief as each thing I tried in the veggie sampler (SO small, for such cheap ingredients! like 10 lentils, 5 little bits of cabbage, a tiny little nub of carrot..! Unless you plan to fill up on injira, how could that be an adult portion? How could it cost over 20 bucks?!) tasted worse than the last -- bitter! sugary! Awful! Please, PLEASE go to NYC and try some actually good Ethiopian food (for the US) read more

***4.5 stars*** It's been soooo long since I had ethiopian food and this place definitely hit the spot. They are only open for takeout right now so I recommend calling in ahead so you don't have to wait, but it's not that long anyways We ordered the Jebena combo which comes with a little of everything. It definitely can feed 2-3 people! I love that they gave us extra injera bread as well to soak up all the food. Each little entree was really good but the star was definitely the veggie ones. My husband usually love his meat but he was hoping for more of the veggies here. The veggies help balance the strong flavor of the meat options as it eventually got a little monotonous. I do love the various meats that was provided (chicken, beef,etx) as well as the various texture (some were minced, chunks, etc). The injera bread was also really good because they weren't overly sour. Service was really good as the lady was really nice. She even offered some free bags of potatoes and cans of peas! I also love that she was very confident that we will love the food (which we did). Price was sooo reasonable, that meal was only $21! read more

Jebena Cafe - Jebena combo - Ethiopian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Excellent Ethiopian food, incredibly friendly service and great prices! We've come a few times for the vegetarian combo and the food is always really fresh and flavorful. The portion is large enough for two people to share and even have leftovers. The woman who I believe is the owner is so friendly and welcoming, and the energy in the space is great- small but homey and comforting. read more

Delicious vegetarian combo with a variety of dishes to sample from and a generous portion. I visited for lunch and ordered their vegetarian combo (which is vegan; $17 plus tax). My meal came out in about 10 minutes. I got a very generous portion of various items: misir wot (red lentils), shiro (spiced chickpea), gomen (collards), a potato and cabbage dish, and split peas, along with a green salad. Everything was delicious, albeit on the salty side, as though the chef's hand slipped with the salt shaker when crafting each dish. Other than that, the flavours were great. The woman serving me was extremely kind and eager to please. Top-notch service. Other than the saltiness, everything was great. Seattle has a lot of Ethiopian restaurants--many of which are excellent--so it's hard to stand out. But this place was solid. Worth checking out. read more

Jebena Cafe - Vegetable combination (vegan) - Ethiopian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Food and service is always high quality! Love getting the Jebena Combination. Pro tip: Make scrambled eggs and add to leftovers the next morning read more

Cozy, unassuming and inviting atmosphere, paired with the very friendly owner/operator and delicious food makes this little cafe a destination spot for Ethiopian food! The service was excellent! read more

Delicious food, warm friendly service, fun decor and ambiance. Shared the vegetarian injera dish that was a perfect light meal for two

This restaurant was a very fun and delicious experience! The woman who waited on us was just lovely, so warm, happy and helpful. We decided on the combo plate, I can't remember the name of the dish but it offered a sampling of their best selling items. The flavors were so bright, fresh and amazing and I enjoyed everything I tried. The restaurant is very relaxed but clean and comfortable. I highly recommend!! read more

Jebena Cafe - Combination plate - Ethiopian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Food wasn't exactly to my taste, but atmosphere, as noted by other reviewers, was warm and welcoming. I appreciated the generous portion sizes and shareable nature of the food, plenty of leftovers. This was my first time ever having Ethiopian food, and the host told us we were in the right place - although the restaurant is notably located in a cluster of Ethiopian restaurants, some of which I've heard comparably good things about. Really, I just wasn't a fan of how sour the injera was. I think in general everything we got was more sour than I was used to, and although I was able to eat it all and appreciate the seasoning, it was just past a comfortable level for me personally. But that aside, it was a colorful, enjoyable and filling meal. I think maybe I would've enjoyed the sandwich a little more if it had some more varied textures within it, but the flavor was still solid, and I appreciated that the French bread loaf provided a balance for the acidity levels a little bit. Whether this place is more sour than average Ethiopian food or not remains for me to figure out, but I'll just say if you consider yourself someone sensitive to or not a fan of food that's a little more on the acidic side, you may want to pace yourself or make sure you come with someone who can pick up the slack in terms of what you're willing to eat. But as a restaurant experience altogether it was still nice. :) read more

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The food is great, but the highlight is the warmth of the staff. There is no better service experience in Seattle

Got UberEATS tonight. I'm so impressed with the flavors, attention to detail, value, and freshness of our $50 order. JEBENA combo for 3 is delicious and the green chicken is tender, moist, and perfectly seasoned. They even added their house made green spicy sauce when I left a comment on the order. Usually restaurants just ignore any special instructions from delivery orders. Note: kitfo in their combination is COOKED. It tastes way better raw if you're comfortable with that. Just tell them you want combo kitfo RAW. Will definitely return. One of the best Ethiopian foods in Seattle. Can't wait to try Foul, Yasa Tibs and dry Tibs. If I have to write a complaint, their gored gored was a little underspiced. Tender but I wish it had more punch (but everyone's spice level is very subjective) read more

Not a huge fan of Jebena Cafe... their injera was not sour enough, the kitfo was cooked (it's way better served raw), and the yellow lentils didn't have much taste to them. I also wished that they used the more traditional collared greens instead of spinach as a veggie side. On a more positive note, I thought the beef tibs weren't bad. read more

Jebena Cafe - Green Chicken + Jebena Combo - Ethiopian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

The veggie combo is delicious! Very friendly and relaxing atmosphere. They are also very accommodating with allergies and dietary needs. A great experience! read more

Delicious and friendly/warm service. And they have an air conditioner. Will be back again!! read more

Jebena Cafe - so good! This was a meat combo where I substituted the lamb tibs for chicken. - Ethiopian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Authentic food the price is good. One platter can easily serve two or more people for one meal. Convenient for taking out. We like especially the Jebana combo. read more

What a gem! Friendly service, delicious Qey Wot (lamb) and Doro Wot (chicken), and very reasonable prices.

Hearing so much good buzz about Jebena Cafe, we went in for some Ethiopian food. Yup, it is delicious!! Jebena Cafe is in a quiet part of Seattle, between Northgate, Pinehurst, and Victory Heights. It's located at a little strip mall type of corner with its own parking and street parking. Currently, there is no dine in. I phoned in our order as we were started driving there and was quoted 20 minutes; the food was ready in 15 minutes. The Food: Meat Combo #1, $16 - 5 Stars - Qey Wot (deep-cooked lamb with seasoned sautéed Greens), Beef Tibs (lean top round cubes sautéed in our homemade Berbere Sauce), and Veggie Sides Vegetarian Combo, $14 - 5 Stars - Shiro Wot (blended chick peas with tomatoes, onion, garlic, olive oil, and spices), Cabbage, Red and Yellow Lentils, Spinach, and homemade Salad Everything is flavorful and delicious. The Qey Wot and Beef Tibs are great in the meat combo. In the vegetarian combo, the Shiro Wot was my favorite. Beside the injera (spongy bread) that all the food are sitting on, they provide an additional injera on top. The menu said each meal is for 2 people. I would say not quite, but it is a HUGE meal. Hubby gallantly finished his entire meal and some of mine. But I still couldn't finish the rest of mine. LOL. Highly recommend! read more

We were in the neighborhood and craving Ethiopian, and I'm so glad we decided to pay this place a visit! We were welcomed with warmth and smiles from the owner as if we were neighbors she had already been expecting. The samosas were hot and crispy, and the Meat Combo 3 was exactly what we needed and craved after a long day! The platter filled the two of us up for dinner and will take good care of us for lunch tomorrow. Next time I'm already looking forward to trying the Jebena and kitfo. At the very least, I'll be excited to return to see a friendly face! read more

Jebena Cafe - Meat Combo 3 - featuring Qey Wot (lamb), chicken tibs, and veggies! - Ethiopian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

The owner is so so nice I always appreciate how kind she is when I come to pick up my order. Throughout the pandemic the quality of food is still amazing and fresh. :) read more

Jebena Cafe - Veggie combo and beef! - Ethiopian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

The owner is awesome. She truly enjoys serving food. When we get meat combination since we don't eat beef she provides alternatives with other lamb or chicken options which most other Ethiopian places don't. I really appreciate that. I keep coming here after trying other places. read more

Always excellent service and delicious. We always get the vegetarian combo which is great for two people.

Very very very good. Seattle is a great town for Ethiopian food, but Jebena is in a league of it's own. My only complaint is they're not open Wednesdays. read more

The service is one of the best experiences i've had, so kind and made sure we had the best first experience eating Ethiopian food! The store is pretty small but very homey.The food on the other hand was also very delicious, they make their cheese fresh in house and it's very yummy! The meats are delicious as well and the different kinds of lentils (I believe) are good as well! I also loved the Qatena it's very crunchy and flavorful. read more

Jebena Cafe - #20 Jebena Combination - Ethiopian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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This was our first experience with Ethiopian food and it was amazing!! I'm really happy we decided to be adventurous and try it. We ordered the Jebena combo and a chicken dish, which I can't remember the name of, and both were absolutely delicious!! The chicken dish consisted of 2 drum sticks in a red/brownish somewhat-spicy sauce and it was my favorite; the meat just fell off the bone. Every bite was just packed full of flavors. I'm not exaggerating when I say every bite was a party in my mouth. I strongly recommend you try this place!! Currently, only take out is available and the employees were wearing masks. read more

Jebena Cafe - Jebena combo (take out) - Ethiopian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

I ordered the Jebena Combo for takeout and it was DELICIOUS. The perfect amount of spices and packed with flavor. She included a couple extra Injeras (Ethiopian bread) for us as well which was super nice and we even had leftovers for the next day, which somehow tasted even better. Also the owner is the sweetest lady ever! Super friendly and welcoming! read more

I'm not the biggest fan of Ethiopian, but we had gone to celebrate my brothers graduation and he chose it. We had a wonderful host/server! She was so sweet and so nice, after telling her I didn't like spicy food she made sure to let me know what was spicy on the plate she also constantly checked on us and gave us water and more injera, my mom and brother loved the food and I enjoyed the beef tibs! This is the only Ethiopian place I'll eat:) read more

Jebena Cafe - Ethiopian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Jebena Cafe is one of our go-to places for Ethiopian food in the northern part of Seattle. The lady who works here is very friendly, and usually remembers you after a couple times. Typically, we order the Veggie Combo to-go and eat at home, but occasionally I'll sit in when meeting with friends, and like to order the Jebena Combo instead. The Jebena Combo has most of the veggie options, and also several meat options which are all delicious, including a juicy chicken drumstick on top. It's usually more than enough for 2 people, coming out to about $20 total. (For reference, a Jebena Combo + a Veggie Combo is enough for 4 people). The last time I was there it was packed, and while the food usually comes out pretty quickly, it took a while that night I think due to the volume of orders. When the food finally arrived, unfortunately the chicken drumstick was still raw in the middle when we cut into it. They brought us a replacement quickly, but just make sure to cut into the chicken before taking a bite! (This was the first time it's happened, so I don't think it's a common problem) TIP: I recommend ordering the Jebena Combo when eating in at the restaurant, and not for take-out. The portions seem smaller in the to-go box, probably since it all has to fit into one box (comes out to basically the same volume of food as the veggie combo to-go, which is a few dollars cheaper and has less options). The take-out also didn't come with the salad or the drumstick, but had chicken pieces instead. So, I'm sticking with Veggie Combos for our typical take-out dinners, and treating ourselves to a Jebena Combo in the restaurant :) read more

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