I've been here twice now and enjoy the place for the most part. Both times I selected the veggie combo meal because I like to try many things. The veggie combo was different this time than last, which is okay. Most of the items were delicious although 1 or 2 we're kind of tasteless compared to last time. There was one main item which looks like it had a lot of lentils in it and it actually tasted like there was lamb or beef or something in it. Delicious! They give you plenty of injera bread to grab your food with. The meal was priced right at just over $10 and neither of us could finish our platter. The service although friendly is substandard for sure. Once they serve your meal you're not going to see them again until you walk up to the bar cash register to pay. I'm sure you can call from across the restaurant for more service because it is super casual. Overall I would definitely recommend this place if you like this sort of family-run small hole in the wall. Injera: Good, but not made fresh Samosas: Ordered meat and they were piping hot and delicious. Hot Sauce: looks like homemade and delicious except that it was super salty. read more

Best food, best service, and the people around were wonderful to talk to. shoutout to Alex!

Delicious food and great service. If i'm not mistaken they were the first Ethiopian restaurant in the city. I would go with my family when i was young and still love it to this day. read more

This place has MOVED from Ellice Avenue to 266 Edmonton Street. Excellent new location that is much brighter and more inviting than the previous one. It's located near the MB Hydro building downtown and near the Second Cup on Edmonton & Graham. This restaurant is the epitome of Canada - there was a diverse group of diners there from all different backgrounds and ages embracing this growing community in Winnipeg - love it! Samosas! At $1.79 each for either veggie or beef filled samosas, these are a steal! They are large and packed with fillings, not greasy with the lightest flakiest shell ever. Personally, I prefer the beef one over the veggie but they are both good. This dish also comes with the best sauce - diced hot peppers. Spicy, yum and addictive! I've had the platters before so we opted for some individual dishes this time. Just remember that Ethiopian cuisine is eaten with your hands. But for those who aren't comfortable with that, you can always ask for cutlery....but like the saying goes "when in Rome..." or Ethiopia in this case.... Doro Tibs - a great dish of tender, marinated pieces of chicken cooked in spiced butter with peppers, onion, garlic, tomato, a touch of rosemary and other spices. This dish is like $9 only and comes with injera bread (spongy, sour dough like flat bread) and a nice light salad. Chacha - comes in a beef or lamb option. This is a very flavouful smokey meat dish that's served on a hot plate with with onion, green pepper and other spices. This also comes with salad and injera for about $11. Our meal of 4 samosas, doro tibs and chacha came to just $31 before tips and we still had food to take home. What a great deal. We were a bit disappointed that they didn't have any Ethiopian coffee that night but we'll be back to try that! The restaurant has two sections - one large bar with big flat screen TVs showing lots of different sports shows. The bar has a huge wall of alcohol, sort of reminds me of Joey's or Earls' bar area. Then there's the dining area that's divided by the cute arches in the middle of the room. The restaurant is bright and clean and very welcoming. Service is very friendly as we were even offered some extra complimentary veggie items to pack up along with our main dinner items. Though the service can be a bit slow if you don't catch the attention of the two people who were running the main dining area and bar. Parking is all street parking - best bets are along Edmonton, Graham or Portage Ave. read more

I have gone to Kokeb a few times in the last five or six years and always enjoyed myself. This week I had the chance to try their lunch buffet for a second time. It is also the second time that I have been to their new location (their old one was closed because the building was demolished for the construction of centrepoint). The new spot is a beautiful and well lit location across from the Hydro Building. It is nice, but it doesn't have the ambiance that the other place had. The owner is friendly and always offers hot sauce in small cups, which I would accept because the neither the sauce nor the food is very spicy (to my level of tolerance). It's a buffet so don't expect a server fawning over you. The food was true to buffet form: there were good options (8 dishes?) and better than anything else, I could try them all. A vegetarian buffet is something of a miracle of gluttony for me. Injera is available so that you can eat with your hands in the traditional fashion (there are forks as well). Of the dishes on the lunch menu Kik Alicha, and Misir Wet appear to be the only ones on the dinner menu. All the options were tasty enough to try a second helping of, but one or two of them really stood out: the Misir Wet, and a dish that must be the Ethiopian equivalent to beet borscht. I should also say that there is very tasty cake for desert. Since the buffet is 10$, it will not break the bank to indulge a bit and buy a slice from the very European desert menu. Great meal! read more

Really tasty food (especially the hot sauce), cheap beer, great coffee and very friendly staff. Only gripes would be the amazing desserts disappearing and occasionally the veggie platter would seem to be from the buffet remains. read more

This place is absolutely amazing! The food is served hot and with the perfect side of chile sauce to spice up your plate even more. If you have never tried Ethiopian food, you are missing out! I have recently figures out that I have gluten allergies and they are very accommodating, serving me my dish of lamb with a heaping pile of rice. Yum! If you are in Winnipeg, make it a must to stop in and try the delicious food! read more

What a gem this place was. Located right downtown, but there is street parking out front if you're lucky. A bit bare bones inside, but we came for the food. We both ordered the veggie combo ($9++), which came out after about 20 minutes. Huge portion of food, with plenty of injera and many delicious veggie dishes. Friendly service. Absolutely delicious food and at a bargain price. Couldn't recommend this more. read more

NOPE. I have gone there a couple of times and enjoyed decent ethiopian food and terrible service, having to make several trips to the bar to ask for refills on water, but I took all of that in stride most of the time. My last visit will be just that. It was a lunch buffet, but we were not allowed to order anything else, so we had some cold food and tepid service. They couldn't even get a tea order right. My friend had given us little packages of snacks that she bought at costco, and we had them put aside on the table. After ignoring us for the entire time, our waiter got really suspicious of our snacks, and kept asking us about them over and over until we put them in our bags. Weird, bad, and the injera was sour. Go to Massawa. read more

Since returning to the city, Kokeb seems to have become my go-to place for eating out. I've been eating out a lot, and I've come back here more often than any other place. My last visit was on Tuesday - after coffee at the Fyxx food was in order, and Kokeb was the only place in walking distance that came to mind. I was with Coleen, who'd never had Ethopian before, so I suggested we get samosas and the mixed platter (which is what I've always gotten.) The platter is more than enough food for two, and the samosas were totally unnecessary, but totally delicious. They came out of the kitchen hot and fresh out of the frier and were crunchy, spicy and flavourful. No dipping sauce, but they really didn't need any (though I seem to recall getting sauce with the samosas in the past.) The platter comes on a huge plate, which is covered with a thin, stretchy, chewy crepe-type flat bread with a slightly lemony flavour. On this there is an assortment of different types of foods in little piles - salad, lentils in a thick base, different seasoned meats in sauce, seasoned cabbage, a sort of paste made with whole corn kernels, slices of deep fried potato and more. Unfortunately I don't know what anything is, but it all tastes great. They don't offer you any cutlery here - the platter comes out with a plate of rolled up flat breads. You tear off a piece and use it to pick up food off the platter. It can be a little messy, and it would definitely be nice if they gave you more napkins, but all in all it's a fun eating experience. Service is not super attentive but it's adequate, and the level of service feels more like it's a cultural thing, rather than just apathetic service. If you want a refill of your water, put your glass at the edge of the table - they won't come by to offer you more if you don't. It's not fancy, but the food is really good and consistent and it's a nice place to go for dinner. read more

This place is delicious and amazing because it's open pretty late! I am obsessed with their hot sauce, it's soooo good. I've only tried their vegetarian mixed platter and their vegetable samosa, but my friends have eaten other things and apparently it's fantastic too! You have to eat here! And it's super reasonable too! read more

My favourite Ethiopian restaurant in Winnipeg easily. The lunch buffet is a standby for me and very reasonably priced.

The best Ethiopian food I've ever had. I've sought out the best in other cities and nothing compares. Just absolutely the best coffee ceremony, smoky, dark and delicious. read more

My first time here was while in high school on a field trip. I have been back many times since. The food is amazing, service great and if you have any questions they will answer read more

But We waited over 40 minutes to get our food almost an hour actually. We even thought of walking out and just leaving. But I actually grew up with native Ethiopian and this is really clean and good Ethiopian food. For service and readiness it's lousy, it should be a one star, the food is 4-5 star. Delicious read more

I have been going to Kokeb restaurant for years now. They moved from their Ellice location to the Donald location and I am quite pleased many more people will have the chance to experience the tastes of Ethiopia in a more convenient location. The service is adequate and the food is amazing. I usually order the Kokeb rice, which is a platter served with sauté lamb, flavoured rice and a small salad. It's quick and delicious! I highly recommend this restaurant! read more

This place at its old location had the veggie platter of any Ethiopian place I've ever had. But since they've moved, the food is not nearly as good. Much drier and much less flavour. Their hot sauce is amazing. read more

If you dine today at this restaurant, you will be so happy. The flavors are the rich, layered complexities of classic Ethiopian dishes, and the setting is bright and welcoming. We have been twice so far, and it is so convenient to the downtown Y that I am sure it will become a weekly thing. We haven't tried the coffee yet, but I understand that is quite an experience. So far the Kokeb sampler platter was delicious, and I've fallen in love with the veggie combo platter and an order of Qeye Wot. Both these nights left the two of us (initially very hungry!) with nibbles to take home. Service that is considerate and quick, too. Try it! Unreserved recommendation. read more

Very good Ethiopian cuisine- seems to be pretty authentic. The food is delicious, and I highly recommend the vegetarian platter and the lentil-stuffed samosas. The restaurant itself however, leaves a little to be desired. The manager/owner is not a very attentive server, and yet he seems to be the only one. It's not great when we have to track him down for a simple water refill. At least the place is clean and well-lit. The food is excellent- I can't stress that enough, but you should get take-out if you really want to enjoy yourself. read more

Over the past twenty years my family and I have been dining at Ethiopian restaraunts - from Washington DC to Vancouver BC Kokeb is without a doubt the best Ethiopian restaraunt we've dined at. Their lentil stews are simply amazing and as mentioned their green chilli sauce is probably the best suace I have ever tasted. And this lovely sauce can be enjoyed by all - it's not simply a fiery hot concoction. Honourable mention to the Nile restaraunt in Orlando FL. Jeff Brodt read more

I love this restaurant.The food it is always fresh and tastes lovely. The waiter is polite and cordial. The lunchtime buffet is great. They have the absolute best coffee in town! read more

Service is garbage! Don't even serve water as a complementary drink, the food didn't have enough salt, asked for salt and told us to go grab it our self. We wanted to get our food to go, came and dropped a to go container and told us to do it ourselves, what kind of service is it? I pay for my food, don't waste your money, read more