My friend had Ethiopian food on her bucket list, so we decided to treat her for her birthday. I've…read morealways been a fan of Ethiopian food. We ordered a sample platter and added in a meat dish. I don't really remember, as I forgot to write this review after we went and now it's been a month of so. I really enjoyed the meat dishes. The staff was really nice and we asked if what we ordered would be enough for us to share and she let us know that we should def add on. It ended up being the perfect amount.

Trying Ethiopian food has been on my bucketlist for a long time now, and my friends decided to…read moretreat me to some for my birthday! So after a camping trip, we came here for dinner around 6:30pm. Street parking is free after 6pm, and we found parking not far from the restaurant. We were seated immediately and the staff were super friendly. We ordered: - Meat Sambusa (5/5 stars): very much like a samosa but with different spices! Delicious, and has a kick to it. The sauce on top was delicious! - Meat Combination(4/5 stars]: the lamb was my favorite. I love lamb and well spiced food. If I came back, id probably just get the lamb, I found the other meats a bit underwhelming, but if you don't love lamb, I'd avoid it because lamb does have a very strong taste. - Vegetarian Combination(3/5): the vegetarian combo plate was unfortunately underwhelming for me, the only one I really enjoyed was the spiced cabbage. The center salad is delicious though, and offers a great palate cleanser in-between the different dishes. Overall, this was a great experience. I do prefer eating with my hands, so ethiopian food encourages a method of eating that I enjoy. The staff was friendly, the service was quick. Since it's my first time having Ethiopian food, I don't have any prior experience to compare it to, so I'm not actually sure if this is good or bad Ethiopian food. In the future, I do plan on trying other Ethiipian restaurants, for now, I'll rate it as 4/5!

Absolutely delicious food, friendly service, reasonable prices, easy parking. Wonderful experience!read more

A delicious home-cooked Ethiopian feast for two!…read more Came by on a Sunday night and it was pretty quiet. We were the only people dining in, which was honestly such a vibe. We ordered a meat and veggie combo platter for 2 + a serving of Bozena Shiro (chickpea flour simmered with beef), and an order of Selit (Sesame Seed Smoothie) to drink. It was my first time having Bozena Shiro and Selit! The Selit came out first while we were waiting for our combo platter to come out. They asked what sugar level I prefer which was nice. I went with light sugar and it was perfect! It reminded me a lot of a sesame latte, but they said there was no milk in it so I believe it was just water blended with sugar and sesame seeds. It was delicious and had a naturally savory/toasty aspect to it as well. The platter came out and wow it looked fantastic. They gave a generous amount of injera with it as well. At other locations, I always find myself ordering extra injera, but instead we had a few bites leftover! Everything was delicious, the Kik Alicha (golden split peas) are always my favorite and they definitely delivered here as well! I really need to start ordering Ethiopian food a la carte, because the Bozena Shiro was fantastic. I would've never known about it if we didn't add it to our platter! Savory, tender meat, thick consistency on the sauce/stew. The injera here is a bit too dense for my persona liking. I prefer the fluffier style injera, but the flavor was still spot on!

First time trying Ethiopian/Eritrean cuisine and it was delicious. I really appreciated the staff…read morefor being patient with us and explaining the dishes we had questions on. The portion size is like having a feast - definitely perfect for sharing. The injerito was a great appetizer, love the silky and soft texture of the injera. I ordered the House Special Sampler which was a great option for me because I wanted to try as many dishes as I could. From the choices of meat, the beef was my favorite. I ate it with the rice from the "Lamb with Rice" dish - very perfect pairing. The rice and beef were packed with so much flavor - every bite was a sensation. If you're looking for a great Ethiopian/Eritrean cuisine, I highly suggest this place!

Food 4/5 I went with…read morethe vegetarian platter which is my go to wherever possible. My food was made to order and came out within a reasonable timeframe. Everything had a good flavor balance except the Gomen. For my taste buds it could use more seasoning. The whole platter was delectable. Just one thing, a gnat showed up and landed on my other roll of injera so I did not eat it. Service 4/5 KEren, the owner is soft spoken and kind. I told her the spelling of her name was unique to the traditional spelling Karen. She greeted me as soon as I entered. At this time there were no customers. She brought me the drinks menu and the food menu accompanied with a pitcher of water. I feel a pitcher of water should be offered at every restaurant for your table. Minimizes the requests for refills. On a warm sunny day like today hydration is paramount. Keren returned moments later to take my order. Ambiance 3/5 Clean. Neat. A little bare. Four big screen televisions though for those who are into watching TV. There's a bar with a limited alcohol selection. Happy Hour is offered from 4-8pm. No days specified. There's two restrooms. One for women and one for men. The women's is missing the door have handle. Inside the one person restroom it's very clean and stocked with all the basics you need.

Admas Restaurant catered a two-day event, and I attended each day. Both days offered several…read moreHabesha dishes and lasagna. Every dish was fresh, made with generous ingredients, had the perfect texture, and was DELICIOUS.Many people at the event also complimented the tasty food. Service and presentation were excellent. The staff was friendly, attentive, clean, and punctual. They arrived well-prepared and helped make our event unforgettable. I highly recommend them.

First off, I ordered for delivery…read more I love Ethiopian and Eritrean food, so I was excited to see this spot finally open for deliveries in my neighborhood! I think I've eaten at the majority of Ethiopian restaurants in Oakland, Berkeley, and San Francisco, so I'm a fan. Sadly, I was NOT a fan of this spot. :( (For context, I tried to go back to the delivery app to give a review, but the window for leaving a review had closed.) I looked over the menu and I was suspicious that there was no standard Doro Wot for delivery, but, whatevs --sometimes restaurants leave off certain items on delivery apps. I got the Chicken Tibs and Beef Tibs. The beef was spiced, but the chicken tasted bland and watery. Both seemed to be missing salt. The beef tibs was tougher than I'm used to. Maybe it was an off day. The Yemisir Wot (stewed red lentils) was flavorful. The vegetarian combo was a complete miss for the price and the portions were super small. The Tikil Gomen (cabbage, carrots, potatoes) looked like one tablespoon had been scooped out and put on the injera. It came with Yemisir Wot, Yekik Alicha (yellow spiced lentils), beets(???), Gomen (collards), and green salad (though I don't remember getting the green salad in my combo). The Gomen (collards) were super bland and tasted like reheated frozen collards. My last issue is that the a-la-carte items are photographed with a small salad and injera, pretty standard (see attached image from site). Unfortunately, the a-la-carte options came singularly in a container with a side of injera. Bummer. If I hadn't included the vegetarian combo, I probably would've been even more upset. What I did like: --- - The Tikil Gomen and Yemisir Wot were well spiced and tasty. - Plenty of injera, almost too many. I think my biggest issue is that given the portion size, most items are between $16 - $24, so if you're looking to have a rounded meal (injera, vegetables, meat), you're going to have to order multiple items and that adds up fast; it will be cheaper if you just eat in or call them and order for pick-up. (I'm also kind of bummed because I was rooting for them since they are in the space where Casa Vallarta used to be.) If you plan to go, I'd suggest sticking to the vegetarian options.

There are a lot of Ethiopian/Eritrean restaurants in the SF/Bay area and particularly in the east…read morebay. I've been to most. Asmara is my favorite. I have been going since it first opened in 1985. I met the owner, Kesete then and he is still the owner. Great food, lots of dining space and as of 2026 they have an expanded bar in the adjacent space. Check out the rest and then come to the best.

The guys at Jerusalem Coffee recommended for my friends & I to walk over to Asmara for dinner when…read moreI said I have not had Eritrean food before. They said Eritrean is very similar to Ethiopian food so we finished our beverages & headed down Telegraph to Asmara. We were delighted when we were told to wait at the bar next door until they have a large table for our group. I asked the server to bring us their popular dishes, enough to feed 7 adults and she told me not to worry, that she would take care of it. She brought out the Meat Combo and the Beef/chicken/lamb tibs along with platter of veggies and eggplant. She gave us enough injera to keep us munching away. The food and service were Fabulous so naturally we had a great evening.

This place is special. This evening 4 friends who are loved like family and myself sat down to eat…read moreand share our recent experiences/discoveries in this thing we call life. We were quickly seated. Shortly after we were given our water. As we pondered the delectable menu one member of our group brought our attention to the beautiful artwork surrounding those eating. The images are breathtaking portraits of individuals who look to be part of the Eritrean community. Sounds of laughter from the surrounding tables and feelings of safety from the peaceful internal environment embraced us as we looked. Then the food came out. It was full of color and there was clearly intentionality behind the presentation. Upon tasting the dish, flavors of savory seasonings, fresh vegetables, and soft injera filled the mouth. It was more than enough food for us all and we ended up taking left overs. If you are near the area I HIGHLY recommend paying this spot a visit.

Came here for lunch with some friends on our break. We ordered the sampler that included both the…read moremeat and vegetarian versions of dishes. We also ordered a side of injera (sour flatbread). The food took a bit of time to come out but we didn't mind since we were chatting. This was my first time trying Ethiopian food. Eating the food was interesting and fun. Ethiopian food is made to be eaten with your hands and no utensils. My favorites on the platter were the salad, Dorho Chicken, and Potatoes. I wasn't a big fan of the sourness of the injera, but I did love the softness of the flatbread.

Best place to get injera. I bought two huge packs of it for $12.35 total. It was very fresh and…read moreperfect to serve with the Ethiopian dishes I made at home. It's very time consuming to make, so I'm happy I found a place I can pick some up. Staff was friendly. I asked her about a couple spices from the recipe I had, but unfortunately they didn't carry them. The store is small but has a large table in the center with many spices and red and yellow lentils.

Long story short, last year, I got some Mareko Fana seeds from a work-related source. These are the…read morepeppers used to make Ethiopian Berbere spice blend. Raw, they were terrible--so much so that I was skeptical--but we dried them and used them to make homemade Berbere spice. The homemade Berbere spice was fantastic with complex layers of flavors from the pepper and different spices. We've been using it ever since to make Ethiopian food at home- sadly, we just finished the last of it. I enjoy going out for Ethiopian food, but making it at home has been a revelation. The flavors are incredible, especially Berbere red lentils, which are easy to make and very delicious. But we are not ambitious enough to make Injera from scratch. Luckily, we stumbled upon Abyssinia Market in Oakland, which makes and sells Injera. It's inexpensive, delicious, and keeps well in the fridge. To warm it up, we just put it on a plate, cover it with a damp paper towel, and microwave it. Beyond Ethiopian food, we've found that Injera pairs well with all sorts of dishes--everything from eggs in the morning to Middle Eastern and Greek dips. Tonight, we had it with roasted Japanese sweet potatoes and Aji Verde sauce. If you haven't tried their Injera yet, I highly recommend it!

First, the critique:…read more We ordered the coffee ceremony, because we have experienced the coffee ceremony at another Ethiopian restaurant and really enjoyed it. However...the coffee ceremony at Cafe Romanat made us giggle and scratch our heads. They first placed a steaming bowl of coffee beans on our table, then incense, then a bowl of popcorn, and then a pot of coffee. Nobody explained the significance of anything that was placed on our table. I was...confused and amused. Now, the great stuff: the food was probably the best Ethiopian food I have ever had. We ordered chicken tibs, shiro wat, and sambusas. All were absolutely delicious! I appreciate that all the food was served piping hot (I have been served cold lentils and vegetables often at Ethiopian restaurants and it isn't as appetizing). The sambusa in particular stood out - piping hot, flavorful lentils inside, tasty dipping sauces. The injera was generously portioned and deliciously fermented. Service and ambience were both terrific (despite the puzzling coffee ceremony). I'd definitely come back!

I had never tried Ethiopian food before, so this was a completely new experience for me. The reason…read moreI finally decided to give it a try was because I work in the same building and would often catch the aroma drifting through the hallway--warm, rich, and incredibly inviting. Every time I smelled it, I told myself that I have to try it. When I finally stopped in, I was not disappointed. It was flavorful, comforting, and it actually tasted like Thai food a bit. I honestly don't even know the names of the dishes I tried, but I enjoyed every bite. This first visit has definitely made me excited to come back and explore more of the menu. I can't wait to try my next dish!