Good Ethiopian food but I've definitely had better. Meat could have been seasoned a little better. Giving it a 3/5 cause service was super slow and restaurant could have been a little cleaner. read more

Very much off the beaten path, Menelik is an unofficial Ethiopian embassy, or at the very least, a cultural center. The walls are full of kitschy photos/memorabilia commemorating Ethiopia and there are even Boeing 777 models near the checkout counter bearing Ethiopian Airlines livery. If you've never had Ethiopian cuisines before, the staff are very friendly and will walk you through this no-utensil, everyone-eats-from-the-same-large-plate cuisine. Pricing is reasonable, though you are likely to have to ask for your bill 3 times before you'll actually get it. So they are in France, after all... :-) read more

The other night, we sought out this Etiopian place while in Paris. I've been missing this cuisine since our move from the SF Bay Area where Ethiopian food is abundant. It was easy to find right by the Metro Station. The décor was the normal Kitsch which is ok. I just didn't like the thick clear plastic tablecloths covering every table. The food was mediocre overall. The menu listed all the typical dishes. The Zelzel tibs were bland and grey in color (stir fried beef with onions). The veggie combo had Atakilt (Cabbage, carrot, and potatoes) which was average. Both the Misir wat (lentil stew) and the shiro (dried, ground chickpeas reconstituted with onions and berbere) had little flavor or spice. The gomen was made from spinach rather than greens. Only the Azifa was great. The kitfo (raw beef) was about a B+. Flavor and consistency were good, only there should have been more niter kibbeh (spiced butter). Overall an ok experience, but next time I'll try another place. read more

Great Ethiopian restaurant, in a very living a friendly neighborhood of Paris. The place is authentic, staff is friendly, food is served quickly. Meals are very tasty, huge portions. This is only my second time in an Ethiopian restaurant, and I have to say that their food is really awesome! read more

Food and memory is a funny thing. I'm sure we didn't eat more than two or three times at the Ethiopian restaurant in Vancouver, but I remember the times we did vividly: the slightly sour soft aerated pancake and the mysterious varieties of vegetables and meat to be scooped up by said pancake. Also, for something that I liked so much, I don't know why I didn't hunt it down more often in the many years after. In any case, finding out from a work colleague about a good Ethiopian restaurant was exciting. In Sydney, I believe there's one restaurant that's opened, and it's not so easy for me to get to. Someone ran a food stall at local markets, where I was able to grab a snack, but it wasn't the same as a proper meal. And this meal, at Restaurant Menelik, on rue Sauffroy in the 17th: now that was a proper meal. After receiving tiny complimentary glasses of a pink sparkling drink, our orders, a mixed Ethiopian platter and the fish/vegetarian combination, arrived on a huge pancake covering (we discovered later) a large, round, plastic Chinese dish, with another plate with extra injera pancakes (made of teff flour, tasting spongy and addictive as I remembered). I found all of the dishes interesting and tasty: chicken, beef, ground meat, lentils, carrots, a cabbage mixture, fish. The sauces were savoury and rich, without being oily. My better half found the injera filled him up rather quickly, and god, it was a lot of food (and such value, for Paris: 40 euros for the two of us including a half-litre of house wine). It was a nice change from the standard fare of French bistros. The waitress was sweet, and overworked (she was taking care of all the tables, I think). But simply: I loved this meal. read more

We have spent valentine's day and I found that for people who don't drink alcohol the special menu was way overpriced and I found everything quite disappointing for 75€... Starting with the table they placed us (right under the TV screen). On the food side, we had a cocktail of juices bought in a supermarket and a cheap bottle of water to replace the champagne cocktail and the wine bottle. The entrées were 4 tiny veggie samosas and the main dish was their specialty that both my boyfriend and I didn't really like. Finally the desert was a cake they bought on top of which they've put chantilly cream and some red fruits; not as good as we could have expected for the price. Despite the manager's effort to make it up with "apple slices" and their spiced tea that we found very tasty, the overall experience was quite negative. read more

Note: cash only! There is an ATM just around the corner. It is worth that short walk. Amazing vegetarian platter. Huge portion. Fantastic service, really go out of their way to make you smile. Very kind. Great spot to people watch as the street is quite bustling. They even give you hand sanitizer and a moist towelette after. Highly recommend :) read more

I'm from California where the only Ethiopian restaurant in my area is pretty sad. This hole in the wall off a busy street in Paris is a gem. Amazing food if you appreciate African cuisine. Dining area has a cozy ambiance. I spoke no French yet the manager still made me feel welcome in his small intimate restaurant, leaving with a smile on my face and a painless receipt. read more