O wanted to try an Ethiopian place downtown, Abyssinia Restaurant, that was recommended by her Ethiopian co-worker. It's located next door to TAO Vietnamese Cuisine. We dropped in on a Friday afternoon (around 12:45pm). There were a couple people eating but for the most part, it was empty. The inside is spacious and they had incense sticks lit in the room. Service is slow and non-existent. You literally have to ask for everything. Our waitress asked if we were ready to order and then proceeded to leave when we said yes. She also didn't explain any of the dishes to us when she brought the food out to our table. Their on Ethiopian time; you'll know what I mean if you've been for Ethiopian food before. Menu is split into appetizers & salads, meat mains, vegan mains and drinks. - Mahiberawi ($49.99 for 4) - meat and vegetable combo platter. This easily fed four of us. Kitfo, k'ik'il, doro wot', k'ey beg wot', kale gommen besiga, ayib and special vegetarian combo of the day. It's a good variety of food although I didn't particularly find anything that stood out to my taste buds. The injera was light and airy but I didn't find it to have much of a sour taste on its own. The lamb was tasty but not much meat, mostly bone. A touch too salty. The raw ground beef was interesting; almost like a tartare. The yellow and green lentils were run of the mill but the beets and carrot/cabbage were good. Same for the kale and spinach. Worth a try but not sure if Abyssinia would be on my list to come back to. read more

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We had an amazing dinner at this quaint restaurant. The four of us decided on the Mahibarawi meat and vegetarian platter. It was full of flavour and a wonderful variety for our first experience of Ethiopian cuisine. We also enjoyed the Coffee Ceremony with the burning of Frankincense. The prices were extremely reasonable for a party of 4. I would definitely recommend this dining experience. read more

Abyssinia Restaurant - Coffee Ceremony - Ethiopian Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

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We had a yit'afit'al (yummy) dinner at this authentic restaurant. I had a meat dish while my partner had a vegan selection. The food was on the spicy side for us, but we loved the genuine presentation, flavours, and eating with fingers. Large servings at a decent price. Friendly staff, nice atmosphere. read more

Abyssinia Restaurant - Our meal - Ethiopian Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

The food here is the best!! The service is okay. The gurage can take a very long time to prepare so I called ahead to order it, & guess what? It wasn't prepared. They started cooking it when we got there so we had to wait a total of 45 minutes!! Quite annoying!! read more

Delicious food and great service! The ambiance was perfect for a part of 3 with a kid.

An outstanding experience and adventure for non-Ethiopians. The spices and flavours are very similar to Eastern Europe and the Middle East. I recommend this place to everyone in Calgary. read more

Abyssinia Restaurant - Ethiopian Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

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Such an excellent place with an ingenious ambience and music. We ordered the veggie and meat platter. The food blew our minds. The meats were all delicious and a bit spicy but the calming and sweet veggies compliment it well. The It's a popular one amongst the community. When you see most of the people dining in know each other, it just tells you how good the food is there. read more

Abyssinia Restaurant - The meat and the vegetable platter. - Ethiopian Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

I'd been here exactly once, soon after they'd opened a couple of years ago, and had doro wat, which I liked but not enough to compel me to return. Now, I live one block away, and was intrigued by a tweet by Rachel Notley about how much she enjoyed a visit there, and decided to give it another try yesterday (19 July 2020). I got two things to go: One order of firfir, and one of the veggie combo platter. For two, this was around $35. Service was reasonably fast and friendly. Resto was crowded, more than I was really comfortable with, but I kept my face mask firmly in place. Got the order- holy crap, this was A LOT of food. It must have weighed more than a kilogram. Got it home and I wish I'd taken pics because it was ludicrously huge for two people; would have served four with leftovers. Next time I get one combo for the two of us. But the taste- oh my, it was DELICIOUS. The firfir (which is typically eaten for breakfast, and wow would it be an amazing breakfast) is, I came to learn, one of the only Ethiopian dishes not eaten with one's hand because it's wet and savoury, torn pieces of injera doused with berbere and onions and it's addictive. The veggie platter and an amazing range of vegetable stews arranged on top of injera; my favourite was the beet one but every bite was mesmerizing. This was the best Ethiopian meal I've ever had - and I live a block away. So happy. read more

Very nice restaurant - spacious and nice, clean simple decor. The waitress was very helpful but don't think she realized I am not a super fan of real spicy food. I like spicy but it has to blend with whatever I am eating. Accents - not mouth burning to the point I can't enjoy the meal. Started with the TIMATIM FITFIT-Salad: fresh tomatoes, Injera pieces, onions, jalapeños, our special Berberé dressing. WOW was it hot but after I got used to it; it was quite delicious. Needless to say, I had to drink a lot of water. Next, I had BEG T`IBS Stir-fry: lamb, onions, garlic, jalepeños. Spicy Awazé or mild Nech` options. I chose the mild Nech. Thank goodness I didn't order the Spicy Awaze; I would never have been able to finish it. I must say their dishes are quite generous portions. Overall, I enjoyed the experience and I would try it again. read more

Simply one of the most amazing Ethiopian meals I've ever had. We came for lunch and ordered the veggie platter for two (from the vegan menu), which comes with 7-8 different dishes. As you can see in the picture, the portion was enormous. Every single dish was absolutely delicious -- especially the mesir wat (dark red lentil dish) and the collards. I was barely able to finish my portion and my wife got her second half to go. Reasonably priced for what you get ($17 per person for the platter). Friendly, appreciative staff. Absolutely phenomenal meal. read more

Abyssinia Restaurant - Veggie platter for two (vegan) - Ethiopian Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

I love everything about this restaurant, from the decor to the amazing food and friendly service. We tried the vegetarian platter -Atikilt Beyaynetu- and the lamb dish -Key Beg Wot- both were very delicious. This restaurant is a hidden gem and we already planning to go back very often. I went back to the restaurant to try their lamb shoulder tips - Cha Cha- which was delicious, crispy on the outside but tender and juicy in the inside. My husband ordered Foul Medames which was so good too. We finished our meal with their Bunna coffee. Definitely one of the yummiest coffee I ever tasted. It has deep flavor, low acidity with a hint of nutty after taste. They served it with freshly made popcorn (slightly sweet) which enhanced the nutty flavor of the coffee. No need to add sugar. read more

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On the three occasions, we ordered take-out, the food was really nasty. I was born and raised in Ethiopia. I know what good Ethiopian food tastes like. One time we ate in the restaurant, and the food that night was excellent! This past Saturday we didn't even get all the items we ordered. Instead, they gave us four servings of one order and no servings for two items we ordered. One item we ordered was Doro Wot. There was no chicken other than a wing. There was part of a neck and one other bone. For the price they charge they should do so much better. read more

I've never eaten here before And I've only ever once Ethiopian food. It was excellent. I don't remember the name of the dish, the waitress recommended it, a beef and peppers tomato onions and cheese dish. The dish had a bit of kick but I like that. It was really really tasty, there was lots of food, thought it was excellent value. Service was great, very attentive and fast. If I was to pick at anything, the food came out Lukewarm vs hot. That's the only reason I gave it four stars versus five. I'm going to go back, I'd like to try some of their vegetarian dishes as well. Go try it, it was really good. We need to save these businesses! read more

went here for the first time with a friend and we left in such a good mood! the owner and staff were incredibly nice! they answered all our questions and made us feel at home! we tried the veggie plate and it was filling and delicious! i've never tried ethiopian food but i am glad we came here and will definitely be back to try more! coffee was also amazing!! read more

Abyssinia Restaurant - veggie platter - Ethiopian Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

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What a delicious meal! We ended up having the meat and veggie platter (which was more food than the two of us could consume, and we can eat a lot!) - it had a perfect balance of meats, vegetarian options and all different flavors (some spicy, some mild) to give an amazing overview of Ethiopian cuisine. We had been wanting to try kitfo (the raw beef dish) for a long time, but wanted to find the right place to try it, and this was the place - it even came with the platter. We also tried the ginger as well as the cinnamon clove tea. Both were great. As for the ambiance and service: our waitress was very friendly and attentive, and the restaurant had some great African music playing, and a welcoming feel. Overall: we loved our meal and this is now our go-to Ethiopian in Calgary. Can't wait for our next visit! read more

I got the vegetarian plate and everything was so flavorful and tasty. The only reason I'm knocking off stars is because it was dirty. I ordered a tea, and the glass had clearly bits of food stuck to it. And the sugar container they gave was clearly not washed in ages, since the sugar had bits of food in it and the spoon had water on it before which had dried up and the sugar was stuck on it. Also the serving size wasn't that large. Usually other places give you extra injera with your plate, but this place only gave us one roll of injera and had to use the main one that the side dishes were on very quickly. And there was still a lot of the side dishes on the plate after finishing the injera so couldn't pick it up properly. read more

Ducked into here to escape the rain and have an early dinner. Did not disappoint. Asked the server to recommend food. Had a veggie plate and lamb stew. I normally don't eat lamb since it's usually gamy, but this was amazing. The veggies were half delicious, other half okay. I'm just not a fan of spinach and curry lentils. My partner ate them all happily. The yellow lentils were mindblowingly good. We destroyed both plates. It's a bigger restaurant with lots of seating. Large windows so you can people watch. read more

My boyfriend took me here for my first time trying Ethiopian food. I tried the vegetarian buffet and the flavours were so unique and we got nice service. The lentils were the best I've had! Couldn't get enough! Would come here again read more

Absolutely amazing! My boyfriend and I came here around 10:30pm last night looking for vegan food and the restaurant was already closed. However, just as we were about to walk away, the owner walked up to the restaurant and found us standing in the cold trying to find other food options, and she opened the door just for us and insisted that we stay for dinner! She was so warm and kind, and gave us some of the best customer service either of us had ever experienced. We ordered the veggie platter, which was incredible! There were so many bold and diverse flavors. My boyfriend and I were blown away by this experience and highly recommend that you eat here. read more

I must admit that I am a newbie when it comes to Ethiopian food so I have to be careful as tO how to raTe this restaurant. We ordered the combo platter for four just so the two of us who had not enjoyed Ethiopian food before to sample a bunch of items. The one person in our party who is a big fan of Ethiopian food recommended this as the way to go. WE enjOyed the new flavours but must admit to the layman foodie point of view, the various stews and veggies were ok but not distinctively savoury. Except for the lamb and the kale dishes which were our favourites. This plaCe must be good as it wAs filled with locals on the Tuesday night when we were about to leave. I think you just need to know what to order. The ccha cha looked and smelt delicious so that is what I would go for next time. The bread is something of an acquireD taste I think. My preference is something thinner and wheat based versus the softer spongy texture of injera. All in all it was a fun experience trying something new. The service was pleasant and friendly. I am sure for those in the know of what rates as good ethiopia food that this would be rated higher. So do give it a try if you want to experience something out of the ordinary. read more

So I have a favorite Ethiopian restaurant back home that I compare every other Ethiopian restaurant to. Abyssinia is the equal to it, if not even better. May I suggest the combo platter. They have both a vegetarian version and one for the carnivore. It was more than enough food for the four of us in our little group. Be forewarned that if you've never had Ethiopian food before there are two things to know. 1- you eat with your hands using injera bread. It's messy but tasty. 2-if you are a spice wimp this might not be the food for you. My daughter still loved it but went through a few glasses of water. You won't go wrong eating at Abyssinia. read more

Amazing value and great service! Calgary is so lucky to have this gem. The ambiance is pretty great too.

Excellent food at a really good price. The vegetarian platter is plenty of food for three people. I particularly like the K'ey sir, and Beg T'ibs, and the coffee is a small production of tradition. Highly recommended. The owner/head chef was very helpful and made sure that my dietary restrictions were accommodated. read more

First timer....way out of my comfort zone in terms of food and cultural awareness. The food was awesome, but the service quality and friendliness made the experience absolutely delightful...will definitely be back and will recommend to friends read more

Decided to expand on my taste pallet a bit and give Ethiopian food a try. The experience was definitely a different one, and somewhat enjoyable. If you don't mind spicy food, and eating solely with your fingers you can consider giving this place a try. Be warned though that the stuffed jalapeños are insanely spicy! Although the food was delicious, the service was very slow and our server forgot about us a couple of times. Our order also took a while to come. I have no plans of visiting again. read more

Amazing food. Veggie platter was the best and same was spicy chicken dish..I don't remember the name, just try...

If you like Ethiopian food this is the restaurant for you. If you haven't tried Ethiopian then you must try it here. So good. We tried a bit of almost everything and it was fantastic. Lentils, cabbage, beets, salad, chicken, beef, lamb. OMG the lamb ribs! So good! Even my kids enjoyed it! Great atmosphere and such lovely staff and service. We will come back for sure. There was also a ton of food and we got to take home the leftovers for a next day meal read more

Fantastic meal from this quaint Ethiopian eritrean fusion in the heart of Calgary. I ordered the veggie platter and everything on it was delicious and filling read more