**vegetarian review** I went around 9pm and ordered the food. It just too super long to come - close to 45 mins which I didn't understand. The shiro was really nice, but I have also had nicer ones. The veggies were also good and filling. But it was not worth the wait time unfortunately. Maybe it was slow cause it was end of day? read more

E'Njoni Cafe - Veggie Combo and shiro - Ethiopian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Listeennn! They never miss with the Veggie Combo! Now that I'm back in the Bay, CA I miss their siquar denich (sweet yams) so much that I've had to find a way to make it myself! Please try their dishes they are bomb. read more

Excellent food and fantastic drinks. Came with a friend before a show and it was amazing. Servers were friendly and knowledgeable about the food. Great location, near Alberta Rose. read more

Maybe it's me and I'm just not into this type of food but what I can say is the food was COLD, and the service was poor. No one came to check up on us or ask questions. I sat for an hour with no one stopping by to check on us. It's hard to enjoy cold food that is supposed to be HOT. read more

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Well, we have thought of this place as hands down the best Ethiopian in the Portland area, and while we have been many times we've not brought any friends or family. Well, tonight we did and we were excited for it! What an absolutely terrible experience. Firstly, we made a reservation a week ago so we could quickly get a table and our friends could get back home to the family timely. We arrived at 7, and no one was in the restaurant, so we obviously were seated immediately. At just after 7:30 the waiter came by to take our order - for the whole time no one was anywhere to be found. We finally got some waters about 15 minutes later, and around 8:20 our food arrived. We had a few items missing from what we ordered. Also, all the dishes were crammed into one single piece of injera and the item that wouldn't fit (kitfo) was in a bowl. Anyone who doesn't like foods touching will understand an issue with this - every item was touching something else. We had asked for two injera plates so when I mentioned it to the waiter and asked if he could bring another he said no we couldn't have that and that we were fine. Still no beverages, and we asked again for them. We also had ordered a few other things that didn't arrive and followed up on them, including a few sides of Ayib which we especially wanted for our friends who haven't had Ethiopian food and might need it to cool the spiciness. Another 15-20 minutes later I checked on all the things, and was told we could only have one side of Ayib because that was "enough for us" and that the drinks were coming because the waiter had been busy. This whole time, there is only one other table being occupied - a party of 2 - so a grand total of 6 people dining in the restaurant for the past nearly hour and 45 minutes. So, the food overall was about as good as usual - not sure our friends enjoyed it given the spice and the fact that we couldn't get them the side of the cheese to cut the spice. And the kicker - we were just about done eating - now over a full 2 hours later and I went to let the waiter know he could cancel our drinks... and he says no, I'm almost done making them. Can't make this stuff up! So, here we are done eating and the drinks come. The beer and the coffee were beer and coffee - and yep it did take the entire time to crack open a beer - and the two cocktails - toxically strong and impossible to drink. And that is how a five star review turns to what probably should be a one, if the food just wasn't so good. Pieces of advice, though I'm pretty sure the restaurant won't see this: - when a customer orders something, don't tell them they don't need it or they can't have it. If you're out, that's different (and you shouldn't be out of things on a weekend), if you're not, why are you turning away in this case probably another $30 bucks at least. - if you have an empty restaurant, and someone shows up, pay attention and get them in and out - if you have a restaurant that sells very spicy food, and you have an item that makes it less spicy for newbies, have it available to buy and don't gatekeep it The best news - we have wanted to bring some friends here but this place's hours have been challenging with schedules. We no longer have to worry about that and can try one of the other places we've gone to and probably do dinner with them sooner. read more

This place continues to impress me. No matter what I order, it's fantastic. The five vegi combo with the Keysir and Siquar are stand outs. I'm surprised it's not busier. We got take out here on Friday night and it was ready in under ten minutes. read more

E'Njoni Cafe - Injera and Zigni with veggies - Ethiopian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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Mannnnn we just had the most amazing meal here tonight I wish I took a picture but I see plenty of people take pics so please refer to those. The Flavors! Wow definitely coming back to try that sampler platter great vibes and service. Loved coming here to support a real genuine cuisine. read more

OMG this place was so incredible! Great cocktails but don't forget to order the tea! we got the vegetarian platter for two and it was mind blowing! Very affordable read more

E'Njoni Cafe - Vegetarian platter for two - Ethiopian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

This is my perfect Ethiopian restaurant. Ethiopian/Eritrean is my favorite cuisine of all time. I'm dairy free and really appreciate the vegan options. I also eat meat, and appreciate those options as well. I can't eat at a vegan only Ethiopian or Indian restaurant because I can only eat legumes cooked in a specific fashion. It's complicated and dumb! So I really appreciate that this place caters to my weird needs. On top of that the food is amazingly tasty and consistent. read more

My dining partner and I ordered the veggie feast which was much more food that the 2 of us could eat, all of it delicious. Sadly, we were the only people in the restaurant for a while, which was probably not a bad thing considering that our waiter was also the cook and manager. Great meal from a lovely neighborhood restaurant. read more

Enjoni isn't my favorite Ethiopian, but it's usually reliably pretty good. Since my last review some years ago, I've had good and ok meals from here, mostly as takeout or delivery, and always appreciated their generous business hours and speedy service. Tonight I ordered through Door dash and the food was just plain bad. I actually had the thought, "Did my Dasher go to the wrong restaurant?". Only one piece of injera for two combos, order was wrong (no green beans, yams I didn't order, no cabbage), and the food was really, really salty and off. It smelled different (not spoiled, just wrong), and everything tasted the same, like vegetable stock. It was all runny and mixed together like a bunch of different soups poured over injera, rather than creamy, thick stew or porridge like they should be. The color was off as though the spices were different. The misir in particular was liquidy and a dull brown instead of the usual reddish, and it tasted like bouillon cubes and not like berbere. My large side of misir didn't come with injera like usual either, so it's basically like crappy Lentil soup. The whole meal was so salty that I'm about to go fill my giant water bottle again. Ethiopian is my favorite cuisine, and this is the first time I haven't wanted to finish it; I'll probably throw the rest out. I'm left hungry and disappointed and wishing Gabeta were open on Tuesdays! read more

E'Njoni Cafe - The offending misir (red lentils) in all its brothy, brownish green glory. - Ethiopian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Good service and amazing food I hope you guys continue the journey. Nice job.I wish it I can give you more than 5 *

I really enjoyed my first experience with Ethiopian food. We ordered a selection of veggie purees served on a flat bread. It was really good and I look forward to trying again. read more

Love the vege feast. 30 bucks and it's fit for 2 hungry people. 10 different vege dishes each with their own unique flavor. Let the bread soak up the juices and it's heaven for your mouth! The place is located on killingsworth just a few blocks south of peninsula park. read more

E'Njoni Cafe - Ethiopian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Sampler platter at restaurants is always my goal. I want to try all the things! E'Njoni did all that for me perfectly! We ordered delivery. We got the veggie feast, beg tibs (lamb), fried tilapia fillets, fried plantains, & kerker. You can have your choice of rice or injera (bread) for each entree. We mixed it up. Everything was so beautifully presented on rice or on the fluffy injera. The veggie feast was literally 10 different vegetable dishes. Each was colorful and fresh. The fried tilapia was crispy & included a couple veggies & plantains. The beg tibs had wonderful flavor with little slices of jalapeno that kept us on our toes in a good way. Both the lamb and plantains had a side of yummy lentils. Felt totally healthy after this feast! We'll have delicious leftovers since I over ordered per usual. Can't wait to work my way through the menu. read more

Never having had Ethiopian food before, I can't review this for its authenticity but I enjoyed the food very much! We had the 2 meat, 2 veggies dinner with beets and yam, chicken and beef. The perfect combination for a novice. Service was excellent too. read more

E'Njoni Cafe - 2 meat, 2 veggies combination - Ethiopian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

I'm so happy I was able to try this place out via GrubHub! Because I'd never been here before, I (of course) checked Yelp and saw they had a number of stellar reviews - not to mention that the photos were mouthwatering! There were a few issues with getting my order, which is the reason for the docked star. Even after I was told I could pick up my food via the GrubHub app, I still had to wait when I arrived at the restaurant to get my food. The person working there also wasn't very communicative about what had happened to cause the delay. However, the food was amazing! I so wish that I had had it hot at the restaurant, but even cooled down, the curry had an excellent flavor, the beef was tender and the injera paired well with it all. I'm looking forward to visiting again and dining-in for the full experience of eating the food hot and straight out of the kitchen. read more

E'Njoni Cafe - 2 Meat and 2 Veggie Combo Takeout - Ethiopian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Very nice I recommend people to come the food is so goooooooooooooooooood the people are nice the music is nice the decor is nice.

It's wonderful Ethiopian restaurant I been here for my birthday and the food was amazing and great customer service I hope I will back again soon. Thanks for your hospitality read more

Ordered the Kitfo (beef tartar) and veggie combo with injera. The Kitfo was wonderfully seasoned and was a good portion. The veggie combo never disappoints. Service was friendly and attentive. read more

E'Njoni Cafe - Kitfo with veggie combo - Ethiopian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

So many problems...just gonna list them out: 1. Only one waiter the whole time we were there, even when the place was full. So he was very rushed - we were dining in but wanted to make an order to-go also, and he abruptly said "Too busy, give it later" and walked away. 2. He then lost our order and came back 20 min later to ask what we had ordered...when he brought our food, one of the two meats was done with the wrong sauce, but it had taken so long that we just kept it. 3. We had asked for extra Injera bread at the time of ordering, but I had to ask him again two more times before he finally brought it when we were almost finished. 4. I ordered the tea with liqueur in it - even pointed to it on the menu - and he brought me just plain tea. 5. I finally ordered the to-go part on my phone via Grub Hub because he never came back to take it. He was then quite surprised when, after we paid, I asked him for that to-go order, which had just been set out by the kitchen. I was so happy to have had that idea, lol. Have tried two other Ethiopian places in this area before this one, and they were both way better in service and food quality. Abyssinian Kitchen, in particular, is really good. Not coming back to this one. read more

They catered my wedding on short notice when another Ethiopian restaurant backed out. I'm very appreciative!

The food here is amazing and their service is awesome I am going to come again one day

The lamb tips were delicious. They were short staffed with the chef acting as bar tender, waiter, host, & cashier, so the wait was a bit for my take-out. read more

We grubhubbed it and I'm glad we did! Even though the spice was almost too hot to handle for this 34 year Texas resident, Lordy, the flavors...! They had to delay our order, but no big, the quality was awesome. Whole spices and herbs combined in new and interesting ways for my under-educated palate and while it was spicy enough that we both needed a break midway to allow the fire to ease off, and even though I knew I'd regret it by morning, I could not resist these awesome flavors! Everything comes wrapped in some of the lightest, softest Injira I've ever had. You can add extra to your order, but really this one is pretty huge and easily enough. The portion of meat was actually a tad much and I wish there had been a few more veggies, so I'd suggest getting 1 or 2 as sides. We got an order of plantains, which were not at all like the Peruvian variety, being fairly sweet with slight sour notes, like a fried banana crossed with a kiwi. Regular bites of this helped defuse the fission going on in the main dish ;) We really loved it, and it was definitely a new experience. We'll be back, and be better prepared with our spice-o-Chiat hats on. read more

Great food, new favorite! Great service, lovely dining room. We had lamb tibs with five vegetables, plenty for two. The beets with garlic were exquisite, I'm off now to find the recipe! read more

Ordered a veggie feast which was enough for the four of us at lunch. It included ten veggies piles on a huge injera-topped platter with two baskets of interactive on the side. Definitely one of the most tasty, nutritious vegan meals. read more

E'Njoni Cafe - Hibiscus tea with pineapple juice (Iced Kerker Tea) - Ethiopian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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So good best to dine in and order a combo! St. George beer is delicious. Always fantastic, love the beet salad. So healthy! Get the coffee too. Can't wait for the buffet to be back, that was really fun. read more

This restaurant could've been in Addis Ababa! We got two 5-veggie combo meals and they were excellent. You can taste the love and spices in each of the dishes. We've eaten at a lot of stellar Ethiopian restaurants in Portland and this one is head and shoulders above the rest because of the differentiated flavors of each veggie. Ameseghinalehu!! read more

E'Njoni Cafe - 5 Veggie Combo - Ethiopian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Tasty Ethiopian fare. Wide range of spiciness options from savory foods to hot and spicy dishes. We ordered multiple dishes to share, which ranged from wonderful to average. Cozy and modest decor and pleasant service. read more

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One of the best Ethiopian restaurants in Portland, certainly among the top three (along with Abyssinian Kitchen and Enat Kitchen). What's special about E'Njoni Cafe is their offering of a lunchtime buffet, available on Thursdays through Sundays. Their Sunday buffet now has over twenty dishes to choose from. Our favorites include many of their vegetarian offerings -- lentil soup, abesha gomen (collard greens), alitcha (cabbage, peppers, and carrots in a curry sauce), and dinich wot (potatio stew in a tumeric and cumin sauce), along with their chicken cooked in berbere sauce. Their injera is also ample and tasty. Excellent restaurant for vegetarians and vegans, with enough meat offerings on their menu and buffets for those who must have meat. E'Njoni is a welcoming and pleasant place for a meal. Excellent service. Again, one of the best three Ethiopian restaurants in town. read more

Delicious! Wow, this is some of the best food in town. So healthy and every bit was sensational. We had the fried fish which was melt in your mouth tasty, the injera was perfect and so many veggies, each crafted to perfection. One of our new favorite restaurants. read more

Beautiful interior, great artwork. But we're here for the food, right? Only 2 people running it tonight...so service became spotty, when it become busy. Injera for myself & companion come out cold. Different orders of meat combo & veggie combo was bland and very salty. Was missing the warm complexities of berber, ginger, and other spices. What was great was the sweet potato & peanut soup- only bright spot. Nice to know and try, but I'll stick with my favorite Ethiopian spot down the road. read more

Enjoni's food is tasty, but they have really got to do better with the portions. This is basically what they served me minus two small bites. Disappointing. They served me a snack. They cake inejra all over the top and there is barely any food in it. This has happened before but I had hoped this would not be a consistent error.Please do better. I pay $14 for the veggies not mounds of injera. If you're really hungry order extra or find someplace else. Honest review. read more

E'Njoni Cafe - Veggie plate - Ethiopian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Do not order takeout! Ordered via Uber Eats and was almost entirely soggy injera with very little inside. I've always enjoyed eating at the restaurant but it does not travel well. read more

I was really looking forward to trying some Ethiopian food in Portland, but my experience here wasn't great. I placed my order for takeout and was told it'd be ready in 15-30 minutes. When I arrived 30 minutes later, my food still wasn't ready for at least another 20 minutes. I also wasn't sure about how strict they are following COVID guidelines; one staff member in the kitchen wasn't wearing a mask at all and another didn't have his mask covering his nose. The food was okay; the injera was tasty and thick, but the beef was very overcooked and the yellow lentils were still hard. All of the food was pretty bland compared to any other Ethiopian restaurant I've tried. Despite this, I still would've left a decent review, until I found the bug in my food halfway through eating! I thought it was pretty big and immediately didn't want to eat the rest. I called to ask for a refund and was told that because I ordered through Yelp/Grubhub, they couldn't process it online and I'd have to bring back the rest of my food to get the refund in person. The manager also seemed skeptical about the bug and asked me whether it was in the bag or actually inside of the food. Because they did give me the refund, I'm giving them 2 stars instead of 1. Overall, I was unhappy with the service and the way they prepare and cook their food, especially during a pandemic. I doubt I'll be coming back. read more

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I really, really enjoyed my meal here! The ambiance was also very pleasant---walls painted with warm, earthen tones; artwork and decor tastefully adorned the restaurant; and a modest interior with seating for about 30-40 diners. The restaurant was reasonably busy, with about 5-6 tables occupied, many finishing up their meals given that we had a later dinner. I chose the pick 4 a la carte option and selected lentils, cabbage/potatoes, and a double order of okra, and loved every bite! Their standard is to make the food mild, so I asked for a spicy sauce, which the server brought at no additional charge. The sauce was amazing and truly complemented the meal! I also ordered a cocktail, the ginger colada, which was made quickly, was strong, and was a good value. This restaurant is nestled among a few other businesses and is adjacent to a residential community where we stayed, so it was very convenient! read more

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Split the two meat two veggie combo with my son and everything was delicious. Love the okra, it was perfectly cooked. Meat was tender and delicious. We will be back. read more

One of my favorite restaurants in Portland. Always a memorable experience with family and friends.

I'm not big on trying Ethiopian food but I figured "Eh, why not!" The food was decent. It was much drier that I expected. I ordered to-go and it seemed like the front-of-house and kitchen were so disorganized and lacked communication. I kept being asked to show them my receipt to see what I ordered and waited 30 min for 2 small plates. Will definitely think twice before coming back read more