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

Waited longer thn unexpected, but understandable as they might be understaffed due to Covid19 pandemic. It is worth to wait, because the food is really good. We ordered 1 meat with veggies combination and Shahi tea, a unique ethiopian tea with some spices. The order came in a big platter shared with three of us. We ate with bare hands as the Ethiopian people do, and it gave a much better experience and taste. read more

Wish I had read the yelp reviews before stepping into this restaurant. As another yelper pointed out, you can hear the sound of a microwave dinging as your food gets reheated. The injera is NOT made fresh as is usually the case. They didnt even bother to reheat it - attached a photo of limp, cold, unappetizing injera. The portions were pitiful for the price -- you'd have to order double what you usually do - and most of the food was too salty. Atmosphere was gloomy and dark. Restaurant was empty, for good reason I suppose. Do not come here if you want fresh, authentic ethiopian food. read more

E'Njoni Cafe - a basket of burritos - Ethiopian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Wonderful food, friendly, attentive service and good prices. I've gone with friends several times.

Absolutely delicious. We got the the Veggie feast and it surely was. It was fresh - had everything you want. We were hungry after 5 hours of yard work and it was more than enough. And was ready in 15 minutes after our order was placed. read more

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

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I ordered through Grub Hub - the portions are small, the falafel sandwich included items I asked them not to include and did not have any hummus & was cold. I called them and they were rude. Terrible Horrible. read more

Amazing!!! We were in the area looking at the game store next door when we found this place. We had seen it on yelp before when searching for Ethiopian food, but had never made the drive. Since we were in the area we thought we should finally try it and we are so glad we did. They had just opened for the night and they were super friendly even though we were a little early. We got food to go but the atmosphere in there was great. My wife and I have a favorite Ethiopian dish, Lamb Tibs, so there was no way we weren't getting it. Lamb tibs are a must, they are soft and tender and soooo flavorful. We also split a 5 piece veggie combo that was amazing but it's up to your preference as to what vegetables you choose. Let me just say that this was more than enough food for the two of us. You definitely can't go wrong here. If you've never had Ethiopian food it may be a little intimidating but I promise it's worth it. read more

We ordered a variety of vegetarian food as takeout. The people there were very friendly, and the food was terrific.

Under new management this place is just ok. The injera is thick and a little tough, and the veggie dishes don't pop quite as much flavor. The new staff is still kind and attentive, but missing that "guest of the family" feeling. read more

Had high hopes for the place based on the reviews. But having been to Ethiopian restaurants in DC and the Bay Area, this place gets a thumbs down. Overcooked chicken and lamb, Stale Injera .. not cool. read more

Not that I'm experienced with Ethiopian food but I daydream about their food and wish I lived closer

I enjoyed eating here. The staff is friendly, service is fast and I like they have booths to sit at. The food taste good, but I feel its slightly overpriced for food that looks like it was made in advance and just reheated. The best dish I think was the lamb and mushrooms. read more

E'Njoni Cafe - Chicken curry and lamb tibs with mushrooms - Ethiopian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

we ordered 2 meals as the only customers and not only did we have to wait an hour for our food, but we were served after customers who came much later than us. they also served us expired sodas. food was horrible and cold read more

My husband and i were discussing as we sat at the bar, it can be challenging for an Ethiopian/ Eritrean restaurant to be authentic and welcoming to the general public as well. It's that much harder when you are part of a small community and want to keep it real. Among the plethora of habesha (ethiopian/Eritrean) restaurants in Portland, this one gets it right. First it's in a cool neighborhood, it's warm And inviting inside, the food is authentic and it's delicious. While the place Bills itself as Mediterranean, I'm thinking that's to widen the appeal, you can ignore that part. As my husband is Habesha and as we have eaten Injera everywhere, even in Ethiopia, we give this spot high marks. All of the meat dishes are tops, the zigni, the tibs. Meat is tender and the sauce is just right with that somewhat gritty awaze taste. We also appreciate the full bar serving up local spirits like tej (honey wine) and the ever elusive but tasty Zibib (Eritrean araki). Service is friendly and you should grab some Fuul ( spiced fava beans) for brunch if you get a chance. Might suggest some better background music or a better sound system and maybe host an authentic coffee ceremony as it is one of the most beautiful aspects of the culture. read more

E'Njoni Cafe - Feels cozy in here. - Ethiopian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

What impressed me the most is their variety in menu. I eat Ethiopian all the time, in restaurants all over the country and the "Vegetarian Combo" is always the same five dishes. This is NOT the case at E'Njoni. There are 8 very tempting choices and you can build a three item or five item plate to suit your taste. The menu is descriptive and you won't need to ask for explanations of what items are if you are unfamiliar with this type food. Unique offering: Red Beet Stew (Keysir). I have never seen this anywhere else and they do it quite nicely. Regardless of what you order, it will be well seasoned and they provide generous portions. Service is exemplary as the entire staff will make sure your needs are met and meal satisfactory. This is an affordable meal option in a clean, comfortable setting. Bring a date, a group of friends, or come alone and you will see the quality first hand. read more

E'Njoni Cafe - Five item vegetarian combo for one (Hamli, Timtimo, Alitcha, Keysir, and Siquar Denich) - Ethiopian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Been coming to this place for a while now. Really good food. The lamb is succulent and juicy, cooked to perfection. Had the fish tibs (tilapia) this time. Spicy, not too much though, goes very well with the injera. The chicken was on the lighter side, spinach based curry. They also have a couple of Ethiopian beers on the menu. Prefer the Amber ale myself. Good, cosy ambience and good service. Ideal place for a quiet good meal. read more

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

Nice cosy Ethipian place on Killingsworth, I'm a fan of the cuisine, and the nice family style way of eating it. We started off with a humus platter which was very well done. Got the African Spice Chai, which was very refreshing too. For mains, I got the Lamb Tibs with two veggie options: the okra and the spinach. The lamb was excellent. so was the Okra, the spinach and the lentils were so-so. They had other veggie options which my fellow diners had got, the yams were particularly delicious. Definitely amongst the upper cream of Ethiopian places in PDX. read more

I will admit that I had hope for this restaurant but it wasn't cutting it. We went for the buffet but when we got there it was pretty much empty. It also catered more to vegans with only 2 meat dishes. I knew that I would have to write this review when I caught myself scraping the bottom of the meat pan. This, after 1/2 an hour of being there and yet the pan was still not refilled (it was pretty much empty when we arrived). The staff was friendly and the food was okay but not one that I would recommend. I'll will probably try it again sometime in the future and will change my rating if I find that it was just a fluke on this day. read more

Got the veggie combo platter. I could hear the microwave in the kitchen after we ordered and all of the items definitely tasted frozen and lacking in flavor. The injiri fell apart in my hands because so much water had come out of the different reheated stews. The server was nice but I don't think I'd come back here. read more

As part of my campaign to educate myself about non-Portland cultures via tastebud, my pals and I manage to crawl out from under our ever-growing pile of mostly-empty PBR tall boys about once a month to experience what we like to call International Food Night. E'Njoni was our first choice for our inaugural adventure. And E'Njoni is the reason why International Food Night is now a long-running and glorious tradition. OK, so we've actually only been doing it for a few months but whatever - what I'm trying to say is that the food at E'Njoni is, for lack of a better adjective, DANK. After some initial confusion about how to order (the proprietress had some urgent but inscrutable advice regarding the buffet, and warned us not to order off the menu but then handed us menus anyway, after outlining an extremely convoluted process for choosing which items could and could not be ordered off the menu), we chose a bunch of different tasty dishes and dug the hell in. Everything was flavorful to the max. I must admit, I'm not the biggest fan of injera. But the overall yumminess of everything else made up for the fact that I just don't dig on its spongy texture. I'll have to try some other places to see if it's just E'Njoni's injera or injera in general I don't groove on. Regardless, it won't stop me from going back. read more

While the food here is good. Getting individual dishes is a total rip off! We got a veggie platter to share and a lamb dish additionally. Though the lamb dish cost us 16 dollars the quantity was extremely poor. I would suggest you order a platter and avoid ordering individual dishes. The service is good and waiters are friendly. I would've given this place and better review if the food hadn't been such a rip off. read more

I love Ethiopian food and have had great experiences at other restaurants in town but this place disappointed me with everything that we ate . We had been here before for dine-in and did not return for years because it wasn't that great however this time around we wanted to try again based on all the great reviews, and chose to take-out . The online ordering process was fast and easy .When we came back home with our order we saw that they had given us a different item than what we ordered and charged for the higher price one . Nevertheless we decided to just enjoy what we had , but the food was a total disappointment , the lentils were not cooked , the yams were like a puree and the injeera was hard and flavorless .The chicken was rubbery and lacked salt. Needless to say , a next time is not happening . There are other better Ethiopian restaurants in town that would give you your moneys worth. read more

When I ordered my food, they told me, it'll be about 20 minutes. When I finally got my food- 44 minutes 2 thunderous thumbs down. Not to sound like a Karen but really didn't seem they had it together read more

This was one of the more memorable meals from my trip Portland. The food was soooo good. Very reasonable price for delicious and filling meal that was served. My friend and I both ordered the veggie platter, which allows you to choose 5 different veggie dishes for $13. I tried to sample a wide variety of items, including curried chick peas, lentils, okra, green beans/carrots w/ tomato paste. All served with unlimited injera of course! The flavors were amazing, the service was great, the atmosphere was casual and inviting. I ate too fast and later went into a food coma, but it was soooo worth it. read more

E'Njoni Cafe - Local Beer- only $3.50 - Ethiopian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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Very good Ethiopian food, homemade in quality and presentation. Extremely clean restaurant with friendly staff and as a bonus several Ethiopian beers that I've never tried but that were quite good. read more

It's a four and a half actually! This is my first Ethiopian place I try in Portland and I liked it a lot. I got the veggie combo and it was tasty. The lime salad was missing and the yellow lentils needed more condimenting. But other than that it was really good! The red lentils were actually spicy too. Atmosphere is casual but lovely with nice lighting. The service is also good, friendly and attentive. Overall, good experience and I will be returning read more

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

*NOM NOM NOM*! Tasty injera (sourdough buckwheat pancake that serves as edible plate and utensils), perfectly seasoned legume and potato dishes, mustard greens and spinach, deliciously spiced meat! We ordered the vegetable combination (5 dishes) and gel tibs (spiced lamb) and shared, "family style". Served with enough injera (they brought more when we ran out), spiced black tea (I tasted cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger), and two delicious Ethiopian beers (mine tasted subtly of honey; the hubby's was a creamy smooth stout). Warm friendly earth tone atmosphere, golden lighting, exceptional service (the proprietor herself waited on us in addition to our server). Filled up with folks from the neighborhood - felt like a cozy local hideout. Stuffed ourselves to the gills for $30 - no room to try the pretty, pretty desserts. Just what we needed on a rainy November night. read more

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$48 total for delicious dinner for five people! Enough yummy things to put all of us into serious food comas! Such a great deal. We had the veggie feast (which lived up to its name), the shiro wat, and the fish tibbs. I've never encountered fish in Ethiopian food before. As a pescetarian, I was so happy to find this dish, and not disappointed, either! The only thing that was somewhat of a letdown was the shiro wat. It was pretty bland compared to everything else, and could have used more spice. Everything else was flavorful and went well with the moist, delicious enjera. Service was great, and fast. Decor was pretty nice, and it wasn't too crowded on a Sunday evening (which was nice). Great place for groups. read more

I stopped in for the lunch buffet. It's all you can eat, including injera, which is crafted into strips about an inch and a half wide and rolled for convenient use! They had a tasty soup, one beef and one chicken dish, some lentil dishes, cabbage-carrots, zucchini, and very tasty eggplant and potato dishes, 9 in all. You serve the dishes onto a plate. The spices weren't aromatic, and the dishes not particularly hot spiced, but it's a great bargain and the dishes aren't heavy or oily. The restaurant is newer than most of Portland's other Ethiopian eateries, so second only to Bete Lucas in general spiffyness, though it's a little cluttered for my taste. I'd recommend this place for a quick, inexpensive $8.95 lunch buffet for hungry people. They also have several imported East African beers for later which are never seen elsewhere. read more

Who would of thought..and Ethiopian cafe in NoPo. I just had to try it since it had so many great reviews. Nice, clean place with friendly wait staff. For starters I ordered the Hummus and Baba ganoush w/pita. Great tasting, but the pita was kinda blah. I guess I was expecting homemade pita. Oh well, still tasted good and the price was great. Only $4.00 for an appetizer? Who can beat that? Next, I ordered the veggie combo with 3 different veggie dishes. Keysir (Red beet stew). Interesting taste. Not bad, but not my favorite. Aliticha (curried mixed veggies). Not sure why they said it had alot of mixed veggies, since it was just a bunch of cooked cabbage seasoned with curry and 2 carrot sticks. Hamli (mixed greens with garlic ) Again, different mixed greens? It looked and tasted just like cooked spinach with some spices. I could be wrong, But my taste buds say different. Reminded me of Indian food with out all the cream sauces. I guess I'll have to go again and go for the lunch buffet to give this place better review. But for now.... it was A-ok. read more

I generally like Ethiopian dishes. We ordered 2 dishes, we really liked one & other was okay. The Lamb tibs (medium spicy) was good and the alitcha dorho chicken was okay... definitely could have made spicy to suit our tastes. Service was good. Found parking on the street right in front of the restaurant, maybe we were there at the closing hours of the restaurant (~9:20pm) read more

Tried this place due to the high Yelp rating, but honestly don't see what the fuss is about. The food was pricey, came in small portions, had relatively unremarkable flavors and the combination options were very limited. The beef was ok, but the chicken was particularly lacking in flavor and the veggies were not compelling. In conclusion: Meh read more

Delicious food! I cant speak highly enough about this place. The fava bean appetizer was to die for and the 5 veggie combo was filling and a wide array of flavors. Dont miss out! read more

I've always like Ethiopian cuisine but this place is phenomenal especially for the low price. I am vegetarian so I can't speak to their meat based dishes but the yellow rice and veggie combo is so good it has become my favorite restaurant in the Portland area. The fried plantains are soooo good. My favorite veggie item is a tie between 6 different things because they're all so good. I'm not a fan of injera, never have been, so I'm not the best judge on their injera but everything I've ordered I have loved. I highly recommend, especially for vegetarians looking for a place with options. read more

We were in town and wanted to take a visitor from Mexico to one of our favorite cuisines. We yelped Ethiopian food and this came up and looked good. Let me break it down: Service: 5 stars. Our waitress was great with information and suggestions and provided warm, prompt, friendly and funny service. Cheers!!! Atmosphere: 4 stars. It was a clean restaurant with a hint of local decor, not overdone but for me, it could have been a bit more "Ethiopian" feel. Food: 3.5-4 stars Most dishes were tasty, well seasoned. We did have a little temperature issue with the Potatoe dish, it was cold. When we brought it up, we were offered for the dish to be reheated however I am not a fan of that so we declined. The garbanzos were too hard and needed more cooking time. Overall it was really good. Overall: We would definitely be back but would ask for food to be at the correct temperature and fully cooked. Definitely a great find in Portland! read more

My first experience with Ethiopian food was at E'Njoni and boy am I glad it was there. I still savor the memory of the Gel Tibs to this day. It consisted of seared lamb with mushrooms, onions, and peppers served on bed of injera bread. The bread was definitely something radical to me, spongy and sour. I can see how some might not be a fan, but I found it to go well with the entrees served on top. We tried many other entrees that i cannot remember the name exactly, but they were all good and flavorful. But dang, that Gel Tibs is "seared" into my memory! The service was friendly and helpful. The only miss that day was the dessert. We tried the roll cake and it was quite dry (end of the day?). Ah well you can't win them all. read more

We went on a Sunday night for their buffet dinner which was a great chance to try their menu. It was a nice, convivial atmosphere. The owners were very friendly and were so sweet to give a little stuffed duck to our three year old. I enjoyed the injera, the beet salad, and the other vegetarian dishes were delicious. The meat dishes unfortunately weren't so memorable. Usually they're so flavorful (ie. the dorowot) but it didn't taste as though the meat had absorbed the fragrant spices or broth that they had been cooked in. Nonetheless, I think we'll go back... For the vegetarian dishes alone it was worth it! read more

Great find, best of both world's. The food is fantastic and they observe halal and they have great Ethiopian and South African wines and beers. We had the Fuul (simple food with great flavors), Siga Tibs (good) and Lamb Tibs (I don't normally like lamb but this had to be the best I have ever had). I had a great wine with dinner and asked to taste the honey wine which was good but too sweet for my pallet. The owners were very friendly and a joy to talk to. read more

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

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Really wanted to like this but really didn't at all. I found it to be way overpriced considering the small portion size.

Must have been an off day, due to the great reviews. I'm sure I've ordered from here before and loved it. Today's items had zero seasoning except for heat, not even salt. No smell whatsoever. Bland, bland, bland! I've been eating Ethiopian food for 30 years all over the country, this is the first time my food was 100% bland. Chef must have forgotten the spices. Two stars for freshness of ingredients, except for the cottage cheese, which was sour and gross. Really, really disappointed. That was $3.00 worth of ingredients for $35.00. Hard to swallow, pun intended. read more