100% vegan! Great owner! Great store there! Vegan cookies for celebratory times:) Tell them to go lighter on the salt! read more

OK, I've never heard of vegetarian Ethiopian food before, so this was an adventure. The food is good - the lunch buffet consisted of boiled cabbage and carrot, string beans, lentils, split peas, split pea soup, yellow rice, and the sour bread that makes up the base. Hearty yet simple food at an affordable price - who can ask for more? The building itself was less than impressive - a leaky roof, plain decor, and simple tables, so definitely dine with your stomach and not with your eyes. read more

I just kind of stumbled upon this place, hungry, looking to try something new. I walked in and the most delicious smells graced my nostrils, making my mouth water. There was a lunch buffet of various dishes. I can't tell you what exactly was my favorite. Everything was absolutely AMAZING!! I devoured my plate as well as my cup of soup and got more. The quiet, hole-in-the-wall atmosphere added extra charm to the already delicious meal. I will definitely be back A LOT! read more

The last Ethiopian place in the city that I haven't tried. Probably should have stayed away. Since Ethiopians do spend a lot of time fasting and not eating animal products, they have perfected the art of vegan eating. So I thought that although they had no meats, that their vegetarian dishes would be even better than at other places. In reality, what I believed to be wat, just looked like a soup and had very little flavor. And although they do have a plentiful amount of injera, it was cold, dry and breaking apart. There gnocci was okay at best. But that didn't make up for the inside of their building looking like it would fall apart at any minute. And the portions were small for the price we payed for it. I won't be returning. read more

Love this spot! Always one of my favorite dining places, the portions and prices make it so you can have a huge variety and share with the group. Food is always great, the staff is wonderful and the restaurant is a little gem, with a health store in the front. read more

this is a unique place in Rochester that is both a restaurant and a natural health store. Their buffet is quite delicious and everything in the restaurant is 100% vegan so guilt-free healthy eats. In their buffet they serve a wonderfully flavored basmati rice, various lentil dishes, beets & potatoes, a wonderfully tasty tomato soup, Ethiopian bread, and many other goodies. Their regular menu is more varied and has more to offer but their buffet will leave you full, happy and satisfied. I must say that without any question, that they serve the VERY BEST HOMEMADE CHAI TEA EVER! this is an understatement. You will not find better. I promise you. So worth going just for the chai tea alone. the place is unassuming, spacious and not fancy but a good atmosphere and I believe they have free wifi. plus, the owner is quite friendly. I do like giving business to good people who offer quality food and service. read more

The pros: The food is 100% plant based (vegan). The menu has only 10 items on it but the flavors change nightly. There is usually a special. Food is served family style at only 4 dollars per menu item. You can bring your own beer and wine. No corkage fee. The food is delicious - not traditional Ethiopian. It is a fusion of Ethiopian with things such as pizza, gnocchi, or risotto. A few items are traditional such as the stew. The stew is probably the best thing on the menu. The description on the menu makes it seem so simple but the flavors are anything but. It is absolutely delicious. Nothing here is too spicy. Prior to the meal the owner will bring you a little bowl full of hot spiced chick peas, golden raisins and pistachios. Eat this. You won't regret it. If I could just order that for my meal I would - it is that good! Try to save room for dessert. Although the dishes are small, the food is filling. But the homemade vegan ice cream is not to be missed. It is probably the best vegan ice cream you will ever have. They do have a lunch buffet. The items are traditional Ethiopian. You can dine in or take out by the pound. It is super delicious. The cons: Only open for dinner from 5pm to 8pm. Sometimes you can't get a table if it fills up early. The parking lot is tiny. But there is street parking. The injera is not good. If they forget to bring it, don't remind them. You won't miss it. I don't know what is going on with the bathroom. It is clean enough however. This is not really a con but the restaurant itself appears sort of haphazard when you first come in. You will find yourself in an odd sort of half waiting room half sort of store. The tables are straight ahead and it won't be until you sit down and start to notice the details that you will realize its character and charm. Tap water is served from a mason jar and your glass will be similar to a vintage metal cup. You'll find 'breath seeds' on the table along with flowers. You can see the chef cooking from your table. The dishes are brought out as they are prepared so everything will not arrive all at once, therefore the family style service allows for tastings as you await your own hot dish to arrive. read more

We didn't know Monday is buffet night! My friend, a vegan, and I feasted on split peas, lentils, collards, yellow basmati, cabbage, green beans, beets & potatoes. But my favorite was the puréed vegetable soup! Wonderful flavors, not too spicy. The aromas and the quiet when i entered this restaurant made me smile! Cozy, clean, inexpensive, and the cook was so friendly! He was the only staff on!! Bring your own bottle of wine and enjoy (without a fee) and sample the variety of vegan Ethiopian flavors read more

I would recommend this place highly! The food is freshly prepared, complex in seasoning, and reasonably priced. It's a vegetarian/vegan paradise. Each dish costs $4, so it's great to mix and match like tapas. On my first visit I made the mistake of ordering 4 dishes for myself and could barely make it through two! The atmosphere is laidback and cozy, the service was fast and friendly. Definitely give it a shot! With new menu items each day, you'll want to keep coming back. read more

This restaurant is modest on the outside and sparsely decorated on the inside, but don't be deterred! Natural Oasis is one of my all-time favorite places to eat. The food is fresh, healthy, and prepared deliciously. The staff are personally invested and know their regulars by name. Dinner at Oasis is so much fun-- the prices are incredible (everything on the menu is just $4 and portions are great) and the food is so flavorful. Their kale and collard greens are the best. Food here is all vegan, but it doesn't try hard to be anything other than what it is: delicious, well-flavored, rich, Ethiopian food. It's so good. Just try it. (Also, you can bring your own wine with no corking fee! Perfect for a date night or night out with friends.) I sometimes like to bring a book and enjoy the lunch buffet (great lentils, injera bread, all different kinds of yummy vegetables...). It's really good, and it's easy to be comfortable on your own or with a group at lunchtime. You can also find essential oils, books, and other interesting things to purchase at the front of the restaurant. Thanks for being in Rochester, guys. We appreciate you! read more

GREAT VEGAN FOOD! Dishes are incredibly tasty and very satisfying. The menu can be a la cart or buffet depending on the day. Pricing is amazing for the quality of the food. Solomon, the owner works the store and restaurant and is very personable. Nice, simple unassuming atmosphere here for good food and to socialize. Highly recommend even if you're not Vegan. read more

Natural oasis is my favorite place to eat in all of Rochester! It is definitely a hole in the wall but the food is delicious and the staff is wonderful. I would recommend going to dinner and ordering one if everything! read more

So good. Feels like a home cooked meal. Not your traditional dining experience. But fantastic. Super low key

I've been meaning to try this restaurant for a long time and finally made it for take out food a couple of weeks ago. I love the fact that all the selections are vegan. It makes the whole experience so much easier. I stopped in for lunch and although the buffet is relatively small there were more than enough choices. The food was well seasoned and prepared and pretty representative of vegetarian/vegan Ethiopian food. I really appreciated the variety. The buffet is all you eat but they also sell takeout by the pound. I got more than enough food for a meal for around 10.00. Make sure you check their hours because they close for an hour between lunc and dinner. read more

Natural Oasis has the most delicious, vegan-friendly food with amazing flavor. Everything tastes fresh and looks amazing. The staff are very friendly and welcoming. The small-plate style is unique and works really well as an introduction to tasting various dishes. read more

A very calming place to eat with excellent vegan buffet. We say we ate, we got up got more food and ate again. The lentils were outstanding and the cabbage was also very delicious. I would have liked to see a bit more "crunch" mixed in but I'll def be back in to try it again. Don't forget to eat some seeds on your way out! read more

My favorite restaurant in Rochester :) the food is so delicious and everything is vegan and its super affordable.

I loved it. I'm old fashioned and loved being able to relax and feel at home in the casual atmosphere. It had the atmosphere of a friends home where real food is prepared. Loved the simple and delicious menu. I had the pizza and greens with warm apple cinnamon for desert. Wow! Simply amazing. You realize that eating vegan doesn't mean adding tofu and or using faux cheese. Just eating delicious fruits and veggies as they are ! read more

Best lunch buffet in town. Friendly staff, great food, amazing vegan options. Solomon is extremely welcoming and have always been pleased.

I love this vegan paradise! I'm a complete sucker for the buffet but love their dinner menu- which changes (almost) weekly, another reason why I keep going back. The lentils are a never-fail item and a must try any time you go. I'd post pictures but I have no self-control when I'm there. Empty plate photo coming soon. read more

Amazing lunch buffet. Definitely recommend even if your not vegan. It doesn't look like much but it was amazing and cheap!

I've been hearing about this place for perhaps a year, finally got there today. Wonderful vegetarian Ethiopian food in a pleasant, clean atmosphere. We were there for an early dinner, and were served by friendly staff. The food came quickly. I understand lunch is buffet-style. Well-considered, tasty food, on small plates at $4 each, changing frequently. My mother had the home-brewed ginger beer, and liked it. No liquor license, but no corkage fee, according to the menu. Parking is a little difficult only because the lot in front is small, and full. They also have a store with some lines of health-food-style products, and an espresso bar in front. Worth the hour-long drive from Perry. Wished I'd ordered extra to take home. And there's a piano tucked away! Wonder if it gets used. read more

An amazing find. The place is small but don't let that deceive you. The food is amazing and it really gives you that homemade vibe. Every dish was 4$ and honestly 2 dishes were plenty for one person. The Ethiopian lentils and pizza were my favorite but my friends ordered the other lentil soup, gnocchi, and risotto and they were also delicious. If you're on a budget and want some nice homemade healthy vegan food, this is the perfect place. read more

First time here. Menu is simple, but food is AMAZING! We ordered 5 different items and all of them were fantastic. Can't wait to come back.

This is the best food in Rochester, and my favorite restaurant in the world. I love the gnocchi, the green salad, and the lentils with bhaji are always fantastic. Prices are shockingly low, and it's very homey. It's very gluten-free friendly too. Often we'll bring a bottle of wine because there's no corkage fee. I love the staff and the chef- very friendly people. I am sad to move away from this city because I know I won't find another Natural Oasis just anywhere. read more

I couldn't love Natural Oasis more if I tried. It is a dining experience that you definitely won't forget. You'll walk in to delicious smells and huge smiles from the staff. When 4 or more of us go (or 3 if we're feeling ambitious), it is our favorite thing to order everything on the menu. Everything. At $4/plate, who could resist! You walk out with healthy, happy, full bellies and less than a $20/person meal. Everything on the menu is vegan and everything except the pizza is gluten free, so my people and I are always blissful. The menu is changed regularly, so go and go often. They also offer a lunch buffet for $10/person, so go and eat up! read more

I don't think I've ever had bad Ethiopian food in Rochester until I came here. I was looking over a few places to go to dinner tonight with my girlfriend and i found yet another Ethiopian restaurant which to be usually is a pleasant surprise and a buffet as well. So strode on in, the place seemed fairly empty and we're a bit confused on to where the buffet was. It just so happens it was in a little corner in the back. There was roughly 5 choices in the back many of which weren't refilled. So I kinda bear with it for the food and to my disappointment it was worst than expected. The injeri was probably the worst in the city and after a quick bowl of food we both decided to just pay for it and head over to another Ethiopian place close by. My full recommendation is to avoid this place. read more

I LOVED my experience here. The food was interesting, delicious, and great for sharing. Can't wait to return!

My husband, daughter and I had the pleasure of enjoying the $9 Buffet lunch here today. It was a wonderful experience! The foods were delicious.... We especially enjoyed the very tasty basmati rice and the buttery tasting vegetable dishes. The chef was friendly and willing to answer our questions. He was especially kind and helpful and we were very appreciative! We will definitely plan a return trip to this little gem of a restaurant, and look forward to trying some of the offerings from the dinner menu. read more

Really wanted to love the place. Took my bf out for a nice cute date. Didn't turn out too well. The atmosphere is really nice. Very zen like. Now let's get to the good stuff. Only one person was working as the server so that's probably the problem. Food wasn't presentable. Ordered the injera with some lentil sauce and herbal tea. Bf got the pizza and coconut chai. He didn't receive his tea they gave both of us the herbal tea. The food arrived and it was cold. After waiting to finally get some attention. We managed to get him to warm up the injera. He totally forgot us and 10 minutes later we had to ask for our food back. Finally gave us that back , but it came back cold and dry. We just asked for our check, paid and left. Sad to say I really really wanted to just have a good dinner after a long day. Never going back. read more

I really wanted to love this place when I ate there today. I really did. I was ready to give a 5 star, glowing review based on the Happy cow reviews, but I would say a 2.5 would be appropriate (but rounded down). I eat a lot of Ethiopian food. This place was probably the least favorite I have been to. I went here for the lunch buffet, so this may not apply to dinner. First, all the good things: The lentils were tasty, as was the vegetable lentil soup. The Collard Greens were also pretty good. These were all mild but well spiced. There is brown rice with the buffet if you are not into the injera or want it with your dishes. The place is all vegan, a super plus for me. Now for the things that I was not big on. The Injera. The most important foundation for all Ethiopian food is the injera. The best injera is fresh and warm. The first injera I got here was cold and falling apart. It was the end of the basket, so I waited for more to come out, when it did, the first thing I did was go get some. This was cold and crumbly too. Apparently, they do not make fresh injera during lunch. If the injera was good and fresh, I probably would have given this place 4 stars, maybe. Good injera goes a long way. There were 5 dishes out in the buffet. One of which was not good at all, I really am not sure what it was but it was super salty and the flavor was not something I enjoyed. The lentils were good. The collards were good for awhile but after a few bites something changed, it may have been salt too. The potatoes and beets were alright, good color, not much flavor. and the pureed vegetable and lentil soup was really good for a few bites but for the whole bowl, it lacked a certain pizzaz in flavor. There is also no service at all during lunch. You come in and do your thing and pay on your way out. I could have totally gone for a drink but no one offered anything, so self serve water it was. Lunch costs $9.70 ish and i just gave him $10 for everything. That is pretty reasonable for a lunch buffet. I wonder if they raised the price a few bucks if they could have good food and a server. If they had a liquor license, I would have totally dropped money on a beer or 2. Overall, I hope lunch is different than dinner. But based on my experience, I will not be back. I will be going to Abyssinia for all my Ethiopian needs. It does make me sad though. So much potential. read more

Natural Oasis is a hidden gem. The decor and layout is weird, and when you enter for the first time you may wonder what you're in for. But the food is amazing--the best vegan cooking I've ever had. My favorite is the stew, which is so rich and savory that you'll swear they snuck some beef stock in there somehow. The other standout is the ice cream, which is amazingly rich and delicious. read more

This place is so so amazing!!!!! Organic home grown feel to restaurant. Love the waitstaff and cook they are so kind. Unbelievable, affordable food. VEGAN!!!!! and their coconut ice cream is UNBELIEVABLE!!!! Such a great place and u might not expect it. read more

Natural Oasis turned out to be more than just a pleasant surprise. From the outside it looks like some kind of weird holistic spa, but we noticed there were some tables at the back. The place was completely deserted when we arrived. The chef came over and explained that they had a $9 lunch buffet, which we warily decided to try. This was a great decision as there were lots of dishes to try and all of them were tasty, especially the lentils and tomato soup. I've never had Ethiopian food before so I can't attest to it's authenticity, but this a great place to grab a cheap and relatively healthy lunch. read more

I will start off by saying my girlfriend is Vegan I am not. We had come up from Buffalo to try the Ethiopian buffet they offer for lunch (Ethiopian is her favorite). There is really no server as everything is self serve including the water. We both had the vegetable soup which was surprisingly good. Very earthy flavors without it resembling the taste of bark. The cooked vegetables were my favorite. My girlfriend loved every bit of it from the quaintness of the bathroom being behind the piano to the incense she brought home to the vegan friendly cookies sold at the register. It had a mild hipster meets holistic vibe. She's already talking about our next trip up. We'll definitely be back. read more

From the outside this place does not look like a restaurant, and the parking lot is tiny and hard to get in and out of, but don't let any of this stop you from going in. I unknowingly came during the vegan lunch buffet, which is $9 for all you like. I was wary at first because the names of the dishes just describe the main ingredients (cabbage and carrots, yellow peas, collard greens), so I was fearful of bland food. How wrong I was. Each dish was well seasoned and flavorful, breaking every stereotype of vegan food. Even the rice was delicious. The injera was sliced into little rolls so it was easier to eat. And the tomato soup! By far the best vegan tomato soup I've had. There was a slight sourness to it (in a very good way) which the chef said came from pickles. read more

Everything about this place is amazing. The prices, the food and the service are wonderful. I have absolutely no idea how they coax such magnificent flavors out of the ingredients they use but this place is on the money every time I eat here. read more

You do not have to be a vegetarian to love this place! I myself was hesitant to try natural oasis because it is vegetarian and I'm kicking myself for putting it off so long. The food is wonderful and even with all my dietary restrictions, I was able to eat almost anything on the menu. This is quality food and it just so happens to be great for you. Everything is flavorful and spot on. You don't miss the meat. Not for a second. You leave full and happy. The prices are good too! read more

Went last Friday and loved it! I have just recently decided to heavily restrict the amount of animal products I eat (for nutritional reasons - see The China Study) and was delighted to find a place where I could order anything I wanted on the menu! I was even happier to see that the Natural Oasis menu is a bit like going to a tapas restaurant - everything is $4.00 and you just order whatever you want a la carte. I chose the greens (kale and swiss chard) and the risotto (brown rice with carmelized brussel sprouts, rutabaga and toasted pistachios) and both were delicious. The waiter even brought me some toasted & seasoned nuts and chickpeas to snack on while I waited for my food, and some complimentary injera to enjoy with the greens. I will definitely be going back! read more

I've been a regular since Soloman opened The Natural Oasis. Always good service and the food is absolutely amazing. Its truly authentic Ethiopian food. read more