Alloko Garden is one of many restaurants cooking out of Jingletown Eats, a ghost kitchen and food…read moredelivery distribution center identifiable by the painted bird on the storefront. I had already planned to visit Jingletown Eats to pick up donuts from Mochill for Yelp Elite Week, so of course I had to take advantage of the opportunity to try a new restaurant, Alloko Garden, as well! I ordered the Shoukuya (whole grilled chicken) and Alloko (plaintain fries) for $30. Both were so delicious! The chicken was juicy and well-marinated, and came with a flavorful tomato and onion topping. The plaintain fries were fun to eat and paired perfectly with a spicy, salty dip, which the website describes as a prebiotic sauce. Having no other point of reference, it reminded me of Chinese fermented bean paste. The only issue was that I didn't receive the salad that the whole chicken set should include. Looking back at the different options, only the whole chicken comes with a salad, so I can see how this mistake could happen. After making my own veggie side, the Shoukuya and Alloko ended up being enough for four servings, which is a great deal. I would absolutely recommend Alloko Garden to anyone craving or wanting to try West African cuisine!

Man! This was some yummy food and a blast from the past. As…read morea returned Peace Corps Volunteer who spent 2 years in Ivory Coast back in the 1990's, I was thrilled to see a local restauranteuer surface who could re relate some of the flavors that tickled my taste buds back in the day. Not to hate on its neighboring countries, but after travelling widely in West Africa I concluded that Ivory Coast has a truly rockin' and superior food culture. I'm vegan aspirational but my partner is not, so to increase his buy-in, we ordered Shokouya Cancanan chicken. The half chicken, accompanied by delicious grilled onions and tomatoes, was a generous portion of robustly seasoned, plump, fresh and perfectly cooked chicken. I love that they only use "happy chicken" as I call it--cage free, hormone free & antibiotic free--which assuaged some of my flesh eating hesitancy. The side dishes were just as I recalled: attieke, a marvelous cous-cous-like starch made of ground, fermented, then steamed cassava, was tangy, springy, and performed as expected in hand. (In hand?, you ask? Why yes, the "real" way to enjoy attieke is to scoop up a small handful with your right hand, scrunch it up in a ball, then dip it in a sauce or accompany it in this case with a bit of tender chicken.) It gives a taste and a mouth feel like no other. Then there was the alloko, which is a generous portion of chunks of fried plantain "doux," or sweet plantain. In Côte d'Ivoire you would likely enjoy these as streetfood, in my opinion best consumed after the heat of the day had spent itself and you were walking with your companion to take some fresh air before turning in. A street vendor would hand you a pile of these wrapped in a piece of newspaper, accompanied by a blob of paste composed improbably of fermented dried fish, ground chili pepper, oil and the omnipresent Cube Maggi. The marriage of sweet banana, spicy, umami, salty...made my toes curl just as I did 20 years ago! well, you can experience some of that magic with Alloko Garden's alloko. Each chef has their own recipe for the alloko side sauce and I suspect the proprietor, Monsieur Tohouri, uses less heat and less fish and more natural ingredients than the MSG-fest that is Cube Maggi, for us Oaklanders than he might have grown up with. But this healthy non-volcanic version more than gets the idea across and my partner, new to alloko and its accompaniments, understood that the idea was delicious. We both loved that instead of omnipresent plastic, this alloko (& attieke) came in a biodegradable paper box. Because he was temporarily out of one other dish that I'd hoped to sample, Mr. Tohouri kindly added a dish for me called fonio arancini, which are kind of hush puppy type doodads made of a grain I didn't remember encountering in my village, fonio. Even 20 minutes after picking up from the storefront in Jingletown, the fonio arancini arrived home still delicious in all the ways grain plus a dunk in a deep fryer can be: hot and crispy on the outside, warm and almost pudding-like on the inside, with a warm umami awesomeness from the cheese mixed with the dough, and a yummy dipping sauce alongside. According to the article I read in Berkeleyside, this fonio is part of an interest Monsieur Tohouri has in increasing the economic base in Côte d'Ivoire. First step is creating market demand. I say, bring it on!! Although we were ravenous after a four hour bike ride that day, both BF and I were satisfied after this feast. I know this is the first of many trips to this place. I feel so fortunate to have an authentic source of Ivoirien cuisine in my back yard, and with an emphasis on the health of the food chain, the planet, and the humans both producing and consuming the cuisine. I ordered and picked up directly from the storefront because I'd read somewhere that restaurants lose something like 40% of the price charged, to the delivery company (uber eats, grub hub etc). As the prices were very fair given the generous portions, this means a really tiny profit margin for the person doing all the work. What I didn't realize would be an added benefit was meeting the actual proprietor, the chef himself! Monsieur Tohouri came out to hand me my food, thus completing the awesomeness of the experience. How often in this disseminated and impersonal world do you get to thank the actual person who feeds you? My overall assessment: five thumbs up!! Merci bien Monsieur Tohouri!

First time trying Ethiopian/Eritrean cuisine and it was delicious. I really appreciated the staff…read morefor being patient with us and explaining the dishes we had questions on. The portion size is like having a feast - definitely perfect for sharing. The injerito was a great appetizer, love the silky and soft texture of the injera. I ordered the House Special Sampler which was a great option for me because I wanted to try as many dishes as I could. From the choices of meat, the beef was my favorite. I ate it with the rice from the "Lamb with Rice" dish - very perfect pairing. The rice and beef were packed with so much flavor - every bite was a sensation. If you're looking for a great Ethiopian/Eritrean cuisine, I highly suggest this place!

Food 4/5 I went with…read morethe vegetarian platter which is my go to wherever possible. My food was made to order and came out within a reasonable timeframe. Everything had a good flavor balance except the Gomen. For my taste buds it could use more seasoning. The whole platter was delectable. Just one thing, a gnat showed up and landed on my other roll of injera so I did not eat it. Service 4/5 KEren, the owner is soft spoken and kind. I told her the spelling of her name was unique to the traditional spelling Karen. She greeted me as soon as I entered. At this time there were no customers. She brought me the drinks menu and the food menu accompanied with a pitcher of water. I feel a pitcher of water should be offered at every restaurant for your table. Minimizes the requests for refills. On a warm sunny day like today hydration is paramount. Keren returned moments later to take my order. Ambiance 3/5 Clean. Neat. A little bare. Four big screen televisions though for those who are into watching TV. There's a bar with a limited alcohol selection. Happy Hour is offered from 4-8pm. No days specified. There's two restrooms. One for women and one for men. The women's is missing the door have handle. Inside the one person restroom it's very clean and stocked with all the basics you need.

Admas has mastered the art of catering--not just authentic Ethiopian cuisine, but also soul food,…read moreMediterranean, Italian, and Mexican dishes. Every meal is prepared with authenticity, fresh ingredients, generous portions, well organized, fully staffed, prompt and ahead of schedule, fair pricing, exceptional service. I had the pleasure of working with Lieon, the owner of Admas, and his incredible team to cater a three-day conference to feed 300+ attendees. They served lunch and dinner from Friday through Sunday. The food was the highlight of the conference. The best injera I've had: fresh and light. Perfect texture and consistent. The variety of food was outstanding. There was something for everyone, including guests with dietary restrictions. The conference menu had tibs, doro wot, misir, fit-fit, rice, lasagna, macaroni, meatballs, chicken strips, collard greens, fresh salads, variety of rice and stews, and more. Very flexible and willing to customize the menu to fit your event and preferences. If you're looking for a caterer for a church event, conference, wedding, corporate gathering, or family celebration, I 10/10, 100/100 recommend Admas. Check them out!

First off, I ordered for delivery…read more I love Ethiopian and Eritrean food, so I was excited to see this spot finally open for deliveries in my neighborhood! I think I've eaten at the majority of Ethiopian restaurants in Oakland, Berkeley, and San Francisco, so I'm a fan. Sadly, I was NOT a fan of this spot. :( (For context, I tried to go back to the delivery app to give a review, but the window for leaving a review had closed.) I looked over the menu and I was suspicious that there was no standard Doro Wot for delivery, but, whatevs --sometimes restaurants leave off certain items on delivery apps. I got the Chicken Tibs and Beef Tibs. The beef was spiced, but the chicken tasted bland and watery. Both seemed to be missing salt. The beef tibs was tougher than I'm used to. Maybe it was an off day. The Yemisir Wot (stewed red lentils) was flavorful. The vegetarian combo was a complete miss for the price and the portions were super small. The Tikil Gomen (cabbage, carrots, potatoes) looked like one tablespoon had been scooped out and put on the injera. It came with Yemisir Wot, Yekik Alicha (yellow spiced lentils), beets(???), Gomen (collards), and green salad (though I don't remember getting the green salad in my combo). The Gomen (collards) were super bland and tasted like reheated frozen collards. My last issue is that the a-la-carte items are photographed with a small salad and injera, pretty standard (see attached image from site). Unfortunately, the a-la-carte options came singularly in a container with a side of injera. Bummer. If I hadn't included the vegetarian combo, I probably would've been even more upset. What I did like: --- - The Tikil Gomen and Yemisir Wot were well spiced and tasty. - Plenty of injera, almost too many. I think my biggest issue is that given the portion size, most items are between $16 - $24, so if you're looking to have a rounded meal (injera, vegetables, meat), you're going to have to order multiple items and that adds up fast; it will be cheaper if you just eat in or call them and order for pick-up. (I'm also kind of bummed because I was rooting for them since they are in the space where Casa Vallarta used to be.) If you plan to go, I'd suggest sticking to the vegetarian options.

We ordered the veggie sampler. One dish was ok but the others were bland and didn't taste fresh. I…read moredidn't even want the leftovers. The ambience was depressing and the restaurant was dirty. This is my least favorite Ethiopian restaurant in Oakland, there's much better places around the lake.

Love this place every time I go, quality Ethiopian food, small and quaint, relatively casualread more

Absolutely delicious food, friendly service, reasonable prices, easy parking. Wonderful experience!read more

A delicious home-cooked Ethiopian feast for two!…read more Came by on a Sunday night and it was pretty quiet. We were the only people dining in, which was honestly such a vibe. We ordered a meat and veggie combo platter for 2 + a serving of Bozena Shiro (chickpea flour simmered with beef), and an order of Selit (Sesame Seed Smoothie) to drink. It was my first time having Bozena Shiro and Selit! The Selit came out first while we were waiting for our combo platter to come out. They asked what sugar level I prefer which was nice. I went with light sugar and it was perfect! It reminded me a lot of a sesame latte, but they said there was no milk in it so I believe it was just water blended with sugar and sesame seeds. It was delicious and had a naturally savory/toasty aspect to it as well. The platter came out and wow it looked fantastic. They gave a generous amount of injera with it as well. At other locations, I always find myself ordering extra injera, but instead we had a few bites leftover! Everything was delicious, the Kik Alicha (golden split peas) are always my favorite and they definitely delivered here as well! I really need to start ordering Ethiopian food a la carte, because the Bozena Shiro was fantastic. I would've never known about it if we didn't add it to our platter! Savory, tender meat, thick consistency on the sauce/stew. The injera here is a bit too dense for my persona liking. I prefer the fluffier style injera, but the flavor was still spot on!

Price on the size or volume of the food ordered is reasonable…read more Comfort room, altho unisex, is clean and complete w basic fixtures.

Decided to give their new location a try and regret doing it. Coworkers and I ordered three orders…read moreof the Philly cheesesteak with fries to go. Everything came out hot, the food looked and smelled delicious. Unfortunately, I almost broke my tooth multiple times biting on hard pieces of bone within the cheesesteak. I ended up just eating the seasoned fries and tossed more than half of the cheesesteak away. Both coworkers also reported the same problem after I mentioned it. I don't know why there even would be bone in the cheesesteak and at this point I rather not know.

I know NOTHING about Eritrean cuisine so take this with a grain of salt…read more $22.04 for lamb tibs was: delicious but a little sour (bread wrap, expected), and ultimately too greasy for me. I was happy to eat something new, different, unique! And my curiosity has me wanting to go back a few more times. But at least with the Lamb Tibbs, it's not something I need to eat again. 3.5 stars for the dish.

Food and service was amazing. I've been there twice in the last month - yes, it was that good. One…read moreof my favorite dishes is Gored Gored, which is not on the menu. However, when I asked for it, they prepared it for me. Since Fin Fine closed a few years ago, I have been in search for a good Ethiopian restaurant. This was truly a find! You know a restaurant has to be good when the majority of the customers are Ethiopian. Hats off to the chef.

I tried Ruth's Buka almost a year ago at a friend's birthday and finally made it to the restaurant…read morethis past weekend. My friend and I tried to go two weeks earlier, but by the time we arrived, most of the food was sold out -- granted, it was near the end of the day. We were bummed, but we came back the following weekend and success -- so many options to choose from! We ordered the egusi soup (my favorite), fufu, jollof rice and plantain with chicken. The food was just as good as I remembered from a year ago, full of flavor and comforting. Emmanuel was so friendly and provided exceptional service the entire time we were there. I will definitely be back. 5 stars all around!

Amazing service! The two girls behind the counter were literally so sweet! The food is bomb! 10/10…read morerecommend!