absolutely wonderful service and food!! i first came here with my friends on the way back to UC Berkeley. this was our first time having injera which is a fermented flatbread with the veggie combo, and every part of the dinner was perfect: so warm, cozy, and delicious! the second time i came, i made a reservation for 15 people to celebrate my friend's birthday, and Abbey (the owner) welcomed all of my friends and insured that we were all satisfied despite a busy Saturday evening. Shewhat did not disappoint! they even brought out a birthday brownie for my friend! so much love for Abbey and the crew - From Victoria and her friends!! read more

Shewhat - Ethiopian Near Me - Oakland, California

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Service was great. Enjoyed the food. Got the lamb and veggie combo. Outdoor seating with heat lamps was awesome. read more

Tasty food. Ethiopian beers sort of all taste the same. Sambusas are delicious! Lots of vegetarian options.

Shewhat has delicious, affordable food. I am no connoisseur of Eritrean or Ethiopian food, but I know good food, and Shewhat has got it. I used to live right next to the restaurant, and I do miss the smell of their cooking wafting through the open living room window through the latter half of my day. I would typically order the chicken tibsy or the veggie combo, with plenty of injera to handle all of the leftover juices. If you happen to be in the Bushrod area or just feel like getting some good food in Oakland, make sure to stop by Shewhat. read more

so delicious the owner is super friendly outdoor seating is available try their tea! read more

Shewhat - Chicken Tibsy and Spinach and Lamb Tibsy - Ethiopian Near Me - Oakland, California

Just absolutely phenomenal! The food was soooo delicious and the wait staff was so kind and excited by how much we loved everything. We got the meat share platter, the triangular baked dough app, and the incredible spiced tea to drink. Everything was out of this world -- I think the best injera I've had. So sour and spongey! Definitely will be making this a staple. Oh, and the ambiance is adorable. They have their own parking lot, too! read more

While the local area can look a little run down, as you approach, take a good breath and appreciate the lovely scents. They foretell that walking inside leads to a fine little restaurant. We got the "everything " platter and the food was top notch with the injiri "bread" soaking up all the great flavors. We have tried Eritrean or Ethiopian food around the Bay Area over the years and always enjoy it but had missed it with pandemic. This was a great re introduction and is highly recommended. read more

Delicious food, Friendly staff and a relaxed vibe. There are so many vegetarian options!

I've had a lot of Eritrean and Ethiopian cuisine over the past few decades, and I have to say that Shewhat is possibly best in the East Bay, no joke. There's so much East African food to choose from, but Shewhat is insanely fresh and delicious. Of course, I have to mention the whole selection of vegan options...and the servers! So wonderful--excellent service. To summarize, the food is insane, lots of vegan deliciousness and the people are great! What more do you need to know? read more

Met a an out-of-town cousin for dinner tonight. He tends towards vegetarian, so we tried another Ethiopian place for dinner. Shewat looked great on Yelp and especially for an outdoor seating, so that's where we went. First impressions: I live on the peninsula, where parking tends not to be an issue. I've steeled myself for the lack of parking whenever I head into SF or Oakland or Berkeley, so it was a pleasant surprise to find a parking lot. Also, there seemed to be plenty of street parking if their lot was full. They have a lovely covered outdoor section with about 6-8 tables, all spaced comfortably apart. There's plenty of air flow, but the dining are is protected by walls (that don't go up to the roof) so you feel like you're at a restaurant, not on the street. Service: The servers here are so friendly and accommodating. They clearly take pride in their jobs are want their customers to have a great experience. The food: It's not a big menu, but in some ways that's a benefit. With only a few dining companions you can easily sample most of the menu. And it won't take long to select your dish. :) Vegetarian sampler - Red lentils, yellow lentils (which oddly are not listed on their own on the menu, but yes you can order them as a meal if you like), collard greens, and cabbage/potato/carrot stews. If you've had Ethiopian before, you know what these are even if you forget the name (like I am right now and not bothering to look them up.) All four of these were excellent, and definitely had their own defining flavor profiles so it does feel like a variety. Chickpeas - This is a red, thin stew. Great flavor, but the thin nature makes for an extremely messy eating experience. Meat combination - This comes with beef tibs, and chicken tibs with spinach. The beef has a nice meaty flavor in a bold sauce that is a little reminiscent of Mole. The chicken dish is more of a spinach dish with some chicken that it is a meat dish, but honestly the spinach is the star anyway. The chicken is a bit of an afterthought, which made this the least successful item we ordered. Okra - I've ever tried Ethiopian-prepared okra before, so I was very happy to get this chance. As expected, okra works extremely well in this kind of preparation, where it's sticky nature is actually an advantage to thicken up the sauce. Overall I'd give the food a 4.5 but rounding up to 5 because everything else was so great. read more

Best Eritrean food only topped by the best service in the world? Abby is so sweet and such a hard worker. Loved the atmosphere, even though it was raining the patio was warm and dry. Made us feel so welcomed and even helped me celebrate my birthday!! We will be back again and again!! 5 stars!!! read more

Have you eaten lately home-cooked Ethiopian food? Well this is the place to go. Tasty delicious selection served in a clean cozy restaurant. The friendly atmosphere adds to the experience. Enjoy! PS. Don't forget the Ethiopian coffee. read more

Shewhat - Ethiopian Near Me - Oakland, California

My husband and I ate here at noon today, and I am still full -- more than nine hours later. We shared the veggie platter ($29.99) with shiro (spiced chickpeas) and okra, lentils, salad, etc., and it was enough food for four people. We took almost half of our platter home and are excited about eating the leftovers tomorrow for lunch. If you order just one main, try the shiro; that was our favorite. But all the curries were excellent. They have a nice outdoor patio, which is where we dined. read more

Great environment, super homey and cozey. The food and service were both great. It definitely gave authentic family owned vibes. It also had great vegan options!!! read more

Great service and amazing flavors! That's all I need in a restaurant. She what hit both of those on the mark. Also had the sambusas with the house tea, I would highly recommend!! read more

Shewhat - Veggie Combo + Shrimp Tibs - Ethiopian Near Me - Oakland, California

Such friendly, accommodating, and attentive owners and staff! The food was delicious and the service was remarkable. I highly recommend! read more

Shewhat - Ethiopian Near Me - Oakland, California

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Incredibly fresh and tasty habesha. My new favorite go-to. Sure, the portions are noticeably smaller than other spots, but I'd rather get higher quality and flavorful food than a large quantity of mediocre food. read more

The people running this restaurant are the sweetest, Shewhat is the name of the mother and the daughter is so kind and friendly. I got my usual veggie combo and my friend got the meat combo, he said he thought the beef was the best. For me the whole experience was so stimulating. The air was full of spices, the scenery was beautiful. I have been to dozens of Ethiopian restaurants around The Town but this one is special, the staff is just so real and welcoming. Oh yeah and the patio was so warm:) I have been on a lot of patios since I got vaccinated and outdoor dining opened up, most of them are chilly! The restaurant outdoors was as warm as the staff:) one little warning, the coffee is quite strong but delicious, and they brought the beans around for us to experience as they were roasting and preparing them. The vibe was pretty chill when we arrived at 6:30 but it picked up and changed to fun atmosphere. It was busy but safe! read more

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We hadn't had Ethiopian/Eritrean food in a while, so this was perfect. I got the chicken tibsy and spinach, and my husband got the beef tibsy and okra. Both were fantastic. I was hoping our 4 yo son would at least like the injera bread, but he didn't, so the lady who was taking care of us was so sweet and brought some seasoned rice for him. We ate at one of their outdoor tables and felt very safe. It helps with young kids, since the 4 yo could run around, and the baby could drop food on the ground and it didn't matter. We'd totally come back more often if we lived closer. read more

Omg seriously YUM. This was my first time trying Ethiopian food and I was floored and instantly upset I haven't had this in my life sooner!! The flavors were so damn tasty I couldn't stop eating. Normally I'm pretty good at stopping when I'm sated but I could. Not. Stop. I also have to really stop myself from ordering here because I can literally eat this everyday. read more

I ordered the Veggie Combo. The right amount of spice and the portions were perfect. I was stuffed!! Pick up was on time! The staff was also really amazing, Abby is sooooo nice!! read more

Shewhat - Contact info - Ethiopian Near Me - Oakland, California

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Arrived and had one of the best meals of my life. The spices, the service, the portions. My stomach and my heart say thank you!

This place is incredible. The food is great and the people there are genuinely very friendly. Can't go wrong with the meat and veggie combos. read more

It was ok but not near as good as other places I've tried Too greasy and the portion was pretty small

Abby has such great energy and serves up great food. We had a wonderful 4th of July dinner. Six stars. read more

This was our first time dining in at Shewhat and it was a really amazing experience. I usually go to Enssaro in Oakland with my family but this is our new favorite spot for authentic Ethiopian cuisine. The owner Abi was an amazing host, she made us feel welcomed and comfortable. Wish this business the best. read more

Shewhat - Meat combo and lamb - Ethiopian Near Me - Oakland, California

We drove over 50 miles to seek this place out. In our 15+ years of eating Eritrean/Ethiopian, we have tried most of the restaurants in Oakland/Berkeley. Shewhat is now a fave for the dishes offered. The menu is limited, but very filling. We ordered the vegetable combo and meat combo and were not disappointed. All the dishes had their own distinct flavor. The lentils had flavor AND texture, something that usually is just mushy in our experience. The spinach and the potato/carrot/cabbage was delicious. The meat combo was my fave. It came with the salad and yellow lentils, but I honestly was being a glutton for the beef wot which had a nice kick to it while my sis raved about the chicken and spinach. We also ordered the beef tibs and it was so tender! They were definitely generous with the clarified butter saute. We look forward to the growth of this restaurant's offerings and will definitely return when we have the craving. Location is on the corner of 61st and Shattuck in a vintage single story building. It reminded us of an old service station from the 50's, think it was a Mobil due to the concrete pillar shape. We actually drove past twice since signage wasn't pronounced. A sandwich board sign on the sidewalk or something would help the lost suburbanites like us. There are parking spaces for the building with lots of street parking otherwise. We snagged a covered parking spot in front of the restaurant. The interior is cozy and very clean, including a spacious gender neutral restroom. Limited indoor seating but the tables and chairs are very clean and decor is not dusty. Floor is also clean, not grimy. (Sis and I worked food service, so we are a bit OCD about facilities.) A positive impression for dine-in. We didn't check in on social media as we were hiding from the family (they get jelly about our food adventures) and we're not the "take pictures of our food" types either. Sorry. Rather eat while it's hot! However the pics posted by others are accurate. read more

Amazing food and exceptional service....Wait, its more like hospitality then service!! They have an outside patio with tables spaced out with good lighting and heat lamps. read more

Excellent food and very cozy place. Ordered special platter and additional crispy lamb and shrimp. read more

Shewhat - Special platter and crispy lamb and shrimp dish - Ethiopian Near Me - Oakland, California

Shewhat has great food and great enviornment and ambiance that makes you feel like you have friends sitting at the next table. The staff is super friendly. I went for my 65th birthday celebration and had a great time. The table next to me was celebrating someone's 80th birthday! Thank you Shewhat! read more

Went there as a group of 4 for dinner. Got the Veg combo for 2 and the veg/non-veg combo for 2. All of the food was outstanding in terms of spicing, flavor, and taste. The service was also very friendly and accommodating. Incidentally, if you are looking for raw ingredients then the same family owns the Asmara grocery store a block away where you can get Teff if you want to make Injera at home!! The East Bay has a lot of world class Ethiopian eateries. Shewhat (which is actually Eritrean and not Ethiopian) might be the best of the lot. If you're going for the first time I do recommend the combo options as you get exposed to a nice range of their main dishes. Amazing find overall and can't wait to go back. read more

Really tasty and good vibes. We were there on a very busy night and our food took a bit longer than expected and a cook came out to apologize and give us a free baklava. read more

I was skeptical with all of the options in Little Ethiopia down in LA but this is the best I've ever had! Their combo platter was perfect for two people but I definitely recommend trying multiple meat dishes. The service was also very pleasant. Great to support a woman owned business as well! read more

I really wanted to like this place :( especially because it seemed so promising on Yelp and it's women owned. However, the food was cold, oily and underwhelming. The beef tibs were dry. Shiro had a weird metallic taste. Injera was cold and had dry edges. The 3 stars are for the great service and the lovely & quiet outdoor dining area. Sadly we will not be returning. There are so many better Ethiopian places in the east bay and SF. read more

Dined In for 1 yesterday and I'm ready to go back again today!! My food was that damn good. I forgot to take a photo but I had the meat combination. It was beef, chicken and spinach, yellow lentils and salad. Bomb.com!!! This might be my new favorite restaurant in Oakland. read more

This place was amazing, with service that went above and beyond. It was my brother-in-law's birthday and we had another Ethiopian place in mind, but when we got there it didn't have indoor dining. Our dinner plans were thrown into flux, but luckily when I called Shewhat, the woman who answered the phone was able to take a reservation for 8 of us on extremely short notice. She was so understanding and kind about the whole thing. The food was fantastic (we have both veggie and meat-eaters in our party, and everyone enjoyed their meal), and the honey wine was perfect without being too sweet. I highly recommend the sambusas as well- perfectly done and a nice mix of flavors. The service was just as good as the food. Despite being busy, our server made sure we were taken care of at all times, and was obviously very excited to have us there. She was warm, and made us feel so welcomed. As a bonus, the staff surprised my brother-in-law (and us!) by marching out, singing him happy birthday, and giving him a free brownie complete with a candle. These people really care about their customers. We will be back! read more

A hole in the wall Eritrean restaurant in Berkeley! We ordered three items - Feritata, Ge'at & shahan ful. The feritata is basically very flavorful scrambled eggs & veggies - basic & delicious. The ge'at is something I've never had before. It's a sort of ring of bread-y dough with yogurt and butter. We were told the butter was traditional as opposed to the olive oil. It's a unique dish & I don't really have anything to compare it to, but I do think it's an acquired taste. We had to order two orders since we came early in the morning & the first to be seated. I think that if you come at a busier time you'd be able to order one serving, but since it takes time & is handmade, we were told we needed to order at least two servings. That being said, we had a lot left over & the owner told us that the dish is even more flavorful the next day and to heat it up in a pot and mix everything together. The shahan ful was definitely my favorite dish. I'm not a fan of beans at all but this dish was so flavorful & paired perfectly with the bread. The owner was also so so kind and welcoming, I would come back just to support her small business. read more

Amazing food and the kindest owner and chef. Shewat has amazing service and a really nice new outdoor patio for seating that's very Covid-safe with plenty of space. Chicken Tibsy, okra, and Bilen plate are all amazing. Everything on the menu is really great. read more

Great food, great service. Love coming here. Also, nice vibes in the outdoor seating area which is cozy and warm even in the winter.

On a lazy Saturday afternoon this is the perfect spot to strategize for my next DJ Gig. Location which allows for the balancing of my Ying & Yang read more

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