Very tasty. very fresh. Excellent service. Polite patient and informative! Authentic decor and…read moresmall but small space. Recommended 10/10

Tiny family-run spot with very affordable well-spiced food. You may need to wait for quite awhile…read moreif they are busy, or make a reservation. The lamb wat is especially good, as is the larger veggie combo.

Food was plenty and very flavorful. The injera was less sour than prior ones I've had…read more We got 2 combos (Abyssinia 2, meat) and an extra order of lentils (I believe??) for 4 people. Personally I think the veggie bits were better than the meat but that's just preference. I wouldn't order the lamb again bc I thought it was a tad too gamey and tough to eat. There are bones with some of the meat options. Overall, I think it is very hard to go wrong with a pick - just personal preferences would influence what I get next time.

I must say when I first walked in I wasn't sure what to expect. BUT I was met with friendly faces…read moreand was seated immediately. They gave us plenty of time to look over the menu and answered all our questions. Everyone scraped their plates clean and I can't begin to recommend how much I enjoyed this food. The things that were labeled as spicy ACTUALLY held some kick and I loved the contrast of spicy, hot and cold! Cant wait to head back there!

Delicious food. Friendly always smiling service. And you can try Ethiopian beer and tej.read more

Kaffa has been our go-to for a couple years now. Not as flashy or high end as other Philly…read moreEthiopian joints, but also not as expensive or busy either. Service is always prompt and still uses a covid-era mobile ordering/QR system that actually works pretty well. Vegeterian combo is huge, and paired with an additional entree (we like the tofu or okra wat) is more than enough for 2-3 people. All items are tasty and spicy. Decor is dated and minimal and that is 100% ok! Be sure to ask for awaze if you want it even spicier.

This place had so much flavor. What really stood out to me was the veggies. They were seasoned…read morereally well, which I appreciated because at a lot of Ethiopian restaurants it feels like the meat gets all the flavor and the veggies are just kind of there. Here, the veggies were delicious on their own. The service was quick, probably about five minutes, and the people were kind. The space was also spacious and comfortable. I do wish it came with another piece of injera, but I'm sure you can buy extra if needed. Overall, I'd definitely come back.

EDIT: after a few weeks I read my review and realized that it comes across as generally negative…read moreeven though my opinion is very positive. I went on too long about the kitfo. Salam is a delicious place with really friendly people. Me and my family have been taking out and eating in about once a week for months. It also attracts people working with laptops, as it is quiet and there's coffee. I am returning the 5th star because why should they appear less than excellent because of one guy's opinion of one dish? Btw the kik alicha is amazingly satisfying. ---ORIGINAL REVIEW I have a lot of positive things to say about this place, and just two complaints. I'm going to skip the positive as it is all repeated here in other reviews, other than to say that while the cooking here is not 100% in the mainstream of Ethiopian cooking, meaning that you can expect the Ethiopian dishes to land some short distance from what you are used to at any other place in Philly or D.C. or NYC etc., it is nevertheless usually delicious. The wots are spiced differently than traditional, there are more middle eastern flavors in general. The first time I came, soon after they had opened, I was disoriented and disappointed, but in later visits I decided I didn't care. The injera is among the best in Philly. Complaint#1: the doro wot sauce can sometimes (only twice) verge into the realm of so intense that you don't want to eat much of it, this has to do with both salt and spices. Complaint#2: This is the one that lost a star. They won't make their Saturday kitfo raw. If you ask for it raw it will be served rare, so the meat has received enough heat to toughen the texture and remove some of the color. I did complain, because I love kitfo and it is one of the most celebrated raw beef dishes, the beef glistening with niter kibbeh butter and looking like a shiny mount of rubies. It is amazing when made according to tradition and kind of lame when Americanized, like so many ethnic speacialties. About 3/4 of the best Philly places make it right, most in D.C. I would guess that Salam is either nervous about hygiene, a real consideration unless you mince your own beef, which is labor intensive. The excuse offered was that the beef got a little cooked by the hot butter, to which the answer is, your butter is too hot. No cooking can happen with this dish. (In Ethiopia a few do slightly cook the beef, but nobody likes those people.) I urge them to do Ethiopia justice and take kitfo off the menu, or do it right. Americans have learned a lot in the past few decades. Tell them what to expect and many will be enthusiastic. It won't work if you let them expect cooked beef. That's all the negative I have, I am looking forward to my next visit for the kik alicha.

Finally made time to try this place because it always smells good when I pass by here. Went here…read morefor dinner and I got the Dibi (lamb chops) with Plantains as my side and my friend got the Coumba Thieb Vegetables with Jollof Rice. Both the dish were amazing! The Dibi is a must try! They do serve certain lunch dishes during dinner and vice versa. Overall good service and great atmosphere! Don't sleep on this restaurant!

I want to start by saying the food was excellent! My friend and I both really enjoyed the Dibi…read moreLamb. If I got take out I would have rated this higher. It was freezing cold in the restaurant!!! By time I got to all of my food it was also freezing cold! A customer came back with his food b/c his order was not correct. He asked for brown rice and the same rice they sold to us as white rice they were trying to tell him was Brown rice. The argument escalated and the waitress/cashier was continuing to argue with the customer!! She was also yelling at and arguing with the cook. Things got got very uncomfortable!!! Just get ALL orders to go!

For sure a basic dive - practically no ambiance other than iconic wood paneling. But the food!!!…read moreIt's amazing. I had the doro wot. It was out of this world. Service was very friendly and good.

Food was just okay. It wouldn't be my first choice for getting Ethiopian food but the bartender was…read moreso attentive and always ready to answer questions. It's an interesting combo between sports bar and Ethiopian. It was good for a midday meet-up.

Dahlak Paradise is a vibe! This was my second time coming for a private event and I love the layout…read moreof the space. The front is super cozy. The middle area is an open area for dancing and sitting. And the back is a bar area. There is also an outdoor patio area for hanging out for some fresh air. The service was amazing and our bartenders were fantastic! We ordered the braised chicken sliders and they were delicious. It's a great space for a private party or just a great night out with good food & drinks!

The restaurant is divided into two sections really three if you count the back patio. Upfront is a…read moreRestaurant. It has pretty good Ethiopian food. The dining area will offer live music and such and even kareoke. The back is a dive bar. Just beyond that is the back patio. Which is really nice in the summertime. This place is definitely the neighborhood watering hole. Can you see people from all walks of life and it's such a chill vibe everyone just gets along. I really love that about this place. Drinks are generally cheap and they have specials going on. Don't expect anything fancy or not on the drink menu. There are a few house drinks the bartenders know how to make otherwise they can be kind of lost. It's best to get some thing on top or in a bottle or can. There was a different bartender every night because they were working one day a week each. Unsure if that's still the case now. Service isn't always terrific and can run slow. I've had a few bartenders over the years be less then cordial. Overall, they have been few and far between and the unpleasant ones aren't around for very long. The family that owns this place gives back to the community and even helped with a personal fundraiser that I had. I've met a good amount of my friends in the neighborhood here as well. So if you are newer to the area, it's a good place to make friends, especially on a kareoke night with Dr Thunder or Pebs

I didn't know that this is owned by the same owners as Alif (see that in one of the other…read morereviews!), but that kind of tracks. I stopped in for lunch w/ some friends, and I thought everything tasted great! I opted for an order of chicken tenders with fries, one of their featured specials, and I definitely couldn't tell that it was gluten-free, but it is! Looks like they use teff flour for their batter (it does have dairy, though, for those who can't have it). Not that sports stadium chicken fingers are the best kind, but the ones here definitely beat those. Admittedly, I don't often get chicken tenders, but I would get them again here. Some of my friends got the chicken sandwich, which looked to be essentially my meal but with a bun, and another got a falafel wrap, which also looked good. I would try either that or a chicken shawarma wrap in the future. You order at the counter, but if seated, they bring the food to you, which is nice. Not a huge amount of room inside, less than Alif, but enough for a few tables, and just about what I've come to expect in West Philly. Good spot for a relatively quick lunch, and some great gluten-free options to boot.

Delicious crispy chicken. This Ethiopian fried chicken spot batters their fried chicken in teff…read moreflour, making it gf. Their mac and cheese was also great