East African Cafe in Kitchener
50 Ontario St S, Kitchener, ON N2G 1X5, Canada
About
Simple storefront offering a predominantly vegan menu (halal meat options available) of African cooking plus a buffet.
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I ordered takeout from here. When I placed my order over the phone, I asked THREE times to have my injera bread packed separate from my Kay tibs. Instead, the wrapped the Kay ties in the injera, by the time I got home it was a soggy mess. It would be nice if this place had someone taking orders who understood the English language. $23 for soggy slop. Maybe turn down the east African music and take an English class or two? The portions were also tiny.
Nice little place with authentic E African cuisine. The injera was soft and fluffy and the entrees were well made and seasoned. Try their mango smoothie too!
Super friendly staff and delicious food. This is my first time having Ethiopian (East African) in Canada, and it was a pleasant surprise. Very flavorful and a perfect level of spice, always add the eggs.
I would give 5 stars but the bread was a little too sour (too lemon I think?) so I didn’t like it However the food and the service were exceptional, it was my first time trying African cuisine and definitely wont be the last
The price of the food is expensive, $20, which is not proportionate to the very small quantity, and is not arranged as shown in the attached pictures. The hand-washing area is shared with the bathroom. There are odors and a long wait after eating and before eating, for more than a quarter of an hour. Greetings, the worst experience I have ever tried
Got to this restaurant from a word-of-mouth referral, and we are pretty happy with the choice to eat here. The platter allowed us to sample various African flavours which were quite nice.
We wanted to try an Ethiopian restaurant and the East African Cafe came up on a Google search, so we decided to give it a try since we wanted something vegan. City owned paid parking is available on the side of the building just a few steps from the cafe. We arrived at 3:30 pm on a Saturday afternoon and noticed there were only two other patrons inside. The inside of the cafe is well worn. It's an older building with a lot of African decor. We noticed it's not the cleanest restaurant as we saw a lot of dirt on the window frame and floor. The men's restroom seemed like it hadn't been cleaned in a couple of days but wasn't totally disgusting. If the owners paid a little more attention to cleanliness it would make the cafe more appealing. The cafe has no WiFi; we're good with that. The owner was very friendly and helpful when explaining the menu. Owner and his wife work inside. Food: very tasty! We ordered the Vegan Combo because we wanted to try a little of everything and a Shiro plate. One thing we liked very much is that you eat without utensils. You simply break off a piece of their sour dough bread and grab the food with it in your fingers. We've eaten like this before and food tastes so much better than putting metal utensils in your mouth. I was expecting some of the vegan items to have a little more seasoning, as some seemed a little bland but I image that's the way it's supposed to taste; we've never had African cuisine. The cabbage and lentil vegan items were definitely our favourites! One thing I definitely don't like is that they reheat food in a microwave. Microwaves have no place in restaurants, especially this one that serves good fresh homemade food. So the ultimate question is, would we return? This restaurant has good food and lots of potential but sadly, however until we read more in depth positive reviews, we won't likely return.
Simple decoration, unpretentious good food. East African Cafe has been a regular restaurant for me and my friends for years. We have never left unhappy with the quality of our meals, or with the quality of the service. I must recommend, however, that the food isn't always delivered quickly to the table but the service is friendly and great food takes time. The decor has been updated. What a fun place.
The food and service are great. I will definitely come back
One of the best east african food ive ever had and service is outstanding friendly staff and dont forget to take your macchiato out your way Vegetarian options: You can get veggie injera
A fantastic place to have a coffee in the evening! ; )
Great food, great people, pleasant ambience. Been eating here for years and love it.
So bad restaurant
We ordered a vegetarian platter of injara and what should ve cost us approximately $20 (the menu says $17.99) came out to 46 these guys are scammers. I would recommend not going here, especially not at night
Great Ethiopian food, a wonderful experience with friends.
Lovely
Food is fabulous. Staff is friendly. Place is clean. Food is just outstanding! Vegetarian options: Vegetarian options. Gluten-Free options. Parking: Green P parking lot located near the restaurant
Good food.
Food was amazing! The atmosphere was good. A lot of seating. Vegetarian options: We got the vegetarian platter and it was amazing! Food : 5/5 |
Extremely small portion of decently tasting food. I am not a big eater, but I was done with the whole meal in about 5 minutes. Dont get me started with atmosphere... dim blue lighting, more like a bar than restaurant. The only positive was a service... by pleasant and enthusiastic waitress.
Nice place, tasty East african food. I ordered a vegetarian dish and loved it
Great food. Amazing Platter and good service
Great food, thats # 1. If you have never had African food, which I had not th first time I went there, there menu is quite approachable. With sampler options to give you a little bit of everything. They have some tasty vegetarian options and affordable prices. Plus you get to eat your food with your hands, whats not to love. Will be back.
Food is really good - got the vegetarian platter and it was delicious. I agree with the other reviewers that the music is really loud and almost unpleasant. The food is good enough that I d come back again.
Love the vegetarian platter every time!!!
Good food. Reminds me homemade
I still eat there. Their food is still awesome!
It is amazing place to visit. They have delicious Eritrean and Ethiopian foods.
Shouldnt be listed as a vegetarian restaurant as it serves lamb, beef, etc. Also, the vegan buffet on Tuesdays is not all you can eat/choose what you want. You get a plate with a few options and thats it, hope you like it otherwise youre going home hungry.
Great service!! Busy on Saturday night wz a nice East African DJ.
First time i tried African food, so yam yam
Especial gulten free dishes
Its number one food in Canada
Smallish place, amazing food. Staff was sweet to us. Venue was clean. We ended up sharing three #11 non - vegetarian combo platters between six of us, 2 Corona, 4 mango juice and 1 tea. The food was Ethiopian-inspired, injera etcetera. The mango juice was the purest Ive had. The tea was amazing, the hot water was already infused with cloves - super tasty. Will definitely return.
We ordered vegetarian combo. It was more than enough to feed two people. The taste is better than average. The ambiance is a bit more like a pub. Parking: There are a couple of parking lots nearby Wheelchair accessibility: Very accessible
I had makiyato from this place. It s was good and their service is great too . Keep up with your work
The server could not help understand the content of the menu due to a language barrier.
The description is predominantly vegan but most options were meat dishes. Seems like a cute place but after ten minutes with no server to bring water or ask questions about the menu decided to go find somewhere that would take our order in a reasonable amount of time.
Delicious food and great service; however, the restaurants was very quiet when we went.
The food was amazing, service was great. I will keep going there.
Excellent East African (Ethiopian/Eritrean) good, generous portions, and great, unobtrusive service. Cozy atmosphere and unrushed service. Vegetarian combo and tsaba tibs are highly recommended! Vegetarian options: Vegetarian combo (vegan) is excellent! Shown in the photo with a meat dish added for our lunch.
Best customer service with delicious habesha food if you are looking for east african food ( eritrea ethiopia ) highly recommended.
Tried Kay Tibs with beef and vegetable combo platter. Loved the bread, quantity was more than enough for 2 people. Reasonably priced. Clean and tidy place. Parking is paid, next to the building. 2.5$ per hour.
Tasty food and nice staff
Amazing customer service. Good food too
Ordered the vegetarian platter to go which also happens to be vegan. It has to be one of the best options to try a bunch of different stews. My favourites had to be the Tikil Gomen and the Ater Alicia. If you like it spicy, you can always ask for a few chillies on the side. The owner was very kind and the service was quick. Highly recommend this location when you are craving some East African food!
The vegetarian plate with Injera is delicious!! And I am a meat eater myself.
Really good vegan and meat options Vegetarian options: Great vegan selection
Positives: - The food was delicious. - A server seated behind the bar was helpful. Negatives: - The atmosphere wasnt relaxing. The TV behind the bar was on and it played music videos at a high volume. - The restaurant was unclean. - The server had very untidy long hair that we wouldnt be surprised if it may have fallen into the food.
The East Africa Cafe was a completely new dining experience for me. I was impressed with the flavours of the meat and vegetable dishes. Scooping up the variety of tasty options with Injera (Ethiopian Flatbread) was a fun and rewarding treat.
Super friendly staff, very unique atmosphere, the food is very affordable and lots of flavor to enjoy, if you want to try something a little different this is definitely a place to visit. We both had enough to eat and had a non alcoholic beverage for 26 dollars total where else would you get a dollar value like that.
Well, the food was good - we got the vegetarian platter; the hamlie was wonderful and I also enjoyed the Misir and Ater Alicha (though they were blander than some places) but as we were eating, my husband said it doesnt matter how the food is; I never want to come here again. The music was SO LOUD, it was like a nightclub, not a restaurant--and every time an ad came on, it was even louder and more abrasive. Ive been to another Ethiopian restaurant that was like that, so maybe its a cultural thing? But it was really unpleasant. We couldnt hear what the server said, and she couldnt hear us very well, which made ordering difficult. Then we were trying to have a conversation during dinner but we got tired of yelling. Also, as someone else mentioned, the server had hair hanging in her face (luckily there was none in the food), and the service was rather slow even though there was hardly anyone else there. We needed a place to go for dinner between lessons nearby, but next time we will find somewhere else. It might be good for takeout though.
a Home of East africans. organic food fully flavored with home E.African spices
Fast service
I usually love this place but tonight when I went to pick up my order, there were a lot of people for dine-in and some people not at a table, walking around with no masks. One guy walked right up to me with no mask and too close. I thought maybe he worked there. He didnt but walked to the back and called for the server. Its such a small restaurant with small tables and too many people to be safe. I wont be going back. Please manage patrons and staff properly taking better covid precautions!
Unimaginably delicious Habeshaa cousine, loved it!!!
Great quality and quantity of food. Got the East African cafe house special of meet and vegetables. The food came fast and the service was quick and friendly.
Love the food. Super delicious and great price with lots of vegan options. The owner is super friendly and personable.
Food is good but don t eat here if you are hungry or in a hurry. The service is incredibly slow.
Great food and lots to eat if youre vegan!
Oh my GOODNESS! This place was amazing. We tried the vegan and meat platters which I would recommend to anyone wanting to try out a little bit of everything. Portions were huge and the food was honestly so delicious. Please give it a try!
Can t wait until next time. Vegetarian combo (six dishes) was so good. Thank you
Super great african (ethipian) food. A store next door where I bought some coffee. Excited. Food qas nicely seasoned
The food is absolutely excellent. Ive dined in once and had take out twice from them in Justine month. The food is beautifully cooked and flavoured. I highly recommend eating here.
Best injera in KW, hands down!
Besr Eritrean and Ethiopian food in kitchiner
Great food choices and very affordable for a lot of food! A little slower service, but overall great vibe especially with friends.
Loved the food! The service was great and the prices very reasonable.
Great proportions and great food ! A great little find.
Wonderful food. Both veg and non veg. The injera bread, an Ethiopian staple, is delicious and naturally gluten free
First time today and I cant wait to go back!!! Food is absolutely delicious .
This restaurant has amazing value. The food is delicious and mopping up the flavorful oils with injera is so satisfying. The variety of the vegetarian platter is really nice, but the meat options are great too. Ive worked nearby for years and never thought to go in, but Im looking forward to eating here more often! Minor improvement I would like to see us the use of compostable or recyclable takeout containers.
Amazing high quality food at super prices. Definitely a kw staple!
Great East African food. Very friendly host who took the time to educate us
I got takeout here and the food is very good. Employees should be wearing mask though, especially if there is sign saying mask required by customers.
Ordered take out, two large portions that lasted two adults for a full dinner and lunch, for $40. First time trying East African food and it was very good! The platters come with many flavourful options and a lot, A LOT; of the bread (injera). We found the vegetarian options were the most flavourful. They were able to make the food less spicy for us, though I would recommend the heat if you can handle it. Highly recommend calling about 15-25 mins before hand to give them time to prepare, if ordering take out. Sadly we had to eat the food 3 hours after ordering (our own fault), but even still it was very good.
Nice food
Pickup service was excellent! Nice warm friendly greeting on pickup. All that was ordered was correct with my order. Price and portions totally worth it. 5 stars because vegetarian/vegan options on their menu. The food was flavorful, well-spiced, delicious and satisfying. So delicious I went back a few days after to order the same thing. Its nice to have delicious vegan options. Highly recommended by me. No complaints : )
I agree with Franki kung. Definitely a hidden Gem in Kitchener. Saturday night around 7:30pm is the best time to go visit the East African Cafe. Bring with you a friend/ partner/ sibling/ or ride solo whichever! In my opinion, if you truly want to feel and see for yourself the authentic experience of East African social life, music, art, unity, and love. Whether visiting overnight or on the weekend there is plenty of parking right beside the cafe in the rear. We took a taxi instead which was less then $10Cad depending if your staying within close proximity. The timing was perfect, the Bartender was super friendly, helpful, and gives good advice. The beverage are affordable, plus a huge selection of alcohol choices. The washroom are at the very end of the hallway, a little bit challenging for new guest to find. With that in Mind, the food menu was sanitized and wiped down. The food menu shows colorful photos of a variety of dishes, mostly vegetarian focus with a list of different options. It did not take long for the food to come after ordering. I recommend trying Ethiopian hot sauce for hot sauce lovers, we also liked the mustard sauce too. The reviews speaks for itself regarding the food. We acknowledge the patrons are locals who spend time away from there busy schedule to enjoy there time socializing with friends and were respectful and excepting. I been searching online for an East African Restaurant all summer and I finally found the best 1.
Its a perfect restaurant that evrey client can enjoy the habesha fresh and delicious food.
UPDATE 2: It was recently brought to my attention that his place is up an running and still as great as it used to be. Go check it out! A favourite of mine. Low key. Unpretentious and delicious.
Amazing food for a large group to share. We ordered ahead and the service was friendly, the atmosphere was comfy.
Sweet restaurant downtown Kitchener. If you want to try something new and enlighten your taste buds, this is the spot to go. Great prices, service and ambiance.
My favorite restaurant in town. We call ahead for gluten free injera and order our food at the same time so everything is ready when we get there. Afework is a friendly host and everything is super delicious.
Nice and good quality.
Very friendly and tasty!
Tuesday lunch buffet really hits the spot!!
Great food. Need bigger portions
Amazing owner
The owner is really nice. The coffee is excellent.
The food and service here were fantastic I will definitely be back!
Amazing vegan food! So filling and delicious. You have to give this place a try!
Tasty.
I go here about once a year and truthfully thats probably enough. The lentil dishes are tasty, but are near identical to the curry lentil we make at home. Rice ran out very early into lunch, which was unfortunate. The style of rolled spongy bread they have (wish I knew the name) was quite tasty and really unique. If you go into the place with the correct set of expectations, youll do just fine. There are of course better options downtown.
Good service and very tasty food. Also it was cool to see that Stephen Hawking had visited this place in 2012 on Ethiopian New Year.
The portions are pretty big. Would definitely recommend getting Shiro. The picture below is of the veggie combo. The bread is the best part about this place.
We had the vegetarian buffet for lunch. It was amazing! We will be back there again.
Yum!
Excellent food and good prices!
Great food, will be back! Highly recommend.
Excellent food! (Not a fancy atmosphere, but the food more than makes up for it). Best injera I ve had in ages (as good as Nazareth in Toronto)
What a terrific place! We love visiting when we can and are greeted warmly and treated like family. The food can take some time to come but its worth the wait. Family friendly, and the kids love going. Its been our go to for almost a decade and will continue to be.
Great food, good atmosphere, wonderfully kind service.
I love the food here! It is simply DELICIOUS. Always fresh, made with love! The staff is so kind too. It is a gem of a place.
He is a really nice guy and the store has got a little bit of everything
Love this place! If you are in town on business note that they do not have itemized receipts. The food is very good though.
Great food, Wonderful host/Service and whats even more amazing is the FOOD!
The flavour is awesome!!!
Took a little while to get our food but when we did it was really awesome. We had a platter with a little bit of everything and it was great. Friendly service and amazing price. Would love to go back.
Delicious! This is a very quiet and peaceful place, but serves a fantastic meal! They had excelent options for vegans, and the owner was extremely friendly and comical. I will definitly be coming back. Highly recomend it!
Took a little while to get served but food was really good.
Always delicious Ethiopian food. Owner does the service and is always helpful. Usually a small wait because the food is made fresh so it usually takes a bit more than 20 minutes to get a large combo, but definitely worth it. Prices very good for the quantity and the vegetarian options are great. They do take out as well.
Great food!
Excellent food and great value. Friendly service, we usually share a vegetarian platter between two.
Another delicious meal this time with our grandson at the East African Cafe to pay tribute to Stephen Hawking who dined here a few years ago. Again fantastic food and not a crumb was left.
Awesome food and super happy to find this authentic place right in my own back yard! Ive had Ethiopian food multiple times usually in a couple places around Toronto but I think this was as good if not better! Nice owner as well and so great to give your taste buds something to dance about :)
Always a friendly experience and the food is wonderful.
Great food, nice wine.
Delicious food & chill vibe
Delicious authentic food in a cozy environment with very friendly staff!
As advertised by other reviewers. Personal service, good food.
All vegan buffet Tuesday 12-3 PM. Delicious!!
The service is extremely slow, but the food is spectacular. We were a group of 4, the only customers in the entire restaurant, and the food took ~50 minutes to hit the table. Delicious if you can wait for it.
Excellent food. Authentic, but also accomodating for the casuals. Go in hungry though - I always forget how heavy that bread can be until Im halfway through the second piece.
Food was excellent. Staff was incredibly friendly and helpful. Decor could use some work but youre not there for the decorations, youre there for the food. Excellent vegan/vegtarian options too.
Great place for Ethiopian food.
Great new flavours
This is the hands down the absolute best food in KW!! Make it your new dinner night out spot !
Great spot. Food was awesome.
Food was good, quiet place with friendly owners. Food was kinda monotone though, would prefer some more sides or other flavour notes on the dishes I ordered.
Good ethnic food and a great and friendly owner!
Absolutely delicious! Had the vegetarian combo with rice . Every dish had its own flavour. Servings were hearty. We left full and happy
Great food. Be patient. Its worth the wait.
Excellent food thats fun to eat, friendly and attentive staff, great value. Well definitely be back.
Very nice food and experience especially for those unfamiliar with African cuisine. Definitely check it out to experience something new!
Very welcoming family friendly restaurant with great owners that value customers beyond than our expectations food tastes excellent very affordable price, gluten free options and vegetarian friendly real East African food Eritrean/Ethiopian!! I will be happy to revisit!
Amazing food. One of my favorite spots. Great price too! Ps: its still open! Not closed! :)
Amazing food, will definitely go here often
This is a regular spotting for meeting with friends and family. Great food & good value.
Ive been trying to find a place that serves raw kitfo (raw meat), albeit I havent been trying hard, and Im glad I got to try it here. I got the vegetable combination plate and they put the kitfo in the centre. I didnt even realize it was kitfo at first until the guy mentioned it either, especially since they didnt top it with cheese like the one in the pictures. He explained it was because I asked for the rarest doneness and that wouldve been too creamy with the cheese on top of it. The kitfo tastes absolutely incredible if cooked slightly, or even as leftovers the next morning.
