Addis Ababa Cafe

Wonderful tasty food, and a very friendly atmosphere!
The platters are an easy way of getting a good selection of dishes to try. Plus a large portion of the menu is vegan (advertised as vegetarian but is actually vegan).
We found the food to be flavourful and the bread (made from Teff flour) to be a new discovery — different from Indian breads (wheat flour & sometimes chickpea flour) — and sort of like a light pancake that is used to scoop up food instead of using cutlery. A great cultural experience for our kids :)

Like many others who have written reviews, I hadn’t tried Ethiopian food before either — and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
I ordered a mixed plate of meat and vego options on the pancake like bread (can’t recall the name) — it was all delicious and there was so much of it! I was FULL before I finished, which is rare for me. The flavours were delicious and diverse and the service was friendly and top notch!
I’m looking forward to returning now that I know what to expect!

Excellent service, excellent food. The siga wett is superb and I find myself randomly craving injera weeks after I’ve eaten there.
Relaxed atmosphere and authentic music make this a must if you’re in Adelaide.

Excellent food and affordable price. The staff members are quick and very polite. They take their time explaining the delicious food. I have visited this place five times already. Make sure you book a table because this place is quite popular especially on weekends.

I had never had Ethiopian food before, and had no idea what to expect. We were given so much fantastic advice by the owner, and were certainly not disappointed! Totally loved the food and the atmosphere, the meals are huge and so, so tasty.
Went back again tonight with my family for the banquet meal and good lord! Everything was amazingly delicious, all you can eat, extra bread… I don’t know what that bread is, but it is a taste sensation. I love this place, SO much. Vegan, vegetarian and meat options. Definitely an all round win!

We love it at Addis Ababa. Have always had great service by Zed and the food is amazing. Really good value a swell especially if you order the banquet. They don’t serve alcohol so bring your own of that’s what your into. The corkage is only $ 2 from memory so that makes me quite happy. Go with a big group and try a few different things. Cool little place with a nice vibe.

The other Unilocal reviews didn’t let me down. This place is awesome!
Not my first Ethiopian experience so I knew what to expect with the pancakey Injera bread and spice.
We got there at 6:30pm and it was empty but quickly filled up.
Lots of vegetarian options. I had the vegetarian platter which came with 3 different dishes/​sauces. I think it was around $ 16 from memory.
Had an Ethiopian coffee afterwards which was also nice.
Nice warm vibe, service was chill. Just what I needed for my birthday dinner!

I had never tried Ethiopian food before and was keen to give it a shot, especially as I’d heard great things. Things didn’t get off to an awesome start when we couldn’t figure out how to get in; because it was freezing outside, the door (which is covered in grass matting) was sensibly closed. (But on the plus side, we did discover where the toilets were in advance!) They had also forgotten our booking; luckily there was half a large table free.
It’s saying something that after this, I’d happily go back as the food was great! I had a platter which had a sample of different dishes on it, and couldn’t decide which one was my favourite. (I think it was the split pea one. Or the beef. No, the split pea one. Um… I’ll have to go back and try again.)
The injera (a rice-​based bread which is served with — or under — the meals) was fascinating — it was like a huge flat crumpet, with lots of little holes. (I kept squishing it, but I’m also a person who does that with bubble wrap, so it was kind of inevitable.) They don’t serve alcohol, which we’ll remember next time, but corkage is cheap so take your own. The atmosphere is cosy and informal, and the service polite yet a bit slow — there was only one woman out the front, though, and she was run off her feet, so we just nabbed her when we could.
Go with an empty stomach — this cuisine is filling, even if you think it doesn’t look like a huge amount. (Trust me; I’m a gal who likes a solid serve of food.)

Not well versed in Ethiopian cuisine however I must say this Addis has a character about it, informal and lots of fun.
It boasts friendly and warm service. Dig into the banquets and you won’t be hungry for weeks. Everything is fragrant and spicy. There’s a phenomenal amount of food for a reasonable price and plenty of extra bread on the side.
The outside looks drab, however inside there’s an earthy vibe that brightens up the mood. The walls are covered with colour and artefacts, with funky African beats playing in the background.

I agree with Ian! This is the BEST Ethiopian restaurant I’ve been to in Adelaide. My housemate and I used to go to the gym across the road but at least weekly would ruin our workouts by indulging in takeaway from Addis.
She’s a vego, so we’d often get the lentil dishes. There is a rich, mild, buttery one and we’d get a spicy one to complement it. All dishes are served with the griddle bread, Injera, which is typical of Ethiopian cuisine — one side is flat and one porous, it’s a bit pancakey with a faint lemon flavour. They serve it rolled up and in quantities large enough to feed an army. I’ve had a beef dish as well and it was delicious with plenty of tender, shredded beef bang for your buck.

Now this is not the first Ethiopian restaurant I’d visited in Adelaide but for me it is definitely the best and the only one I would recommend to anyone asking to try Ethiopian food. Run by Zed and his wife, Addis Ababa is a small mostly family run business that can be found just up Port Road a little further north from the South Road intersection. If you weren’t looking for it you would never see it driving down the road. The only reason I even found the place was because I was at the vegetarian restaurant next door one day for a friend’s birthday, but that’s another story.
From the outside, the dimly lit interior gives off a cozyambiancethat draws you in and once you’re inside, the smell of the food from the kitchen is enough to make you want to stay forever. The first day I entered the restaurant I was greeted personally by Zed. He made us feel welcome and as they say, the rest is history. I have since introduced pretty much all of my friends to his restaurant and if I make more friends in future, I will be directing them his way.
The main thing though that I love about the restaurant is the food, especially the Kitfo which is a dish of raw beef that is cooked in spices. The staple they serve is a home made sourdough bread called injera which looks alot like a white fluffy pancake. As I mentioned before, Addis Ababa is not the first Ethiopian restaurant I’ve visited in Adelaide. I have been to at least 2 others and Addis Ababa is by far hands down the best in terms of food, customer service and atmosphere.
If you are a new customer, Zed will usually come over to your table to explain what is on the menu and to make recommendations, if you need him to. The first time I went to the restaurant I told him I liked spicy food but had a sensitive stomach so he brought out some homemade goats cheese and told me it would help if I ate it with the spicy food. He also recommended that I have some spiced tea to wash away the spiciness once I was done with the meal. Spiced tea tastes very similar to chai, but without the milk. The level of attention and customer service I got was unlike anything I had ever received anywhere else in Adelaide so it was a pleasant surprise.
Since that first visit, I’ve been back to Addis Ababa several times, usually with friends who at the end of the meal all agree with me that the food is delicious and the service is wonderful. While they used to open for lunch, Addis Ababa is now only open for dinners everyday except Wednesday. The average cost for a dish there is about $ 15 and 2 dishes are usually enough to satisfy me and my wife whenever we eat there.
The food is delicious, the atmosphere is great and the service is fantastic. You really couldn’t ask for more.