Café Eritrea D’afrique

LOVE this place!!! Best «Ethiopian» in the East Bay!

On I recent visit here I came here for the $ 8.99 vegetarian buffet yet despite the sign proclaiming this & the reason for me coming here I was told that the buffet wasn’t happening.
Instead I got the veggie combo plate for $ 12.50. It featured 7 items including hummus & was equally filling as well as flavorful.
Three complaints hence the 3 stars. No buffet yet will have to come back to try again. The food could have been hotter temperature wise & the waitress never offered to refill my water. Not that I wanted my water refilled since I drank a full glass. I know that CA is in a drought right now despite the buckets of rain lately so was I being a bit PC or was my waitress?!

Me and my friends had a very horrible experience in this restaurant. The whole experience is like I never seen in my life. I don’t advice anybody to go this place and be treated like us. The owner of the restaurant told us to leave because we stayed there 45 minutes literally she has no sign of that posted in the premises.

Ordered many items from the menu for our Executive Board meeting, beef chicken and vegetarian dishes. Everything was very flavorful. Received many positive comments from our members. We definitely planning on ordering again!

This is place is incredible. I’ve been to Ethiopia and was amazed by the food while there. This is the closest I’ve come in the Bay Area to finding authentic Ethiopian/​Eritrean food.

A very solid 3.5 stars for cheap and fulfilling Ethiopian food! I came in on a Friday night to order some dinner to-​go. The prices are standard at around 12 – 15 dollars, but the portions are huge! I got 3 meals for 15 bucks! While I personally believe the quality at Finfine is one of the best, this place beats it in terms of portions and price.
That day, I ordered the House sampler of 3 meats: lamb, beef, and chicken with a side order of collard greens. The beef and the chicken were slightly dry, but the sauce was fulfilling, soft, and flavorful with a hint of spice. The lamb was really moist. I’m not sure what the dishes exactly were, but they were still quite fulfilling. The injera bread was extremely porous and thick compared to other Ethiopian places but I thought it was still a great, sour bread for the rich meat. Since I forgot to order the meal spicy, the waitress was very generous in giving me a huge to go container for their wet berbere hot sauce.
Service was relatively quick. It took me 10 minutes to get my food, but the older generation of workers seemed to be paying more attention to the TV than welcoming customers in. The cashier who took and got me my order was in her 20s and she was way more attentive. But, for the portions and the price, I would definitely be back!
FYI: the $ 8.95 lunch buffet ends at 3:30 and it’s vegetarian.

The best Eritrean food in whole bay people are great Staff are excellent and they also have a great bar

I loved the food here. Don’t let the outside fool you. Walk in and be patient. You will enjoy the food.

I’m crazy about this place. I never leave without my belly hurting from eating WAY too much. I can’t help it. I want to eat it all. And before this; I never even had Ethiopian food. So no clue if it’s authentic: just delicious. Def recommend.

Best bar in Oakland! Had a great time a store some new beer (St George). Come check this place out!!!

Get the lunch buffet. It has most (all?) of the veggie combo items, but you get to pig out. Don’t restrain yourself, sample the delights of delicious veggie food. It’s not the best quality (duh, buffet), but it’s pretty good AND a great value.

Variety, deep and satisfying flavors, large portions, and good enough service. The kitfo rare makes me very happy.

My friend and I were driving back from camping and wanted to grab some food in Oakland/​Berkeley before heading back to the city and we found this place through Unilocal.Ethiopian food sounded good and this place has 4 stars so we just decided on this place. We did not read into reviews though…
Food:
They have big portions!
The hummus is more watery than I am used to but it is still delicious with spice powder, oil, and pine nuts on top. The pit bread is harder and crunchier than I am used to too, but again it was good either way.
I do not remember the exact name of the dish I ordered… but I ordered the spicy chicken. The server asked if we wanted all of it in a family platter and we did since we share our food. I enjoyed my chicken dish. I particularly liked the spices they used. At my first bite, the spice was not strong, but as I continued eating, it became more spicy! I could’ve and would’ve liked it to be a little more spicy, but it was good as is.
The injera is slightly sour and goes well with the spicy chicken, fresh salad, potatoes, and cooked veggies.
Service:
They are very nice. Greeted us and brought us to our seats right away. They did not come check-​in with us that much and I had to get their attention to re-​fill my water.
Setting:
It’s a clean and organized restaurant. There is a bar with TV playing sports and many tables for families and/​or groups to eat in. They have nice art pieces hung throughout the restaurant. Lastly and it’s very important too, they have a clean bathroom =)

Staff was friendly and efficient. Food was very good and at a fair price.
Ate too much, but it’s hard to blame them for that!

Right now it’s the best Eritrean restaurant I have ever tried. In the other Eritrean restaurants the main taste was the sour bread taste which made it impossible for me to finish my meal, too boring to eat a big plate that tastes almost all the same.
Instead here the taste of the dishes are well balanced and distinct, the bread have a better texture and consistency and the service is good and fast.

Met some friends for a meal at Café Eritrea a few weeks ago. Simply outstanding. We ordered both the meat and the vegetarian combos dinners, and everything is so rich and flavorful that I can’t even begin to identify a favorite. It’s all excellent.
If only I lived in the east bay, I would eat here far more frequently.

I give this place a 5 star. Food is great, owner is a sweet woman, good service and right on telegraph ave!

Ordered Shehan Phool. Asked to replace the cheese with humus. He said he could put the cheese on the side. I said I don’t want cheese. He nodded. I received the dish with cheese on the side. It would have been four stars without the communication difficulty.
The dish was good. Good texture and flavor. Seemed like it was missing something though. Something to add a bit of moisture to the meal.

We ended up spending a pretty penny here, but the food was really good. Since we rarely eat Ethiopian, I think it was worth it. We also ended up taking quite a bit of food home even after pigging out and eating way too much at the restaurant.
The veggie combo for two is definitely worth getting. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many different veggie dishes on one platter before. My only critique would be that many of the dishes were simply different versions of doing lentils. However, they were all uniquely spiced and quite different from each other.
They provided a lot more bread than most places do. We didn’t have to ask for extra Teff. Indeed, we ended up with more than we needed for the amount of food provided (and the amount of food provided was generous).

Best Eritrean /​Ethiopian food in town. They made my newyears eve a fantastic dinner out with friends. Fabulously authentic. I definitely recommand this to everyone who has or has not tried Eritrean/​Ethiopian cuisine before.

This place was awesome! We got the platter that has a little of everything. Highly suggest that option for Ethiopian/​Eritrean food noobs. We just started exploring the cuisine and are still learning, and the waiter was very helpful and the food was spectacular. This was definitely one of the best places we have tried thus far.
The atmosphere is dimly lit and mellow. Bar is set off in other room and has a TV, but the main room has its own feel. Great place to take a date if you are adventurous eaters or Ethiopian/​Eritrean food fans.

I am taking away one star for my first impression of the restaurant. There was bird poop and graffiti all over the burgundy colored hooding for the restaurant. I tried not to use my first impression as the bases to judge the rest of my experience. No trouble with that because inside this restaurant was spotless, not one stain on the wall. That atmosphere was clean and calm. There was a nice bar filled with East African men who sat and had drinks. There were basic chairs and tables lined up against the wall with larger family sized tables in the center. There was charming African art work on the wall that really caught my eyes.
My sister and I were greeted at the host stand by a friendly, straight-​to-​the-​point waitress who sat us quickly.
My sister and I agreed to start with the hummus. Compared to other hummus that I’ve tasted, D’afrique’s is by far the most tasty. The hummus was runny but flavorful, topped with tomatoes, and what seemed to be chilly powder sprinkled over the top. The hummus came with naan that was more than ready to eat.
The waitress could tell we were first timers and waisted no time suggesting a dish. I really like waitresses who aren’t afraid to suggest and guild new guests through their unique restaurant experience. We received our food 15 or 20 minutes after ordering.
For our entrée we had the first timers special, the combination plater for two which came with two sides of injera. We had to guess what everything was because not much description was given to us about each sampler. On the other hand we were given a tutorial about how to tear off small pieces of injera to grab tastes of each dish which was helpful to two avid spoon lovers.
Very colorful and precise in presentation There were about 9 different dishes on one platter. Everything from the lintels, to the yams, to the chicken, and lamb was booming with flavor. We were both given hefty portions of injera which was tangy spongy bread that complimented the spices in every dish. The food portions were very satisfying and cooked with care. My sister took the bill and paid about $ 35 for the hummus, the platter for two, and some bottled refreshments.
For such a quaint atmosphere, the flavors are bold and the food it great. The service is fast and casual. with an overall cozy feel, you get what you pay for at this unique stop on telegraph in Oakland. First timers try the plater, it helps with what to order for your next visit! Spicy chicken here I come!
Thanks for reading :)
–P

I ordered their House Sampler Vegetarian Combo. It comes with a «combination of seven hearty and gourmet dishes: Shiro, Birsin, Hamlee, Potatoes, Humus and Salad».
Having never tried Ethiopian or Eritrean food before, I’m not really an expert, but everything I ate was delicious. Lots of amazing spices and veggies. I love trying new types of cuisine!
Their bread is awesome. It’s called injera (I just looked it up, haha). Let’s see… it’s almost like a pancake of sorts. Sort of light, airy, and perfect for dipping into the hummus.
You can also order larger versions of the veggie plate if you’re dining with friends. I was on my own and ordering to-​go, so I just opted for the single person option.
Sidenote: I forgot to ask whether all of the items were vegan (whoops! fail). I just kind of assumed they were. I did some research on Ethiopian food, and everything in the veggie platter sounds safe, but next time, I will ask (just to be sure).
The waitress was super enthusiastic and had a great smile. I felt very welcomed and appreciated. I will definitely be back!