Ethiopiques

This place does NOT deliver, even though it says it does on the Unilocal page. Sorry, you lose my business. Also, consider having someone who speaks English answer your phone.

Ok, so when I first tried this place it was such tasty food, and it was my first experience trying Ethiopian. The Lady that served us was so nice and friendly, she went through the history of Ethiopian culture, food and coffee and that really helped us select what we wanted to eat.
I told my sister about it and we decided to go back as she really wanted to try this cuisine.
We called to make reservations but were told that we didn’t need any for two people. We went for Saturday Lunch, but the door was closed. We called the restaurant and no one would answer. We walked around the area, came back and still the restaurant was closed.
We then came back after a month to give it another try and the restaurant was still closed! We peeked into the big window and saw a HUGE fly inside the restaurant buzzing around the window. The fly was probably half the size of my thumb.
LMAO we both looked at each other and ran for the hills. :‘D

This is another restaurant that I always walk by a lot, but have never tried. This would be my second time trying Ethiopian food. I came here on a weeknight. The location is very convenient as it is on Church and Dundas, very close to the Eaton Centre. The outside of this restaurant is not very attractive. Inside the restaurant is also just passable, but it was comfortable and spacious. The server was nice and friendly and the service was average. I thought it took really long to get our food. But when the food came, the food was good and flavorful. The prices, in my opinion, was en par with other restaurants of this type. I liked that the server kept bringing out the Ethiopian bread that you eat with the food. We had to tell them not to bring more. I really liked the lamb short ribs that we ordered. Overall, it was a good experience and I think I would come back when I am in the mood for Ethiopian food.

I came on a Wednesday night for dinner with some friends. Although we made a reservation, we didn’t have to, as we were one of only two parties dining there that night. The restaurant itself is very cozy and comfortable; a good atmosphere for an intimate dinner. Only 1 waitress was working that night so service was a tad slow; don’t come here looking for a quick meal.
Since this was our first time trying Ethiopian food, the waitress recommended the platters — I split the meat and veggie platter ($ 29 for two people). The platter was huuuuuuuuuge; it would’ve fed 3 people quite comfortably. On the platter, my favourites tended to be the vegetarian dishes (especially the lentil dishes) as the meat was a bit dry and tough. Injera was served on the side, and is (I presume) unlimited. To eat, rip pieces of injera and use your right hand to pick up small portions of stew or salad. Injera is a sourdough-​based flatbread, and has a slightly sour flavour — definitely a bit of an acquired taste.
At the end of the meal, the waitress was nice enough to give us a complimentary piece of warm baklava — although they don’t make it in house, it was delicious nonetheless.

Yikes!!! What a disaster this place is. We read the reviews before going and figured it would be OK but were mistaken.
The service was absolutely horrible! There was no one in the place and the server saw us but still took several minutes to seat us. He proceeded to screw up the order and once he fixed it we never saw him again for the rest of the night. There was no coffee service or anything. The food was luke warm and dismal.
The men’s washroom was horrible. Both toilets were broken. If I didn’t know better I would say that this place is about to go out of business.
There are tons of good Ethiopian Restaurants on Danforth East. Go there if you want a good Ethiopian experience but stay way from this horrible place!!!

Had a dinner date there, experience did not match up to the company… The ambiance of the place really did fall flat from their attempt to make it fine dining or intimate. Food was edible but does not warrant the price. Service was slow and didn’t care too much for the state of the washrooms. Overall, a forgettable experience even though it should be a memorable one being a first time trying Ethiopian food…

Delicious food, quaint atmosphere, very friendly and helpful staff. I vegetable and meat sampler dinner was outstanding. The bread had a wonderful flavor

Good food, very authentic and exotic. For sure worth a try. Also the coffee ceremony is a must have!

The best Ethiopian I’ve had in Toronto. Platters are fresh, flavourful, and super ample. Martinis are good and strong! Owners are kind and genuine. Décor attractive, clean, and inviting. We really enjoyed ourselves. :)

Went here for the first time recently. The service was a bit slow but very friendly. The décor and environment were relatively simple. Food was quite good and very filling if you get one of the combo platters. I would to again. This place is also vegetarian friendly.

Stopped by here for lunch, and while the place was pretty empty, which worried me at first, I was pleasantly surprised. I ordered the vegetarian bento box, which comes with a choice of four veggie dishes, but what came was actually a bit more than that. They decided to let me try a small sample of all of the veggie options, probably because it was such a slow day for them. The food was delicious, it came served on their traditional injera bread, with more rolled up on the side to eat it with. My favourite of them all was the red lentil dish that was a little bit spicy. The only thing I didn’t enjoy very much was the salad, which was a little too garlicky for me even when taken in bites with the other choices.
The man who served me, who I gathered was the owner, was very nice and didn’t even laugh too much when I asked for a fork to help me, because I knew I would only make a mess trying to use just my hands like you’re supposed to.
I would definitely recommend for a nice affordable lunch in the area!

Tried to do something a bit more adventurous as a group and we ended up here at Ethiopiques for a group of 6. Reservations went alright but they had no record of it, the host managed to put together a booth in short order. The place has ample seating and can seat a group up to 20 people with ease.
Food compared to other Ethiopian places is not as tasty, lemon was a bit overpowering in some dishes, but it was clean and relatively fresh. Aside from that, almost all of the dessert items were out of stock and the drink prices were a bit high for a place like this.

I went to this restaurant with my boyfriend because of the great ratings. We both love trying new cuisines but this was just the worst place ever. When we went inside we were seated right beside the window. The first thing that my boyfriend had to do was stomp on a cockroach!!! We ordered the meat and veg platter and when it came out it was completely cold. The bread I was not a big fan of because it was also cold and bland. While we were eating …2 to 3 flies landed on our food. We were both so grossed out we did not finish the food. There were cockroach droppings everywhere, including on the glasses they gave us water in… And worst was the pricing for this food! We paid $ 47 honestly we could have had better food for that price. This has totally turned me away from Ethiopian food.
Also if you have trypophobia (fear of holes) the bread will freak you out!

Took my girlfriend here for her birthday and we left with a smile on our faces which has become a challenge with Toronto restaurants. The Manager/​Owner and the lovely server treated us to an authentic Ethiopian dining experience highlighted by exotic flavors and rich spices.
You MUST try the authentic Coffee experience as it was quite possibly the most flavorful coffee we’ve ever had.
To top it off, on their own accord they brought us two birthday martini’s whilst bday music was being played throughout the whole restaurant which was a thoughtful surprise.
Highly recommend people go here and do not be intimidated by the location as the food/​experience is totally worth it!

Overall:: Interesting restaurant to try but probably a place that I’ll only try once. Total cost for 2 was approximately $ 50.
Setting: Sleepy cozy spot with interesting African music. Washrooms and stairwell smelled bad and musty.
Service: We were greeted immediately by the owner and given a He took our orders and was very helpful with explaining the menu. With that being said, the food service was fairly slow since it did take a bit of time for the food to arrive. Not a very busy restaurant with only two people working at the front.
Food: We ordered one meat and veggie platter and one meat platter. It was more than enough food for us. Both dishes were delicious and filling but I wasn’t personally a huge fan of the bread? The taste of the food doesn’t stay in your mouth which can be a good or bad thing. We also tried the African beer which wasn’t bad.

Love the food! If you want to try out something different you must check it out. I think ive been 5 times now, the food is fantastic, and feels like someones grandma is cooking with love.

Had the Meat and Veggie platter for two. It was SO GOOD. Service was great and Fasil is very friendly. The chickpea gravy served with the platter was amazing… If i could get the recipe, I would cover all my food in that gravy. Since we liked it so much, Fasil gave us another serving, which we greatly appreciate !
Amazing meal. would definitely come again!

Back for round 3. Great as always, though some of the dishes were a bit on the pureed side this time — not sure why that was. And the salad side (got the meat & veggie platter) was a little heavy on olive oil. But the rest was fantastic.
Service slow as molasses — pretty standard for Ethiopian but for some reason last time was much better. Even though they weren’t busy, when I asked for the check, it still took over 10 minutes to come! It would also be nice to have some background music of some sort — it’s *very* quiet in here. Not a big deal if you’re having a conversation, just striking when you first come in. This review’s probably a 3.6÷5, so I’m still rounding up to 4, but it’s in danger of slipping a bit if the food quality drops any more.
Btw — a nice touch — this place offers keff injera as an option (not just the standard keff/​flour mix). A nice change — and more authentic!

Food — ⁵⁄₅ — Food as good as it can get! Our first Ethiopian experience and was a great one!
Service — ³⁄₅ — The staff could be more welcoming.

Ordered the veggie and meat platter, was good pretty tasty, especially the meat. The bread was good, not so convenient to eat my food with because I’n not used it and it was fun! And the waiter was nice enough to bring me a fork when I finally gave up.
Waiter was really nice which is why i’m giving it 4 stars. For the food i’d stay 3 gor taste and 4 for price/​quality.
Overall, good experience!