Lalibela Ethiopian Restaurant

Came here with a Groupon and I must say, was very pleased with it. We ordered a meat platter which was absolutely delicious. I truly enjoyed the different spices, and different vegetable combinations, paired very well with the injera.
Additionally, I highly recommend the coffee. It is quite unique and has a wonderful taste. I appreciate the wonderful service and very hospitable staff.
Will definitely return.

This place is a great value and the food is flavourful and fresh. Service is slow but super friendly, so if you’re into the idea of feeding 2 (probably 3) very hungry people for $ 20 – 30, this is a great East end Ethiopian option.
We tried the meat platter for 2, something like $ 28, and it was more food than needed despite my near bottomless pit status and was fresh and nicely spiced. It came with loads of injera, and each dish was lovely and distinct– some hot, some sweet, some savoury. Would repeat.

Couldn’t leave Toronto without checking out the Ethiopian neighborhood restaurant. The city has a surprisingly sizeable community of Habesha (Ethiopians/​Eritreans).
If you are new to Ethiopian food, go with the staples that most people enjoy: siga tibs (cubed beef, onions, tomatoes, peppers, chilli peppers, and array of fragrant spices sauted together) and the vegetarian combination (an array of lentils, cabbages, chickpeas, stews that pack in such bold flavors you forget the meat is lacking). Make sure to specifically ask for the tibs to be «juicy». They will know exactly what you’re talking about, and it will taste better that way. Believe me. I’m Ethiopian and I grew up on this deliciousness.
And if you’re an experienced Ethiopian food connoisseur, then go outside of your comfort zone and try the kitfo (tere– raw or lebleb– sauted lightly). The raw version is better— and seasoned to perfection with Ethiopian spices. Just think of it as how you would eat a rare cooked steak.
Anyways, back to my experience. I ordered the tibs and vegetarian combo. It was delicious. Generously portioned. So much so that I couldn’t finish it all in one sitting. The sweet waitress packed it up for me and double wrapped it in plastic so that the smell wouldn’t overtake my taxi or hotel room.
Overall, the food was comparable to what you can get in most major cities. a solid four stars! Also their hours are much more extended than other Ethiopian restaurants in the are (which usually only open for dinner instead of lunch). I will note that the chickpeas and lentils in the vegetarian combo could have been cooked a little bit longer. But other than that, everything else was fantastic! Will be coming back soon.
P. s. End your meal with «shai» (Ethopian tea) with «kemem» (cinnamon, cardamom, clove spices). It will not only warm you up from the Canadian cold, but also help you digest the food which is amazing but often very heavy.

My boyfriend and I fall into phases with different cuisines — we will stick to one or two cuisines for a period of time, and really scope out what Toronto has to offer. After our first experience at Lalibela, it’s safe to say that we’ve been kickstarted into an Ethiopian phase. I love Ethiopian food!
THE GOOD:
— Awesome value. We got the lunch special for 2, which was $ 20 and more than filling.
— The décor inside is funky — we sat on benches that were adorned with intricate designs.
— Service was great. Our waitress was well-​mannered, and our food came out very quickly.
— Last but not certainly not least, I really enjoyed our food — I felt compelled to write this review because I was sitting here, still thinking about how good that minced beef, cottage cheese and spongy injera was yesterday…
THE BAD:
— Our food was just a little on the bland side — they could have kicked it up a notch.
Overall, I’m a Lalibela fan. I can’t wait to try more Ethiopian spots in the neighbourhood.

Well, I am not an expert, but I know what tastes good. Yummy yummy in my tummy! We always have take home! Usually get a sampler platter either vegetable or mixed. I love Ethiopian food, it is spicy but flavor spicy. OK, it will make your nose run and make you drink tons of water, but is that a bad thing? Nope! We go back all the time.

The place looks nice and cozy, but the food is average, i would stick to the cha cha tibs…

I’ve tried ethopian food at a couple of restaurants in Toronto and I always come back to this. Not only because it’s a great deal (when you buy the groupon) but also because the food is great.
The décor at this place is kinda iffy, but the waitress went through great efforts to explain the menu to us and gave us a number of good suggestions on what to get (I can’t eat overly spicy foods).
We got an assorted veg/​meat platter + a non-​spicy beef dish. The portions were generous and tasted great! It’s only been a week since I last came here and I am having cravings for Ethopian food again.
Tip: free parking on the side streets

Exquisite, refined cuisine. WOW, absolutely gorgeous. Nice restaurant, quiet ambience (what a pleasure), polite service. Fabulous food. Try the vegetarian platter with the Mother’s special on the side — we had fish in berbere spices with the vegetarian platter. Mmmm. The injera bread … mmmmm …
The collard greens were done perfectly, the lentils, mmmm …
Healthy but satisfying food.
Lentil soup was ok but nothing special (sorry) …
Everything else — exquisite!

Best Veggie dish north of the border! The cha cha tips is hands down the best dish! You can’t really miss with anything on the menu

Food is delicious but service is terrible. I’ve witnessed both dishonesty (charge too much and lie) and rudeness. Not going back there again

I have said it before and I will said it again: Ethiopian food is truly one of my favorite cuisines.
Sure, I love me some French, Spanish, Middle East, Indian, Asian… okay, I am going to stop now, as I like a LOT of cuisines. The point is, I am a great dinner date.
But I digress, the fact is that from a healthy, taste, simple, aesthetic and veggie friendly cuisine: Ethiopian is hard to beat.
There has been a ton of new (yet unproven) Ethiopian restaurants springing up on Queen West (really West) and on both ends of Bloor/​Danforth however Lalibela has been at it for years!
In fact, along with Nazareth and The Ethiopian House, Lalibela is part of the old guard, preparing veggie friendly dishes for what feels like ages.
How is the food then? It is like coming home. I find the food delicious and tasty. The platters are large and filling. Their Lalibela Platter is pretty much the best mix if you want a bit of everything although a tad more expensive than places like Nazareth. So keep that in mind as it might add a few extra bucks at the end of the bill, specially with larger groups. Their rare beef dishes are succulent and I am glad they make them.
I would say that although it might not have je né sais quoi of Nazareth’s décor nor the convenience of the Ethiopian House, it also does not have the crazy lineups of the former nor the often indifferent service of the latter.
When it comes to food quality, I would say that Nazareth and Lalibela (with two locations!) are probably your best bets for a night of delicious Ethiopian food.
Just remember, TRY not to use your left hand to eat, it is considered inappropriate.

Officially my new favourite Ethiopian… We ordered the veg platter for two with ginger tea… Food was exceptional, service was friendly and attentive and the booths were so comfy and I would have stayed longer and tried the coffee but had somewhere to get to… I will definitely be back soon! Thanks for a great dinner!

So fucking good. Went to the east end location for the first time today. I Ordered #45 — tibs with veggie combo — lamb stew served with a variety of vegetarian stews, $ 17.
Holy fuck. Tons of food. Probably 3 meals for me. Al the food is served in their injera bread, plus there is an extra bread (huge) to dip. There is an amazing amount of lamb stew in here, plus 4 – 5 types of veggie stews, peas, lentals, colard greens, etc. Like I said, I will be enjoying this for many more meals. With tip, maybe came to $ 20 (IDK, tipped 15%). Very good value, and delicious food. Will be going back

Dinner
Ambience: ³⁄₅
Food: 3.75÷5
Service: ³⁄₅ (Friendly)
Value: 3.5÷5
Repeat: Perhaps.
Best among the TO Ethiopian restos that I have tried.

Excellent service. Good food. Decent prices (a but more than others in the area). The spices are not overwhelming, well done. Waitress was kind enough to show us how to use the injafa even though we already knew, she just wanted to make sure. The only negative was the volume of the music.

My friends and I went here to try authentic Ethiopian coffee. To get this service you have to call in advance or let the waitress know as soon as you order your meal. It ended up being a really unique experience.
The waitress first brought out the beans as they were being roasted and let us smell them. Then she went back to the kitchen and brought out incense, coffee cups and a big bowl of popcorn. We aren’t sure why they bring you popcorn but it was really good!
Then she brought us our coffee in a ceramic coffee pitcher. The coffee was really good and the price was unbeatable. For four of us, the coffee ritual came to $ 3.00 per person.
I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants to experience an authentic Ethiopian coffee ritual. Unfortunately we did not try their food since we had already eaten.

I’ve gone here twice when I found my fave east-​end E-​resto closed (Blue Nile). Points for it being open at lunch when other Ethiopian restaurants in the neighbourhood are not (and there are literally more than a dozen on this stretch of the Danforth).
The first time, I ordered a veg sampler for 2 to go. It was packaged well, arrived in a timely fashion, and I got to sit at the cute if exposed-​feeling bar and have a wine. But when I got to my friend’s place, the salad was missing. The green salad just wasn’t there – what the what?! That’s literally one of my favourite parts about a vegetarian platter – getting to pinch the different lentil and veg stews with injera along with some chopped salad tossed in that signature lemony savoury dressing. It’s critical to the whole flavour, texture, hot/​cold contrast experience. And so, a big disappoint – I felt bad for bringing lacking take-​out to my Ethiopian-​food loving friend.
The next time, me and my family ate here for dinner. My boys are versed in Ethiopian food having sampled it many places. Service: good but not sparkling – I was amused that the servers wear tops that look like bowling shirts. Ambience: fine but nothing special. I appreciated the presence of locals, murals, wood paneling, and booths. The vegetarian sampler was lacking in deep flavours, as before. My boys agreed – just OK, but overall, they were not impressed nor was my guy. Also, they couldn’t make me a vodka martini?
I’d come here again for lunch, maybe, but I also might try another spot instead…

Meat Platter is better than other ethiopian restaurants. I’ve been to wazema, rendez-​vous, ethiopiques and Lalibela’s meat platter is the best. The kitfo was super spicy the way I like it. Even the injera was the freshest and tastiest!

The real ethiopian food! Tasty, tasty, tasty! and the price is really decent. I’ve been to so many ethiopian restaurant (including the ones in Ethiopia) but Lalibela sure knows how to bring you there while still in Toronto :). I like this location especially due to the set up of the room.
I will go again anytime, this is definitely worth the 5stars.

The décor is just fabulous.
All the walls are painted, the menu is decorated in coffee beans and straw and just… cuteness.
This isn’t the best Ethiopian food I’ve had, but it was solid.
The restaurant is a lovely ambiance and the menu is vast. I think I prefer the food at the other location, near Ossington, but the actual restaurant at this location.
The prices are pretty average (for my experience, anyway) and the service was fast here-​usually I find Ethiopian food takes a long time but this place was super quick.
Definitely worth checking out!