Ethiopisch Eethuis Lalibela

Best Ethiopian restaurant I have ever been. Food was extraordinary and exceeded all our expectations.
I have had Ethiopian food before and it did not compare on quality, flavors, spices and assortment as Lalibela.
The place is decorated to give the African feeling. As traditional Ethiopian food, menu is carefully selected so you ask for a «main dish» and it comes with multiple vegetarian sides: lentils, spiced lentils, salad, cooked spinach, cooked vegetables, and more. Served over Ethiopian pancake and tailored to be shared and eaten with the hands.
Egg and ground beef were wonderful, although I was in love with the red lentils from the first bite.
To drink I strongly recommend coconut beer: a mix of wheat, coconut juice and quinoa with 3.5% alcohol. Sweet but balanced, served on a coconut shell.
Thank you Lalibela for a wonderful meal. Cannot wait for next time!

Von außen unscheinbar, von innen so «naja», aber das Essen: wow. Die fehlende Gabel nahmen wir zu Kenntnis und warteten einfach darauf, bis die anderen Gäste anfingen zu essen-​mit den Fingern. Das war für uns der Startschuss auf eine ganz neue kulinarische Reise (a la Simpsons-​für die Fans unter euch :-)

One or two of the items we ate were nice, but the rest was mediocre at best. Plus we had to wait a full hour from the time we ordered to the time we got our food — and the restaurant was not that crowded — without any sort of explanation or apology from the waitstaff. I don’t get to enjoy Ethiopian food that often — I really love it — but was really disappointed in both the food and the service.

Food was fab! Loved the setup and atmosphere, service was a little slow. Try the coconut beer, yum!

My partner was celebrating his birthday during our visit to Amsterdam so I told him he could have whatever he wanted for dinner. I told him about the things that Amsterdam was known for – rijstafel, mussels, etc – but he said he wanted Ethiopian, something we used to go for regularly when we lived in Washington DC. Sure enough, we found a few Ethiopian places, but this was the only one nearby that was opened when we wanted to go, so off we went.
When we arrived, around 7:00pm, the place was nearly deserted – a bad sign, we thought. But the smells of the food were intoxicating, so we persevered, and before long the place was full! Our server spoke very little English but we managed to order successfully, getting the doro wot (chicken and hard-​boiled egg in a spicy mixture) and the michetabish (or something like that), made with ground beef, also in a spicy sauce. This was served with a range of vegetables and lentils, all arrayed on a large platter of injera, the Ethiopian spongy bread that you use as a utensil.
All the dishes were excellent, better even than our favourite place in DC, and from what we saw of the other tables, they were also enjoying their meals as much as we did. You may not expect to eat Ethiopian in Amsterdam, but it might be worth a try!

Loved this place. The location is great. The ambiance is fantastic. The food is delicious. The service is great (best in the Netherlands IMHO). I would highly recommend it to any lover of Ethiopian food or foodie in general.

Up to a week ago I had never eaten Ethiopian food! Thanks to Lalibela I am a fan and want to try more!
this place is small and quaint, with its sheets on the walls and too many small tables tucked in where people sit on top of each other. Wait… Wait… I know what you are thinking… why is she in love with the place if it is crowded… Well I can explain:
Since you eat the food from one big plate all together you need to be close, not to mention the fact that you eat with your hands. Eating at Lalibela is a social event and sharing is caring after all!
I was there with 4 other friends and we decided to all take the vegetarian platter, which is a platter that gives you several vegetarian dishes. Now I am a carnivore so was a bit afraid I would mis my meat and go home hungry… but trust me when I tell you «I was stuffed with delicious, flavorsome vegetarian food». the food was so good that even when i was full I kept on eating, that sour bread and the dishes were just little teasers on the big plate in front of us and it was impossible to stop. And if you are scared you will not have enough sour bread to eat? well then you just ask for more… it’s as simple as that.
And the best thing was that including a bottle of wine we only paid € 17 euro’s per person!!!
Now when it comes to the staff, do not expect them to come to your table to check on you every 10 minutes. They probably will not pass by at all, but that is not because they don’t care… it’s just because it’s that busy and they don’t have time to keep walking around. My advise if you need another drink, don’t be stuck up just walk to the bar and order one!

As you might have guessed from the name, Lalibela is an Ethiopian restaurant. I’m no expert but I have had Ethiopian food on several occasions, in many different restaurants in different cities and countries (although never in actual Ethiopia), and this is among the best I’ve had: really delicious food, so flavorful and diverse.
We had the vegetarian special: although I am not vegetarian myself, everything was tasty and I did not miss having meat or fish for a second! So many vegetables, along with lentils, and chick peas, and cheese, in savory sauces, spicy (but not hot, everything was mild)… and just the fact that you eat with your hands, all in the same big plate, makes it a very nice dinner experience!
It is really nice to eat healthy and tasty — and for such a cheap price! less than 20 euros each, wine included! unbeatable…
Better to make a reservation, because it was quite busy.

I was so pleased with everything about my experience here.
From the service, to the food, seating (sit in the back, in the little cave/​nook!) and price, there’s no comparison to the cozy and unsnobby restaurant experience of this place. Because really, if the food’s good and the atmosphere is nice, what more do you need?
For 15 Eur, you can get a giant plate for 2, vegetarian or not and be totally stuffed. Add 2 beers in a coconut shell, and Im totally in love.

Extremely slow service. Half hour just to take our order, another half hour to get the food. Completely unacceptable. The place wasn’t even that busy. No explanations, no apologies.
About the food: first time to an Ethiopian restaurant for me, was expecting somewhat «exotic» food. Or at least tasty. It’s nothing to write home about and I won’t be tempted to try it again in the future. Maybe that’s what Ethiopian food is like or maybe it was just plain and boring in this place, I don’t know.

This place is gezellig!
I’ve been to the real city of Lalibela in Ethiopia, and I so I think I can say this food is really good! Great for vegetarians too. This is our new favorite spot. Also can’t beat the price, which is quite reasonable for eating out.
Definitely try the Tej (traditional honey wine) or flavored beers — mango, coconut, banana? not even sure how i felt about it as a beer, but was a sweet drink.
Only thing is they are usually very busy, so be prepared to be patient. It’s worth it. :)

Eaten here three times in the last month. Let me get this out of the way immediately: there’s no teff in the injera. It’s still tasty, just not, really deeply and truly, injera.
However! The food is extremely tasty and not dumbed down for local palates. The wots are all very well balanced with high quality ingredients and the various lentil stews (alicha) were probably the best I’ve had yet (although one other place still has the soft spot in my heart for their wots).
The ambiance and service are definitely the best I’ve had yet in Holland. Reasonably attentive service and an intimate environment with a touch of hip to it.
It’s an around the corner, who knew it was there? sort of place with a large and hip, you-​can-​smoke-​inside bar a block away. So… wink-​wink, this is a «third date» kinda place, if you know what I mean ;)
n.b. I was alone or my dinner partners were dull business analysts. No actual dates were seduced in the making of this review.
UPDATE: Been here many, many more times and never been disappointed, although the place has been getting busier and busier, so it’s sometimes hard to get a table. Also, they WILL make you 100% teff injera if you let them know a week ahead of time. I like it that way just for the taste, but for you gluten free type it’s ideal.

wow! i know i really like ethiopian food but i’m not expert on it. i’ve only had it twice before the meal here. If you enjoy eatting with your hands, which i LOVE to do because it’s so finger lickin’ good (hehe .sorry) then give this place a try! i couldn’t even tell you the name of the dishes we had but i can say i loved it all. the vegetarian dishes were very well seasoned and the meat dishes were tender. They also have this honey wine that blew me away. you must like honey to drink this because it has a strong honey taste. I believe it’s family run and everyone is very friendly. I will definitely be back!!!

Delicious Ethiopian food — best I’ve ever had… and very reasonably priced. If you haven’t tried Ethiopian cuisine before make your reservations here. You won’t be disappointed!