Queen of Sheba

No clue on why I had never been to the Queen of Sheba but so glad a friend insisted we go. My new friend Paul took good care of us throughout the entire lunch. I am not 100% sure what was in everything we ate — went for the Combination Tips and Vegetarian Combo for four — it was a lot of food. Served with soft spongy Injera bread the massive serving dish contained separate servings of chicken, beef, cabbage, red lentils and beans/​carrots — all unique and tasty. Paul brought over a nice smoky hot sauce that added to the meal. Finished with Ethiopian coffee — fantastic. Can’t wait to go back.

Great food. Horrible experience.
The four of us were greeted rudely on entering by a young white guy in his late 20s who would then not bring us to our seats, offer us drinks or talk to us, but instead whispered to other staff, and sat around for several minutes while we sat confused. He would continue to ignore us throughout the night, with the exception of interrupting us at one point in the meal while conversing and asked us to pay so that he could ring us through… They were about to close, yes, but he was rude about it and at no point did he make an effort to give us a good impression of the service there.
The only nice part of the experience was the food and when the manager came smiling and sweetly took our order, but she left afterwards and we were stuck with the sour-​puss who didn’t think our experience was worth his time. We were respectful, kind, and tipped over 20% but nothing was not reciprocated so I would not return or recommend to my friends. There are other Ethiopian restaurants.

I never had Ethiopian food prior to this, so I read about this cuisine online before trying it out, so that I exactly know how to eat it and savor the flavor and appreciate the cuisine. Once we entered the Restaurant, we were quickly seated. The interior is beautiful, representing Ethiopian culture. We ordered lentil sambusa, Seneg karia, doro wot and vegetarian combination. I was skeptical about lentil sambusa but after taking a bite I was thinking to myself, I wish I could have the recipe. It was so tasty. I could have had plenty of those sambusas. Seneg karia is stuffed jalapeños, so we decided to have them with our entrée. Our entrée arrived on a big plate, with a spread of veggies and chicken on injera. Injera tasted close to sour bread. Our plate had kik wot, Misir wot, doro wot, atakilt and Gomen wot. Atakilt tasted ok. Gomen wot tasted good considering it had collard greens, which I do not like. I loved both the lentils, Misir wot and kik wot and my favorite was doro wot. Everything tasted so good. Seneg karia went nice with our entrée. It was a wonderful experience. Now there is one more cuisine which I like.

I love Ethiopian food and Queen of Sheba is my go to place. After years of enjoying their food, I’ve discovered all my favorites on the menu. I stopped by recently for a Friday lunch with a friend. We started with some Ethiopian tea (one hot, one iced) and the beyaynetu, an appetizer sampler ($ 7) with lentil sambussa. Sambussa are like Indian samosas, fried pastry shells of goodness. I’m also a big fan of the timatim fit-​fit, a cold salad of injera (bread) with green pepper, onion, tomatoes, and spices with a tangy dressing. Get this appetizer, your tastebuds will be in heaven!
We both decided to get the fossolia ($ 6.95), an amazing dish made with green beans, carrots, onions, and spices. We had it served family style on one platter. Each entrée comes with injera, a side salad, and kick wot (spiced, cooked lentils). I adore fossolia, but I’m also a fan of the Ye-​Asa tips, lightly sautéed filets of tilapia with lemon and spices ($ 10.95 at lunch). I was starving and ate all of mine, but my friend took enough home for another meal. When I go for dinner, especially with an appetizer and often with shared multiple entrees, I have leftovers as well.
Lunch here is a leisurely affair, so I wouldn’t recommend if you need to get back to the office. But, if you have some time, it’s an affordable way to try new dishes or satisfy your craving for old faves since many items are cheaper at lunch.

Cant say enough good things about this place-​fresh flavorful tasty food. We were in louisville for almost an year and it ws our go to restaurant.
Its an amazing place for any foodie
Tip– portions are really generous… so make sure you go there when you are ready to accept the challenge

I could smell the wonderful food before as I walked in from the parking lot. The food was great and affordable, and the staff were courteous, knowledgeable and professional. I can’t wait to go back or get a carryout order.

I’m not going to get super in depth on my experience here, because as you can see many before me have documented their experiences and done a great job of it. So I’ll just sum up the things (I think) you should know before coming!
It is definitely optimal to share here, so I’d come with someone you don’t mind swapping food with. We got the meat and veggie combo for two, and I thought it was a great intro to Ethiopian cuisine. There is a LOT of bread involved. I mean, you can choose not to eat it, but I couldn’t resist. That resulted in me getting really full, and it happened suddenly. So in the future I’d probably hold back on the injera, in order to make the most of my enjoyment of the rest of the food. The food itself reminded me of Indian food in that it’s very spice-​heavy (as in a lot of spices, not spic-​y) and the dishes appear to be slow cooked, or at least very cooked down. That of course lends itself well to the bread! I actually wish my food was spicier, and I’m gonna request that next time (I assume you can). Also, the tea is really good. Reminded me of chai! Yes, it too, was very spice-​full.
I’m sure you already know this place is good without one more review to tell you it is. But, it is, so you should try it! We’re lucky to have great Ethiopian food in Louisville, so you’re only hurting yourself if you don’t take advantage of it!

We drove by this restaurant so many times but never made it on time. This restaurant is located in my favorite neighborhood in Louisville, so much so that we even took numbers of available realty in the area. They even have a Tiny Library in front of one of the houses in the neighborhood.
The restaurant is very pretty, exotic and also romantic! I recommend the Queen Salad. I need the recipe for the lemon vinaigrette. It is amazing.
We got a combination dish with both chicken stew (Doro Wot) and vegetable stews. We got Injera of course.
This is going to happen again soon, hopefully!

Hubba dubba Doo Queen of Sheba I love you!
What a beautiful atmosphere and restaurant to spend my anniversary in! We were greeted with respect and smiling faces! Always a plus for me ;)
Our waiter recommended the Sheba Tej (honey wine) made in Ethiopia! Holy moly wine bottle… Yes! We loved it! It was dry with a sweet hint that tickled your tongue!
We started with the Beyaynetu! The appetizer sample platter: kosta wrap, fossolia wrap, timatim fit-​fit and choice of sambussa. Wowzers, it was my first time trying this type of cuisine and I was blown out of the water!
As for our meals, we bantered for the combinations dishes! Our goal was to get one large plate and multiple options! I began with the Sega tips, Atakilt, Fossolia and Alicha sega wot. Andrew went with Doro wot, Alicha Sega wot, gomen wot and Atakilt.
It’s safe to say that we had enormous helpings of vegetables and meat! The Inerga (bread) was pretty fantastic too!
And last but certainly not the least… The baklava. I mean who does it better than Queen of Sheba? I don’t know who!!!
Point blank, we are so thankful to have found this gem in the heart of our new neighborhood!
Thank you QOS for fantastic service and high quality food!

I haven’t had Ethiopian food since I’ve moved to Louisville, so I was super excited to check out Queen of Sheba! I had heard great things about the restaurant, was not disappointed!
I luckily went with a Queen of Sheba lover and was guided to order all the best items. We had the combination for 2 which came with cabbage, lentils, beef, and chicken items. Everything was absolutely delicious! I’m not a coffee drinker, but my friend who is ordered the Ethiopian coffee and absolutely loved it. It was smooth and strong!
Everything was pretty authentic in that all the food was presented on the injera, and we ate with our hands, which I LOVE. They also had extra injera in a basket that we started off.
Overall it was a wonderful meal, and I can’t wait to go back!

This place was absolutely wonderful!!! The food is delicious and the service was great. My friends and I had the appetizer sampler. Everything included was awesome. The Sambusas were so tasty. For the main course, my friends all picked an entrée and it was served family style so we could all share. The Gored, Gored was cooking perfectly and had the perfect amount of heat. The Tips (we tried the Doro and Yebeg) were cooked and season perfectly. I washed it all down with a couple beers and treated myself to the tiramisu for dessert. All in all it was a great meal! I will definitely eat here again!!!

The food is delicious and consistent, service is great and you get a ton for what you pay. We usually order a platter to share among our group or just for two. It’s a fun way to try a variety of dishes, plus we always leave full and with leftovers.
I’ve been a fan of this place for years and it’s probably the number one restaurant I recommend to Louisville newcomers or friends looking to try something different. The food is always fresh and spiced to perfection and there are plenty of vegetarian options. I haven’t tried a dish I didn’t love here. Queen of Sheba earns a solid five stars for me.

Ethiopian food has obviously become more popular since 1993; otherwise this cuisine would have been the star of Seinfeld instead of double-​dipped chips. Costanza would have been a huge fan, since everything is eaten with your hands and the style of food requires some slurping, finger licking, and going back for seconds. If you are a germaphobe, you can get your own dish, but where’s the fun in that? Queen of Sheba is for Sex and the City-​style friendships, not first dates and business meetings.
Every meal is served on a plate made of inerja, or thin, spongy bread. It comes with a small side salad and delicious, tangy lentils. The entrée, which consists of a heavily-​spiced stew of meat and melt-​in-​your-​mouth vegetables, soaks into the bread while you hastily pull pieces off your plate to use as utensils. The menu is kind of a roulette, since you’ll only recognize one or two of the ingredients in each dish and you just have to hope you like whatever spices they add.
If you’ve been to and enjoyed Funmi (and if you haven’t, PLEASE visit this little gem as well), then you’re in for similar flavors with an interesting twist. The bread is light, but the stews are definitely heavy and flavorful. You will leave with a full belly and messy hands. It’s worth it!

This is always a treat.
We ordered the «Beyaynetu» sampler appetizer platter. It contains Kosta wrap, Fossaolia wrap, tomato fit-​fit and chicken sambussa. All were delicious
I removed one star only for the sketchy service we received that night. One person brought us water and stated that she would be our server. When we were not ready to give her our order immediately, she told us that she would be back. That did not happen. She never came back. After some time, finally, we waved down another server who took our order. Then, it took a little longer than usual to receive our appetizer and meals, even though the restaurant was not crowded. Though, the taste of the food was well worth the wait. Even after our meal was over, we had issues just trying to get someone to pick up our check.
I have dined at Queen of Sheba many times over the years. Usually, I get decent service and absolutely wonderful food. So, regardless of the disappointing service that I received tonight, I will continue to return to eat here.

IMO, Louisville generally leaves something to be desired when it comes to ethnic food. One thing we do have, however, is world-​class Ethiopian cuisine, both at Abyssina and here at QoS.
I’ve only come here for lunch, when I’ve gotten the «tips and vegetarian combination» ($ 13). It’s a good amount of food (the right amount for one hungry person, depending on how much injera you eat, I suppose). For the most part everything in the combination is delicious, though I think the misir wot (red lentil stew) is a little undercooked and a bit too peppery.
One thing I really appreciate about QoS (and Abyssinia, for that matter) is that the dishes aren’t as buttery/​oily as they are in many other Ethiopian restaurants.
And I feel sheepish about saying it, but I typically ask for a fork. I’m all for authenticity, but generally don’t want to eat that much injera!

Queen of Sheba is one of my very favorite restaurants in Louisville. I have had Ethiopian in a few different cities and still love our local offering the best!
I almost always order the veggie combo for 1 and an order of either the sega engudai tips or the special (if they have a vegetarian option). Of course… take a dining partner with you. :) I also enjoy the lentil sambussas. Be prepared to share your food and eat with your fingers. It is so much fun! Trust me.
They offer a nice selection of reasonably priced wines too, both by the glass and by the bottle. If you aren’t in the market for alcohol they also serve a delicious iced tea and some Ethiopian coffee, served the traditionally in a clay pot!
You will walk in salivating over the smells and leave satisfied!
If you have room for dessert, go for a piece of baklava. It is yummy!

Bang for your buck probably the best restaurant in Louisville.
I know most people probably think, what the Hell is Ethiopian food? South Park taught me Ethiopians are all skinny black kids who never eat? Well you can’t always trust South Park when it comes to dining. Or maybe South Park was right and this isn’t really Ethiopian food, I’m not sure. But it’s delicious, whatever it is!
Ethiopian is similar to Indian food flavors I’d say. All the food comes on a big sour fluffy flat bread and you eat with your hands. It’s a fun experience and all the food I’ve tried is excellent. Food is meant to be shared so order one thing per person and pick at a little of everything.
If you know picky eaters leave them at home. Also send them texts with pics of the food and how much fun you’re having.

I recently came to Queen of Sheba with a group of fellow Unilocalers and I really enjoyed my dining experience. I had never tried Ethiopian food before so I really didn’t know what to expect. After tasting my appetizer, however, any hesitation I had about the food was completely gone.
Queen of Sheba is definitely a great place to go to with a group of people. The dishes are served on large platters that allow you to share with friends which is fantastic because it allows you to try many different things off of the menu instead of just one. Also they make this bread, called injera bread, which is very soft and spongy and can be used as a utensil when eating your food.
The atmosphere here is very calm and relaxed. The staff is very friendly and attentive to your needs throughout your meal. They are really good at explaining the different items on the menu and make sure that you are enjoying your meal.
If you are someone who enjoys trying new foods then I would highly recommend trying Queen of Sheba. The food is delicious and fills you right up. I will definitely come back here in the future.

I just visited this place for the first time during a Unilocal event. Ethiopian food was completely new to me. Everything I tried was tasty!
To start, this is a place that should be experienced with a group (3 – 4 or more people). They serve the dishes on large communal plates. The idea is to share. So if you have a large group & everyone orders something different, it enables everyone to sample many different things.
The second thing you should know: Keep it traditional… by using your hands! It seems odd at first because we’re so accustomed to eating with utensils… especially at restaurants! The idea here is to use the injera bread to pick up your food & devour.
Although you could go by yourself or as a couple, I think you’ll have a better time with a group.
The staff was fantastic! They handled nearly 25 – 30 of us on 2 separate tables with ease. Everyone immediately around me always had water, wine, beer, or whatever. We also didn’t have to wait that long for our food.
I’ll try to list everything we tried. I’m also going to list what that consisted of so that I can remember for my next visit.
For the appetizer, we had the Beyaynetu. An appetizer sample platter that consisted of Kosta wrap, Fossolia wrap, Timatim fit-​fit, & Sambussa.
— Timatim fit-​fit — Injera mixed with diced tomatoes, green pepper, onions, & Lemon dressing
— Sambussa — Beef, chicken, or lentil mixed with onions, green peppers, garlic, & Ethiopian spices stuffed in thin pasty shells & pan fried
— Kosta wrap — Spinach sauteed with diced onions & garlic mixed with Aybe (home made cottage cheese; wrapped with Injera
— Fossolia wrap — Green beans, carrots, onions, & herbs cooked in light tomato sauce; wrapped with Injera
For the entrée, we shared:
— Gored-​Gored (beef) — Tender beef cubes sauteed in Awaze (paste of special blend of Ethiopian spices made with berbere) Strong flavor here.
— Lamb (Not sure of the dish name). Best lamb in the city!
— Another dish that I’ll call the Yellow dish (not sure of the name). I think it had potatoes/​chicken/​other things. It was good, but the yellow color made me not eat as much of it.
— Also plenty of fresh salad/​greens on the dish.
Overall, I loved this place & I will be back. I’m not sure if it’s food that I could eat all the time, but I can definitely see myself going here once every month or 2.

This restaurant is in my top 5, in this city. No question. A friend of mine asked if my wife and I would like to join her for dinner. She asked where I wanted to go. I said that since she invited, what does she have in mind. She said Queen of Sheba. Boom! That’s all I needed to hear.
Firstly, may I recommend taking at least 3 total people to this restaurant, that way everyone can order something different, and you can all share in the different items of food. Typically, when we go, and there are four people, we’ll get lamb, beef, chicken, and fish.
Also, if you do not get it traditional style (communal plate, eat with your hands), then you have failed. McDonald’s is just up the road. Please drive through.
The yebeg (lamb) is my favorite. They season it perfectly. Everyone I go with seems to agree — their lamb is unreal.
The tilapia is unreal, too. It is a little more difficult to eat, because it is one piece of fish, and you have to rip pieces off of it. Whereas all of the other meat is cubed for you. Still a worthy item to order.
I also enjoy the gored gored. It’s a spicy beef dish. Very strong. If you aren’t crazy on large flavor, you may want to shy away from this one. It will overwhelm you. But it is fantastic.
The great atmosphere, the good food, the fun way to eat, the very reasonable price, the fantastic service, and the quick turnaround between when you order to when you get your food make Queen of Sheba one of the best restaurants in the city.