Abol Cafe and Restaurant

Always on the hunt for great Ethiopian food. We were a party of four and we were seated immediately. We ordered the veggie combo and awaze tibs. The veggie combo was delicious, the different lentils, collard greens were all great. The awaze tibs was not all that tender and lacked spice and flavor.We asked for chili powder and sauce which worked well with the tibs and veggies.Ethiopian food is one of my favorite cuisines, but I felt like Abol fell short on flavor and portions.

I've been eyeing this spot for a while now, and finally went in after a long day at work and starving.Ordered kitfo and collard greens and they were just what I needed.i'll go back again when I have more time, I promise.

After a few years, my friends wanted Ethiopian food but didn't want to go to Decatur. We decided on Abol in Chamblee. Back then, I wasn't too impressed. The flavors were there but had cold food and was charged extra just for having injera. I was kinda hesitate but glad I went.I must apologize to Abol and give them major props for stepping it up since I last was there. They have exceptional customer service and delicious food. My three friends loved the food and was impressed. Portion sizes are huge and couldn't finish.Coming back to say thank you and for keeping up the great work! Will definitely come back59/2021

Abol Cafe is the place where you can experience a true Ethiopian / Eritrean hospitality. I went here with my friends for dinner. It has a modern decor inside and a laid back atmosphere. It's a little small place where it can fit about 35 to 40 people comfortably at once. We have joined like 4 to 5 tables and were about 20 people. Abol Cafe, Restaurant and Mart has the most authentic Ethiopian food you'll ever taste in the state.My order for the day was Tenderloin tibs, cubes of filet mignon cooked with onion, tomato, jalapeno, and Abol spices and served with Injera in a basket of 5 rolls on the side for the tibs. Injera comes in regular as well as in gluten free version. I preferred the regular one. Injera is a sourdough-risen flatbread with a slightly spongy texture. Traditionally made out of teff flour, it is the national dish of Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is central to the dining process in those cultures as bread is the most fundamental component of any meal. Tibs is the name for one of the cooler Ethiopian dishes out there. It's a hybrid stir fry and stew that comes together in an instant, is meaty, rich and can be spicy as hell. Served with bread, rice or more properly injera flatbread, it was and now it is my favorite Ethiopian dish.Food here has just the right flavors. It's a little different kind of dinning experience, in a good way. Here you eat with your hands not using any silverware. I am used to it in my culture, so it's not an issue or weird for me. They also have a good variety of vegetarian food and tasty Ethiopian coffee. They are located in the Plaza Fiesta. Ample free parking is available in front and around the restaurant. Not too crowded, authentic presentation, delicious meals, clean atmosphere and excellent service. Kudos to our server Christy who was very helpful and friendly. A kind of restaurant I would return and I highly recommended this place to give a try.

Hole in the wall Ethiopian wall. Inside is very modern looking, there was one server who was there when I went. I got the vegetable platter and my friend got the Kornice Tibs and Shiro. The shiro was delicious. Out of the vegetable platter the red lentils were my favorite. It was very flavorful overall. I love the injera. It wasn't too busy when I went, food came out fairly quickly. The server was really nice and checked in on us.

Thanks to Daniel B., he gathered a large group of Yelpers to visit Abol Cafe on Buford Highway. The plaza isn't well lit and the restaurant isn't super clear in the dark, but I found it after a moments hesitation near the Plaza Fiesta, which I believe had also confused a couple people at the table, too. They must make food to order, because our food took a while. We were some of the only people in the restaurant. I ordered the tenderloin tibs which were slightly pricier than beef tibs. They were very tender and pretty flavorful but I was expecting them to be spicy since they were cooked with jalapeños. Not sure why they weren't, since the server warned me they would be. They offer both regular injera that comes with the tibs and gluten free injera for an additional cost. Overall, I'm not an expert on Ethiopian cuisine but I enjoyed the tenderloin tibs. If looking for some Ethiopian on Buford Highway, I would recommend Abol Cafe.

Abol freaking ROCKS!I was really craving for Ethiopian food in Atlanta area and after not finding anything comparable to Seattle, I decided I didn't care and wanted to try this place (the yelp reviews lured me in).The place is apparently very popular and always packed with Ethiopians, and at that moment, I knew this place would have to be good. Most of the time, if you see Ethiopians frequent an Ethiopian restaurant, you know that it's authentic and must be amazing. In any case, we sat down and order our food.We started with one of the most amazing Ethiopian lattes I have ever had, mind you the restaurant name "Abol" refers to the first instance of the coffee ceremony so I wasn't surprised that the coffee was good. Next up, we ordered Abol Special, it's made out of gored tibs I think with an overlay of Shiro wot. I don't know if I have ever had a lump of meat that melted in my mouth. I am not sure where they got the meat but it's one of the best and it will literally melt in your mouth, one drop at a time. It was seriously special and I don't know which Chef came up with that combination because I have never seen it back in Ethiopia or America so Kudos to the creators and the Chef for an amazing product and being a trendsetter.Next was Chechebsa - the portion was amazing and the taste was something delightful and kind of hard to explain. My words won't do any justice so I will leave it at that.Next up was Kornis - Kornis's means ceiling in Ethiopia and not really sure why it was named that and I probably don't care as long as the food is good, and indeed this was. I think it's made out of chicken firfir topped with Kitfo and again my words won't really explain how bomb it was so I called the server and told her how much I loved this place. I am the type of person that provides owners with an honest opinion - good or bad. Also, they have gluten-free injera (I am not sure if they brought it from Ethiopia but it literally tastes as if it came from Ethiopia). You'll leave without feeling fat, no matter how much you dig in. It's a bit more tart than the regular injera that you get from Seattle or other places, but it's so so delicious, absolutely fluffy, and perfectly moist. I never skip it. We had so many leftovers and took it home.The staff was so helpful, very kind, and proactive and the ambiance was perfect. They have three big screen TVs to keep you entertained, it's clean and well maintained and spacious.I am so seriously addicted to this place and about to come again tomorrow.

First time trying Ethiopian food and it was really good! The server/ cook helped us a lot on what what was and recommended some things. What I got was the Bozeno Shiro and my bf got the beef tibs. I ordered rice with my meal, little did I know apparently Rice is not really popular in the culture, but I just love rice. The beef tibs were great! Also the Injera (some kind of bread) was amazing! It had such great flavors! The salad had some kind of vinaigrette on it the made everything taste like like and onion. The Bozeno Shiro was also good! It had a tomatoey consistency but also I love chick peas and those were in it too along with meat. I'm guessing beef tibs as well. The rice wasn't good to me at all, but that was really my fault because it wasn't recommended. Last we ordered sambusa's which are close to samosa's. They had lentils in it and honestly it tasted really good with the jalapeño chutney. Really great! It was also hot inside and the door was open so it made it worse because of flies. :(Also the staff does wear masks.

Abol Cafe, Restaurant and Mart is a small Ethiopian restaurant and cafe located on the backside of Plaza Fiesta. While Plaza Fiesta's main storefront faces Buford Highway, Abol has its own separate storefront facing Clairmont Road, next to a Bank of America ATM. This business, a quiet and humble "mom and pop" shop, opened in 2017. While not the best Ethiopian food I've had in Atlanta, I still think it's quite good and worth a visit. Plus, the folks that work here are nice.Abol offers late breakfast, lunch, and dinner and also serves up espresso-based drinks made from house-branded coffee beans from Ethiopia. The menu features Ethiopian breakfast dishes like kinche (cracked wheat, the Ethiopian equivalent of oatmeal, $7.99) and chechebsa (spiced bread, $7.99); appetizers such as sambusas ($2 each), timatim fit-fit (tomato salad, $7.99), and salads; over a half-dozen varieties of tibs (sauteed meat and veggies, $12.99-15.99 each) like godin tibs (short rib) and tilapia tibs; assorted kitfo made with marinated raw beef ($12.99-19.99 each); several vegetarian dishes from red and green lentils ($9.99 each) to shiro (chickpea stew, $12.99); fir-fir, synonymous with fit-fit, prepared with shredded pieces of injera ($10.99-14.99 each); special entrees from dulet (lamb tripe and liver, $14.99) to gored gored (a raw beef dish, marinated and spiced, $13.99); sandwiches ($7.99-9.99 each), and desserts like Napoleons and tiramisu ($4.70 each).Here's what I tried:Apps* Kitfo rolls ($7.99) - rolls of injera filled with kitfo, ayib, and jalapenoTibs* Derek tibs ($13.99) - slowly fried pieces of beef grilled with onion, tomato, jalapeno, and rosemary* Tenderloin tibs ($15.99) - cubes of filet mignon cooked with onion, tomato, jalapeno, and Abol spicesVegetarian* Veggie combo ($13.99) - red lentils, collard greens, yellow split peas, cabbage, green lentils, and saladSpecials* Kikil ($10.99) - lamb meat, bone-on, flavored with onion, herbal butter, mustard powder, and Ethiopian spices* Gomen with meat ($11.99) - collard greens mixed with beef tibs and seasoned with Abol spicesThese dishes were a great sampling of what Abol has to offer and, with the exception of the kikil, I thought everything was delicious and I recommend each dish. What Abol describes as "herbal butter" on the menu is most likely referring to niter kibbeh or Ethiopian seasoned and clarified butter.The kitfo rolls were yummy. Kitfo is like the Ethiopian version of beef tartare. The meat is finely minced and nicely seasoned with good umami flavor. Ayib is an Ethiopian cheese, white in color, and very soft and mild in flavor like cottage cheese. The kitfo and small, delicate clumps of ayib were rolled up into injera (springy, spongy Ethiopian sourdough flatbread).Injera was served on the side with the tibs, vegetarian, and special entrees listed above. Abol offers both regular injera and a gluten-free version. I preferred the regular version, but the gluten-free version wasn't bad. If you've never had Ethiopian food before, you eat with your hands, using pieces of injera to pick up pieces of food. Abol has an extra sink, located just outside the single unisex restroom, that you can use to wash your hands.I thought the derek tibs were excellent and the tenderloin tibs were very good. I loved the bit of rosemary in the derek tibs, adding an extra hint of flavor. Both meats were decently tender and satisfying.The veggie combo is terrific because it's basically a vegetarian sampler platter. Each of the combo's components are cooked a little differently with ingredients like onion, garlic, ginger, red pepper, oil, and other spices. The red and green lentils, yellow split peas, cabbage and salad made for a colorful plate. I thought the temperature of this dish could have been warmer (collectively, the veggies were cool or lukewarm), but otherwise this was a flavorful and gratifying plate of food.I wasn't a fan of the kikil. Lamb is often hit or miss with me and this one missed the mark. First, there wasn't a whole lot of lamb meat. There was some, but not a substantial portion. Second, the meat was significantly gamey. That strong gamey taste bled into the salty yellow broth. The kikil came with rolls of injera which you chop up with a spoon and let soak into the broth. You then eat the kikil sort like a stew, using your hands to pick up the lamb bones for bites of chewy meat.The gomen (collard greens) with beef tibs was fantastic. If you like collard greens, then you won't be disappointed with Abol's version. They give you lots and it's tasty. The greens tasted fresh and were nicely flavored. The beef tibs were on par with the derek and tenderloin tibs -- tender and savory. Yum.This isn't a very big place. The interior can seat roughly 30-40 customers, comfortably, at most. It's fairly no-frills. Service was slow because we had a big group. The owners, Yonatan and Saba, and our server, Christy, were very friendly and wonderful.

It's been months since my wife, son, and I visited -- which was the ONLY time -- and I was going to just drop this issue but it's been gnawing at me ever since and I just have to say something.The food is awful in so many ways -- let's just say it's awful and move on.But what really chaps my tuchus is how they do water.That's right: WATER! You won't believe this!You sit down and ask for water all around. It's COVID time -- fine -- so I understand handing out little bottles of water rather than using glasses and filling from a faucet. No problem, right?So you're eating your meal and some of it is spicy, so you drink the rest of your one bottle of water and ask for a "refill." They bring you another little bottle of water.You begrudgingly finish your meal and the bill comes.Water: $15.00!!! Their cost was only $0.46! Don't believe me? Search Walmart.That's right, folks! $2.50 per bottle for three people, twice -- and THEY NEVER MENTIONED IT WASN'T FREE! Nowhere on the menu, nowhere on any restaurant signs, no mention from the waitress -- nothing.If they had said $2.50 per bottle when we sat down then I could at least have made an informed decision.That is NOT the way to survive with a dedicated clientele in the restaurant business.So yeah, never again.