Kezira Cafe

For Juneteenth this year, we chose Kezira Cafe, a black owned family business serving Eritrean and Ethiopian cuisine in the Columbia City part of Seattle. It's a medium sized restaurant with modest furnishings, except the bar. It's a bit rundown here and there, but to me, the food matters more.We chose the Kerzira Combo to share.Kezira Combo, $35.95 - 4 Stars, maybe 3.5 Menu: Veggie combo plus beef, lamb, chicken tibsThe veggie combo has 6 portions - lentil, split pea, collard greens, green beans, cabbage, and shiro. Note the term veggie combo is used broadly on the menu, as the official Vegetarian Combo is supposed to have 9 to 14 dishes and a house salad ($18.50). This veggie combo is not "THE" veggie combo...I learned; it's obviously smaller. Too bad, the photos of the vegetarian combo that other Yelpers posted look magnificent. Other Kezira Combo showed more veggie options, mostly 8 types. Mine has only 6. Buyer beware. Then there's the meat combo of beef, lamb, and chicken - the three portions on the inside (see photo). The combo also included 4 half rolls of injera (spongy bread) in the basket in addition to the injera on the bottom. They served this combo in the traditional manner, i.e. without utensils. We made a gallant effort eating it with only the injera. Seasoned and stained fingers later, we asked for a fork to eat the very saucy injera. LOL. It doesn't look like a lot of food, but we didn't finish. The injera is very filling. Overall, the food is yummy and worth the money even though my mental image of the veggie combo was not met.The staff is kind though a bit rough around the edges. I won't be specific to avoid causing him any trouble. He was the only person serving so there's that. Times are tough.

We came here for a late night dinner and the food was delicious! It did come out pretty slow considering we were one of two groups here, but it was worth the wait. We got the combo and added an order of the lamb tibs. The doro wat and beef dishes from the combo platter were my fav. The lamb tibs were ok but not great. I got the mango cranberry drink and my partner got the hibiscus (Kerkede) ginger drink. Both were great accompaniments to the food. I would say the injera is on the sour side, but balanced well with the dishes.

Went there for dinner on a Thursday night. Quite an interesting ambience!! Great food and really sweet/helpful staff. Definitely going back!!

Great service, great Ethiopian food! The owners are amazing. The vegetarian platter is good, and is big enough for 1 person.

I haven't had Ethiopian food in over 10 years and this place did not disappoint! Server was super warm and friendly. Recommended dishes as we were unfamiliar with a few. Leftovers were gray the next day too. Definitely would recommend!

WOW! I went here with a friend the last week of March. This is by far the BEST Ethiopian food i've experienced. The restaurant is in conjunction with a coffee bar. My friend and I were confused at first but realized they were the same lol. This place has such PRETTY art work and such a nice bar!! Before pandemic times, I saw that this place had live music!The owner of the restaurant was so nice and gracious! The veggie combo platter was amazing!! Everything was very good! My friend had the lamb dish and the meat was tender. Very generous with the injera and making sure we were good with our beverages. We had the Ethiopian coffee (wish i could remember the name) but it's with ginger! What a twist and it's actually good for you - though the two ingredients you wouldn't think belong together -- it really wasn't that bad!

Great service, great food and cute spot! One of my new favorite restaurants in Seattle.

I will be tempted to fly across the country again (from Florida) just to eat the Kategna with Kibbeh appetizer -- trust me; it's that good!! Veggie sampler dinner was also flavorful and fresh. Excellent choice for a pre- show dinner before you head to the Royal Room for a show; it's only a block away.

Another Columbia City gem. All your basic Ethiopian favorites and interesting drinks. I had the Shakina, which is fresh ginger with whiskey. There are a lot of drinks and combinations you'll only find in an African-style restaurant. Do yourself a favor and experiment. I had the vegetarian combo for one. Cabbage/carrots, lentils, and collard greens. All are nicely seasoned and come with a ridiculous amount of injera. It's a spongy sourdough pancake, and you eat it without utensils. While small and they have limited staff the service was prompt and the food delicious.

I work there for few months. She takes back left over food form the customer and reserves them to new clients. We had rats and cockroach problem all the time. She never used Ethiopian coffee instead have us serving regulars coffee from the store. She also never paid her serving staff ...she had us work on tips only. And some days she will keep the tips and would not let us take out tips home. She is an imbursement to the whole community. I am ashamed and disappointed to say I even know her or worked there.