Tana Ethiopian Restaurant

We just had the Vegetarian Special here and it was delicious! The restaurant is clean and the service fast and friendly. Excellent food. Very tasty.

Still writing as a fellow vegetarian-- ordering the classic vegetarian special and Ethiopian coffee-- couldn't try that the first time as it was too late in the day. But this time they roast the beans fresh in a hot little skillet and brought it out for us to sniff-- ever so nutty aroma-- by the cutest little lady. The coffee was so smooth and creamy without any added cream or sugar. She's the grandma I never had and want. After having just watched or anticipating to watch the Book Of Mormon, this seems strangely appropriate. I honestly can't tell what the difference is between the vegetarian delight and the special other than slightly more serving on the special?? But I have no complaints one way or another. This hole-in-the-floor is definitely worth jumping into just to see what Ethiopian food is like and should be like. Something you actually crave and priced in such a way you won't break pockets and also getting to see a cool original painting on the wall next to the bar/cash register. Walking in also feels like you've left California and stepped into another continent's restaurant except they cater to English speakers. Not to mention this super weird plaza and area-- not at all murdery but I also wouldn't bring my best friend's wedding reception whatevers to tour here.

This is the perfect hole-in-the-wall restaurant for you to enjoy traditional Ethiopian food and coffee!!! Service on a Saturday afternoon was great and the food came out timely and super fresh. The vegetarian delight is so fun to eat and share. If you've never had Ethiopian food before, the injera is a spongy flatbread that I would best describe as a sourdough crepe haha. You use that as a way to grab onto your food with your hands and eat that directly (no utensils!). It's a very fun (and messy) experience. We also ordered the chicken dish to add to our vegetarian dish and it complimented it perfectly. The Sambusas we had (both veggie or meat) came out piping hot and yummy as well. And finally, the coffee is made fresh - it is like an espresso that's very rich and powerful (to be enjoyed as is or with sugar). Also, at the time of writing this review, there is a fun surprise in the bathroom (the sink's faucet has a fun display) that you'll have to experience for yourself haha. I hope this restaurant survives forever and I can't wait to support them again.

My first time trying Ethiopian food was not too shabby!I was shown to this place by a coworker and thought this could be a chance to try something new for my love of cultural foods. Tana Ethiopian Restaurant located in Anaheim, at the intersection between Magnolia and La Palma. The area was kinda weird and had an off-vibe to it, and we thought that they were closed because all the windows were tinted super dark from the outside. But when we stepped in, this place was a cozy mom-and-pop shop with one lady greeting us who we assumed was the owner of this place. There was not a lot of customers even during the lunch rush hours, and the parking lot seemed pretty empty.We got the Vegetarian Delight and some Sambusa to share. The base of the main entree was called "injera," which is a staple Ethiopian food that was made from teff flour. She gave us a basket of extra injera on the side as "utensils." We picked up the food using these pieces of injera with our bare hands. The seasonings of these foods were more of a curry-like, warm-spices based feelings, something that I was definitely not used to, but still very interested in trying. Sambusa was a deep-fried, thin, flaky dough stuffed with lentils and a kind of meat, like ground beef or chicken. Although I'm not really fond of the kind of seasoning that Ethiopian foods use, we did enjoy the experience that we had here at this place. Customer service was really nice and prices were ok overall. I'd recommend that you come here to try the food and learn a bit about the culture if you are in the area! Super cool!

This was my second time trying this place which is near our home. My husband has eaten here a few times and we both love it! He lived in Ethiopia for 2 years and just loves the food here compared to other places around us. I am a vegetarian and had the Vegetarian Platter and it was so delicious!! The ladies here are very nice and great customer service. I remember the first time I tried it I asked for Rice instead of the ingera as I think it's sour and just don't like it. she made it even though it's not on the menu and had it ready when we arrived which was so sweet of them. :) I tried the ingera today for our to go order and it wasn't that spur compared to another place I tried s couple years ago. definitely love all the veggies, they are all different flavors and spices. it's a pretty big portion I would say.

My favorite Ethiopian place in SoCal. None of the spots in Little Ethiopia in LA taste this good or are such a good value. It's no frills, but they have always been welcoming and helpful to me.And most importantly, the food tastes amazing. Get the vegetarian special, for sure, but also try the Sambusas.

So I would love to give this place 5 stars for the homemade and loving vibes, however I can't and I will explain in a moment. To start everything tasted wonderful! I have been craving Ethiopian food ever since I found it in San Diego years ago. I finally eventuate to one of the locations in Anaheim and was glad I did. I went with my significant other and a bother couple and we both opted to share combination trays and are we glad we did because we got to try so many wonderful dishes. Seriously everything in Ethiopian cuisine is so flavorful yet so different from one dish to the next and the mechanism for eating the fermented crepe is so much fun and so unique! That alone will make me keep coming for Ethiopian time and time again. Also, my bf and I shared a sambusa, do yourself a favor and get yourself one! So flaky and wonderful (they have meat or potato we got meat). So the factors that lost the star are 1. My friends drink had something floating in the water cup that looked like rice or some sort of grain. Either way never good to find unnecessary things in beverages. 2. Everything was only like warm when it came out which normally when I have had Ethiopian it's almost to hot to eat from stewing all day. And 3. We could see and hear the microwave being used to reheat everything up from where we were seated.So all those things aside everything had such unique flavor, good price, and the lady running the spot was so sweet. So definitely check it out from the stance of some good take out where you can reheat everything to your temperature liking, but maybe skip the dine-in experience.

The food here was really good, but the girl was a little condescending when I said I had never eaten there before (which I find surprising that she would find it surprising that I had never been there considering it was empty for the hour and a half we were there on a Friday night). But again, food was delicious. We got the vegetarian Delight and the lamb. Normally I don't eat peas, but these peas were wonderfully flavored and not too mushy. I also really enjoyed all of the decorations throughout the dining area. The Sambusas were delightful pockets of warmth and the Tej was delicious (essentially a mead).The restaurant was a little dirty and the microwave was audibly being used to heat foods (even though we were the only ones there, so who knows how old the food was). Lastly, the prices on the menu did not correlate with what I was charged. (At least $1 up charge per item).

I've been to merkato and Messob in LA for Ethiopian food, so I kind of knew what to expect coming here. Got three vegetarian specials, awaze tibs, and Doro Wot. I actually think the injera here is a little tastier as it isn't as sour as the other places. Each bite of injera with the different meats and veggies was very tasty.It looks like it was just the owner working by herself on a Sunday for lunch, so she was handling everything. However, she was very friendly and the food came out pretty quickly. For five adults and two kids, the total including tip and tax was around $125. There was still one whole vegetarian special left that we did not finish and had to take home. It might not look like a lot of food, but it does fill you up. I left pretty satisfied with the meal and am glad this one is closer to my house.

It was after lunch so I was the only customer. I ordered the combination plate and eagerly awaited my meal. As it turns out, I'm a big, big fan of injera. Definitely a new addition to my palate, plus fun to eat without utensils. Everything was super flavorful, and the awaze tibs is just this side of my spice tolerance. I will be back (wish you were closer).