International Cafe

This is easily one of my favorite restaurants in Omaha. I am glad to see that other reviewers love it as well. This is fantastic Ethiopian food. I have eaten here dozens of times over the past 15 years or so. The vegetarian injera platter is amazing! The meat entrees are great too, but keep in mind that the goat and lamb is chopped bone-in and might not be what you're accustomed to. Injera is amazing, it's a soft pancake made from teff, you tear it and use it to eat with. Utensils are provided if you want to use them. There isn't anything else that tastes like this, it is SO GOOD.My husband always gets the chicken gyro plate, which is rice, chicken meat, gyro meat, sauce, and salad. The rice is delicious, with a gentle, aromatic spice.The hot tea is similar to a chai, there's not milk in it but that's made up with a ton of sugar. I love it.The decor and signage - well, it's perfect for here. It might seem run down. It's fine. Once you get the food you will only be looking at your food. Portions are huge.TIP: the injera is a high-histamine food, like a lot of restaurant food is. I have to take a Benadryl after eating this (and other kinds of) food. Otherwise, sometimes I will have a headache, itch, stomachache if my overall histamine load is high. I'm pointing it out because a lot of the time when people go out to eat, they have a stomachache later and think it might have been something wrong with the food. I think this is why Chinese restaurants were criticized. It's not the food. Look up "histamine intolerance" for more info.There is a chess club/tournament that meets here on Thursdays and Saturdays. They seemed very welcoming. They enthusiastically invited me to join them but I don't play chess. Check out RCTO.us for more info.Parking is not great. There are meters out front, but there is free parking on the west side of the building, there is usually space available. You can enter through the door there as well.

Fast and friendly service as well as a delicious gyro plate packed with great flavor! I will definitely be back!

We were surprised that more people weren't here. It's a great, authentic, Ethiopian restaurant. Service was counter order. There were many comfortable spaces to sit. Music would have been a plus. I had goat, but the vegetarian falafel was equally as delicious. Serving was decent with authentic sauces. I'd categorize as Ethiopian fast food.

I had the Injera plate and let me tell you that it was so good. In fact, it was so good that I went back the next day to have it again. It is so flavorful, and the lamb is tender. I would highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a very unique place with really great food.

My friends and I were getting work done at Zen coffee around dinner time and decided to pop it in the international café for dinner. It was a very spur of the moment outing, but I'm glad we did it!When you walk in, it definitely feels like and is a dive. It gives me a warehouse sort of vibe with the high ceilings, dingy lighting, and spacious floor layout, although there are a lot of movable partitions surrounding the booths to break up the area (maybe it is to make the place seem less big / add decoration?). You order at the counter. They have a TV that shows you the food items that sits right next to the menu. This was super helpful for me because I had no idea what I was ordering.Everything main dish-wise is around $10.14. The lowest $ item is the burger for $5.50 ish. The sides vary in prices. The Sambusa (AMAZING little triangle of flaky casual stuffed with seasoned meat) along with the sweet bread, Mandazi, are 94¢. Thr fries are $2.44... Super interesting to me because I assume the fries are frozen, pre-bought whereas the Sambusa & Mandazi are handmade? Either way, with the fries costing more, I went with the other two interesting, authentic options instead. They heat your Mandazi in the micro. It is good but not anything life changing. It tastes like a donut with about 1/4 of the sweetness and x3 on the oily-ness. I personally wouldn't order it again. Sambusa was the best I've had. Super stove hot and flavorful. The meat didn't freak me out or smell weird as some spiced meats can (hello Korean BBQ..). It is a bit oily, but that is expected because it is fried. Main dish: Chicken Gyro Plate per the worker's recommendation. I honestly thought it was only going to be chicken but was pleasantly surprised to find gyro meat on my plate, too. (Sometimes I think of "gyro" as a dish, wrap, seasoning rather than the meat itself. SO know you are ordering both chicken and gyro meat.) It was SO good. There was a lot of flavor in the meat. The chicken was pretty dry in my opinion but the cuts were lean, not fatty. The rice was light and cooked well. However, note that there is some sort of oil or butter and a lot of it in the rice! The overall place and bathrooms aren't super clean. But even so, the food is great, especially for adventurous souls in the Omaha area. Come here for an interesting change of place and a food sensation to change your palate. Food: 5Cleanliness: 4Bathrooms: 3Service: 5Price: 5Overall: 4.4 ~ 4 Stars rotating Ordered a Sambusa, a Mandazi, and a chicken gyro plate.

The Ethiopian place I usually order from was closed early on a Saturday evening, so I tried this spot! I ordered the Doro Wot with Injera over the phone and the lady who took my order was very sweet. My order was ready when I got there, it was delicious! Good quantity of food, more than enough for one dinner & plenty of extra injera. I see they have Yelp ordering available for pickup, and I saw some combination plates on there that I will try next time!

This hole-in-the-wall is an absolute gem for authentic, home-cooked Ethiopian meals. I was greeted the moment I walked in. I had some questions and the woman working the cashier was very friendly and helpful! I ordered the Lamb Rice plate and it was delicious! Real lamb, cooked and seasoned very well. The stew on the side was very honey and I've never even had it before! So yummy. The side salad came with sauces and was a nice refreshing touch to the combo plate. I'd come back here in a heartbeat!

The International Cafe is a small, hole-in-the-wall type restaurant, located on the corner of Harney and 25th street. There is a good amount of parking out front, but you can only turn in from 25th. The outside is a little run down (because of construction), but they definitely make up for it with the food. I ordered the Rice Gyro Plate as recommended by one of the workers. The food took about 5 to 10 minutes. Included in the plate was a small salad, a kind of short grain rice with a tomato-based sauce on top, and finally some thinly sliced beef. The whole plate was topped with a creamy, savory sauce. The meat was tender, moist and tasty, while the sauce and salad added a nice complement. It was definitely worth the price ($10) for some delicious Ethiopian food. If you are in the mood for some ethnic food, this is the place to be. As one of the only Ethiopian food places in the area, I was really excited to visit because of the excellent reviews- and I was not disappointed.

The food was decent. The salad looks really old, I personally did not like the red sauces, the should've put it in a little cup so people can decide wether or not to put it on the rice. The meat was cooked really well, very tender, the rice was decent.

Best Chicken Gyro I've ever had! At a great price too. Friendly staff. Will be coming here every time I'm in Omaha!