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First time

4 Posted on 01 / 14 / 2013

Our first time eating here, we were impressed, the food was good, the service nice.... We will come back.

Pros: love the decor, friendly staff

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Won't be back

3 Posted on 10 / 28 / 2012

I give this a 3 stars, only because it is an all vegan restaurant. But yikes, I did not like it all, and ultimately I don't like Ethiopian food at all.
The food was bland and boring, and lukewarm (maybe that's supposed to be that way) and we could not even finish it. We had the feast and could not enjoy a single bite of it.

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Excellent

5 Posted on 09 / 25 / 2012

Had lunch there today. The food was fresh and tasty and the service was friendly. Really enjoyed it.

Pros: Clean, Pleasant ambiance, Excellent vegan Ethiopian food

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Great food, greater buffet

5 Posted on 06 / 29 / 2012

I love Ethiopian food, and this place really does it well. Additionally, they have a buffet during lunch times, and it doesn't get much better than that.

If you're looking for something ethnic, try this place. It's all-vegan, and that's always a good thing to support.

Bring change for the parking meters, and expect to park a few blocks up or down the street.

Pros: All-vegan, Buffet
Cons: Difficult parking

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Tasty and Filling

4 Posted on 04 / 05 / 2012

I had read about this place on happycow when it first opened some years ago, and have eaten here several times. Here's my Rahel Ethiopian Vegetarian Cuisine review.

It's located on Fairfax Blvd in a section known as Little Ethiopia - lots of restaurants serving Ethiopian food. Rahel's is the only pure veg (vegan) establishment, as of this writing.

The food is tasty and flavorful, lots of lentils, dal, potatoes, and some dark greens. Food is served with injera bread that you're supposed to eat with your hands.

When eaten in moderation, I felt good. But on the occasions where I ate a bit too much, the spices and the heaviness of the food did not settle well.

A good dining adventure if you'd like to try Ethiopian food.

Pros: authentic flavors, good variety, Ethiopian coffee ceremony

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Excellent Ethiopian

4 Posted on 03 / 01 / 2012

I wasn't hungry, so I just ordered a bowl of lentil soup and baklava. I was excited for vegan baklava, but it was a little disappointing. My friend ordered a feast and she seemed to enjoy it. She had leftovers, but it still seemed a little overpriced. Nice atmosphere.

Pros: all vegan

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I love Rahel!

5 Posted on 05 / 31 / 2011

Rahel has a wonderful atmosphere and great food. You can also often see Rahel herself at the restaurant, which I always enjoy. I think it's nice to be able to meet the owner and make a connection. There is a real sense of community. The combo platters are wonderful to share and it's some of the best Ethiopian food I've ever had. The drinks are also delicious and there's great variety like spiced tea, Ethiopian coffee, and wonderful unique traditional drinks made from barley or sunflower seeds. They also have a all-you-can-eat lunch buffet everyday until 3pm. I love the Yeatkilt Wot. Mmmmmmmm!

Pros: Great atmosphere, Delicious food, Friendly service
Cons: Sometimes they have the t.v. on

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great lunch buffet

4 Posted on 12 / 27 / 2010

We have been hearing about Rahel's for years and finally got a chance to try it today. This was our first time eating Ethiopian food, so I cannot comment on authenticity, but it was damned good vegan food. All the dishes were naturally vegan (no faux-anything), constantly replenished, and delicious. The choices were heavy on lentils and varied in spiciness from not at all to somewhat.

On a whim, I ordered a glass of Besso (drink made from barley). It was sweet and creamy and just the thing if I ate a little too much spice at once.

Cannot wait to get back there for dinner sometime.

Pros: tasty, good value

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Best Vegan Ethiopian Food

4 Posted on 10 / 06 / 2010

I haven't tried a whole lot of Vegan Ethiopian food, but this is my favorite Ethiopian place so far! I was happy to see descriptions of what each dish was composed of, since it's usually a little hard to tell... For the $9 lunch buffet, you can get a good deal of food for your money! They even have gluten free injera for those avoiding gluten. It's just too bad they're only open for lunch, or I would have gone back for a second try during my vacation in California.

Pros: all vegan, good value, delicious
Cons: only open for lunch

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Too much of a good thing

5 Posted on 09 / 27 / 2010

The food is really good. Too good, in my opinion, because I always eat too much. Yes, I know that I could take it to go, but I wish they could just sell some smaller portions for cheaper prices instead. The balance of flavors is very subtle and good. For a while they were even selling some kind of lentil wrap in Whole Foods, but unfortunately that seems to have ended. Also be warned that you will almost definitely need to park on a side street, but that's to be expected in this neighborhood.

Pros: yummy, ambience
Cons: portions too big, bad parking

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Vegan Ethiopian Buffet?!

3 Posted on 07 / 26 / 2010

Being a lover of Ethiopian food for quite sometime, I was excited and apprehensive about eating at this restaurant because of the buffet. Needless to say, I was satisfied, but not overly ecstatic about the results.

At the buffet line, the injera is premade, rolled up on top of each other in an Ethiopian closed basket. Down the row of metallic food covers included the green and red lentils; the potato stew, rice; split-pea stew; string-beans with carrots; kale stew; and barley (an ingredient I never knew was used in Ethiopian cooking).

The red lentils were full of flavor, a hint of flaming spice, but not hot enough to distract the pallet from the other selections. The potato stew was another favorite and the yellow base stew was enjoyed more so on my finger tips, but the other options weren't overly impressive. Of course, this might be the results of eating from the buffet, but the advantage is you get to see what options are available in vegan Ethiopian dining.

Surprisingly, even the buffet option comes with a side option: lentil soup or house salad. The lentil soup was a bit on the bland side for my liking, but the "3D" juice, a combination of barley, flax and sunflower seeds, was fantastic. The drink wasn't too grainy; it tasted great with the meal.

Service was very attentive and the atmosphere is alive with pictures, art, and other Ethiopian decoratives. And parking is not difficult on a Sunday afternoon when the meters don't run on South Fairfax.

In sum, the buffet is a hearty option for those who've never experiences the colourful flavors of Ethiopian spices. But next time, I'm in LA, I'll pass on the buffet and order fresh from the menu during dinner as I'm sure it will complete the experience.

Pros: Excellent Service, Inexpensive, Wonderful Red Lentis
Cons: Buffet quality hit or miss.

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Vegan Ethiopian!

5 Posted on 07 / 21 / 2010

For the uninitiated, I would say Indian food is the closest thing to Ethiopian, in that it consists largely of spicy stews eaten with flatbread. I have been here several times and I love it. I recommend getting one of the dinner combos where you get several items all on one plate so you don't have to choose one thing. However, you will get a lot of food, but that's not a problem for me.

Pros: High quality, Huge portions
Cons: Terrible parking

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Affordable Ethiopian buffet!

5 Posted on 05 / 17 / 2010

I love this place! Finding Ethiopian food was the most exciting food discovery for me in the past year, finding this all vegan Ehthiopian place? Even better! The buffet is cheap and all you can eat! I tricked some of my non-vegan friends into going here and they loved it too! I can't wait for my next trip back to CA so I can go here!

Pros: great food, nice staff, all you can eat!

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wonderful place

5 Posted on 12 / 04 / 2009

Ethiopian food is my favorite, and I'm vegan, so it's no wonder that I loved this place.

Our server came out with a pitcher and bowl so that you could wash your hands before eating--that was neat (of course we had already washed our hands, knowing that we'd be eating with them).

The food was very flavorful, but I noticed it wasn't at all spicy-hot--that may be good or bad, depending upon your tastes.

I tried the Ethiopian tea. It was good--it smelled like Christmas spices. The cup was small, but they refilled it later.

The lights were dimmed, and there were candles on the table. It was almost TOO dimly lit, the night we were there.

Pros: great food, quiet restaurant
Cons: not super cheap

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Really GREAT!!

5 Posted on 09 / 13 / 2009

I went here with my mom and we loved it! The food is so flavorful and they bring it out pretty quickly. The waitress was nice and patient as this was our first time eating Ethiopian. It was a unique experience and really fun. The one draw back, and also really funny moment of the evening, was when we realized you eat with your hands. I had to beg my mom not to ask for a fork. If you're slightly germaphobic as we are I recommend bringing hand sanitizer since they just pour water over your hands before you eat. Overall I think this is a great cute place for families and dates. My mom is hard to please as she is a health inspector for LA county and she really liked it. This was so worth the long drive!

Pros: GREAT food, Unique experience, Kind waitress
Cons: Can't think of anything bad!

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Get the coffee!

4 Posted on 07 / 08 / 2009

We go when I get an overwhelming craving for Ethiopian. All the items on the veggie combo are good, but the red lentils in particular are what I crave. And I really like the injera bread made with real teff, not some other flour. But the best part is the coffee. Granted you really have to like black coffee (which we both do). Coffee is originally from Ethiopia, so it's a nice treat to have them perform the coffee ceremony. They bring the roasting beans out for you to smell, they light incense and bring the coffee in a clay pot. You get little cups of black gold!

Pros: coffee , variety of veggie stews
Cons: parking

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Tough review for me!@!!

3 Posted on 08 / 23 / 2008

I think this is a great place to go for a fun experience with a family of 4 or a date. My girlfriend really liked the food. I've gotten their prepared food a few times at the Santa Monica Co-op. Its best to order the Meal for 2. I think they pretty much bring you out what ever they want, because the one we choose didn't have some of the things the menu mentioned. The service is slow, but the food comes out fast because I think its all prepared that day in advance. I have no desire to return, but hey it was free from a raffle I won. I've had vegan Ethiopian before and I didn't like it the first time around, this was much better than the place I ate in St.louis. I don't think anyone will be disappointed if you go here with 4 close people (you eat with your bare hands) its fun in that regard. I'm just more into spicey food and not bland ethiopian cuisine. The parking is horrible. On the side of the street opposite Rahel you can try to park in the neighborhood if there isn't a meter available.

Pros: unique, 100% vegan
Cons: no parking

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delicious, addicting food

5 Posted on 06 / 08 / 2008

We love the place. The food is really good and it feels right for our stomachs. We would recommend to try their combo (so you get to taste everything), samboosas (of course!) and coffee. Their coffee is extraordinary, I would go there to have a cup anytime.

Pros: delicious food, pleasant atmosphere, totally vegan

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Pretty darn good Ethiopian food

3 Posted on 12 / 17 / 2007

First time eating there had a big vegan feast with two friends and still had leftovers--wow! Huge and beautiful portions. The food is so colorful! Enjoyed the lentils most. Some of the foods in the vegan feast were blandish or rather, tasted too similar to other foods, but still all good.
Slow service, but it's worth it since it's the only all-vegan Ethiopian restaurant in the country.

Pros: good food, healthy cuisine, good value
Cons: SLOW/inattentive service

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Great Food!

5 Posted on 12 / 03 / 2007

This is incredibly delish food. Very different and that is a pleasure. Great spices used. Love to eat the food with the bread. Very friendly service. Tolerant of and friendly to my 4 small children who think the food is too spicy and therefore sit and wait with a smoothy while mom and dad enjoy the food.

Pros: Great food, interesting spices, nice service
Cons: small & cramped, hard to park

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Worth a Try

3 Posted on 11 / 06 / 2007

I've been here many times for the lunchtime meal. The food is generally good and very filling, but sometimes, I don't feel so good afterwards. It's heavy food with lots of spices, potatoes, and lentils all mixed together, and the injera bread expands in the stomach I think... Cute little place though, and it's all vegan.

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yummmmmmmmmm

5 Posted on 07 / 13 / 2007

This was my first time trying ethiopian food and it was wonderful. When you order the veggie plate you get to try about nine different items. The waitress was very helpful and answered all of the questions we had about what to order and how we should eat the food. It was a great experience and I definitely recommend it.

Pros: delicious food, excellent service

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Great Restaurant!

5 Posted on 04 / 18 / 2007

I loved this place! The Vegan Feast was something like $14 (April 2007) and had 12 different dishes to try. The food was excellent, service was great, fabulous prices. My only complaint would be that even traditionally spicy ethiopian dishes were very mild. I'm sure they would accomodate if asked to make spicier though.

Pros: inexpensive, great food
Cons: a little too mild

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great choice for a low-key vegan date

5 Posted on 04 / 11 / 2007

i adore rahel. the food is amazing. sharing a giant two-person combination plate gives you the pleasure of sampling like 9 or 10 different dishes - plus you eat with your hands and it's all very sexy. you get a lot of food for not much money, and they always bring out more injera if you need it. the collard greens are fantastic, and everything is well spiced but not too spicy. try the different juices like the flaxseed or sunflower seed - very interesting.

Pros: unique beverages, friendly staff, awesome combo plates

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my first ethopian experience

4 Posted on 01 / 24 / 2007

I thought the food would be spicer based on what others had told me about ethopian food. it was in fact very mild. the food was good though, and the bread was gluten free which was good as the friend i was with can't eat gluten. the food is reasonably priced and there is an all you can eat lunch special. funky atmosphere. i loved the waitresses "VEGAN POWER" shirt - and want one!! *lol*

Pros: price, atmosphere
Cons: not very spicy food