Cafe Lalibela

My first experience at an Ethiopian restaurant and the food was fantastic.

This place is a great find. More than half of the menu is suitable for vegans, the food is super tasty, and the employees are very nice and helpful. I recommend the yellow split pea (:

We've eaten here many times and they never disappoint. The food is always hot, fresh, and bursting with that infamous spiced-up flavor. I always get the veggie combo, which includes a string bean dish, cabbage & potato dish, collard greens, and spicy red lentils (my absolute favorite!), all for about $13. I usually have lefttovers, when I'm not being greedy. If you'd just like to try 1 thing, a veggie dish goes for about $5 individually.

If you have a group of veg*n diners, try the Veg Exclusive. It covers samplings of all their veggie dishes for about $36 (split it with friends and ease your pockets); there's no way 1 person could (or should) eat the exclusive by themselves. At least not in one sitting. It's a LOT of food.

The owner is very nice. Always greets everyone with a smiling face.

It's in a strip mall, so there is no issue with parking.

Nice place for family dining, date night, or grabbing a bite with friends.

I got the Vegetable Combination and it was fantastic. Including the injera bread, which is great, there is more than enough food and at a very reasonable price. Overall everything was delicious.

As long as you enjoy flavor, you'll enjoy Lalibela's. We ordered the vegetarian platter, which comfortably fed four of us (and allowed for some mindless stew-stained injera noshing afterward). Favorites included the Misir Wat (spicy red lentil stew), Shiro Wat (a garlic-y, onion-y pea mash stew), and Yekik Alicha (yellow split peas with onions and tumeric).

Of course, scooting injera from stew to stew, scooping up everything at once also seemed to be a pretty successful maneuver, even though it mixed the individual stew flavors. Everyone else really liked when I did that (not really). Do I regret it? No.

I do have one regret though, which I shall reconcile upon my next visit, and that is that I did not leave Lalibela wearing a cloak made entirely from injera. But hey, that's why there's next time.

I love this place. I just tried the other Ethiopian restaurant in the Valley, and was disappointed, and my gratitude for Cafe Lalibela multiplied. The food here is fresh and authentic, and the staff are really nice. I'm so lucky to live down the street! Tons of vegan options, too.

Doubt I would have survived pregnancy without Cafe Lalibela! It's always delicious! Every menu item is perfection. The shorba itself would be worth the trip from Pittsburgh back to Phoenix! Yum!

this place was delicious! great flavors, not greasy, and huge portions! i definitely recommend this restaurant. I'll be going back!

I visited here once and found most of the food really delicious, although I did get a little indigestion. That's just my sensitive stomach, though. I would go there again if only my friends liked Ethiopian food!

I ate here in March. I found the food here to be greasy and not as tasty as the food at Blue Nile. Considering the fact that Blue Nile is just up the street you really should go there instead if you are in Phoenix and looking for vegan ethopian food. Our server were nice though they forgot/never brought me the coffee I ordered. Then again we were a table of 13.

I am not a huge fan of Ethiopian fare but we shared the Vegetarian Exclusive and it was super yummy. I will definitely return.

Great food and value. I chose the option to select 3 vegetarian items and it was way too much food. I did my best to eat every last bite. The lentils - my friend had the cold ones - I had the hot, collard greens and cabbage were all excellent. It was only $15 for both my friend and I to eat. You can also sign up for their mailing list and you will receive a coupon for your birthday.
I can't wait to go back but its very far from my house.

I really liked Cafe Lalibela. It's clean, and service was great. The food was delicious. Definitely a place where you can take anyone. A good alternative to Tina's Ethiopian in Chandler.