East African Cafe — Restaurant in Kitchener

We wanted to try an Ethiopian restaurant and the East African Cafe came up on a Google search, so we decided to give it a try since we wanted something vegan.

City owned paid parking is available on the side of the building just a few steps from the cafe.

We arrived at 3:30 pm on a Saturday afternoon and noticed there were only two other patrons inside. The inside of the cafe is well worn. It's an older building with a lot of African decor. We noticed it's not the cleanest restaurant as we saw a lot of dirt on the window frame and floor. The men's restroom seemed like it hadn't been cleaned in a couple of days but wasn't totally disgusting. If the owners paid a little more attention to cleanliness it would make the cafe more appealing.

The cafe has no WiFi; we're good with that.

The owner was very friendly and helpful when explaining the menu. Owner and his wife work inside.

Food: very tasty! We ordered the Vegan Combo because we wanted to try a little of everything and a Shiro plate. One thing we liked very much is that you eat without utensils. You simply break off a piece of their sour dough bread and grab the food with it in your fingers. We've eaten like this before and food tastes so much better than putting metal utensils in your mouth. I was expecting some of the vegan items to have a little more seasoning, as some seemed a little bland but I image that's the way it's supposed to taste; we've never had African cuisine. The cabbage and lentil vegan items were definitely our favourites! One thing I definitely don't like is that they reheat food in a microwave. Microwaves have no place in restaurants, especially this one that serves good fresh homemade food.

So the ultimate question is, would we return? This restaurant has good food and lots of potential but sadly, however until we read more in depth positive reviews, we won't...

I agree with Franki kung. Definitely a hidden Gem in Kitchener. Saturday night around 7:30pm is the best time to go visit the East African Cafe. Bring with you a friend/ partner/ sibling/ or ride solo whichever! In my opinion, if you truly want to feel and see for yourself the authentic experience of East African social life, music, art, unity, and love. Whether visiting overnight or on the weekend there is plenty of parking right beside the cafe in the rear. We took a taxi instead which was less then $10Cad depending if your staying within close proximity. The timing was perfect, the Bartender was super friendly, helpful, and gives good advice. The beverage are affordable, plus a huge selection of alcohol choices. The washroom are at the very end of the hallway, a little bit challenging for new guest to find. With that in Mind, the food menu was sanitized and wiped down. The food menu shows colorful photos of a variety of dishes, mostly vegetarian focus with a list of different options. It did not take long for the food to come after ordering. I recommend trying Ethiopian hot sauce for hot sauce lovers, we also liked the mustard sauce too. The reviews speaks for itself regarding the food. We acknowledge the patrons are locals who spend time away from there busy schedule to enjoy there time socializing with friends and were respectful and excepting. I been searching online for an East African Restaurant all summer and I finally...

Well, the food was good - we got the vegetarian platter; the hamlie was wonderful and I also enjoyed the Misir and Ater Alicha (though they were blander than some places) but as we were eating, my husband said "it doesn't matter how the food is; I never want to come here again." The music was SO LOUD, it was like a nightclub, not a restaurant--and every time an ad came on, it was even louder and more abrasive. I've been to another Ethiopian restaurant that was like that, so maybe it's a cultural thing? But it was really unpleasant. We couldn't hear what the server said, and she couldn't hear us very well, which made ordering difficult. Then we were trying to have a conversation during dinner but we got tired of yelling. Also, as someone else mentioned, the server had hair hanging in her face (luckily there was none in the food), and the service was rather slow even though there was hardly anyone else there. We needed a place to go for dinner between lessons nearby, but next time we will find somewhere else. It might be good for...