Lalibela Restaurant - Bloor St — Restaurant in Toronto

Groupon Customers Beware

I received a Groupon notice and thought I would try the restaurant as I love Ethiopian food. The groupon was really cheap but as we were taking a few family members with us and we wanted to try several dishes and we needed extra food. We gave the waitress our Groupon right away and were seated. We ordered a couple of combo platters and another dish. Like most Ethiopian restaurants (including their other location) each order should come with its own platter. This was not the case. Rather than having the three dishes on multiple platters flanked by injera bread, they put everything on one platter. This resulted in $90 worth of food essentially on one plate making the portions very, very small. The $19 specialty dish was added to two combo platters on the same platter and had about 1 cup of food. I should have taken a picture to see what $90 brings. Since everything was on one plate/platter we had to order extra injeras which at other restaurants are complimentary.

Pros Food quality is very good. Parking was free after 6pm outside the restaurant There were a couple of dishes I've never tried before Server was friendly Food didn't take long to come out

Cons The first time we went my GPS took me to the Bloor St location which has the same name (I did a search by name vice address). I didn't realize there were two. I showed the waitress the Groupon and she said no problem but when we went to pay she wouldn't accept the Groupon stating it was for Danforth location not Bloor. Ok. My bad, I didn't realize there were two of these, especially for a guy not from Toronto. But seriously, it's the same company.

Portion size was not acceptable for ~$90 (before Groupon after tax and tip) for what we ordered. It didn't match what the other customers were getting for placing the same order when they came in as single people or ordering a platter to share. There is no way one platter should be $90. I still ended up paying about $78 incl tax and tip for what was supposed to be three main dishes (meat, veg, and a specialty dish). Not only was it frustrating reaching across the table to try to get something to eat (there were six of us including kids), but the portions of each dish were also small.

Want more injeras? They are extra but fortunately only $1.50.

Dishes here are $1-3 more than the other location.

It is a big of a drive to get there if you live North of the 401.

Overall Note when the Groupon is valid, they aren't valid all the time. The food was good and I would consider going back with another Groupon if it were just me or my wife and I just to take advantage of it. I wouldn't go back with a group or family and a Groupon as I felt shorted by the quantity of food. Next time, if I go, I will insist on separate platters. If you are in the company of a vegetarian, they won't be happy with all the food put on...

I really want to be able to give a better review for Lalibela. I want to put it out there that in no way is this score reflective of the staff and that I have visited two locations multiple times and have had similar experiences. Just to reiterate I thought the staff were very good when it came to dealing with the issues we had and were pleasant and nice. My one critique of the staff came to them understanding how groupons work (so beware if you are going there with one. Make sure you tell the staff well in advance of your groupon and that your expectations of it and their understanding of it are reflective before you order) and the other issue came with them being able to make recommendations or substitutions. I don't think there was a language barrier but I don't think they are used to doing things outside of the box. Everyone was great though and eventually things were figured out.

One of my issues with Lalibela is that they don't seem to understand the appeal of their restaurant to vegans. One of the locations has seating made from cowhide. It is rough leather and actual skin (with hair) form the cow. If this is something that might be unappealing for you as it was for me you might want to consider somewhere else. I understand that Lalibela isn't primarily a vegan restaurant it's things like this that can wind up pushing people away that would embrace them.

For those not in the know Ethiopian food is something that you will be eating with your hands. Especially if you order an injera bread plate. The couch seating can make this a bit of a messy fiasco so be warned and prepared. If you can sit at an actual table you'll likely have a better time.

I have to say the food is very tasty but on multiple occasions we had issues with either the wrong order, cold food or one time we found gravel in our dish. The staff were very impressive with how they handled these matters but the consistency with the issues is more concerning to me.

While I would say the food is authentic and tasty the overall experience fell short for me every time and so I am unfortunately reluctant to recommend them especially after giving them multiple...

Had always wondered what Ethiopian food was like. This place was advertised on Groupon and thought of taking an advantage of it.

So the three of us, Mrs, daughter and me went one Sunday evening to try this out. Place looked busy and all tables were occupied. But within a couple of minutes a table was available and we were seated. The menu was extensive but very limited choices for a vegetarian outside of what was available in the Veggie Platter.

The veggie platter about 7 different vegetables assembled in two piles of each vegetable and they were laid on a injera bread. Two extra injera breads were also provided. Now mind you the three of us, hungry and getting food for two. More below. The vegetables plain and simple with little seasonings and spice. The bread soft and spongy. A little sour as the batter is perhaps fermented. Food is good, service really bad.

(The most annoying thing about the visit was the server. As soon as we mentioned we were Vegetarians, she kinda had the look which is hard to explain. She wasn’t happy let’s put that way. So we decided on the platter and asked for a suggestion. The platter is meant for two, mind you. I have known servers who love to up-sell you and or happy if you order more than what they think you can finish. I am sure they thing big bill = bigger tips. She would not help us! Al she said was there was this platter or we could order one of the components of the platter. There was a soup that she did not suggest and 2/3 dishes that we thought could be made without meat as there were options to have chicken, fish and mutton. When we insisted she could try asking the chef, she said no. She could have given us a brief explanation of why, but she walked off...