Empress Taytu Ethiopian Restaurant — Restaurant in Cleveland

Great atmosphere, genuine hospitality, delicious and fun!

We are from out of town and had been traveling for several days, we were visiting Cleveland on family matters and were staying nearby.

We had a vegan, an "if you dare!" diner (you'll need to read the menu to understand) and several more-typical diners, there was only one person who had dinned on Ethiopian Cuisine before. One of our party was not feeling well and was graciously accommodated with delicious well cooked plain chicken and plain rice - very comforting and most appreciated.

The customs call for meals to be eaten with a unique bread to be both the liner of the plate (or table shared platter) and to be used as the utensil for picking up the food, the bread is plentifully available. We were able to try two different Ethiopian beers, both excellent and of different characters - one a lager was crisp and smooth, the other had more flavor and more bitter - both delicious.

The food was full flavored and skillfully prepared; it was presented nicely and everything tasted fresh. Generally speaking dishes were well seasoned and tend toward spicy. I had the Gored-gored and was offered mild, medium or hot; I chose medium and while pleasantly spicy it was not so hot as to be unpleasant to me - I did nibble just a bit on the three finger sized hot pepper strips that garnished the dish. The salad that accompanied the dish was delicious.

Next time we will stay and enjoy the Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony, if we had not been on the road for two days and very tired it would have been a real treat. Several guests were seated in some very comfortable looking chairs at a low round table enjoying the coffee ceremony (smoking coffee beans, incense and Ambasha Bread - and of course the coffee) and clearly spending some quality time indulging in a bit of luxury and meaningful conversation.

This was a great experience with wonderful service and delicious...

Summary: Great vegan food, decent service, great atmosphere, and clean. The bathroom was clean but kinda rundown and it isn't the best location. I enjoyed it immensely and would definitely return.

Detail: My wife and I had a fantastic meal here. It was our first time having family style Ethiopan food. Our server was friendly and knowledgable about vegan options which are marked as options on the menu. It was pretty busy when we were there on a Friday night and there were only three servers, so at times we had to wait a bit for service.

We shared the Foule appetizer and each ordered a drink. My wife had the Empress Taytu which was good, but not worth $13 and I had a bottled beer which was exactly what I expected. The foule was delicious with fresh vegetables that added good flavor and texture to go with the bread which was semi-sweet and a bit cake like in texture.

For our main course, we shared the Vegetable Combination which probably would have been enough for both of us by itself and was a great value at $16. The different flavors, textures, and crepe like injera made this very enjoyable.

We also shared the Inguday Tibs which was delicious with a hint of Thanksgiving flavors. I would have preferred this to have less oil as it was a bit heavy.

The bathroom was a bit run down with some sagging wall panels, rusty stalls, and stained toilet which were a bit off putting, but it was clean and well stocked.

The location isn't the best, but there was pleny of parking and it wasn't...

What a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Visited on a Wednesday night and the place was packed. The flavor combinations we delightful. Every month a friend and I pick a different culinary experience. This one tops them all. At the suggestion of our server we had the appetizer combination platter followed up by the meat and vegetable combination platter for two; everything served family style. I enjoyed the spiced cheese on the appetizer platter. The well seasoned cabbage and the red lentils were my favorite from the entree platter. The whole experience lasted about two hours. Plan on kicking back, taking your time and don't be in a hurry. The kitchen is fully visible from the dining area and it shows that the ladies enjoy their work. You can tell they are taking their time and putting a lot of love into their cooking. Reminds me of the times as a young child watching my grandmother cook. Over all this was an excellent experience that I will certainly recommend to everyone. With a group of 26, a group of 8 and several tables of families and couples, the atmosphere was vibrant and energizing. The food interesting, well seasoned and pleasing. Next time I'm here I hope to try the coffee ceremony. And yes, there will certainly be...