Bole Ethiopian Cuisine — Restaurant in Saint Paul

Bole' Ethiopian restaurant is in St Paul's a quiet Como Park residential area, across from a large Catholic Church. We went for our anniversary dinner on the recommendation of a friend who raved about the food, but couldn't quite put her finger on what was so unique about the blend of flavors. It was the first day of spring temperate enough to sit comfortably outdoors, so we were the first customers to enjoy Bole's new patio. We received a warm welcome from the staff who made a real effort to provide us with appetizers and main dish on Gluten free injira - the sponge-like pancake shaped bread that serves as both a serving plate and scooping utensil in Ethiopian food. Since every bite is accompanied by injira, the flavor must blend with every food Bole' serves; From unique vegetable dishes - piquant and slightly sweet lentils, a mild and buttery concoction of potatoes and carrots, beans with onions in a tomato sauce and savory greens - to meat stews - rich, red spicy beef and a perfectly prepared lamb. The airy, slightly sour flavor provided the perfect base for all. We also tried the traditional sparkling honey wine of Ethiopia, made in the US from an Ethiopian recipe. It reminded us of cider, with a richer more full-bodied flavor, that was well worth the modest price of $8 per glass or $28 for a bottle. As the late afternoon light deepened into evening, the neighborhood folks, who seemed to have developed a real liking for the restaurant and its staff, filled in the patio. The children of a couple of families kids gathered at an empty table and played cards while their parents waited for the food to arrive. Our experience was pleasant from beginning to end, and I could easily see developing a regular yearning for Bole's unusual flavors. Those lucky St. Paul residents - Imagine having Bole' as their...

First time trying Ethiopian cuisine. I was referred here by a friend of Ethiopian decent.

Atmosphere: it’s clean, and comfortable not huge but enough space to sit and eat comfortably. They have a bar area and outside dining as well.

Service: My experience unfortunately was that service was mediocre. I came during lunch which wasn’t busy. No greeting. No direction just kind of figure it out. My server didn’t seem to really understand the language that well as I told her that I knew what I wanted to order and she just walked off for 7-8 minutes until I had to physically get up and get her. There was a young man tending the bar area who was helpful and came back over to take my order. I sat here for an additional 10 minutes after I boxed the food up waiting for someone to bring me a check and ask how my meal was etc nothing. They are just really slow in terms of tending to tables and closing out checks. I only seen 1 server so I assume they are just short staffed.

Food: I ordered a bunch of things to try and bring home. Vegetable Sampler, Shiro, Lega Tibs, and Doro Wat.

The orange veggies on the sampler were delicious. I didn’t care for the greens nor the squash.

The lega tibs has a great flavor although the meat was a little tough. It was good.

The Doro wat smelled great it had different spices that my flavor pallet wasn’t accustomed to. I was excited but underwhelmed by the overall flavor once I tasted it. Chicken was tough, red Sauce had a little bit of spice but nothing substantial and there wasn’t a burst of flavor. The flavor was mute and subdued.

Overall: I would come here again to try something different if and only if I was in the area . However it wasn’t anything to write home about. I wouldn’t drive 30 minutes...

Easily crowning this place as the best Ethiopian food in the Twin Cities because of so many factors, specifically the tastiness of their food, the variety of desserts they have, and the service that they were able to provide. I am not exaggerating when I am saying that this place is staple for the Twin Cities food scene and that I will bring my guests here first almost every time.

The kategna, sambusas, and beet salad are all amazing! Adequate level of spice for the kategna, a good amount of filling in the sambusas, and a good flavor mixture along with good bread for the beet salad. I truly enjoyed every item I have had.

While the siga wat and the yebeg alicha, two of the most popular items in this establishment, are certainly amazing, my favorite item is undoubtedly miser, the spiced lentils that they have, which I still think is the best lentils I have had anywhere, including my own! It is really difficult to make lentils taste good and I don't know how they do it. I highly recommend anyone getting it. I also recommend the ater kik, which is the yellow split peas. It is very flavorful.

Despite miser as my absolutely favorite item here, I do want to say that all items I have had were hits and no misses. Just the miser was way too impressive, with the beets salad a second favorite.

Service was also amazing, with Avii doing a fantastic job always carrying a smile and always checking on us to ensure we had everything we needed.

Once again, staple food place in the Twin Cities that all visitors should check out! Easily a 5...