Cafe Soleil — Restaurant in Seattle

A wonderfully eclectic Ethiopian restaurant. This place is different in that there's more local, northwest twist while maintaining most core Ethiopian flavors. Salmon, Chard, and shrimp are among the ingredients usually not found at other Ethiopian restaurants. All dishes are ordered a la carte which makes easier to more precisely order how much food your need or want.

For dinner they have past options. I haven't had brunch but it also seems very well done if somewhat more conventional, featuring scrambles and other egg dishes.

The atmosphere is wonderfully cozy and relaxed and seldom feels bustling since it's in a quiet fairly secluded residential neighborhood (Madrona). I've eaten here several times and the service has always been friendly and efficient. If memory serves owner Kuri Teshome has always been in the kitchen but also loves to talk with customers if she has time.

Cafe Soleil is certainly the most unique Seattle Ethiopian restaurant I know of and also one...

I really shouldn't be doing this cuz now my favorite brunch spot will get busier, but what the hec, I just have to say that my hubbie and I love this place. A few doors down, people are on line to get into the High Spot, which is good, but is missing some lovely magical element that Soleil has. It's a small space, unpretentious, and when you open the door, you are immediately greeted by lovely aromas. They have delicious frittatas- my fave is the tomato, basil, and parmesan- and their hash browns are delicious, with just a tad of crust on them. At home I am vegan, but this place is one of the few places where I break my diet. The coffee is good, the OJ is fresh squeezed and delish, the servers are nice and efficient, and the owner is a lovely Ethiopian woman who we always enjoy seeing. It's nice to sit next to the window in the winter where the heater warms your legs, or at her outside tables in summer. But shh...don't...

I really wanted to like this place. The good part was: the wait staff was super friendly and attentive. Lots of coffee/water refills whenever needed, people seemed happy. But the bad news was: the brunch special I got, some kind of sun dried tomato / feta / spinach scramble -- pretty not-good. I'm no foodie by any stretch; I'll eat pretty much anything. But even I was about ready to push it aside unfinished. The (presumably homemade?) white bread was tasty. The potatoes were fine. The orange was dried out and old. And the knife was dirty. Definitely made me sad that a local, friendly establishment had a pretty low quality bar. But then again, maybe brunch isn't really...