Kilimanjaro Cafe
Restaurant, Bar
Hours
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Profile
$$ - average
Ethiopian/Eritrean
Ethiopian
Ethiopian restaurant on the West Bank
Near corner of Cedar and Riverside
- Large Group-Friendly
- Live Music
Added by Robin Garwood on Jan 5 05 (updated Aug 12 05)
Reviews
I was not terribly impressed with this place. The atmosphere is grim, spare and depressing, much like its neighbor Red Sea Bar and Restaurant, and the food quality is a notch below. In general, I found the food here to be below that of all the other Ethiopian restaurants I've been to in the Twin Cities, namely Blue Nile, Red Sea, T's Place.
My miser wot (lentils with berbere sauce) ($7.95) was too mushy and had a sour flavor, as opposed to the spicier, fresher preparation I've had elsewhere. I wasn't impressed with the flat and flavorless green beans, or the generic iceberg lettuce salad with Italian dressing, either. The small side of split peas that came with the dish was pretty decent, and I wish I had ordered that instead.
In summary, I probably would not come back here again, especially not with better Ethiopian places out there.
I've been going here pretty regularly since Addis Ababa closed (years ago), and it's pretty good. The foule appetizer (ordered with no cheese) is very tasty, and not something I've had elsewhere (I think it may be more Egyptian than Ethiopian).
The vegetarian platter is pretty good, though the quality of the dishes varies a fair bit from one visit to the next. I prefer Fasika over in St Paul, as their food is more consistent, and a bit stronger in flavor, but Kilimanjaro is pretty good, and more conveniently located.
This place has amazing food. The vegetarian appetizer (it has fava beans in it) ordered without feta is excellent - it comes with fluffy, crusty white bread - very good. Easily enough for three or four people. The vegetarian combo for two is enough for three, really. They have the best injera bread I have had in the twin cities, and everything on the combo platter was fantastic. According to the server, all of the vegetarian meals are vegan. We had to wait a while for our food - but it is so worth the wait. They had this huge TV on the whole time we were there (same as Addis Ababa is this a quirk of Ethiopian places??) and that was a bit distracting, but once the food gets there, we blocked everything else out. The only reason it's getting a nine instead of a ten is that I've only been once, and it could have been an 'on' night - I'll be going back to finish my research, though. UPDATE: Research completed 3 out of three right on the money. This is, hands down, the best Ethiopian place in town.
Excellent food, good price. The music was too loud.
Good ethiopian, right next door to the Red Sea. Vegan options served family style (order the vegetarian combination). Quite good. They have loudish live music most nights, always in my experience made by the same guy. Friendly staff, good atmosphere. Definitely among the best ethiopian places in the Twin Cities, on par with Red Sea, Fasika, and Addis Ababa.
I agree with previous reviewers that the food was so-so, atmosphere not so good. Vegetarian platter a good deal though and you can sample a lot of the different vegetarian dishes in one.