Tina's Ethiopian Cafe
$ - inexpensive
Ethiopian/Eritrean
Southeast Valley Ethiopian food in an ultra-homey setting
Named "Best Ethiopian Restaurant" in Phoenix in 2005 by The New Times weekly, Tina's features fine Ethiopian food in a metro area in desperate need of more them.
Tina acts as both chef and server, so you can place your vegetarian order directly to her. Tina's does offer a lunch buffet, which she often extends right into dinner: that's an all-you-eat-Ethiopian buffet for $6!
Normal Veg items and prices include:
Garden salad served on injera $3.50
Shiro wat (chick peas)
Yemiser wat (lentils)
Yatkil wat (cabbage and potatoes)
Kik wat (yellow split peas)
Spinach wat (spinach and onions)
Fosolia wat (green beans and carrots)
While the food and buffet-price is tough to beat, Tina's also offers an experience about as close to home as you can possibly get. There's the TV that's always on; Tina's little kids running around the place (as if they're right at home); and then there's Tina, popping in and out of the kitchen (as if she was at home too!), forcing more food on you (just like Mom would after she hadn't seen you for 6 months). For some, this might seem very strange. For others, the homey atmosphere is right up their alley.
NOTE: Current photo is of previous venue across the street.
Just north of Chandler Blvd. on Arizona Ave. (aka Country Club) on the west side of the street.
- Buffet
Added by Steve Carlson on Jan 31 05 (updated Apr 27)
Reviews
Tina's Ethiopian is truly a unique dining experience. The food was good and arrived steaming hot. It really does feel like eating in someone's living room with the sofa/chair seating arrangement. Apparently in Ethiopia if you see an open door around dinner time, it means you can enter and buy dinner. This is a similar experience. Tina is a great hostess/cook, and came out to visit with us after we ate. We had an interesting & lengthy conversation about different topics (career, food, people, politics). Tina and her husband (Dan) are very interesting, educated, and intelligent people. We went on July 4th, so there weren't too many people there, and we were able to chat for a while. I have to say this was the most interesting dining experience I've ever had, and way more than I expected! Definitely go for the food and culture.
Adding to the comment below. We went on 4th of July and were treated to a great vegetarian meal with perfect spices and delicious injera bread. Tina is an amazing woman with a fascinating story, and I've never felt more welcome in a restaurant, ever. I would say their kindness was as good as the food itself, but the food was really really good. We definitely plan to return. Tina described their busier nights as an eclectic mix of different groups where a table of Mormons can have a friendly conversation with a table of lesbians, for example. People being brought together by good food and a great, friendly atmosphere... what more could you want?
I have tried a lot of Ethiopian food, in Tucson, in Tempe, in Dallas, in the Bay Area and Tina's is by far the best of all! What I love the most about her food is that it's fresh, healthy and cooked with a lot of love. Yes, she runs a business but she is pretty particular about the quality (taste, freshness, health, hygiene) of her food. She makes you feel right at home with her smile, great service, great food and even more homely ambiance. Sometimes she runs out of a few popular vegetarian dishes, so if you know before hand you are going to be there, call her and she'll make sure to save or even prepare your favorite dish.
The food, if I haven't stressed enough already, is delicious and you can eat it all guilt-free as it isn't too oily like some other Ethiopian food is. She remembers her guests and their favorite dishes. So, if you go there after a long break, be sure to come up with a good enough excuse for not showing up earlier!
Tina's restaurant is the BEST Ethiopian restaurant I have ever eaten at hands down!
In fact.. I just moved to Colorado and I miss eating at Tina's so very much!! She has wonderful vegan & vegetarian assortments. She uses olive oil in the place of butter. Her injera is very tasty too... Also, the house salad is great. To sum, ALL of the vegetarian dishes are absolutely delicious. We would like to coax her into relocating to Colorado! Ha ha...
I ate at a Ethiopian restaurant in Colorado and it just doesn't compare.. Tina's is the best.
The atmosphere is also very homey and welcoming. You would regret not trying it! If you love coffee, try her Ethiopian coffee. It is very strong and very aromatic and flavorful.
The Kik Watt (yellow split pea) and Shiro Watt were awesome. Overall food quality is better than Cafe Lalibela. We were told that the injera (bread) is made with teff, which is very authetic and expensive, but that other restaurants don't use as much of. Tina was very charming and made sure everybody is full and happy! We heard they closed until Feb08 to prepare for the move to a location across the street. Note also the buffet is by request only, call/email in advance. Although, the platter had a good variety and don't hesitate to ask for more!