Agelgil Ethiopian Restaurant

My roommate and I have been here a few times and we've both loved it each time. I don't eat meat and have only had vegetarian options but each one I've tried every outing has been consistently amazing, and my roommate echoes the sentiment! As of this review entrees are very affordable about $11 each, and come with a large serving more than enough for a single meal. The only downer is the music is always just a bit too loud for my taste but otherwise the experience at Agelgil is perfect.

Really friendly service, huge portions, really delicious food! Highly recommend!

This Ethiopian restaurant is absolutely amazing. The service is excellent, the food is fresh and delicious, and the place is very beautiful. The Ethiopian music creates an energetic and exciting atmosphere that makes the experience even better.

Great food, friendly and fast service. My family of 4 shared the agelgil and sambusas and were very satisfied. Don't neglect to get a hot after dinner drink like coffee or ginger tea.

I’ve tried several Ethiopian restaurants in MN and this was my favorite! Everything was fresh and extra flavorful. The spices were strong in the best way.

My server helped me look through the menu which was super helpful since this was my first time trying Ethiopian food. She recommended the Shiro which wasn’t too spicy and I loved it. If you do like spicy food, it comes served with jalapeños so you can adjust that. I did notice it was a much smaller portion than the Misir my friend ordered, but still plenty of food.

The food is usually delicious and authentic. However, it was cold and inedible this time around. The staff never checked until it was time to bring the bill, never came back to collect our cards to run it and had to go to the counter to pay. The wait staff never said thank you or apologized for not coming back to collect the tab. Love this place for its authenticity of the food but the service is abysmal.

We picked up a takeout lunch from Agelgil to enjoy outside on the first beautiful, glorious day of Spring in 2023, and the quality of the food was only matched by the amazing sunshine and warm weather. The staff who took and serviced our order was so helpful and polite, we wish we could have stayed and eaten at the restaurant (but alas the outdoors called). The spice and texture of the food was perfection, each bite better than the last. We loved it and hope to come back again soon!

I've walked past Agelgil Ethiopian Restaurant in St. Paul and I stepped inside, the ambience hit me: warm lighting, rhythmic music, and full of locals. I knew this place was going to be a banger I went straight for the veggie platter (mixed injera with assorted stewed and sautéed vegetables) and it was a revelation. Every single dish on that platter had a distinct flavor: collard greens with just the right amount of spice, lentils mellow but rich, cassava crisped in the edges, and sauces that made you want to scoop more injera (and you will). Colors pop, textures contrast, and nothing feels sluggish or heavy. Service was gracious and attentive without hovering. The staff created a relaxed, welcoming experience. If you appreciate good food in a place where you can settle in, soak up the atmosphere, and let the flavors do the talking, Agelgil is a must. Whether you're a longtime fan of Ethiopian food or just looking for a memorable, veggie-forward meal in Saint Paul , this one's a winner.

This was like opening a flavorful, injera present! It had been so long since I've had Ethiopian food and I had forgotten how amazing the flavors are in traditional Ethiopian cuisine. The injera is naturally gluten-free but the restaurant put the extra few seconds to note gluten-free on my delivery box (always a + in my book because they didn't have to). I expect that this is the first of many orders through UberEATS at Apelgil. I follow a Gilmore Girls ordering style: pick 2 meals (or more if it's for a group), try, and then enjoy for the next few meals. I gave the Lega Beef Tibs and Beef Combo Samples a try. I had originally been looking forward to the Lega Beef Tibs (delicious) but ended up SAVORING the variety and flavors in the beef combo. If this is your first foray into Ethiopian food, the Beef Combo Samples is the way to go! What the cuisine lacks in visual appeal, it more than makes up in flavor!

My favorite Ethiopian restaurant in the cities, and I've tried them all. Wonderful food - super flavorful, tender meats, perfectly spiced, and very fresh. I recommend the meat and veggie combo, though I've also gotten the Agelgil that comes served in a hide-covered basket. That's good too, but it's mostly meat. There are standard booths and tables as well as couches in living room settings. Tip: The service is very friendly, though can be a little laid back so sometimes you need to walk to the bar to get someone's attention.

Great lamb tibs. injera is fresh. Service was good. I've been there on multiple occasions and food is very consistent

We had the vegetarian combo. It was excellent, super tasty, some of the best Ethiopian food experience we had ! Highly recommend.

Agelgil is off-the-beaten-path in an isolated part of St. Paul. It also has some of the best Ethiopian food in a metro area with many other Ethiopian spots. The key mesir ($10) is a red lentil dish, vegan by default, and one of my go-tos; here it was spicy with undertones of cinnamon and perfectly done. The kik alicha ($10) is another staple and consists of yellow split peas. Here it was slighty dry and pasty, but still decent. The difen mesir ($10) consists of green lentils in a deliciously savory sauce. This isn't a dish you see often, so definitely get it. Unfortunately they were out of sambusa when we visited; similarly, they stop serving the hard-to-find ful medemas (a fava bean dish) around 11 a.m. The service was friendly but pretty slow (we waited over 30 minutes for our takeout order). The interior space is casual, dimly lit and consists of a few booths, a few communal spaces and a bar. I'd put Agelgil near the top of my list of Ethiopian spots in the Twin Cities, alongside Fasika (St. Paul), Red Sea (Minneapolis) and Katar River (Minneapolis).

The food is really good. I just have to remember to ask for NO jalapenos My daughter and I have tried other places but no one compares to Agelgil's Ethiopian Restaurant.

Super delicious Ethiopian food. I got the veggie combo to go. It was excellent, would highly recommend!

Wonderful flavorful food, attentive service, and authentic community experience! Highly recommend!

The food is great. The staff always treats you kindly. Sometimes they are short staffed, but if you are patient, it's fine. Sometimes it can be a loud environment because it has a big gathering ambiance. I enjoy it each time. The food is always fresh too!

I usually eat my Ethiopian in NYC, but this restaurant is better! We ordered the Agelgil combo, which included two beef dishes, one lamb, one chicken, and collard greens & cheese. Plus plentiful and fluffy injera. The lamb was our favorite, the collard greens our least favorite, but everything was fantastic. But don't get me wrong; we ate every single bite! Our combo dish was about $30, but it was hearty & hefty and served us for three meals before we were licking our plates. Great value plus bellies full of delicious food: enthusiastic 5 star!

Very welcoming place for someone new to the Ethiopian food experience, ordered Kitfo (raw), zilzil tibs, and quanta firfir from the recommendation of a friend, and our server even took the time to explain our options. It all came out so delicious and I can't believe the affordability of so much good food. Finished dinner with coffee with milk, it was a great night

Call beforehand to confirm that they have the gluten free injera. It's listed on the menu but was not available when we went on a Monday evening. They also did not have any rice, even though a dish on the menu says it comes with rice and they didn't have any potatoes. So they were not gluten friendly and we had chosen this place for that. The service was also bad, other people arrived and ordered after us and received their food before us. Our meal took one hour and the yellow lentils were clearly the bottom of the pot as they were runny like a soup.

Having heard our new mayor stopped by here, we had to check it out. It looks pretty much the same both outside and inside as it did as Tropicana Cafe. But, the menu was easier to understand, and this time there were vegetarian items. I ordered the same food as I did when it was Tropicana Cafe: ginger tea and quanta firfir. The ginger tea was very gingery, and they helpfully provided evaporated cane sugar. This time the quanta firfir came with a small side salad--iceberg lettuce, tomato, hot peppers, and a deep balsamic dressing. It provided a nice balance to the spicy jerky-injera mix. The firfir also came with a hard-boiled egg, which mellowed out the spice a bit. My husband ordered the vegetarian combo. The combo had things we recognized like green and yellow lentils, greens (gomen), cabbage and carrots, etc. The combo also had a small iceberg lettuce salad. He was happy that this time there were meatless options. As before, there is a space with two pool tables in the back by the restrooms. One of the pool tables had a carroms-like game with red and white balls. The other had billiard balls that you would recognize from elsewhere. I was glad to see that Agelgil maintained the same friendly and sunny atmosphere as the Tropicana Cafe. I want to try breakfast and Ethiopian coffee there at some point.

I walked in, and was impressed by the inside of this restaurant. Can't wait to dine in after this covid-19 bull goes away. The food was expertly packed for takeout, and even though I ate every last morsel, based on the hours of food coma, that veggie sampler is enough for two people. I will visit them every time that I'm by the airport, since they're on five or so minutes away.

Moved here from Seattle and missed ethiopian food. Food from here went in the trash after making my partner and myself both feel sick. I guess I'm still hunting. Lesson learned - order one dish to try initially. That would have saved me a bunch of cash!

The food was good, which typically Ethiopian cuisine isn't far off in flavor from one place to the next. The menu lacked in variety, and if you don't spoke the language, the service isn't the best, though the waitress tried, but the language barrier was significant. This is more a sports bar that serves food with soccer games on every tv. Not my kind of place...

Absolutely amazing food. I got the lamb tibs and a St. George's beer the injera soaked up the broth which was to die for. The lamb was tender and spices just right. Friendly service and lively atmosphere.

This was my first time trying Agelgil. I called to order takeout and during the order, I got the first part out (2 veg combo) and then the person on the phone said "sounds good" and hung up. I had the call back to finish placing it and again ""sounds good *click*". No total, no time to pick it up? It was more funny than inconvenient, so I left to pick it up right away. That would have been fine and initially everything was great. Until I noticed pieces of beef in the lentils. I don't eat beef but I figured it was maybe cross contamination so I just ate around that part. My husband who is a strict vegetarian didn't find meat on his combo so he kept eating it only to end up with the telltale meat stomachache later (which is unpleasant for everyone). He didn't want to call because "it happens" but I'm not really fond of advertising food as vegetarian only to find later that it is definitely not as advertised. Maybe it was a mistake (I hope), but the combined experience of weird service and then relying on unpleasant digestive processes to answer the "meat or not" question was enough to send me back to my usual St Paul Ethiopian place. I hope others have better luck and my experience was a one-off.

Ate here for the first time, and I've lived in Minnesota for 20 years Delicious food!

I liked that the red lentils were spicy. The veggie entree. Portions were filling. Does that make sense? Football game was too loud. I like Ethiopian music, that would be better than a football game. They need some rugs to soak up the sound. It wasn't cold, but my friend was cold. She was cold all day though. I did see a fly on my bread but don't let that stop you. Great food, needs some curtains.

The service is friendly and welcoming, the ambiance is inviting, the music is happy and upbeat, the food is worth the wait--so many delicious flavors!!! We ate every little scrap! The only regrettable part was when I spilled my water. We will be back--thank you!!

Amazing Ethiopian food at great prices served by lovely and friendly staff! Locally owned too! Can not say enough great things about it.

We tried to get into Fasika but it was so tiny and crowded we decided to come here and I'm so glad we did. We ordered veggie plate, quanta firfir and lamb tibs and it was all so delicious. Highly recommend

I've been to a couple of the other Ethiopian restaurants in Saint Paul and while they're all delicious, the service makes Agelgil stand out. The food was amazing (try the Avocado Salad, seriously.) Our host was fantastic and the portions were perfectly sized. Give it a visit, you will not regret it!

I tried this place for the first time today, and I love it! Delicious food, friendly staff, and quick service. If you like Ethiopian food, you definitely need to check this place out! It's also close to the airport so it's good for a quick bite before the flight. I stopped in for lunch and when the waitress brought the menu I asked for her recommendation. She asked if I like beef and if I prefer spicy or not. I told her that I do like beef, and that I like a little bit of spice. So she told me that she would take care of it. What she brought me was really good, and it came with plenty of injera bread. When I got the bill it was $12.50, and I feel like that is a very good price for the quality of the food and service. The receipt says that the dish is called "half and half."

I have not tried the food yet but the service so far has been great! I'm ordering to go and my food won't be eaten until later today. They have agreed to give me my food cold so that it will not spoil on my long drive home. The waitress has been very cheery and helpful. I will update after we've eaten the food.

Food was amazing! Great service. They are aware of gluten allergies and very accommodating. They make gluten free teff injera and not every place has that. The server was very kind and the restaurant is comfortable with nice lighting. The bathrooms are really clean and nice. This is some of the best Ethiopian food I've had since I lived in California. The portions are huge for the price. In California you'd pay double for the same portions so I really appreciate that.

My favorite Ethiopian restaurant so far . My first time having this was Thursday and it was great . The flavoring was amazing , the service was wonderful despite not being able to sit in the restaurant due to current pandemic . No food was leftover that's how good the food was . Also, great portions my boyfriend and I were able to share.

Oh my gosh, I am so glad I found Agelgil. This is the best Ethiopian food in the twin cities metro area! I ordered Lamb tibs, Doro Wat, Shiro, and two Veggie Platters. Everything had the best spices. I don't care too much for Shiro until I had theirs. It is seasoned so well and the texture is perfect. I've also never had lamb as tender as they cooked theirs. The food was so tasty that I could hardly stop eating! Four of my family members shared this meal and all of us said that it is the best we've ever had from a restaurant. This is definitely our new go-to place! Thank you Agelgil!

Food was delicious, but wound up being charged more for both my entree and glass of wine than what was listed on the menu. Had to run so didn't have time to dispute it. Five star for food, three star for pricing issue, so went with four stars.

I absolutely LOVE this place! The food is phenomenal. It's well seasoned and tasty. There are vegan and vegetarian options. Honestly, there is something for everyone here.

Don't go to this place unless you are buddies with the owners or the servers. The food is mediocre at best and even worse if you are not friends with the owners or they perceive you as the average Joe sort of guy, the servers won't even look at your way and the food will be lower quality than the person next table who they serve well for whatever stereotypical reason they have.

The food was really good. We enjoyed both the veggie sampler and the meat combo. The people were nice too. However, they aren't taking many precautions for Covid. when I went to pick up the takeout, there were several groups hanging out in the restaurant (no masks). In Minnesota, restaurants are only supposed to have outside service and takeout. Also, the man behind the counter didn't have a mask and wasn't practicing social distancing -- i.e., coming up to me to hand me the receipt to sign. (I had tried to pay by phone when I placed the order, but the person on the phone had trouble understanding my credit card number). The woman behind the counter had a mask but was wearing it below her chin. I really liked the food, and I like patronizing immigrant businesses, but I was uncomfortable with their health precautions. Made me wonder if they follow health & cleanliness standards back in the kitchen (to prevent food-borne illnesses, etc.)

Food is amazing service was very good small place but I would definitely suggest you stopping in and giving it a try. Definitely looking forward to my next visit.

Nice and friendly staff. Food was good. I was expecting an authentic experience like the restaurants in West LA.

This was my first experience eating Ethiopian food. We shared a vegetarian and a meat dish. Both were amazing. The atmosphere was also very nice. I can't wait to go back with more of my friends. I have talking to many of them about it.

Really amazing spot. Very relaxed lounge vibe and amazing food. A little hard to get into the parking lot (my first time driving through Saint Paul so my directions made it a little stressful) but just required a u-turn. Super friendly staff, amazing food, great prices. Cheers!

Amazing flavors and great value! We upgraded to the Brown Teff Injera, as it was recommended when we asked about gluten free processing. It was worth it. The vegetable platter was awesome.

Great food, wider variety than most local Ethiopian restaurants on the menu, and an interesting atmosphere. All in all a great meal. If you're looking for gluten free injera, they have it but you need to ask specifically for the brown Teff injera, not the white wheat ones.

Love this place. We've had takeout of the veggie combos, the beef tibbes, and lamb Tibbes. HIGHLY recommend all.

Love Ethiopian food !! Ordered the agelgil basket (serves 3) for my boyfriend and I and it did not disappoint . We went in . My sister and my biL ordered the same thing it had a lil bit of everything I suggest someone who's never tried any Ethiopian food to order the basket so you git a lil bit of it all. I just loved it all ! It says serves 3 we had grabbed a box for what we didn't finish and the next day was enough for the two of us to eat again! Great service as well as great atmosphere I loved that spot it's like a bar/restaurant/coffee shop/lounge you git it, it's comfortable and suitable for anyone.

I'm no expert in Ethiopian food but I have been to a few different Ethiopian restaurants in the cities. I Went here for lunch today and wanted to try their vegetarian platter because it looked very interesting with small portions of different veggies, greens and lentils served on their large bread but then the carnivore in me took over and I ordered the beef platter instead! The beef platter had three different types of beef (cubed beef in some tomato sauce, ground beef and cubed beef sautéed with onions and spices) which was served on Ethiopian bread. The meat was nicely spiced and the dish has some tanginess and just a little kick to it. I enjoyed it very much!! By the way, the beef platter is a little oily but not too bad.

door dasher stole my food and the restaurant manager was not considerate at all. poor customer service

AGELGIL is FANTASTIC! The owner Rose is a lovely woman, and the food was wonderful! We had an event there, so they served a buffet style meal there for us. There was also a darling woman roasting coffee beans and serving up the most wonderful coffee to all of us in beautiful little china cups. There were also baskets of homemade bread brought around as people mingled. Their staff was all so friendly, we definitely plan to be back. Thank you Rose for such a great night!

This is my new favorite Ethiopian restaurant in the Twin Cities! The food was absolutely delicious, and the service was lovely. The atmosphere is nice. In addition to tables for eating, there are comfortable chairs and coffee tables for hanging out. I highly recommend Agelgil!

It's really good, and I mean REALLY good, if you're thinking of going there, then PLEASE DO. It has an amazing atmosphere, amazing food, and perfect service. I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

Awesome Ethiopian food so close to MSP! Be sure to try to avocado salad... it's not what you expect! The Vegetarian Combo was fresh and delicious... the Lamb Tibs had a little kick and a lot of flavor! And service was top notch! Highly recommend!

Walking in the space is large and and very clean. The server was super nice and friendly and helpful. Restrooms are very clean and the food is amazing and large portions. We will be back with friends.