Aster's Ethiopian Restaurant

"If you’ve driven up Dean Keeton at any point in the past 15 to 20 years, you’ve probably noticed a small, bright blue building off the side of the road. That’s Aster’s, an Ethiopian restaurant that’s become almost as essential to the campus-area landscape as the LBJ Library down the street. At dinner, there's a standard menu. But show up for lunch on a weekday and you’ll have access to a buffet with about two dozen items you can use to assemble your own platter." - nicolai mccrary

"If you’re familiar with Ethiopian food, you’ll probably already know that instead of a bunch of tiny plates, you’ll usually be receiving one giant plate, usually covered in spongy injera and a few scoops of stewed meats and veggies. And that’s exactly what you’ll be getting at Aster’s, a longstanding Ethiopian restaurant near the UT Campus. Food here is served family style but unlike all those new-age restaurants where “family-style” means you all get a quarter-sized bite from each plate, here it feels like a value. Or you can just show up for lunch, with the full menu plus a buffet, where you can load up your own plate over and over.  " - nicolai mccrary

"If you’ve driven up Dean Keeton at any point in the past 15 to 20 years, you’ve probably noticed a small, bright blue building off the side of the road. That’s Aster’s, an Ethiopian restaurant that’s become almost as much of the campus-area landscape as the LBJ library down the street. At dinner, choose from a variety of meat dishes as a base, then load up with some side orders of stewed vegetables. Or show up at lunch to access the full menu plus a buffet, usually accompanied by a roomful of students packing in as many calories as they can between classes.  " - nicolai mccrary, raphael brion

"These days, lunch buffets are about as common as actually seeing something weird in Austin, but the dream lives on at Aster’s, an Ethiopian restaurant near the UT Campus that’s been around for almost 20 years. Don’t be surprised if you’re surrounded by a bunch of students—the buffet is affordable and close enough to campus for a quick escape between classes. But with plenty of parking, easy access from I-35, and, most importantly, excellent versions of doro wott, keyi siga, and other Ethiopian classics, there’s really no reason not to make Aster’s part of your weekday lunch rotation. " - adele hazan, nicolai mccrary, raphael brion

"Every platter of food at Aster’s arrives looking like a beautiful paint palette on a massive sheet of spongy injera, dotted with a variety of vibrantly colored vegetables that have been slow-cooked or stewed into something incredible. The menu is divided into two sides of equal length—meat and vegetarian dishes—that each offer a ton of choices, so neither side feels like they’re missing out. Or you can just show up in the afternoons when Aster’s offers a very extensive and affordable lunch buffet. But due to its close proximity to Campus, we can’t promise you won’t have to elbow a few UT students out of the way for another serving of Ethiopian-style collard greens.  " - nicolai mccrary, raphael brion