Cafe Lalibela

This is the 4th time I’ve been here. The best Ethiopian food you’ll find in Melbourne. Customer service is fantastic and you feel at home here. 5/5 stars

Tucked away in Footscray, and surrounded by a couple of Ethiopian restaurants, this place is very laid back, simple, with no fuss. Just walk in and grab yourself a table. The menu is not complicated either. We ordered the Beyainetu - Combination serves of Ethiopian Vegetarian dish ($15), which is enough for one person, so we included Doro Wot - Ethiopian chicken stew cooked with an Ethiopian blend of herbs & spices ($15) to have enough food for two people. The food was served on Injera, and we honestly underestimated the portion size. It was perfect for the two of us. The food was perfectly cooked, and hardly took time to get. It goes very well with the local beer St George's ($6). I could have given this place an easy 5 stars as the food was amazing and cheap; however, there was a slight inconvenience as they only accept cash. This is the second restaurant in Footscray that only takes cash, so I am not sure if this is a trend, but we had to find an ATM to get cash.. so that was not a very pleasant experience. I might come back for this again, but this time with a bigger appetite and cash in my pocket.

Very relaxed and warm, friendly atmosphere. Food is delicious and served in cultural share plate. A great experience, especially for people new to this type of cuisine.

Best Ethiopian food in Melbourne. Nice restaurant will defiantly go back here. Excellent authentic food with good service. ONLY two negative is they accept ONLY cash payments which is really really inconvenient and air quality / freshness is poor

Absolutely disgusting food, the chicken made me ill and, the slop that was thrown onto the plate was rubbish reheated in a microwave. I have eaten good Ethiopian food in Footscray but this place is one to avoid. Even the vegetables were not presented with any sort of pride. One older guy serving and cooking, i noted he was preparing food while holding the mobile phone.

Cafe Lalibela is a locals favourite! The food is delicious and comforting, the staff are lovely and the portions are so generous. The vegetarian platter is huge and cheap. Highly recommend this hidden gem if you’re after authentic Ethiopian.

The tastiest food out I’ve had in a long time, and beautiful friendly service. I look forward to going back. The house beer is amazing!!!

Food is great here. But beware it is strictly cash ONLY. We had to find an ATM afterwards to pay for dinner ..... not used to that in 21st century Australia. It was a family dinner for a group of 7, so payment by card would have been appreciated.

Nice affordable authentic Ethiopian I highly recommend that you get the variety of dishes together

Amazing Ethiopian food in a chill venue. We loved our trip/experience here. Ordered a lamb dish, a vegetarian taster order, salad, and some St George beers ... Mmmmm Definitely would return and highly recommended.

Great Ethiopian food, had the vegetarian sampler and the lamb, the sampler was awesome with 4 different types of some sorta curry. Staff was very nice.

Lalibela is an inexpensive and authentic Etheopian restaurant that is one of my favourite places to eat in Melbourne. The menu is a selection of meat and vegetarian dishes (varying in their level of spice) that come served on a big platter of injera (which is a delicious flat bread that is made from a fermented wheat-like grain). The food is eaten by hand, by ripping pieces of the injira off and using it to pick up mouthfuls of the various dishes. The restaurant is able to cater for large groups and often you will see tables of up to 20 people dining there on weekends for birthday parties, etc. The communal vibe that comes with sharing the large platters of food, and the fun aspect of eating exotic foods by hand makes it a really fun place to eat with friends. They also have a good range of cheap African beers on offer, so it's a great place to have some drinks before heading out for a night on the town. If you're not sure what to order, just ask the waiter to make a suggestion. I've done this several times and never been disappointed. The Derek Tibs, Atakilt Wat and Doro Wat are all particularly good!

I've recently moved from Melbourne and I wish there was some way that Cafe Lalibela could have moved with me. The food here is probably the best and most authentic Ethiopian food I've had in Melbourne and the best part is that it won't break the bank! There is a massive shared meats, veg, or combo platter that easily feeds two (or one depending on how hungry you are - trust me I've done it!) and a bottomless supply of Injera bread. There is good imported Ethiopian beer as well. This restaurant has a cozy, warm environment and the staff here are so pleasant. You definitely have your choice of Ethiopian restaurants in Footscray but this one should not be missed!

After reading so many good reviews about this restaurant I decided to give this cafe a try and it was actually my first time eating African food. I must say that I wasn't actually impressed by the cuisine at all. I thought the bread that they served was very strange. It's like really soft moist cake but it's really sour, it reminds me of sourdough bread that have been left out in the water. Anyway, good thing about the cuisine is that they serve you different dishes to eat with the bread, although I kinda wish they gave more option to have rice instead of smaller bread. During lunch time they got this lunch special deal which makes it so much cheaper than going for dinner for the same thing. So I recommend to go for lunch instead. The staffs are really friendly and super nice though! She would guide on choosing the menu which is great

If you like indian curries than you may like ethiopian food. They are quiet similar without the curry spices. It was my first time trying ethio food and it was very interesting. Their bread is kind of like a massive pancake but they have holes in it like crumpets. I have a fear of little holes so it really freaked me out haha if you're like me you may want to close your eyes while you eat. We didn't know what to order so we just ordered 1 from each category. 1 lamb dish, 1 beef, one chicken and a vego dish. It comes on a huge platter and the meats get poured onto the bread. What's interesting is there's no cutlery. You use your hands to scoop it up into your mouth. I found it quiet enjoyable and the owner was helpful and friendly. I would definitely try it again

We walked in wondering whether the reviews were warranted. Yes - they are. The proprietor made some wonderful recommendations along with amazing beer! Thoroughly enjoyed the spices - the flavours are fresh and spicy. A meal that is communal and celebratory!

As far as Footscray Ethiopian goes, this is one of the best. Delicious, nice service, nice place - no complaints.

I love love love Lalibela. It's a quiet, cozy little place in the heart of footscray and it's great for a quiet night out with a partner or a fun night out with a group of friends. There are lots of yummy veggie options and all dishes are served on a large plate in injera. The food is well priced and though there isn't BYO, all of the alcoholic drinks are about $5.