E'Njoni Cafe

First time had the Ethiopian cuisine. The dishes resembled Indian cuisine and had lots of vegetarian options. Drinks were refreshing! Super friendly chef! Ambiance was nice too. Beautiful artwork on the restaurant walls.

Step aside, flavorless dinners! 🥘🚫 The delightful E'Njoni cafe has danced its way into my heart with a symphony of Ethiopian delights. Their bountiful veggie feast had me dancing the injera waltz with every scrumptious bite. Who knew ten veggies could tango on my taste buds so harmoniously? 🌶🍅🌽 The owners are the ultimate culinary matchmakers, pairing kind hospitality with every request, question, and special need. If service were a veggie, they'd be a perfect ten! Now, let's raise a glass to the gluten-free injera, pride of the menu! 🌾🙌 Fear not, gluten-sensitive foodies; this menu has your back (and stomach) covered. Between bites, we marveled at the mesmerizing art pieces gracing the walls. If only every restaurant had such an eclectic gallery to entertain our eyes while our mouths savored the cuisine. In short, dining at E'Njoni cafe is like attending the most flavorful family reunion ever: welcoming, flavorful, and endlessly delightful. My taste buds give it a well-deserved standing ovation! 👏🍍🥗

The chef was running the whole place when I went and he managed to cook amazing food while still providing incredible service to multiple tables! North Portland is a little bit out of the way for me, but the food and service I ate and experienced makes me want to come back for more anyway.

We've been to many Ethiopian restaurants, but we were unimpressed by the food. Maybe we are just used to more Americanized versions of Ethiopian, but we had a lot left over and none of us wanted to take any home, so that says something. We had the 10 combo veggie platter, the lamb tips, fish tips, and peanut yam soup (which tasted like it'd make a great dipping sauce for a skewer). We would try somewhere else next time.

We had the five veggie sampler on injera bread, the falafel plate, and honey wine. It was so delicious, flavorful, healthy, and hearty. I am elated to have found this gem of a restaurant. I highly recommend it! We enjoyed the music and art in the restaurant as well. They also have coffee.

The food is really good. We tried the chicken and it so delicious. Unique flavor. Authentic African flavor. Their injera bread has little sour taste but eating it with curry give you a unique taste. We tried their ginger honey tea. It was amazing. Service was excellent too.

I'm sad I didn't take photos. Small group with a vegetarian ordered two vegetarian feasts and the person who ordered got some meat stuff as well. It was almost comical when they arrived. A small amount of vegetarian food with a meat dish scattered. Still hardly enough for a snack for three people, let alone a meal. Not terrible or anything, but we finished with people still hungry and food remaining. I wouldn't go back.

Terrific authentic Ethiopian cuisine. The place had a great location and great interior design. The samosas were delicious, as was the bead.

I really enjoyed my first experience with Ethiopian food. We ordered a selection of veggie purees served on a flat bread. It was really good and I look forward to trying again.

Enjoni isn't my favorite Ethiopian, but it's usually reliably pretty good. Since my last review some years ago, I've had good and ok meals from here, mostly as takeout or delivery, and always appreciated their generous business hours and speedy service. Tonight I ordered through Door dash and the food was just plain bad. I actually had the thought, "Did my Dasher go to the wrong restaurant?". Only one piece of injera for two combos, order was wrong (no green beans, yams I didn't order, no cabbage), and the food was really, really salty and off. It smelled different (not spoiled, just wrong), and everything tasted the same, like vegetable stock. It was all runny and mixed together like a bunch of different soups poured over injera, rather than creamy, thick stew or porridge like they should be. The color was off as though the spices were different. The misir in particular was liquidy and a dull brown instead of the usual reddish, and it tasted like bouillon cubes and not like berbere. My large side of misir didn't come with injera like usual either, so it's basically like crappy Lentil soup. The whole meal was so salty that I'm about to go fill my giant water bottle again. Ethiopian is my favorite cuisine, and this is the first time I haven't wanted to finish it; I'll probably throw the rest out. I'm left hungry and disappointed and wishing Gabeta were open on Tuesdays!

The lamb tips were delicious. They were short staffed with the chef acting as bar tender, waiter, host, & cashier, so the wait was a bit for my take-out.

I'm so happy I was able to try this place out via GrubHub! Because I'd never been here before, I (of course) checked Yelp and saw they had a number of stellar reviews - not to mention that the photos were mouthwatering! There were a few issues with getting my order, which is the reason for the docked star. Even after I was told I could pick up my food via the GrubHub app, I still had to wait when I arrived at the restaurant to get my food. The person working there also wasn't very communicative about what had happened to cause the delay. However, the food was amazing! I so wish that I had had it hot at the restaurant, but even cooled down, the curry had an excellent flavor, the beef was tender and the injera paired well with it all. I'm looking forward to visiting again and dining-in for the full experience of eating the food hot and straight out of the kitchen.

Great food, new favorite! Great service, lovely dining room. We had lamb tibs with five vegetables, plenty for two. The beets with garlic were exquisite, I'm off now to find the recipe!

They catered my wedding on short notice when another Ethiopian restaurant backed out. I'm very appreciative!

Do not order takeout! Ordered via Uber Eats and was almost entirely soggy injera with very little inside. I've always enjoyed eating at the restaurant but it does not travel well.

Beautiful interior, great artwork. But we're here for the food, right? Only 2 people running it tonight...so service became spotty, when it become busy. Injera for myself & companion come out cold. Different orders of meat combo & veggie combo was bland and very salty. Was missing the warm complexities of berber, ginger, and other spices. What was great was the sweet potato & peanut soup- only bright spot. Nice to know and try, but I'll stick with my favorite Ethiopian spot down the road.

So many problems...just gonna list them out: 1. Only one waiter the whole time we were there, even when the place was full. So he was very rushed - we were dining in but wanted to make an order to-go also, and he abruptly said "Too busy, give it later" and walked away. 2. He then lost our order and came back 20 min later to ask what we had ordered...when he brought our food, one of the two meats was done with the wrong sauce, but it had taken so long that we just kept it. 3. We had asked for extra Injera bread at the time of ordering, but I had to ask him again two more times before he finally brought it when we were almost finished. 4. I ordered the tea with liqueur in it - even pointed to it on the menu - and he brought me just plain tea. 5. I finally ordered the to-go part on my phone via Grub Hub because he never came back to take it. He was then quite surprised when, after we paid, I asked him for that to-go order, which had just been set out by the kitchen. I was so happy to have had that idea, lol. Have tried two other Ethiopian places in this area before this one, and they were both way better in service and food quality. Abyssinian Kitchen, in particular, is really good. Not coming back to this one.

Love the vege feast. 30 bucks and it's fit for 2 hungry people. 10 different vege dishes each with their own unique flavor. Let the bread soak up the juices and it's heaven for your mouth! The place is located on killingsworth just a few blocks south of peninsula park.

Never having had Ethiopian food before, I can't review this for its authenticity but I enjoyed the food very much! We had the 2 meat, 2 veggies dinner with beets and yam, chicken and beef. The perfect combination for a novice. Service was excellent too.

Delicious! Wow, this is some of the best food in town. So healthy and every bit was sensational. We had the fried fish which was melt in your mouth tasty, the injera was perfect and so many veggies, each crafted to perfection. One of our new favorite restaurants.

Split the two meat two veggie combo with my son and everything was delicious. Love the okra, it was perfectly cooked. Meat was tender and delicious. We will be back.

Ordered the Kitfo (beef tartar) and veggie combo with injera. The Kitfo was wonderfully seasoned and was a good portion. The veggie combo never disappoints. Service was friendly and attentive.

This is our fourth or fifth time eating here so I can say with a fair amount of confidence that the food here is consistently fantastic. We get the five veggie combo and a beef dish, picking a different one each time. All good. Perfect amount of food for two hungry people. The tea is great. This place slaps all around. Eat here.

we ordered 2 meals as the only customers and not only did we have to wait an hour for our food, but we were served after customers who came much later than us. they also served us expired sodas. food was horrible and cold

We grubhubbed it and I'm glad we did! Even though the spice was almost too hot to handle for this 34 year Texas resident, Lordy, the flavors...! They had to delay our order, but no big, the quality was awesome. Whole spices and herbs combined in new and interesting ways for my under-educated palate and while it was spicy enough that we both needed a break midway to allow the fire to ease off, and even though I knew I'd regret it by morning, I could not resist these awesome flavors! Everything comes wrapped in some of the lightest, softest Injira I've ever had. You can add extra to your order, but really this one is pretty huge and easily enough. The portion of meat was actually a tad much and I wish there had been a few more veggies, so I'd suggest getting 1 or 2 as sides. We got an order of plantains, which were not at all like the Peruvian variety, being fairly sweet with slight sour notes, like a fried banana crossed with a kiwi. Regular bites of this helped defuse the fission going on in the main dish ;) We really loved it, and it was definitely a new experience. We'll be back, and be better prepared with our spice-o-Chiat hats on.

Sampler platter at restaurants is always my goal. I want to try all the things! E'Njoni did all that for me perfectly! We ordered delivery. We got the veggie feast, beg tibs (lamb), fried tilapia fillets, fried plantains, & kerker. You can have your choice of rice or injera (bread) for each entree. We mixed it up. Everything was so beautifully presented on rice or on the fluffy injera. The veggie feast was literally 10 different vegetable dishes. Each was colorful and fresh. The fried tilapia was crispy & included a couple veggies & plantains. The beg tibs had wonderful flavor with little slices of jalapeno that kept us on our toes in a good way. Both the lamb and plantains had a side of yummy lentils. Felt totally healthy after this feast! We'll have delicious leftovers since I over ordered per usual. Can't wait to work my way through the menu.

So good best to dine in and order a combo! St. George beer is delicious. Always fantastic, love the beet salad. So healthy! Get the coffee too. Can't wait for the buffet to be back, that was really fun.

This restaurant could've been in Addis Ababa! We got two 5-veggie combo meals and they were excellent. You can taste the love and spices in each of the dishes. We've eaten at a lot of stellar Ethiopian restaurants in Portland and this one is head and shoulders above the rest because of the differentiated flavors of each veggie. Ameseghinalehu!!

Haven't had Ethiopian food in a LONG time - used to go often in San Jose, CA and were excited to try this place before visiting the Beyond Van Gogh exhibit at the Oregon Convention Center. I will first say if you are going to go and you're starving, maybe have a small snack first or get an appetizer because the wait is LONG. We've always found preparation time for Ethiopian food to be lengthy but this was a little more than we were used to. We got there when there was only one other table seated about 6 minutes after they opened and it was about an hour before we got our food. Needless to say, we are giving 5 stars because it was fantastic. The Kitfo was awesome, the gomen was great and we got a yam veggie side that I can't recall the name of that was super spicy but delicious. Our Bay Area fave was Zeni in San Jose, this was as good - just need them to make the Ye Doro Kitfo IYKYK and it will be right up there! We will definitely be back again, and right at open again too with plenty of time on our hands

One of my favorite restaurants in Portland. Always a memorable experience with family and friends.

Ordered a veggie feast which was enough for the four of us at lunch. It included ten veggies piles on a huge injera-topped platter with two baskets of interactive on the side. Definitely one of the most tasty, nutritious vegan meals.

Wonderful food, friendly, attentive service and good prices. I've gone with friends several times.

I ordered through Grub Hub - the portions are small, the falafel sandwich included items I asked them not to include and did not have any hummus & was cold. I called them and they were rude. Terrible Horrible.

Wish I had read the yelp reviews before stepping into this restaurant. As another yelper pointed out, you can hear the sound of a microwave dinging as your food gets reheated. The injera is NOT made fresh as is usually the case. They didnt even bother to reheat it - attached a photo of limp, cold, unappetizing injera. The portions were pitiful for the price -- you'd have to order double what you usually do - and most of the food was too salty. Atmosphere was gloomy and dark. Restaurant was empty, for good reason I suppose. Do not come here if you want fresh, authentic ethiopian food.

Enjoni's food is tasty, but they have really got to do better with the portions. This is basically what they served me minus two small bites. Disappointing. They served me a snack. They cake inejra all over the top and there is barely any food in it. This has happened before but I had hoped this would not be a consistent error.Please do better. I pay $14 for the veggies not mounds of injera. If you're really hungry order extra or find someplace else. Honest review.

We ordered a variety of vegetarian food as takeout. The people there were very friendly, and the food was terrific.

Tasty Ethiopian fare. Wide range of spiciness options from savory foods to hot and spicy dishes. We ordered multiple dishes to share, which ranged from wonderful to average. Cozy and modest decor and pleasant service.

Amazing!!! We were in the area looking at the game store next door when we found this place. We had seen it on yelp before when searching for Ethiopian food, but had never made the drive. Since we were in the area we thought we should finally try it and we are so glad we did. They had just opened for the night and they were super friendly even though we were a little early. We got food to go but the atmosphere in there was great. My wife and I have a favorite Ethiopian dish, Lamb Tibs, so there was no way we weren't getting it. Lamb tibs are a must, they are soft and tender and soooo flavorful. We also split a 5 piece veggie combo that was amazing but it's up to your preference as to what vegetables you choose. Let me just say that this was more than enough food for the two of us. You definitely can't go wrong here. If you've never had Ethiopian food it may be a little intimidating but I promise it's worth it.

One of the best Ethiopian restaurants in Portland, certainly among the top three (along with Abyssinian Kitchen and Enat Kitchen). What's special about E'Njoni Cafe is their offering of a lunchtime buffet, available on Thursdays through Sundays. Their Sunday buffet now has over twenty dishes to choose from. Our favorites include many of their vegetarian offerings -- lentil soup, abesha gomen (collard greens), alitcha (cabbage, peppers, and carrots in a curry sauce), and dinich wot (potatio stew in a tumeric and cumin sauce), along with their chicken cooked in berbere sauce. Their injera is also ample and tasty. Excellent restaurant for vegetarians and vegans, with enough meat offerings on their menu and buffets for those who must have meat. E'Njoni is a welcoming and pleasant place for a meal. Excellent service. Again, one of the best three Ethiopian restaurants in town.

I was really looking forward to trying some Ethiopian food in Portland, but my experience here wasn't great. I placed my order for takeout and was told it'd be ready in 15-30 minutes. When I arrived 30 minutes later, my food still wasn't ready for at least another 20 minutes. I also wasn't sure about how strict they are following COVID guidelines; one staff member in the kitchen wasn't wearing a mask at all and another didn't have his mask covering his nose. The food was okay; the injera was tasty and thick, but the beef was very overcooked and the yellow lentils were still hard. All of the food was pretty bland compared to any other Ethiopian restaurant I've tried. Despite this, I still would've left a decent review, until I found the bug in my food halfway through eating! I thought it was pretty big and immediately didn't want to eat the rest. I called to ask for a refund and was told that because I ordered through Yelp/Grubhub, they couldn't process it online and I'd have to bring back the rest of my food to get the refund in person. The manager also seemed skeptical about the bug and asked me whether it was in the bag or actually inside of the food. Because they did give me the refund, I'm giving them 2 stars instead of 1. Overall, I was unhappy with the service and the way they prepare and cook their food, especially during a pandemic. I doubt I'll be coming back.

I enjoyed eating here. The staff is friendly, service is fast and I like they have booths to sit at. The food taste good, but I feel its slightly overpriced for food that looks like it was made in advance and just reheated. The best dish I think was the lamb and mushrooms.

Not that I'm experienced with Ethiopian food but I daydream about their food and wish I lived closer

I really, really enjoyed my meal here! The ambiance was also very pleasant---walls painted with warm, earthen tones; artwork and decor tastefully adorned the restaurant; and a modest interior with seating for about 30-40 diners. The restaurant was reasonably busy, with about 5-6 tables occupied, many finishing up their meals given that we had a later dinner. I chose the pick 4 a la carte option and selected lentils, cabbage/potatoes, and a double order of okra, and loved every bite! Their standard is to make the food mild, so I asked for a spicy sauce, which the server brought at no additional charge. The sauce was amazing and truly complemented the meal! I also ordered a cocktail, the ginger colada, which was made quickly, was strong, and was a good value. This restaurant is nestled among a few other businesses and is adjacent to a residential community where we stayed, so it was very convenient!

Waited longer thn unexpected, but understandable as they might be understaffed due to Covid19 pandemic. It is worth to wait, because the food is really good. We ordered 1 meat with veggies combination and Shahi tea, a unique ethiopian tea with some spices. The order came in a big platter shared with three of us. We ate with bare hands as the Ethiopian people do, and it gave a much better experience and taste.

Delicious food! I cant speak highly enough about this place. The fava bean appetizer was to die for and the 5 veggie combo was filling and a wide array of flavors. Dont miss out!

I'm not big on trying Ethiopian food but I figured "Eh, why not!" The food was decent. It was much drier that I expected. I ordered to-go and it seemed like the front-of-house and kitchen were so disorganized and lacked communication. I kept being asked to show them my receipt to see what I ordered and waited 30 min for 2 small plates. Will definitely think twice before coming back

Got the veggie combo platter. I could hear the microwave in the kitchen after we ordered and all of the items definitely tasted frozen and lacking in flavor. The injiri fell apart in my hands because so much water had come out of the different reheated stews. The server was nice but I don't think I'd come back here.

Absolutely delicious. We got the the Veggie feast and it surely was. It was fresh - had everything you want. We were hungry after 5 hours of yard work and it was more than enough. And was ready in 15 minutes after our order was placed.

Under new management this place is just ok. The injera is thick and a little tough, and the veggie dishes don't pop quite as much flavor. The new staff is still kind and attentive, but missing that "guest of the family" feeling.

Had high hopes for the place based on the reviews. But having been to Ethiopian restaurants in DC and the Bay Area, this place gets a thumbs down. Overcooked chicken and lamb, Stale Injera .. not cool.

My husband and i were discussing as we sat at the bar, it can be challenging for an Ethiopian/ Eritrean restaurant to be authentic and welcoming to the general public as well. It's that much harder when you are part of a small community and want to keep it real. Among the plethora of habesha (ethiopian/Eritrean) restaurants in Portland, this one gets it right. First it's in a cool neighborhood, it's warm And inviting inside, the food is authentic and it's delicious. While the place Bills itself as Mediterranean, I'm thinking that's to widen the appeal, you can ignore that part. As my husband is Habesha and as we have eaten Injera everywhere, even in Ethiopia, we give this spot high marks. All of the meat dishes are tops, the zigni, the tibs. Meat is tender and the sauce is just right with that somewhat gritty awaze taste. We also appreciate the full bar serving up local spirits like tej (honey wine) and the ever elusive but tasty Zibib (Eritrean araki). Service is friendly and you should grab some Fuul ( spiced fava beans) for brunch if you get a chance. Might suggest some better background music or a better sound system and maybe host an authentic coffee ceremony as it is one of the most beautiful aspects of the culture.

Such an awesome experience here. The lady boss runs the whole place on a Sunday afternoon. Excellent South African wine selection. Food was tasty but not overpowering. Warm and attentive service... feels like home;)

What impressed me the most is their variety in menu. I eat Ethiopian all the time, in restaurants all over the country and the "Vegetarian Combo" is always the same five dishes. This is NOT the case at E'Njoni. There are 8 very tempting choices and you can build a three item or five item plate to suit your taste. The menu is descriptive and you won't need to ask for explanations of what items are if you are unfamiliar with this type food. Unique offering: Red Beet Stew (Keysir). I have never seen this anywhere else and they do it quite nicely. Regardless of what you order, it will be well seasoned and they provide generous portions. Service is exemplary as the entire staff will make sure your needs are met and meal satisfactory. This is an affordable meal option in a clean, comfortable setting. Bring a date, a group of friends, or come alone and you will see the quality first hand.

When I ordered my food, they told me, it'll be about 20 minutes. When I finally got my food- 44 minutes 2 thunderous thumbs down. Not to sound like a Karen but really didn't seem they had it together

Glacially slow service. Be prepared ahead of time and bring War and Peace so you can knock it out before your meal.

While the food here is good. Getting individual dishes is a total rip off! We got a veggie platter to share and a lamb dish additionally. Though the lamb dish cost us 16 dollars the quantity was extremely poor. I would suggest you order a platter and avoid ordering individual dishes. The service is good and waiters are friendly. I would've given this place and better review if the food hadn't been such a rip off.

I love Ethiopian food and have had great experiences at other restaurants in town but this place disappointed me with everything that we ate . We had been here before for dine-in and did not return for years because it wasn't that great however this time around we wanted to try again based on all the great reviews, and chose to take-out . The online ordering process was fast and easy .When we came back home with our order we saw that they had given us a different item than what we ordered and charged for the higher price one . Nevertheless we decided to just enjoy what we had , but the food was a total disappointment , the lentils were not cooked , the yams were like a puree and the injeera was hard and flavorless .The chicken was rubbery and lacked salt. Needless to say , a next time is not happening . There are other better Ethiopian restaurants in town that would give you your moneys worth.