Cafe Romanat

First time trying Ethiopian food and it was amazing. Gorgeous place. We loved the decorations. There is a room that appears to be a scene from a coffee ceremony. So beautiful. I went with my friend and we were able to split one plate (alicha wot, if I remember correctly) and have leftovers. We also got the coffee. Both were great. Much love from Texas. If I return to Oakland, I will come back; otherwise I will recommend it to anyone visiting the area.

I need to have Ethiopian food more often because I really love it. So far, this is my fourth try of this lovely cuisine since I moved to Oakland last year. Since 2016, I have tried Enssaro (Oakland), Lemat (Berkeley) and Massawa (San Fran) and had been really keen to try Cafe Romanat which is really close to our home. My cousin and I came here yesterday for dinner at about 8:30pm and place was half full, which is not bad for a Thursday night ;). Ample seating and beautiful interior decor makes me happy. The host promptly greeted us and gave us menus and water. We set our minds pretty quickly and shared: - fresh lemonade ($4) - veggie romanat salad ($8) - veggie combo platter for two ($28) Salad came first, followed by the combo platter which came with lots of injeera and last came lemonade (a tad late and we had to remind the host about it as she forgot). Service was relatively fast and super friendly. Menu has the right amount of options without being too much or too little and noticed they have lots of smoothies and fresh juices compared to the other places I have been to. Food was really good overall and portions were great - at the end we were really full. Injeera was so nice and soft and sour enough for my taste so I was thrilled - happy prego girl me! Pricewise I think they have done a good job apart from salads which I think are a bit overpriced. All in all, we paid 20$ each (excluding tip) which is not too bad and honestly we could have done without the salad for sure. Place is neat though they need to do better job in the bathroom as there was no soap at the end and the hand paper-towel was stuck. I look forward to come with my hubby and friends and try their meat combo and more from their menu :)

Casual place right off of Grand with delicious food. Everything had a bit more of a lemony/vinegary end taste than we've had in prior Ethiopian restaurants but in a pleasant way. There was plenty of injera and the shiro came in it's open little bubbling pot. Service was a little lax but friendly. Definitely would return.

Had sambussa and it was delicious. I loved my sesame smoothie too. For main dish, tried mushroom tibs. You can order by the number of people. My sister and I split the single serving, with the appetizer, we were full. I only wish I had paid extra $2 to get the 100% tefe injera. Not that the default version was bad but just would’ve been tastier and healthier. Good place for vegans & vegetarians who are bored with the usual continental food. Follow me on Instagram @the_half_glass for travel diary/photos/tips