Café Lalibela

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849 W. University Drive Tempe, AZ 85281

480-829-1939

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Phoenix New Times
Recommended
Best Ethiopian Restaurant
Award Winner 2008

Cuisine(s): Ethiopian

Hours: Sun 12pm-9pm, Tue-Thu 11am-9pm, Fri 11am-10pm, Sat 12pm-10pm

Price: $$, $$$

Payment Types: All Major Credit Cards, Diners Club, cash
Attire: casual

Features: Takeout, Private Party, Catering, Wheelchair Accessible

Serving: Dinner, Lunch

Alcohol: Beer/Wine
Reservations: Accepted, Recommended for Large Parties

Parking: Lot Available

Description

What's really good at Cafe Lalibela? The wat, of course. No, that's not the beginning of an Abbott and Costello routine. The "wat" in question is the traditional Ethiopian stew -- lamb, beef, fish, vegetarian, and so on. It's served with tons of spongy, flat injera bread, and eaten the old-fashioned way -- with your digits, bub. And believe us, there's a whole lot of finger lickin' on your way to a full belly. Lalibela also has some tasty Ethiopian coffees, teas, wines and beers to make it all slide down your gullet, and for dessert, there's house-made tiramisu, and other sweets. If you're not a fan of Ethiopian food yet, you will be after your first meal at Lalibela.

2008 | Best Ethiopian Restaurant

Mom always got after us when we ditched the knife and fork to eat with our fingers, but we got our comeuppance when we discovered Ethiopian cuisine, traditionally scooped up by hand with moist, spongy bread called injera.At Café Lalibela, the food's so tasty that we'd like to call it finger-lickin' good, but as it turns out, taking the expression literally is bad manners in Ethiopian culture. No worries, though -- the sourdough flavor of injera is truly addicting, and we're... More »
2006 | BEST ETHIOPIAN RESTAURANT

So here's one place where adults can eat with their hands with complete impunity: Tempe's Cafe Lalibela is a classic Ethiopian eatery where traditional stews called wat are served on large pancakes of spongy injera, a bread made from the grain teff, which is native to northeastern Africa. Along with your stew of beef, lamb, fish, and any number of veggies, like collards, lentils or cabbage, you get a hopper of folded teff. You tear off a bit, scoop up the food from platter to mouth, and... More »

Ethiopian Berbere: The Spice that Makes African Food So Addictive

By Dominique Chatterjee | Wed, April 18, 2012

Some spice blends are versatile and flavorful enough to define a type of cuisine. China has its signature five-spice. France is known for herbes de Provence. In the U.S., we have our own regional spic... More »

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phoenixnewtimesbestof | Phoenix, AZ | 315 Reviews

| Wed, May 6, 2009

Mom always got after us when we ditched the knife and fork to eat with our fingers, but we got our comeuppance when we discovered Ethiopian cuisine, traditionally scooped up by hand with moist, spongy bread called injera. At Caf� Lalibela, the food's so tasty that we'd like to call it finger-lickin' good, but as it turns out, taking the expression literally is bad manners in Ethiopian culture. No worries, though � the sourdough flavor of injera is truly addicting, and we're happy to tear off big pieces of it to grab at yawaze yebeg tibs (spicy cubes of pan-fried lamb) and kye sega wat (tender beef simmered in spices). Caf� Lalibela's vegetarian specialties are amazing, too, from garlicky collard greens to flavorful lentils and peas. Turns out Mom was actually on to something when she made us eat our veggies.
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mcg140 | Phoenix, AZ | 3 Reviews

| Wed, August 11, 2010

My favorite eatery in the valley, try the doro wat!

Main Menu

Soup & Salad

Shorba (soup)
soup made from lentils, carrots, potatoes, onion and vegetable stock.

Selata (garden Salad)
fresh romain lettuce, tomatoes, shreded red cabbage, and homemade dressing

Entrees - Non-vegetarian Dishes
All Entrees Are Served With Injera. Make Your Own Combination From The Following List (1-12). A Combination Of Three Items Is Suggested For One Serving.

Alicha Sega Wat (beef)
tender beef cubes simmered in kibae, onion, turmeric and flavored with various spices.

Asa Wat (fish)
shredded fish simmered with berbere, garlic and onion. (available only on weekends.)

Doro Wat (chicken)
chicken simmered in kibae, berbere, onion and a tasty combination of seasoning. the doro wat is traditionally served with hard-boiled eggs.

Kye Sega Wat (beef)
tender beef cubes simmered in berbere and flavored with various spices.

Yebeg Alicha Sega Wat (lamb)
lamb cubes simmered in kibae, onion, turmeric and herbs.

Entrees - Vegetarian Dishes
All Entrees Are Served With Injera. Make Your Own Combination From The Following List (1-12). A Combination Of Three Items Is Suggested For One Serving.

Azifah (lentil)
whole brown lentils blended with onion, green pepper and spices. served cold.

Fosolia (string Beans)
lightly spiced string beans cooked with carrots and onion.

Gomen (collard Greens)
chopped collard greens cooked with garlic and onion.

Misir Wat (lentils)
red split lentils cooked with onion, berbere and herbs.

Shiro Wat (peas)
ground peas cooked with berbere and onion and seasoned with garlic and ginger.

Tikil Gomen (cabbage)
lightly spiced cabbage, carrots and potatoes.

Yekik Alicha (split Peas)
yellow split peas cooked with onion, turmeric and herbs.

Suggested Combinations

Exclusive
(suggested for a party of three) a combination of doro wat, kye sega wat, alicha sega wat, misir wat, gomen, yebere sega tibs, fosolia, yebeg alicha sega wat, tikil gomen and yekik alicha served with ayeb and selata.

Vegetarian Exclusive
suggested for a party of three. a combination of azifah(6), fosolia(7), gomen(8), misir wat(9), shiro wat(10), tikil gomen(11) and yekik alicha(12) served with selata

Meat Combination
a combination of doro wat(3), kye sega wat(4) and alicha sega wat(1) served with selata.

Vegetable Combination
a combination of misir wat, gomen, tikil gomen and fosolia served with selata.

Spicy Combination
a combination of doro wat(3), kye sega wat(4) and misir wat(9) served with selata.

Mild Combination
a combination of yebeg alicha sega wat(4), alicha sega wat(1) and fosolia(7) served with selata.

Chef's Favorite Combination
a combination of doro wat(3), gomen(8) and ayeb(27) served with selata.

Manager's Choice
a combination of kye sega wat(4), tikil gomen(11) and yekik alicha(12) served with selata.

Kitfo (beef)
lean tender beef finely chopped and mixed with mitmita, cardamom and kibae. served raw or slightly cooked. served with your choice of gomen or ayeb and selata.

Yebere Sega Tibs (beef)
lean beef cubes pan fried with jalapeno, onion and rosemary. served with selata.

Yawaze Yebere Tibs (spicy Beef)
lean beef cubes pan fried with jalapeno, onion, rosemary and awaze.

Yebeg Sega Tibs (lamb)
lamb cubes pan fried with jalapeno, onion and rosemary. served with selata.

Yawaze Yebeg Tibs (spicy Lamb)
lamb cubes pan fried with jalapeno, onion, rosemary and awaze.

Side Orders

Injera
a crepe like sourdough bread made from a mixture of teff and wheat flour.

Ayeb
homemade mild, crumbly cheese used for enhancing flavor.

Beverages

Sodas
coca cola, diet coke, sprite, fanta orange, ginger ale, pink lemonade raspberry iced tea, regular iced tea

Juices
cranberry, apple, orange, mango

Mineral Water
perrier

Coffee & Ethiopian Hot Teas

Coffee

Kootee
hot tea made from ethiopian organic coffee leaves.

Yekemem Shai
black tea with cinnamon, cardamom & cloves.served hot or iced.

Tossign
a refreshing herbal tea from the mountains of ethiopia. great for colds & flu. served hot or iced.

Koranti
hot tea with a heavy splash of ouzo. (show me your id)

Looking for another city?

Café Lalibela

849 W. University Drive Tempe, AZ 85281

480-829-1939

Description

2008 | Best Ethiopian Restaurant

2006 | BEST ETHIOPIAN RESTAURANT

Ethiopian Berbere: The Spice that Makes African Food So Addictive

By Dominique Chatterjee | Wed, April 18, 2012

phoenixnewtimesbestof | Phoenix, AZ | 315 Reviews

mcg140 | Phoenix, AZ | 3 Reviews

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