Major Restaurant East African Authentic Food

This was not the best Ethiopian food I have ever had, but it was still very good! The staff was very friendly and welcoming and warm. I will definitely visit this place again, it was an overall positive experience.

It was one of the most amazing finds ever. The couple that runs this restaurant are really sweet and take care of guests like family. Food was super delicious and the best part was the coffee ceremony at the end.

Outstanding. East African food doesn’t get better than this in Indianapolis.
Major restaurant is an immediately welcoming place as soon as you walk in. Beautiful décor, friendly staff, and inviting smells that let you know that dinner is going to be fantastic. Dinner portions are large and generous, with the combinations featuring almost every dish on the menu by default, giving you a wide range of textures and flavors to sample that are always exciting. You get your pick of spicy or non-​spicy, so of course, we went with the spicy options for everything. They throw in a good mixture of sauces and chutneys to add some savor to each dish.
Unfortunately, they were out of the honey wine when we visited, which I’d love to try another time, and there were no Ethiopian beers available. I’d love to be able to pair the appropriate drinks with the food the next time I stop in!

I came here with 6 friends after the Indy Mini this past weekend and we had a great experience! We were all first timers for Ethiopian food, and it was recommended that we try a combo to sample a bit of everything, which we did. There was some lamb, beef, chicken, and all kinds of lentils and veggies. The staff did a great job making us feel welcome and helping us with our decision.

This restaurant is a wonderful place to eat and experience. I’ve eaten there many times and every time I’m glad I went. Tonight I ate there with 15 friends. Majors is more than a simple place to eat. It’s a wonderful experience. Amazing food. Amazing service. The staff here have always treated me like a friend. I feel good when I leave here. That’s how dining should be. We had the best time dining here this evening. All I can say is «go».

This is by far the best Ethiopian place in Indy. I tried the other 2 as well but the food here is best of all. It is owner operated and they don’t have too many people working. The service can be slow during busy time but once you have the food on the table you will not think about anything else.
I would keep coming back for more. Thanks

This place was really good. I love Ethiopian food and make it a point to try different restaurants when I travel. Service was great, décor was great, place was clean (which helps when I have little kids). The food was excellent. Most places when you get a combo platter, it all looks and tastes the same. Here it was clear what each thing was, it tastes amazing, especially with the sauces they give you on the side. It’s also rare that the vegetarian menu is also vegan! We had the coffee ceremony too and it was amazing (frankincense reminded me of church) and you can get the honey wine in a not too sweet version! Portions were large and prices were very good. Highly recommend! (Actually we stopped by again on our way out of Indy, it was that good)

Simply great. Family owned and everything is fresh. Nice owners and great place to sit talk and eat. Must try.

I was very happy with the quality of food and service. I ordered the major special combo. I loved the presentation and flavors were top notch. Can’t wait to go back again!

We ordered the Major Combination and bottle of the honey wine.
Pros: The food was overall very tasty and had good flavor. We were especially a fan of the lamb dishes and honey wine. Our server was also very welcoming and nice to us, giving us some background on the history of the cuisine, explanations about all of the different foods and sauces, and tips on how to eat.
Cons: Some of the pieces of meat were cut in cubes that were a bit larger than I would have liked or had bones, which made it difficult to grasp at times with the injera bread; I would have preferred the meat to be in a shredded form, which was my experience at a previous Ethiopian restaurant in Washington, DC. The sauces for the meat also could have used more spices or cooking time to develop flavor. Finally, the incense from the coffee ceremony that another table was having was quite overwhelming and gave me a headache by the end of the meal.

Yay! How did I just find out Indy has an Ethiopian restaurant when they have been around for about 7 years!?? Who knows, but I’m happy I am now more knowledgeable. Wonderful place, pleasant hosts, and solid food. I’d say it’s good for less romantic date night, family or friends get-​together. It’s also close to the airport, too, which makes it super convenient for a post or pre drop off meal. We had one of the meat/​vege combos and it was more than filling for 2 people. Light but well matched seasonings and the hostess was more than attentive in asking if we wanted more of anything. I will definitely be back and encourage anyone else to try out this Indy gem.

Delicious food and friendly service. It doesn’t look much from the outside, but don’t let that fool you. We typically get a vegetable combo plate with a mix between spicy and mild options, and a meat portion. The spices they use really bring out the flavor and we always have plenty to bring home. And make sure to try the sambussas and potato salad for appetizers. If you’re wheat free, you’re in luck! Unlike many other Ethiopian restaurants, they don’t add wheat flour to the injera.

This place is great, if it were back home in California, I’d eat here twice a week.
Last week we flew into Indy and got our rental car at the Payless across the street. Tired and sore and desperately hungry, we helped for vegetarian lunch and saw Major Restaurant. We were delighted to find it so close.
We were welcomed in and brought tea, and then powered through the most substantial vegetarian meal I’ve had in ages. The cabbage thing and the red lentil thing are amazing, but everything is good, and its hard to go away hungry. The tea is hot and spiced, and great with sugar.
We liked it so much when we came back to return our car, we ate at Major Restaurant again. Again, they were kind, the restaurant was clean and quiet, and the food was outstanding.
I wish them every success and can’t recommend this place enough.

One of my best friends chose this restaurant to celebrate her birthday. I’m not familiar with Ethiopian food, but based on the Unilocal reviews, I was game.
It’s as incredible as the other diners have mentioned. The first thing you notice as you walk in is how beautiful and bright the décor is– tables were neat, and it was pretty quiet. (We started the rush though– it soon became more patronized.)
The owners served our table and gave our group suggestions. We settled on the veggie combo, the major combo and a bottle of wine. We had a little diner with us too, and the owners were kind enough to make a more traditional spaghetti portioned appropriately for her.
The food was amazing. Incredible just like the others reviewers stated. The lamb and potatoes were my favorite (the lamb also the owner’s favorite, as I pointedly asked him) — savory and delicious. Portion sizes overly generous– there was plenty of food for the birthday girl to take home.
I will also note– I’m an idiot and forgot my iPhone there. It was safely waiting for me 10 minutes later when I returned. The owner was almost apologetic– stating that my party was gone before they spotted it under the table (it was totally my fault for not being more careful). Sooo kind and grateful that they found it.
Excellent experience and I look forward to returning soon.

Ate here for lunch once and it was pleasantly different and delicious! I don’t think I’d ever had Ethiopian cuisine before, so the owner was extremely sweet and taught me how to eat it.
I’ll tell you what, I gobbled everything. It was wonderful and if it weren’t so far away, I would frequent more often.

First time eating African food. Looking at pictures in Unilocal with the color and presentation of the food — they call my name and raise my appetite.
Give this restaurant a try — no regret. Friendly owner and helpful for first timer. Many Africans article inside the restaurant. Got to see the «alphabets» they use — many letters; pretty impressive. If you think our 26 alphabets are many — check theirs.
Food — if your first time — just try the Major combo. It will give you different varieties so can try several dishes in one. The portion is generous.
Their injera bread is very nice — soft and light. Does not use oil. But be careful — it will fill u up.
The homemade honey wine is a must try. They have regular (not so sweet) and sweet. I ordered the regular thinking that I don’t like too sweet stuff. It is already sweet enough for me and very nice. End up ordering another bottle cause how good it is. Also take one for to go too.
This week the area was hit by thunderstorms, rains etc. Many places with no power. The owner warns us (even we missed to read the sign outside) that she can not take credit card that night due too credit card machine problems. Although their price is not too expensive, but I do appreciate she tried to tell us before we were seated.
See the picts I post.

I love this super authentic Ethiopian gem! I am constantly looking for outside the box experiences when it comes to dining and this place certainly did not disappoint. I’m also a sucker for some good spicy food and they more than delivered. We ordered the combo #5 which gives you a healthy sampling of an assortments of spiced meats, vegetables, and lentils. They then give you a side of two different sauces and house made goat cheese, all of which were fantastic. Great for groups seeing how you can order the combos for 1 – 4 people, the portions are filling so order true to group size. The service was also amazing. I will definitely be returning with friends in the near future.

I was happy to find a local Ethopian restaurant on my trip to Indianapolis. Ethiopian is always a good choice for those looking for good vegan or vegetarian food. The place does not look like much from outside, and in fact the area seemed a little sketchy at night. Maybe it was not and just my outsider frame of reference. Parking was easy in the lot and it was quick to get too off the expressway.
Heading in, it felt almost like we were in some western themed cowboy place. perhaps a BBQ joint. Then as your eyes focus, you see that things on the walls are Ethiopian. We were promptly seated. Only one other table was being used, so don’t expect crowds I guess.
We started with the mess, the sweet honey wine (not vegan). I was happy to learn you can order this medium or really sweet. I can’t imagine why someone would order the really sweet. It was tasty, a little different tasting than I am used to. Frankly, if I came back, I would just order a beer or soda since it would work better (IMO) to contrast with the food.
We ordered the 3 Sambusa appetizer. They had two different veggie options and I went with the onion and cauliflower one. It was very good. They are served with 3 small bowls, the traditional red sauce, green sauce, and some homemade cheese that is like feta or even more like a dry cottage cheese. Myself, I do not eat cheese, but this is the report.
I ordered the Awaze sampler plate for vegetarians. It comes of course on the large injera platter and with a stack of injera on the side. All very good. I was stuffed at the end and could not finish it. My friend ordered the goat sampler and declared that the veggie parts (seemed exactly the same as my dish with an extra mound of the meat in the middle) as being awesome. He also really liked the mess.
As I always recommend, if you do not like eating with your hands, do not let that stop you, they will happily give you utensils. Of course, I will be silently judging you from the other table.
If you are on the fence about eating Ethiopian, please give it a try. It is really not that strange or different. It is a bit more expensive than going to Olive Garden, but it is worth it.

My first Ethiopian restaurant. It is a little hard to find, and you get the feeling that the place might not be the safest after dark. The food was just fine, though I have to admit I am not sure whatever it was. I mean there was a combo plate, but what the individual things were I have no idea. You are supposed to take the big pancake like thing and use it to sop up the various other foods.
I am not a big fan of eating with my fingers – which I guess you are supposed to do here. The waitress was nice enough to round me up a fork and a knife.
The Ethiopian coffee ceremony was something else that caught me off guard. They bring a pan of steaming hot coffee beans out to your table and dump the beans there.
Then the waitress disappears. I guess you are supposed to take in the aroma and all, but when she disappeared and left the beans there, I thought I was supposed to eat them. I ate a few and then the waitress noticed what I was doing and rushed back and said they would grind them and make coffee out of them. She did, and I must say the brewed coffee was much better than eating the beans. :-)
So, they were very nice there. I asked for a knife and fork, and got one. I ate the coffee beans and they still brewed me a cup of coffee. They did not kick me out, and told me to come back anytime. And it was all entertaining to me and probably to them as well. I think they held the laughter until after the door closed behind me.

The service was excellent, but my rating is more for the food. This was my first time eating Ethiopian, and I am a very adventurous eater. I found it to be kind of, well, boring.
The best parts of the meal were the sauces (particularly the green condiment sauce and the sauces used to simmer the meats), the nice family that ran the restaurant, and the variety of foods presented. There were a lot of different foods to select from on the platter (lamb, beef, chicken, egg, vegetables, lentils). For me, the worst part of the meal was the bread. It had a weird texture. Smooth, floppy, and velvety. Kind of like the wings of a stingray. Not a ton of flavor.
I think I would have liked the meal better if I had eaten it with a knife and fork. I ate with my hands like you are supposed to, and I felt like the piece of bread I tore off could only accommodate one or two of the foods at a time, so I couldn’t really create a mix and match type of experience.
Also, it was a touch pricey (about $ 50 after tip for two people). If you haven’t tried it, I would still recommend that you do. You may find it more interesting or delicious than I did.