Gojo Ethiopian Restaurant

The food here was fantastic; the cook actually deserves a 5-​star, whom my boyfriend and I met the first time we went here. However, the service/​management/​communication could use some work.
I loved it enough to get a 2^nd Groupon to come back to this place, because although it was my first time trying Ethiopian food at that time and it was a bit pricey (for a college student), I remember really being impressed by the culture of the food. I loved the inerja, and there was a food item that caught my eye on the menu that I wanted to try a second time around: RAW beef.
I tried coming back here one late night, and to double check the hours, I looked online and saw 2am. I called to clarify to ask what time the actual kitchen closes, and the lady on the phone said 10−11pm. Confused by the range of time as an answer, I asked again. Nothing direct, once more, but between 10−11pm. I took this as a sign that it would be between those hours, because rarely do people give a range and they actual mean the extreme ends of the range. It was around 9:15 when I called, so I decided to try and make it. It didn’t help that the address posted for this restaurant is wrong on Google: My boyfriend and I ended up at the restaurant at 9:55. When we came in, the first thing the lady tells us is that they are closed at 10. I understood that we were cutting it close, but NOW you say an exact time? I would have saved myself an extra trip if this lady was more clearer in the first place.
So I come back for a 3^rd time because I still had the Groupon to use. Let me emphasize that I paid for this Groupon just to try their raw beef entrée (Kurt Sega). The menu said that this entrée was served only on Saturday. So guess what? I came on a Saturday. When I ordered, she said it was not available tonight. Like what? If a restaurant owns up to saying a certain special dish is served only ONCE a week, as a customer, I would expect the restaurant to honor it and have it available, ESPECIALLY when the restaurant is not busy and the excuse was not that they ran out. Then my boyfriend tries to order a half & half, and guess what? THAT WAS ALSO NOT AVAILABLE. He ended up getting the Firfir, which he was satisfied with. But I was still determined to get something close to the Kurt Sega item, so I asked the server if there was any similar raw beef dish. She pointed out the Kitfo, but then immediately mentioned that I wouldn’t like it because it was uncooked. I told her I understood (didn’t I just try to order the Kurt Sega?), and that I wanted to try it anyways. I reiterated with her that I wanted the beef raw (because on the menu it stated you can choose between cooked, rare, and raw). When the food came out, she stated again that I may not like the raw beef, but added the courtesy that the cook can cook it for me if I didn’t like it. At this point, I appreciated the gesture of service, but now in the back of my mind I was starting to think ‘why is this lady so adamant about me not having raw beef here?’. I was almost expecting now to get food poisoning from it.
The food itself, was delicious! Pictures included. Despite the poor experience, personally, I would still go back here JUST for the food (and I didn’t get diarrhea!). And I will be making sure to call in every time I decide to go in to triple check everything.
TIP (s): Even though the restaurant says it opens late, the kitchen actually closes around 10. To be safe, come early! And to be safer, come earlier than what you plan for because the restaurant itself is hard to find! Look up the menu prior to coming, and then call if they ask if it’s available.

My first time trying Ethiopian. Kinda pricey, take advantage of the Groupon if you can. I don’t like really spicy foods so my options were somewhat limited but they were very helpful & accommodating. Loved the Awaze tibs & inerja bread, like seriously crave this stuff at random now:) Turns into a hookah lounge in the evening but we were there for lunch. Its far fir me but will def. be back!

My friend and I came here and had the beef tibs and vegetable combination with three samusas. It was our first time eating Ethiopian, so we didn’t know what we were doing. The lady though, was really nice and showed us how. She definitely made the experience from possibly bad to really good. We had a great conversation with her as well, it was really nice to have a deep convo with someone from a different culture. The food was good, much spicier than we anticipated. They’re very kind, a previous bad review was saying she was upset because she didn’t have a fork. Idk why the lady who was working didn’t explain how to eat like our server showed us. It was a fun experience, felt like a food adventure.

Tasty fried samusas filled with lentils were really good with the chili sauce! Veggie combo and doro wat (chicken stew) was good! Loungy atmosphere and Ethiopian music was cool. Decent with a groupon. Small and hole in the wall atmosphere. Mom and pop shop. I like the white crumbly cheese with the meal! Lots of fresh injera (sp?) Ethiopian bread to eat your meal with. I tried to eat most of the meal by hand like they traditionally do, but had to use a fork at the end with the mushy stuff. :) it was good! Nice relaxing atmosphere.

I really love this restaurant. The staff is incredibly friendly and the food is fantastic. It can be difficult to find a restaurant that caters to vegan/​vegetarians, but the menu here has something for everyone. I’ve always wanted somewhere close to get Ethiopian food when I’m craving it and I’ve now found it. I highly recommend Gojo.

Omg this place is amazing! My cardiologist was talking about ethiopian food. So I came to this place! Omg its amazing! I went in and was like I have never had ethiopian food ever… both times the ladies brought some amazing dishes! Gotta try it!

Very tasty place! I went with my bestie, we had been craving Ethiopian for a while and needed a fix. Gojo did not disappoint. We each had the vegetarian combo and its certainly one of my favorites around town. The shiro might be the best. I normally like the spicy items best like the yemesir wot, but the tekil gomen was so delicious, I ate both servings. The Bestie liked the gomen best. One of the things I liked best was that each dish was not overly oily, which has been an issue in other restaurants. Downsides were there were few chicken dishes, and service was sweet, polite but a tad slow. All in all, I can’t wait to go back again.

My experience here was awful. It was dinner on a Friday night and we were the only ones there. The staff was rude and ignored us most of the time. The dinner was bland. Nothing tasted very good at all and the prices weren’t cheap. We weren’t given any eating utensils, so I had to go to the bar to ask for a fork. The waitress had no idea what a fork was. I had to explain through a series of gestures. It was definitely one of the most uncomfortable dining experiences I have ever had. I wanted to run out of the door the moment I got there. I should have.

Quite Delicious. I had the doro wott and gomen my favs.

Before I begin this review, I want it known I’ve had Ethiopian before at multiple places. It’s not new to me, and I find it quite delicious.
It was hard for me to find, even though I knew where it was on the map. It was hidden around the corner, REALLY tucked away. No signs were saying it was there, other than the name above the door once you found it.
I went in, and said the girl behind the counter said hi, then silence. There were two guys on the side puffing away on a hookah, and a floor with some kind of brown smear across all of the seams. I’m guessing there was some kind of tile colorization going on or something, not sure. No other customers. The waitress was mostly helpful, and filled my drink whenever necessary along with making sure my injera bread was supplied as necessary.
The kitfo was good, but didn’t taste like any of the kitfo I’ve had before.
I went with a groupon coupon, and I didn’t know when the restrictions said «does not cover drinks» actually meant NON-​ALCOHOLIC drinks as well.

I see this place has several negative or eh reviews, but I’m really pretty happy with it!
I’d put off trying Ethiopian food for a while because uh, do they eat dirt and flies? I was glad to learn that they do not!
I’ve only eaten there around the lunch hour and it’s fairly empty at that time. The staff is bare bones, but that doesn’t matter when you’re the only customer. I haven’t tried anything too crazy off the menu (I just can’t do raw meat), but the sambusa, yeawaze tibs, & vegetarian combo are DELICIOUS.
I would have given it 5 stars, but it’s not overly cheap. The food is great and I’m full when I leave, but it just seems a little high.

Decent kitfo. More of a bar than a restaurant. Will go back and get my tej on someday!

My partner and I stumbled upon this restaurant and decided to take a chance on it. We had both had Ethiopian before, but only in a different city. In short: We were pleased!
The food was excellent and the serving size was ample. In addition to the entrees on their online and main menu (varying in price from 10.99 to 13.99), they also offer half-​sizes of each item for 5.99. If you’re new to Ethiopian food, or just the restaurant, I’d recommend getting a few different half-​sizes. My partner and I did just that so we could sample more of what Gojo had to offer.
The wait staff was attentive and re-​filled my water each time it needed refilling. Additionally, they provided extra injera (the sponge-​like bread) whenever it was needed. All in all an excellent culinary experience!

I picked up take out food at Gojo after buying a coupon from a group buying site. I tried searching for a menu online but without success. Called the restaurant and a very nice lady helped me choose two dishes, a vegetarian combo and a beef dish.
Finding the location using different mapping devices (including my own car’s) was a challenge, since there is another Buckingham Road… really hard to find it but I eventually managed.
Now, the most important: the food. It was tasty, especially the veggie combo. The beef could have been a bit tender, but the spices and sauce were great.
I might give it another try; if you decide to go, make sure you look up the location, correctly displayed on Unilocal (corner of Buckingham and Jupiter)

This was the second Ethiopian restaurant we tried and were rather disappointed. It is a one man show really. The guy who seated us and took the order was the same guy who went back to the kitchen to cook our order.
We asked what he recommended and he told us #1 (beef) or #5 (chicken). I don’t eat beef and my friend doesn’t eat chicken so we decided on #4 — lamb and the vegetarian dish. What a huge mistake the lamb was.
The presentation is the same at both restaurants but the lamb was grizzle only. I don’t know what the purpose is to serve such a dish but I would never order that again.
The guy was really busy entertaining his friends at the other side of the restaurant but was attentive enough that we were not ignored (we were the only patrons at the restaurant).
The price was equivalent to Ghion but the ambiance was far inferior and the food was not something I would recommend. Maybe the other dishes he recommended are better but I can only comment on what we got.
I was rather disappointed at this one.