New Eritrea Restaurant & Bar

Reasonably priced, an interior with character, friendly service, and let’s not forget that Ethiopian food is delicious. One of our go-to’s when we’re in the mood for something a little out of the usual routine. Very relaxed setting, and easily accessible via the 44-O’Shaughnessy and N-​Judah :-)

A great experience with unique flavors and even way of eating. We had the meat combo and the veggie combo, and added the chicken and mushroom. It was all good. Some of the items had a bit of heat, but in a pleasant way, you can choose mild. The chicken mushroom was a favorite with my party, but just barely as it was all so tasty. The slightly tart injera, and lack of utensils was a fun and unique way to eat. There is really nothing like it. It is great that there is injera on the bottom of the platter to soak up all the flavors. We have just enough injera to get to that, then we start on the bottom ones! Service is very neighborly and friendly. Our server patiently and happily shared knowledge about the culture and foods. Highly recommended.

Service: prompt, polite, and friendly.
Food: outstanding flavor and generous portions. My friend and I shared the Eritrean Special (#16) and the Meat Combo (#11). Both were perfect and very filling without being fatty or greasy. Quality meat and flavorful spices.
Anytime I’m in the Inner Sunset, I’ll be coming back here!

Really amazing food! We got the veggie platter for 2 and sambusas and they were excellent! Great price for the amount of food. Some of the best Ethiopian food I have had! The service was great and the owner was very friendly!

Food and service are both great. I came with a large group for a friend’s birthday and ate family style. The staff were very accommodating and patient with us.

Delicious fresh food, great service and at a fantastic price! Clean, comfortable and cozy. This place never disappoints me.

Parts are good parts not so good. The special spicy outdo was the best ever. The dals mushy. Super sour injera like I like. Good service.

Always enjoy coming here, it has an old school atmosphere and has been in the Sunset for a long time. Great food, love coming here with a group of friends and sharing a big dish. The food is very good (my 2^nd fav Ethiopian restaurant in SF, but I won’t name my first here ;)
Come grab a drink of Tej and enjoy some injera with friends!

I will be back to this place regularly. Sweet as pie staff. Delicious nice food.
I love the chicken, lamp, vegetarian & sambusa dishes. I basically have never had a bad dish here. My two sons love eating family style with their hands.
Service is quick & friendly.
Come prepared to eat with your hands & enjoy the experience till every last finger licking bite. Go home happy… Repeat as necessary.

My first Ethiopian restaurant, and I really liked it!
The place: A comfy place, my friend and I went there around 7:30PM, it was not crowded and not empty too. Great!
The server was really kind, and efficient. We had our dishes 10 or 15 min after which is pretty fast. I appreciate that.
I went there with a friend and we chose a Kilwa Begee (lamb meet) with some vegetables, it was amazing, really tasty, served in a big plate that we shared. How about the drinks? I took a Nigerian beer, pretty good, not heavy that you can drink while you are eating.
Finally, we had to pay $ 44, with the drinks and the dinner. Not expensive, not cheap, it’s average but I do need to try another Ethiopian restaurant.
Amazing experience, I will definitely come back there. Great service, nice place and tasty food = 5 Stars!

I had some really good Ethiopian food when I visited Washington DC a few years back, so I was happy to come here after finding out this place was in the neighborhood. However, I can’t say I’m a fan of this place.
We ordered the meat and vegetarian combo which was delicious. The meat and the potatoes was my favorite. But the injerra bread provided was way too sour for my taste. We were fine with it in the beginning, especially since the food was spicy, but after a while, the sour taste was too overwhelming. I’m not sure if that’s normal, cause I don’t remember that being the case in DC.

BE PREPARED TO SMELL!
There was a weird vinegar-​like, sour, strong smell in the restaurant. I couldn’t quite figure out the source of the smell but it was potent! When I left the restaurant, my clothes still smelled like it, which I didn’t appreciate because we were going out to a bar afterwards with friends. Just like leaving a Korean BBQ place and smelling like it afterwards, my clothes and body reaked of the smell from this restaurant.
Since it was my first time at the restaurant, I ordered both the Vegetarian Combo and the Meal combo to share with my boyfriend. He’s more of a meat lover than I am. I can do without but Is till want to try it so that I can review it. :)
I was able to substitute one of the sides on the vegetarian combo plate for something that I preferred which was nice. The vegetarian combo came with 4 items including a side salad. The 4 items were: lentils, collard greens, chick peas, and potatoes (but I substituted mushrooms instead).
The meat combo came with 3 different meats: beef, chicken, and lamb as well as a side of lentils and a side salad.
Overall both combo plates were spicy! I never noticed the spicy-​ness of Ethiopian food until I ate at this restaurant. This restaurant definitely used a different type of spice or just different ingredients to make their dishes because I had a difficult time finishing my meal.
The enjera was the same thankfully. I enjoyed that a lot.
Overall, I wouldn’t say this is the best Ethiopian restaurant out there. A lot of customers seemed to be enjoying their meal. I saw more men than women here. But maybe for some, it’s a good introduction to trying Ethiopian food.

BOMBBBB ETHIOPIAN FOOD!!! My first ethiopian cuisine in SF. I ate quite a bit in san diego and in oakland, and this was definitely up to par. For 4 people, we shared the Veggie Sampler and the MEat Sampler. We were stuffed. The service was great too. The waitresses are very smiley and friendly. Can’t wait to come back!!!

Finally got around to trying this place after living nearby for the past 4 years! Beautiful and very large space that you wouldn’t expect from the small entrance outside. All the servers are genuinely nice, but service can be a bit slow on a Friday night. Not sure if it was just because we were all really hungry, but it seemed like a very long time before the food came out. But, wow, that food was deeelish when it came out.
My fiancé and I shared the meat combo platter, which appears to be the popular choice, and with good reason! With the airy, spongy Injera bread to scoop and soak up all the sauces and meat, it was fun eating with just our hands! (do make sure obviously to wash your hands before and after eating though).
The lamb platter was alright. Sauce and flavoring was excellent, but the meat was gritty which was a major turn-​off.
Oh and if you want strong coffee, and I mean STRONG coffee. you can definitely get it here!
Would I come back? Definitely. This is a neighborhood treasure that is worth it!

About the place: bigger than it looks from the outside actually and good for groups or date night. The décor is East African throughout mostly but the lamps over the bar look like the TGI Fridays lamps… hehe. Big bar with plenty of stools to eat, drink, or do both. Full bar btw. Servers are very nice.
About the price: average $ 10-​$ 14 per plate.
About the food: you eat with your hands! Scooping your dish with a crêpe like piece of bread. First we had the Sambusa with ground beef… AMAZE. Two puff pastries filled with nicely seasoned beef and it comes with a side of something spicy… a kind of paste you can dip it in. So good! For dinner we had the Kilwa beef and the New Eritrean Special (chicken). The chicken dish BLEW the beef away. It had so much flavor and the chicken was cooked perfectly. They bring both dishes out on a silver platter sitting on top of the crêpe like bread called injera and place bean paste and a small salad in between the two for separation. You can eat it with the bread but I also sort of wrapped the meat in the lettuce. I had the meta lager (Ethiopian) which I really liked. Had a hint of honey.
Will definitely be back!

Let me start off by saying, I have never had Ethiopian/​African food, it was quite an experience that if you haven’t been I definitely recommend going.
We started off with the meat sambussa, which was good, however in my opinion a little too greasy. For the main course we got the meat combo and the veggie combo, it was served with thin bread that’s a bit sour, the meat sampler was tasty and so were the veggie dishes. You will be using the bread to eat instead of eating utensils so be prepared.
It was a good first experience, very similar to Indian food but yet different, I will most likely be back to try the tar tar that people seem to rave about.
Service was great, I do wish they would give out wet naps since you are eating with your hands.

I have never encounter Eritrean & Ethiopian food before, so we decided to eat here to kick off our bucket list of food we have never tried before!
We were not disappointed with the food and service. I decided to order the meat combo with the sour crêpe-​looking thing called injera — is a sourdough-​risen flatbread with a unique, slightly spongy texture. This one was pretty good and has interesting taste. Oh, you eat food with your bare hands, just like our Filipino culture. The entrees are great for 2 people, but we only ended up only ordering 1 entrée for the two of us that result our tummy very happy and delightful! At top of that, we had a bottle of honey wine from Ethiopia to try out. It was overly sweet, but it was a nice experience. We took the bottle that was half full to add to my wine collection. I got a little buzz as I walk my way out of the restaurant :).
Will come back to try out more!

SUMMARY: Went with 3 others for dinner on a Friday night around 8pm without a reservation. Seated immediately with very pleasant service, yummy food, and overall lovely time.
WHAT I TRIED: House platter for 2 (vegetarian) + 2 orders of Meat Combo + 2 extra orders of injera
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FOOD: GOOD: I’ve been a bit spoiled by Ethiopian food in DC — I had a favorite place there which is hands down the best Ethiopian food (and some of the best food) I’ve ever had. However, this ethiopian food was legit and I enjoyed it. My friends loved it and thought it was the best ethiopian they’ve had in SF. What I thought could have been better: 1) the injera was a bit more sour than I like it — but that is also more authentic (likely that they had a higher ratio of Teff flour) — so it’s a matter of preference, 2) the meat was a little overcooked and therefore dry, and 3) the sauces were a bit sour and not as flavorful as I’m used to, but I think they were also healthier (less clarified butter). What I really liked: 1) they had Eritrean + Ethiopian food and I haven’t had as much Eritrean before — friend pointed out that Eritrean tends to be creamier (they really cream up the lentils for example), 2) portions were a good size, and 3) I don’t usually like okra, but their okra was delicious.
SERVICE: GREAT: Nothing exceptional or unique, but the servers were very nice — didn’t rush us but were still attentive and joked around with us a bit. Very friendly.
AMBIANCE: My friend described it as «Italian restaurant-​y» which I liked and thought was accurate. It had an «African flair,» but you wouldn’t really have been able to tell it was Ethiopian/​Eritrean from the ambiance. Low mood lighting + clean, interior but nothing special. It was quiet enough to talk without screaming and we sat in the back which was like a greenhouse.

This is my favorite place to eat in San Francisco. Firstly, I love Eritrean and Ethiopian food. Secondly, the staff here is super nice and helpful and the service is very fast. They have an amazing vegetarian platter that is great for sharing. It has tons of different items on it and each dish is delicious. I also love their milk with honey for a little sweet treat. Definitely order that! I came here for my birthday with about 10 friends and they put some tables in the back together for us. It was perfect.

Last night was my first time trying Eritrean food, and while I’m not sure the flavors are entirely up my alley, I was quite impressed with the restaurant itself.
New Eritrea was very accommodating of my 10 person party, and it was a really fun experience getting to try out something new with such a large group. I’d never eaten with my hands like this before, and it was surprisingly not too messy.
My side of the table shared a vegan platter as well as a meat combo, and while I do usually tend to prefer meat options, I think the vegan option was actually better. The menu calls the vegan options «hearty,» and they really are. I’m clearly not Eritrean (or anything close to it), and yet it felt like comfort food – especially in the cold Inner Sunset microclimate.
I don’t know that I’d come back, but if you know you like Eritrean food, or if you and your large group want a place to go, I’d highly recommend it!

Yum! Very filling Ethiopian food. But questionable service?
FOOD: 2 of my friends and I shared the house sampler platter for two ($ 24), which came with 5 – 6 different dippings and an injera at the bottom, and the Kitfo ($ 14), which came in a rice-​bowl sized mortar. Each of us also ordered an injera ($ 1 each).
My friend taught me to tear small pieces from the injera, which had a sour taste, and use it to pick up the dipping and/​or the Kitfo. I really liked how there was a variety of dippings (or are they dippings?) to try. Kitfo was tartar of finely chopped lean flank steak, which I really liked and would recommend! We were all so full by the end. So one piece of injera was definitely enough for everyone.
SERVICE: We came on a Saturday evening and were seated immediately. The food took 10 – 15 minutes to prepare, which was reasonable. The waitress was very friendly, but the manager WAS NOT!!! I was kind of upset when HE ASKED US TO LEAVE RIGHT AFTER WE PAY THE BILL, even though there were MANY EMPTY TABLES next to us. What.
SETTING: The place looks small and shady from the outside, but the interior is pretty big. There is a bar section, and two dining sections. So a lot of space but not big enough because they just had to kick us out.
PRICE: With tip and tax, we paid $ 48 total ($ 16/​each). Definitely worth it.
OVERALL IMPRESSION: I would come back again because the food is good and fun to eat, but I am NOT impressed by how they treat their customers after they received the bill.

I’ve been coming here since I moved to San Francisco, and returned frequently in 2014 with friends and family. And everyone that has dined here with me, and has taken up on my recommendation, absolutely loved their experience at New Eritrea!
The food is absolutely delicious, and I’ve always been greeted with smiles from the employees.
The usual for me is the veggie sambusa and a veggie combo. I know I need to try something new, but what I order has been consistently good every time I come here.
I’m a fan for life.