Harambe - Vancouver

Walking along the bustling and eclectic Commercial Drive, we decided we wanted Ethiopian for dinner after an afternoon of shopping and a pre-dinner cocktail at a pub nearby. Decided to try Harambe after passing by numerous places and were glad we did. Tried their meat sampler and everything was very tasty, with the lamb dish being a standout. Being a Wednesday, seemed like a few other restaurants were closed (there was another Ethiopian place also closed with a family emergency) so ended up being quite a crowd at Harambe! The waitress did her best and the owner pitched in to help as well but there was a bit of wait...didn't bother us as we were not in a rush and enjoyed the casual atmosphere.

My daughters told us about this place and so we ventured out to give Ethiopian food a try for the first time for us. We did not regret it.The place is not fancy, but they had wonderful artful paintings on the wall, many for sale. (I would have bought one or two but already have too many paintings for our home.) It was pretty full, with a couple of tables reserved for large groups. Their menu had so many different offerings, but the recommendation was go for the Chef's Choice Combination for 3 - we were 4 but it would be enough for us apparently. There are no utensils given out to eat the food with. Instead, they give Ethiopian traditional bread, called Injebi, a teff-grain flat bread, to act as both a platter and the utensil to pick the food up. The Injebi is soft, spongy and quite tasty. The food comes spread on the Injebi and they also have rolled up Injebi for diners to use to pick the food up with, and to wrap it around.The Chef's Choice contained some of their classics - the Chicken Dot and Yebeg (Lamb) Tibs, with various types of veggies including their Kik Alicia Wot (Lentil,) all cooked with Ethiopian spices.The service was a bit slow, and we had to follow up on our order. The long wait for it, however was very well worth it. The food was surprisingly delicious, some of the best cuisine I've tasted in a long while. It can easily compare with some very good Mediterranean dishes that I love.This place is highly recommended.

This was the first time me and my wife ever tried Ethiopian food and didn't know whether or not we would like it. With encouragement from my friend in Vancouver we decided to take the plunge. The restaurant is located in commercial drive and the decor is striking. The food is excellent which makes me look for Ethiopian food everywhere.

We've had Ethiopian food before, and we thought this place was pretty good. We had chicken with tomato and three vege dishes - lentils, spinach, mixed, and they were all complex and tasty although perhaps the chicken was a bit oily. The house white was good and the service ok.

We came to Harambe for our date dinner. My hubby and I love Traditional Ethiopian food and have been to many Ethiopian restaurants as well as had home made Ethiopian food. We ordered veggies and doro watt. When it was served to us it tasted terrible. Doro watt was very watery and onion (which supposedly being cooked for a long time) was not done as supposed to. It also was not as spicy and definitely was missing appropriate amount of berbere (pepper.) Vegetables did not taste as good too. Overall our food tasted disgusting. We told the server that it was not good, paid for everything and said that we will never return. There are other Ethiopian restaurants around in the area which we tried and had much better experience.