The San Francisco Bay Area has one of the oldest Ethiopian restaurant scenes in the United States. The Cal Alumni Association describes the original Blue Nile, opened in Oakland by Seyoum Kebede two years before its 1982 Berkeley branch, as the Bay Area’s first Ethiopian restaurant; the Berkeley branch closed in 2007 (Cal Alumni Association). Oakland is still the center of the East Bay scene. Cafe Colucci, which opened in 1991 and is one of Oakland’s oldest Ethiopian restaurants, left Telegraph Avenue in 2022 for a space on San Pablo Avenue three times the size, The Oaklandside reported. Enssaro, after roughly two decades on Grand Avenue near Lake Merritt, moved to College Avenue in Rockridge at the end of July 2026 (The Oaklandside).
The community’s churches go back decades as well. Mekane Selam Medhane Alem Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Cathedral held its first liturgy in 1986, bought a church building in Berkeley in 1993 and later moved to a larger building in Oakland, according to the cathedral’s own history.
This hub covers listings in Oakland, Berkeley, San Francisco, San Jose and Santa Clara. Use it to find Ethiopian restaurants and cafes, churches and other community listings. For what to order at each restaurant, see our Bay Area Ethiopian restaurant guide. Phone numbers and opening hours can change, so please check with a business before you visit.
Know a place that deserves to be here, or see a detail that needs fixing? Tell us about it. The directory gets better every time someone in the community adds a business or shares an honest review.
Ethiopian restaurants and cafes in the Bay Area
- Addis Ethiopian Restaurant (Oakland)
- Cafe Colucci (Oakland)
- Café Ethiopia (San Francisco)
- Enssaro Ethiopian Restaurant (Oakland)
- Ethiopia Restaurant (Berkeley)
- Gojo Ethiopian Restaurant (San Jose)
- The Lunch Box Ethiopian Restaurant (San Jose)
- Mudai Ethiopian Restaurant (San Jose)
- Red Sea Ethiopian Restaurant (Oakland)
- Zeni Ethiopian Restaurant (San Jose)
Ethiopian groceries and markets in the Bay Area
No Bay Area Ethiopian grocery or market is listed yet. If you run one, or shop at one, please add it for free.
Churches and religious centers in the Bay Area
- Ethiopian Christian Fellowship Church (Santa Clara)
- Mekane Rama Saint Gabriel Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (San Jose)
- Mekane Selam Medhane Alem Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Cathedral (Oakland)
Other Ethiopian listings in the Bay Area
Community associations, travel agents, cargo services and other Bay Area businesses will appear here as they are added. Add one.
Browse all listings in the directory.
Related guides
- Ethiopian restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area: a local guide
- How to send money to Ethiopia
- Ethiopian businesses in Los Angeles
Own an Ethiopian business in the Bay Area? List your business on Ethiopialist for free and connect with customers who are already searching. List your business.
Featured image: Lentil, split pea and vegetable dishes served on injera at Asmara Restaurant in Oakland, California. Photo: Mx. Granger, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
