Blue Nile Ethiopian Restaurant

I absolutely love Blue Nile! I’ve been here over 10 times over the last few years and really enjoy the food. The chicken, beef, and lentils are fantastic!
As people have mentioned, sometimes you need to speak clearly to get your orders exact, but it is well worth it. The place is never busy and I don’t understand it, as the prices are lower and the food is tastier than other Ethiopian restaurants in Calgary.
Can’t wait for the next visit.

I lived in Ethiopia as a kid and am very familiar with the food. Ate at the Blue Nike tonight, and it was probably the worst, most frustrating dining out experience I have had in the last ten years. What a joke– I’m pretty sure this is a drug front or something.
Though the wats (stews) were good, there was no injera. (You can’t have Ethiopian food without injera– it’s the staple of the meal. It would be like having a hamburger but having no patty.). We were told it was being cooked. We waited and waited and waited. They brought us dried toast instead (what a joke, are you serious?). Finally when we were ready to walk out, a plate of it showed up cold, like it had just been taken out of a refrigerator. When I asked about it «being cooked» I was told it is not made in-​house. So the «cooking it» part was a lie. I’m pretty sure someone ran to the Center street store and bought the premade stuff they sell there.
To add to the strangeness of the meal… The service was awful– our server claimed she was Ethiopian but didn’t look it at all– when I asked her how to say thank you in Amharic, she uttered something I’ve never heard before in my life. (I speak Amharic.). When I challenged her on it, she insisted it was Amharic. Nope, no it wasn’t. Not sure why she’d lie but that wasn’t Amharic.
Not sure what’s going on at the Blue Nile, but it doesn’t seem like it’s food. It’s a ghost town every time I’ve been in there. I will never go back. Fassils in Forrest Lawn is a better choice.

You need to check out this little gem! First of all if you haven’t tried Ethiopian food before, you are missing out on a fantastic culinary experience! Not the kind of cuisine for a first date, or with someone with questionable hygienic practices, since you scoop up the deliciousness with your hands!
The first good sign this place was going to be good was the amount of Ethiopians eating there! That alone is a testament to the quality of food. Service was prompt and friendly, and under $ 30 for 2 people for dinner and a nicely filled glass of wine is unbeatable.
We had the assorted meat platter, which included chicken, beef, and lamb ontop of the tasty spongy bread. We regret not getting some of veggie options added, but we were pretty stuffed at the end.
This isn’t the fanciest of places, but is is defiantly delicious, great value and service! You won’t be disappointed!

My favorite of the two Ethiopian places in town.
What else is there to say? The food is great, the value is there and the service is adequate. Sure it’s a little divey, but when you’re paying under $ 30 for a (veggie) meal for two, a little dinginess is to be expected. Plus the place is clean, so who cares what the décor is like?

On a Wednesday eve, it doesn’t seem there’s much of a dinner crowd to fight… which is a shame. People of Calgary, are you just scared to try Ethiopian food? Is it too far outside of your food box? If so, please get over your fear of this food. It’s actually not that much of a stretch and it’s delicious. Think sauced and spiced meats (beef, chicken, lamb) and/​or veggies served with a flat, spongy, sourdough style pancake used to scoop up your food. That’s right friends, no utensils here… and if you’re a klutz with chopsticks, you don’t have to worry about those either. Fingers. Injera. Mouth. Chew.
The food doesn’t come quickly here. Why? Because Mrs Blue Nile is busy whipping it up from scratch for you in the back room. Or at least, it doesn’t come quickly then there are more than 2 – 3 of you.
I ordered the Assorted Ethiopian platter. It came with a selection of beef, chicken and lamb and all the injera I could scoop it up with. The chicken was a piece of chicken and a bit trickier to eat with my hands while the lamb and beef were in much smaller pieces making them easier to grab by the handfuls.
My meal, taxes all in was $ 13.99. For a big plate full of made-​on-​the-​spot meat Ethiopian style, that’s impressive. Oh… and it’s another one of those restaurants you can bring any group of friends and carnivores, herbivores and everything other vore can eat together in peace and all come out full, happy and satisfied at the end of the meal.

This place used me my favourite luxury when I lived in Kensington from ’08-’10 — $ 10 would see me enjoying lovely food, good service, and lots and lots of leftovers.
So I was delighted that Tiff organized a UYE here — and to discover it’s still as delicious and as affordable as ever.
I was being indecisive, so I ordered the meat sample platter. It came with a chicken dish, a cabbage and potato dish, a beef & onion dish, and a spicy beef dish and tons of injera bread to eat it all with — for $ 12.99.
And OMG it was delicious! Everything had so much flavour, the spicy beef made me turn bright red (but didn’t upset my sensitive tummy), the injera bread was spongy and delicious, the flavouring of all the dishes were a wonderful mix of savory and spicy…
and I have SO MUCH FOOD LEFT. Seriously, I will be eating leftovers for days.
I also have to give props to the woman who runs the whole show there (seriously, she does all the work by herself, not sure why the guys who ‘work’ there never do anything to help her) — I was feeling nauseous from hunger and asked how much longer it would be until the food was ready, so she put a bit of a ‘rush’ on mine and hurried to complete it sooner/​make sure I was ok — and then kept checking in with me to ensure I still was for the remainder of our time there. So sweet!
So happy to go back and enjoy great food, great atmosphere and great service — I’m glad to know that while so many places in Calgary have changed in the 3 years I was away this little gem is still wonderful!

Came here with my friend Ian, whom, like my previous Blue Nile companion, has Celiac’s. We were treated warmly and well, and even though their house wine is a box wine, I’m going to give them five stars for the following reasons:
1) They have a great vegan-​friendly AND Celiac-​friendly selection. Talk to your server, because they’ll be more than happy to accomodate you. For omnivores, they offer a variety of meats and kebabs.
2) Their Injera appears to be authentic Ethiopian Injera — meaning, it’s made with traditional Teff flour, rather than buckwheat and AP flour. Teff is gluten-​free, which makes it safe for Celiacs. Teff flour is full of wonderful nutrients, like Iron. See! Vegans get their iron. *flex*
(Mind you, just to be on the safe side, we requested Ian’s order to come with rice instead :). But this is before we knew it was authentic Injera!)
3) Whenever I come here, this place is a ghost town, and it doesn’t make sense to me. The proprietor blamed it on Stampede and people not wanting Ethiopian food around Stampede time… which is crazy! We did! I really don’t want this place to close, and I honestly just think it’s poor word-​of-​mouth and an unwillingness to advertise properly in the 21^st century: No twitter, no website, no FB business page. So, I want as many people to know about it and love it as much as I do!
4) Last time, I docked a star because they forgot my tea. This time I got it, and it was AMAZING!

Nice little place nestled in Kensington. I’ve dined here a few times, and never was disappointed.
So positives? Excellent Doro Wat. The food always comes out nice and hot, and well made. Spices seem to be a little too strong at times, but at least it does come out well. The cook also was the server, who spent his time explaining the nuances of the cuisine. The atmosphere was nice, if a little dated.
Negatives? Again, the spices seems to be a little strong… which means I always seem to have gas when I eat there. Prices seem to be a little high, but again, it is the Kensington area. Place always seem to be ½ empty, which can be a little freaky.

Best Doro Wat that I’ve had in town. Timatim that’s big enough to fill you up. The cook, Sarah, makes the best Injera and Wats in town. Her fitfit’s really good. Forget that the place isn’t gussied up like many new restaurants — this is the legitimate goodies!
Apparently there is a good Ethiopian joint in the Forest Lawn area — I’ve yet to taste it, but based on reviews, check that place out, if you live in the south east. But if you’re anywhere downtown or the northwest (for movies, a concert, et cetera) check out Blue Nile. It’s a good place for a group, 2 – 6 people. Trust me. You will return.

When my companion and I decided that we wanted to go out for dinner last night I suggested we go to Blue Nile. Since I have been to there many times in the past and have a pretty good idea what it is like I asked him «are you up for some amazing food if it means you’re going to be waiting for awhile?» He was skeptical but I assured him it would be worth waiting for. As always, it was.
Blue Nile is one of my favourite restaurants in Calgary. Even though the atmosphere is a bit on the grungy side, the staff are incredibly friendly and welcoming. My biggest issue is the time it take for things to arrive. I understand that good food takes time to prepare, but drinks shouldn’t. I ended up waiting over forty-​five minutes for my tea to arrive.
Once the food arrives, you forget how antsy you felt waiting for it. I always order the vegetarian platter for two every time I go there and I have yet to be let down. I love the spongy injera bread served with every meal. One thing I have noticed is over time their food has gotten a bit milder (probably to cater to more customers). However if you let them know when you order that you like spicy food, they will flavour it accordingly.

I had been waiting to try Blue Nile for years upon years. I finally managed to convince some friends to go there with me one cold Monday night in December, after checking online and verifying that in fact Blue Nile is considered the better of the two Ethiopian restaurants in Calgary.
We were the only table in there. Service was friendly and sweet, but unfortunately our server didn’t speak wonderful English so we had to clarify everything we ordered a couple of times. As well, at one point, we ordered a bottle of wine and two glasses, and we tried to make it clear that we wanted just the bottle and two empty glasses to drink it from, but she brought us a bottle and two additional full glasses of wine. Eep! Oh well, more wine never hurt anybody, right? The house red is decent, by the way!
The food was pretty expensive for Ethiopian — $ 23 for a plate for two — but it wasn’t bad. It wasn’t incredible either, but that’s me comparing it to the more plentiful and varied Ethiopian in Vancouver.
If I lived in Calgary I would probably visit Blue Nile again, but it won’t be a regular stop for me.

I went there with two friends on a chilly night and was pleasantly surprised by this diamond-​in-​the-​rough.
Ok, so the atmosphere was not exactly slick, but it’s definitely a genuine experience! We were the only ones there and none of us had tried Ethiopian food before. The owner was also our server and cook. He took lots of time with us, explaining the traditions and nuances of the food. He even kept the restaurant open after hours until we were done! No pressure, no sass, and you get to eat with your hands! The meal for three of us, including drinks, was under $ 50.
I realize that this place might be a little rough around the edges in looks, but the food is good, the price is right and the service was wonderful. I’ll be back.

So apparently, Ethiopian food just isn’t my cup of tea. And what’s more, is that this particular restaurant isn’t one that I plan on returning to.
So you all already know that I’m a germaphobe. So when the bread arrived in a basket… with nothing between the bread and the basket, I felt a little sick to my stomach. Bread rotates in these old, dusty baskets, and has been doing so, for god knows how long. I can’t imagine they’ve ever cleaned the baskets, and to have my food presented in such an unsanitary way makes me feel a little ill.
The rest of the food was alright, but to my palette, it tasted like Indian food but much more bland.
While the service was fine, I didn’t enjoy the food or my experience here.
I wont be back.