The Blue Nile

I ate here for 15+ years and to this date have never had Ethiopian food this good. I keep trying but there is nothing that comes close. Mimi, re-​open your restaurant! PLEASE! I’m begging you!

Just recently began to Unilocal,and looked this restaurant up only to find out it’s closed! I’m so bummed out! I loved this place! Hopefully this owners will read these reviews and open it again — but this time move it down from Berkeley to San Jose, why don’tchya? :o) I will always remember the injera and the wonderful Ethiopian food here!

I can’t believe it’s been so long since I’ve been that I didn’t know they closed.
I really can’t believe they closed. I’ve been going to Blue Nile since I was a kid and bringing my daughter here since she started on solids.

I’m no longer in Berkeley, but THE BLUE NILE was a favorite of mine. I was indeed surprised to learn that it had shut its doors! What a pity ~ no other Ethiopian fare comes close. I will very much miss their injera.

So, this is pretty far down on Telegraph, passed the record stores, but it is worth the walk from campus. Order the Veggie combo plate. O h, don’t ask for utensils. They will give yout his bread to soak everything up with. Worth trying.

I had them cater my 40^th birthday party, and I went there for over twenty years. I knew the owner Mimi personally as well.
If you want a local replacement, try Red Sea on Claremont off Telegraph or Addis on Telegraph at 63^rd. Both are good but not the Blue Nile :(
As far as a honey wine replacement – they made their own, so I haven’t found a source of tej that replaces theirs.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO­OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO­OOO!!! too many good times there. I’m stomping my feet and having a fit. Au Revoir Blue Nile.

OH NO! This was such a great place. Good food, prices, and service. Love the honey wine, too. I wanted to take some friends here. If someone know if they relocated let me know.

OMG — NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
I can’t believe this place closed. It’s a shame!
This was my favorite place to eat at in Berkeley and it’s a darn shame it closed. Best location and friendliest waitress/​owner.
I’m sorry I had to move away and not be able to eat there more regularly. I’m sure going to miss it!

That’s a shame that this place is closed. I really enjoyed eating there. Good prices, Absolutely delicious food. Friendly staff.

WHY OH WHY ARE THEY CLOSED?! If someone knows of the owners opening up a new place somewhere else, please let me know. The food, service and décor here made for a great dining experience worth repeating over and over.

This place is not closed! It can’t be… can it? This is one of my favorite restaurants in the world… and people, I’ve been around the world. The ambiance is sultry and romantic with jazzy beats. They have amazing honey wine and tasty african smoothies to soothe your palate from those ethiopian spices. UG!

WHAT?! It shut down?! I LOVED THIS PLACE! :(This was one of my favorite Berkeley restaurants… I feel sort of hollow inside.

R. I. P. I will miss you.

I will cry forever… I LOVED this place!
Ethiopian food can be tricky to serve to the taste buds of Americans, but this place definitely managed to do that and do it well! There was nothing like their sweet, doughy tangera bread and the succulent meat that literally fell off the bones. And I loved eating with my hands! Plus they made bomb-​ass mead (honey wine) that I always wished they would sell. The ambience was cozy and had lots of character (they had an upstairs loft-​like seating area with a low ceiling and the walls and ceilings were covered in a bamboo-​like wall paper) The owner, a sweet Ethiopian woman with a beautiful accent and warm smile, was so welcoming and accommodating to my parties whenever I went there.
This place will be greatly missed!!!

Blue Nile strikes me as a sort of «Ethiopian for beginners».
If this is where you dip your toes in to the wonderfulness that is Ethiopian cuisine, I think you’ll be off to a great start.
And don’t forget to try the honey wine!

Once upon a time, this was my very favorite ethiopian restaurant. Great berberes and alechas, a good variety of combination plates, and of course, very good tej, which is a sweet honey white wine. The ambiance is dark, sultry and exotic; a perfect place to take someone on a third or fourth date (yes, you do eat with your hands and it could be embarrassing on a first date. Of course, you should only be going to coffee or cocktails on a first date, but I digress.) I liked this place so much when I was in college, that I even held my graduation lunch here. I still love the place, but it loses one star for the long hair my ex-​gf found in her food a few years back. That was probably (hopefully) a one-​time affair.

If this isn’t authentic ethiopian food then I don’t know what is. I mean, honestly, I really don’t. This is the only Ethiopian place I’ve been to.
All I know is that it was delicious. I liked the spicy chicken curry and the lamb curry was delicious too. There is no silverware so if you’re afraid of eating with your hands (seriously folks, that’s why you have them things in the first place) then don’t bother. You eat everything with this really sticky flatbread. The flatbread is cold and neutral tasting so it balances the spices in the food. I’m a fan of ethiopian food after going here a couple times.

It’s not as authentic, but it’s the best place to go to be introduced to the wonders of Ethiopian cooking. I always recommend Blue Nile as a good first date place. This may or may not have anything to do with the travel poster of a bare-​breasted woman upstairs.

I’m so sad this place closed… I erased my review… I’m going to my room to cry for a little while.