Elephant Walk Injera & Curry House

I recently visited Elephant Walk to enjoy Game 3 of the NBA Finals on their new projector screen an I ended up staying for the AMAZING Amaze Wings. The vibe, people & atmosphere was great for the game and the drinks were cheap. I can not wait to go back!!! #5Stars

We went on a Sunday evening and found the food and service to be very good. It was quiet and relaxing. I had the lamb tib, my wife had the saag paneer. Both were excellent. We plan to return to sample some of their other dishes since we found the menu to be very interesting.

This place is delicious with such an amazing variety in their menu. Service is fairly quick, especially for Ethiopian food, and there are so many vegetarian and vegan options. (The Ethiopian also seems cheaper than other places in Cincinnati.) We are always impressed with the food and are very happy with this place. It’s confusing as to why it is always empty.

Okay, where to start…
i’ve never had ethiopian food before, but have been really wanting to try it out. my friend and i headed up to clifton on saturday, and were seated immediately.
can’t say enough good things about our hostess and server. everyone was incredibly welcoming and friendly. i asked for recommendations, and our hostess went over the menu with us. it was super helpful!
we got an entire pitcher of sangria for $ 14 (!!!). man, it was good. would love to go back just for that!
i got the lamb tips and my friend got the meat lovers combo. i was iffy about trying the beef stew, but after tasting some of his, i wished i would have gotten a whole portion of that. it has a very sweet taste to it; similar in flavor to oxtails. delicious.
we filled up (probably too much) on sangria and bread, so we got our food to take home… our server and hostess both asked us if we didn’t like it and offered to exchange entrees. they really were very sweet and attentive. i LOVED this place. will for sure be back!

Loved it here! Delicious Indian food conveniently located near University of Cincinnati. The only issue I had was that my rice was cold. The chicken I ordered was hot enough though so that helped, but it’s something they’ll have to work on for next time. I’d like to come back and try some of the Ethiopian offerings.

I will start off with a positive, the food was good. But everything else was horrible. Came in as an 8 top but there was two other tables sat in the restaurant. We waited for an hour and a half to be served when the two other tables were served and checked out before we got our food. When we were served, only 5 of us got the food and it took 20 minutes for the other 3 to get their food. There was no communication that the food would take longer than normal. When we asked to talk to a manager there was none and not even the owner was present. Poor management was the number one cause of everything. One cook on staff for a Sunday and no manager or owner to handle situations like this.

This is some of the best Ethiopian food I have ever had! And bonus for us — the injera is always gluten free. The vegan veggie combo platter for two was more than enough, not to mention delicious.
We like it REALLY spicy, so we asked for 6 on the scale of 6 and found it a little less than we had hoped for. When we talked to our waitress about it she brought back diced fresh green chiles to add to it! Amazing!
Service was friendly and we even had a chance to talk to one of the owners whose recipes are used for the Ethiopian dishes. She was super sweet and when we told her that the only thing missing was Shiro Wot (since it wasn’t on the menu) she explained how unpopular it was that they took it off. She also said that they will make it any time someone requests it fresh to order. Then she went back and made some just for us!
It was just as delicious as any restaurant we’ve been to on the east or west coast. Maybe even a little better because she made us feel so welcomed. We thanked her after the meal for her conversation and delicious food!
We’ll definitely be back again while we’re visiting Cincy. I wish we would have found it sooner!

I have to agree with D. R here… I used to LOVE coming to Elephant Walk and would bring new guests with me to try it out, but the past six times I’ve gone, it’s been less than stellar. No longer does the lunch buffet contain more than two vegetarian dishes… most have chicken. And some are not labeled; the waitress may or may not know what it is or what it contains!
On more than three occasions did I come to the restaurant 20 – 40 minutes after opening with the doors being locked (but workers clearly inside) and the phone being unanswered.
Service can be slow with drink refills, but the staff are genuinely nice and I feel so bad that I no longer come here because I do miss the food but I don’t like the experience.

We just had our 3^rd visit here this past Tuesday (⁴⁄₁₉).
The first time we tried it, in early 2015, I really loved the different Ethiopian menu items (more than any other Ethiopian restaurant in Cincinnati) and the food was hot/​delish. Downside — service was sloooowwww. It took 15 min to just get our drinks and forever for food.
The next time (maybe 5 — 6 months later) I brought my mom and her husband to try it again, hoping that it was just opening pains. Again, really slow service and we had to ask multiple times for a water refill but still, really good food.
I was craving Ethiopian earlier this week and figured we’d give it one last shot. Walked in at 7pm and there was 1 other table and one gentleman sitting at the bar. Uh oh, kind of a bad sign but we figured that maybe it was Spring Break or Finals week so that’s why they weren’t as busy.
I will say, service this time was quick and efficient. It was a female (I think of Indian origin) and she was super friendly and really great about bringing refills and taking our order — no complaints there.
We started with the beef sambussas which were the highlight of our meal. Really nicely spiced. The con was that there were cold in the middle but perfectly fried on the outside. So the meat filling/​sambussas are probably pre-​made and just fried to order. That’s perfectly fine, but maybe try making slightly skinnier sambussas or leaving them in longer to get the middle hot?
Reviewing their menu, it looks like they revamped & pared it down. The menu online does not match the revamped menu they have in the restaurant. I thought about just ordering 2 meat + 1 vegetable dish but we decided to try the meat combo which was supposed to be: Gomen be Siga (mild lamb stew prepared with collard greens), Key Wot (hot and spicy beef stew served with injera) and Tibs (which was described as ribeye beef sauteed).
We definitely got 2 beef dishes but did not get the Siga? Instead, we received a fish dish (I wouldn’t have ordered it if I knew fish was going to come with it). The dish had fish, peppers and tomatoes. The other beef dish also had peppers and tomatoes. Super disappointing to not even get what we ordered? Plus the flavor of the dishes wasn’t close to what we had received previously.
So I don’t think we’ll be back. In the beginning, this place suffered from bad/​slow service (which is why we didn’t visit often) but the food was really good. Unfortunately, the service has improved but the food isn’t as tasty as it used to be and apparently they just randomly give you different dishes?
For us, they’re further drives but we’ll stick with Emanu or Habesha.

Let me start off by saying that the place was nice and the service was excellent. Our waitress was very sweet and helpful. Now I can’t speak for their indian menu, although it seems to be very popular and I’m sure its good. The Ethiopian menu had a decent variety and we were excited to try it. We make it a point to have Ethiopian everywhere we travel. We ordered the kitfo and the mushroom tibs. They tasted nothing like any Ethiopian food I’ve had (and I’ve had quite a bit all over the country). The food wasn’t necessarily bad, it just definitely didn’t taste right for us. Perhaps it was the indian influence that blew the spices off sync for me, but it just wasn’t a place I would go to again for Ethiopian food. Food is subjective, this was just my boyfriend and my opinion. The beef sambussas were good, very spiced, but delicious.

Okay, I admit I’m a little biased here. I loooooove Ethiopian food. I’ve been here multiple times and I’ve only ever ordered entrees off of the Ethiopian menu, namely because there’s already so many other Indian food joints I frequent in Clifton.
I normally don’t get appetizers, but here I make an exception. Their vegetable sambussa and vegetable samosas are kinda similar but both very tasty. They also have a full bar and an interesting assortment of juices and smoothies.
All of their Ethiopian entrees are served with a grey spongy bread called injera, which you use to pick up your food, rather than eating with utensils. I’ve had a fair amount of their vegetarian dishes and they are all fantastic. I especially enjoy their Kik Alitcha (split yellow peas) and Atkilt Wot (a combination of cabbage, carrots and potatoes). They have spice levels 1 – 6 like most Indian food places, and if you really like spicy food a 6 should be no problem.
I’ve noticed that a lot of people have mentioned slow service, but this has never been an issue for me here. They’ve always been nice and most times I’ve eaten in the manager/​owner (?) stops by and and asks if everything tastes good.
While I can’t speak to the Indian menu, their Ethiopian food is something I keep coming back for, and it’s definitely worth a try!

While there are a great deal of Indian places to choose from in Clifton, Elephant Walk does not disappoint! I cannot vouch for their Ethiopian menu, as I have never tried it, but their Northern Indian menu is great! The dishes have a lot of flavor, and their spice level is on point. They also have one of the better lunch buffets. The buffet food is never very spicy, but it’s still flavorful and has a wide variety.
Sometimes service can be a little slow, but I’ve never had to wait terribly long. I’d definitely recommend it!

We visited the place the second time and did not get good service. The food was cold and we asked for coconut milk with our saag potato dish and it came out with regular milk. There were couple of take out people who also complained of how slow the service was. This was on a Saturday afternoon around 3pm. One chef, one server and another person. There were only two tables with customers.
I was very disappointed. The first time when we visited, we had Ethiopian food and the food was also cold when served. We thought we give it a try again.
We have decided we are going back. The food was average, nothing exciting.

Overall a fun experience but not one I will go to far out of my way to repeat. First let’s start with the one reason that I will return. On the menu they are called Elephant Walk Nachos but let’s call them what they are… Naan-​chos. Yes, that’s right. Nachos made of fried Naan and delicious spicy yogurt sauce and Lamb. They were every bit as good as they sound and then some. Let that sink in. So if you are here you have to try them. Everything else that we tried (And we tried a ton off the Ethiopian Menu) was good but not great. The Injera was served cold which was awkward to eat with the other items. The other Ethiopian that I have came out hot and it paired much better. We had a meat and a veggie platter as well as the fritter appetizers and a Lamb dish. All were good and interesting but nothing craveable. Service was good. But seriously. Get some Naan-​chos.

We couldn’t resist comparing Elephant Walk to Emanu for Ethiopian food in Cincinnati– and it was well worth it!
The restaurant itself is nice, with a good amount of tables and booths. We weren’t surprised to find it nearly empty on a chilly Sunday at 5PM. The food was, as other Unilocalers mentioned, incredible– the pictures don’t really do it justice. I would definitely say that Elephant Walk is on the same level as Emanu when it comes to food (and the combination platter is the best option they have so you can try a little bit of everything). However, our food came out incredibly quickly, so that was an improvement on Emanu’s slower service.
Elephant Walk loses a star for me for service (normally it would be 2 but the food was SO good!). After we were seated, it was a while before our server came back, openly admitting that he had forgotten about us. I told him what we wanted and tried to make sure we were on the same page because it sounded like he was thinking something different– I wanted to try the mixed meat/​veggie platter, but we ended up with the meat only platter, so I didn’t get to try the sides I was really hoping for.
Tips:
Service isn’t the best, so come prepared for that.
If you’re ordering the combination platter, make sure you’re getting the one you really want– next time I may resort to pointing. The meat platter was great, but I will be heading back again to try the veggies, too.
Try a combination platter, especially if you’ve never had Ethiopian before– it’s a good way to get introduced to the cuisine.
Elephant Walk’s menu has 2 sides– one is Ethiopian, one is Northern Indian. You can take your pick or mix and match!

Food: loooovvveeee the injera. My favorite type of bread, soft, flavorful and healthy! The veggie plates in general are better than the meat ones. The beef I had has always been just very chewy square bites. It doesn’t go well with the injera.
Service: a little slow to be honest for how not busy it is. But overall very friendly. Sometimes I worry if they are going to stay in business because I never seen a full house of people during dinner time.
Price: a little pricey for Clifton. Sadly. Places like deep India gives like two times amount food for less so it’s hard to compete.
Overall, I want to give 3 and half starts but that’s for the price and services, for food? You should get there asap.

½ price bottles of wine everyday 3 – 7 and their food is amazing !!! Strongly recommend the lamb korma :-)

Cincinnati isn’t anything like an Ethiopian food destination, but we’re now up to at least three restaurants, which is more than many metros can claim.
Elephant Walk is a somewhat disorienting Ethiopian choice, though, at least on the surface. See, Elephant Walk is not only an Ethiopian restaurant, but an Indian one, too. (It appears that the owner is Indian.) But the restaurant mostly draws a firm line between the cuisines by having a two-​sided menu, with one side Indian and one Ethiopian. Two restaurants in one!
We’ve visited twice. Maybe because Cincinnati has so many Indian-​food choices, we’ve gone with the Ethiopian side both times. Our verdict is that, while the food is pretty good, it doesn’t quite measure up to the quality of some Ethiopian restaurants we’ve been to elsewhere (like Emanu over in Pleasant Ridge, for instance). I’d say the execution is a little rough: Flavors aren’t quite as well balanced, or big, and veggie dishes seem to come out a bit choppier or lumpier than the average Ethiopian. But it’s still a viable, tasty option.
Elephant Walk makes up for any gaps in food quality with gigantic quantity. The first time we went, the two of us ordered the $ 22 veggie combo to share. That seemed expensive for a single platter, but it turned out to be enough to feed a family of five. On our second visit, we learned that you can order a half portion for half the price, which was more than enough for two when pared with another entrée. Unfortunately, that other entrée wasn’t so great: Awaze tibs are described on the menu as «tender lamb morsels marinated in berbere sauce,» but the meat was in fact tough and overcooked, so much so that the sauce had evaporated. The veggies were quite good, again, however.
There did seem to be some Ethiopian-​Indian cross-​pollination with the sambussa appetizer. They’re more like samosas, and they’re served with the trio of chutneys you normally get with samosas in Indian restaurants.
There’s a full bar with a decent, reasonably-​priced beer selection. The dining area is big, rangy, and colorful (mostly orange and mustardy yellow). It’s somewhat dim, but the seating is spacious and comfortable. Service has been fine on both of our visits.
Call it 3.5 stars for food quality, but the value-​for-​the-​money makes it a solid four. We’ll have to get back for the Indian fare some time.

This is a place that one of my friends frequently suggests for us. Both visits have been fine. You can frequently find a groupon or a coupon on
. We went on a Friday night around 8p and had no problem getting a table for our party of seven. And I was surprised to find that finding parking was pretty easy, too!
I’m a huge Indian food fan, so I went with Saag Paneer, one of my favorites. I requested zero spice and it still had a tiny bit of a kick. So, if you don’t like things to get too spicy, I suggest you keep your number low. But the flavors were good and there were plenty of chunks of paneer! I do have to say that portions are small. I’m used to getting twice the amount of food at any other Indian restaurant.

This place surprised me! When my coworkers suggested we go to an Indian buffet just off of UC’s campus, I had pretty low expectations… But Elephant Walk’s food options, décor, and price were better than expected, and I got to try Ethiopian food for the first time!
This review is based solely on the lunch buffet that they have every day for about $ 9. The buffet has your usual Indian buffet favorites, plus some surprises, including Ethiopian food on the buffet! I had never had Ethiopian food before, and this was a really low risk way to try a new cuisine (even if I didn’t like it, it’s just a buffet so I could have gone back for Indian food). They had fresh injera on the buffet, which is like a sour dough soft bread that is used to soak up all of the delicious Ethiopian curries and vegetables. On the Indian buffet side, they had the usual suspects plus very good pakoras, garlic naan, and spicy chicken wings that were stewed with peppers. I personally preferred the Indian food over the Ethiopian food, but that’s probably just because it was more familiar to me. It was all very good!
The restaurant is clean and well taken care of. They even have a full bar if you’re interested in drinking. I’ll definitely be coming back for that lunch buffet!