Gojo Ethiopian Restaurant

I’ve been coming to Gojo for several years and I really can’t think of a better value out there! They can accommodate probably any dietary restriction, even me as a gluten free vegan!
I always get the veggie platter which is $ 7.99 and it comes with 4 different items on injera bread. You eat everything here with your hands/​injera bread, in case you don’t know what you’re getting into!
Some of the items are spicy, which I personally love, so make sure to ask if you’re sensitive to spice. Everything is so flavorful and even though a lot of dishes sound similar they all have their own distinct flavor.
Try the cinnamon tea; it’s delicious!
The service can sometimes be slow when they are busy because there is normally only one server, but it’s the type of environment that you don’t rush anyway. Go to take your time, enjoy your company, and enjoy your meal and the experience. It’s definitely a different and unique dining experience and everyone should try it at least once!

Just delicious.
I had the veggie combo which was way too much food for one person, and I took more than half of the plate home. The restaurant was pretty empty when I arrived at noon on a Wednesday. The service was slow but not as bad as the other reviews describe. I probably waited 5 minutes to place my order after I closed my menu, then my order came out about 10 minutes later. It was during the winter holidays so 2 young boys who called the chef, «mommy» were being cute off in the corner. I will definitely be coming back often.

Interestingly rustic. Pretty much what you expect from an Ethiopian restaurant. I had the Gojo combination which was very tasty and flavorful. It is a good representation of the various foods of their country. Some was very spicy some was just plain tasty. My friend got the lamb. He said it was okay. I don’t think he was ready for the bitter kale that it was made with.
Be ready to eat with her hands for every dish comes with a basket of bread like dough for scooping and the tray your food comes out on is also lined with this for convenience eating.
This is a family restaurant as in they are a small family trying to work a restaurant. So be patient the food is worth it and the people are very nice.

Went here with a good-​sized group of friends and we had an awesome time. This was my first experience with Ethiopian food but I’ll be back for sure. First of all, it was all served family-​style and you eat the meal by pulling apart the bread (injera) and dipping it by hand. All of the dips were amazing– most were some variation on lentils, or stewed meats. Some spicy, some not. The injera was… different. Tasty, but like nothing I’ve ever had before. It almost had a sourdough flavor to it, although it was flat and a bit spongy. And the food was FILLING even though it looked like small portions. We arrived hungry and still took food home. And it was CHEAP. I think there were 10 of us at the table, we ordered full meals and apps, and the tab with tip was under $ 60. Service was friendly and fast with none of the odd experiences that other reviewers have had. Definitely recommended if you’re in the mood for something different.

Ok Ethiopian food for a pretty damn good price! Service was meh, though.
I was trying to drive through Phoenix and find my hotel one Thursday afternoon when I stumbled upon this place instead. I figured it has been too long since I’ve had Ethiopian food so I may as well give Gojo a shot.
I walked in and an employee invited me to sit anywhere in the restaurant and ensured me that he would take my order shortly. Turns out «shortly» really means 10 minutes. I thought the guy forgot about me! It’s not like they were busy either. There was only one other customer at the time…
When the guy finally arrived to take my order, I just pointed to the vegetarian combo page (choose four items for $ 6.99) and asked him to choose his four favorites. I thought hat was the end of it but he then started to ask me which items I wanted and continued ask me questions until I chose something. That really irked me…
Still, the food was good. I ordered the misir wot, fosolian, ater kik, tikil gomen. Things were a bit on the salty side for me but everything tasted ok. All of that was only $ 6.99! It would’ve cost much more back home in the bay area. I couldn’t even finish my order.
All-​in-​all, I don’t mind the food. Wasn’t too happy with my service. It’s worth a stop if you haven’t had Ethiopian food, though!

Strange, Perhaps Unusual Experience…
I read the reviews on Gojo, and they were what motivated me to try it. I like Ethiopian food, and had just eaten at a different Ethiopian place the day before and was hungry for more. I arrived not long after they opened on a Saturday, and was the first customer. I was greeted immediately, allowed to select a table, and provided with a menu. I was already prepared for the lack of ambience, so it didn’t bother me.
As I was considering the menu, a small boy (almost 4) came to my table, said hello to me, and began pointing to and saying various letters of the alphabet that were on my menu. At that point it was cute, but thankfully my server returned to take my order and sent him away. I ordered Ethiopian Coffee, and the Gojo Combo.
After a relatively short wait, my coffee was brought to me, and shortly after that, my food. I loved the coffee.
Unfortunately, just as I began to eat, a smell similar to lighting charcoal with lighter fluid made its way into my nostrils and completely obliterated the aroma of my food and completely spoiled my experience.
I had to stop eating because the food was tasting like whatever that smell was. It turns out that someone had just completed the process of lighting up some sort of incense, which took a couple of minutes. They then began carrying the lit incense in a metal container around the restaurant, so I knew it was a smell that was not going to go away. It was also not a pleasant smell. I use incense at home, and this was nothing like anything I’ve ever smelled.
I overheard two other diners who had arrived after me comment on the smell as well. I asked for a to go container, which took a while to be brought. While I was waiting, the four year old boy came back again and started telling me repeatedly to finish my food. I told him I was taking it with me. He then picked up my pot of coffee that I was planning to drink, and the server had to come over and make him put it back down. I’m guessing he was the son of the owner or the chef, but he was reluctant to go away as the server asked him to do.
I really didn’t like that this child was putting his hands on, and reaching over my meal. I raised a daughter and know that you never know where children’s hands have been. I quickly transferred my food to the take out container when it was brought along with my tab. When the child left my table, he went to the table of the other two diners, and wouldn’t leave when the server initially asked him to. There was more with the child, but I’ve said enough.
I barely ate any of the food, and what I ate was tainted by the impact of the incense on my taste buds. I remember seeing at least one review that commented about the incense, and now I understand. I will say that some of the dishes were very heavy on oil. I’m tempted to give a lower rating, but to be fair, you may not experience any of the things that I did. Gojo was a long drive for me, and I didn’t really enjoy it so I’ll be dining elsewhere.

My Ethiopian friend recommended this place to me so you know it’s good. First time trying Ethiopian food and shared the meat/​veggie combo with a friend to try as much as we can. Loved it (for some reason, it reminds me a lot of Indian food). The slightly sour taste of injera bread takes a little getting used to but I enjoyed my whole meal overall. Will come back!

Came here for the first time after reading the reviews Saturday night.
Upon first impression — the air outside smelt AMAZING (which enticed me even more to go in), it was a quaint little place but rather clean and we were greeted right away by the nicest young lady that works there. She let us seat ourselves and grabbed our drink orders. If you like New Castle, I recommend trying the Ethiopian Amber Beer that they have. It was pretty tasty!
We shared the Vegetable Combo plate (which is a taste of everything made out of veggies), it was very good, super flavorful and tons of food! Definitely easily shared between 2 or 3 people! The cabbage and potatoes, mushrooms and red lentils were probably my favorite.
Towards the end, it started getting busy, so we had to wait several minutes for our check, but everything else made it a pleasant experience. Really no complaints about this place. There was only the one girl working the tables, so the wait was totally legitimate.

Good food. Nice service. Visited the place twice. The place is not fancy but you can not expect much for the price.
Tried Veggie combos, Doro wat, Veggie Samboosa and Coffee.

Fantastic food and great service! If you are looking for a unique dining experience definitely check this place out! The prices are also super low for the amount of food you get :-)
A definite «Must Try»!

Despite what others say– FOOD WAS AMAZING!!! Had the beef samosa as an appetizer and GOJO combo as a two person dinner. Flavor was spot on. Plus the 2 Ethiopian beers were a great add!
We will definitely be back.
Would have been 5 starts but service was a slow start– give it a break different culture!

Caveat: I have eaten at several Ethiopian restaurants but am not an expert in this cuisine. So let me write my review in the form of questions.
1. Should the injera (the soft flat bread that is served with just about everything) be overwhelmingly sour?
2. Should virtually all of the meat and vegetarian dishes be hot enough to burn one’s mouth a bit, but be otherwise devoid of flavor?
3. Should pictures on the wall be askew, tables have prominent number stands as a centerpiece, and the ambient air temperature be about 90 degrees?
If you answer yes to these questions, Gojo is for you.
If not, you might object to the pricing as well, which is rather high for an atmosphereless, local, ethnic restaurant.
Note: The second star is for pleasant service and decent sambussas.

Loved this place! I had the meat and veggie combo platter with Tibs. Being only one person, it was too much for me so I put the rest in a container for home.
Friendly service and reasonable prices too.

A sad end to a short, but passionate affair.
A friend reviewed Gojo and inspired us to try it. We do a lot of take out, but not with a new spot. So we waited until we could dine in and finally tried this place a couple of months ago.
They’ve been in business for two years and I am not sure if they repainted or redecorated since Bacchanal closed, but the murals seem to fit and it’s a lot brighter inside now. Nothing fancy, but clean and welcoming.
We dined in late on a Saturday night and they were rocking out to the Ethiopian music videos that were projected on the main wall (where Bacchanal’s stage/​dance floor was). And there was a group of young men (possibly just finished with football) at a larger table that were singing along and having a good time. Total, I think there were only 6 tables seated, including ours while we were there. And I think there was only one server, but she did a great job. She noticed an empty water glass and filled it without being asked and checked on us a couple of times. She also really seems to love her job and treated us like she knew us and was happy we were there.
We ordered the veggie sambusa appetizer and two veggie combos and it was a lot of food. We loved it all! The Veggie Sambusa appetizer included 3 triangular fried pastries, stuffed with lentils. They were hot! After they cooled down, we tore them apart with our hands and dipped them in the sauce, which reminded me of salsa. They were pretty good.
The Veggie Combo is served on a large platter and all of the items are on one large injera, which is like a spongy sourdough tortilla/​pancake made out of teff (low gluten, in case you’re not a glutton for gluten). A basket with 3 additional rolled up injera came with each of our platters. The sour flavor of the injera complements the salty-​spicy flavors of the lentils, sweet yellow peas, greens, cabbage and potato, green beans and carrots, and another bean/​grain dish (?). It was all so delicious and fun to eat with our hands.
We were very happy to work Gojo into our nightly rotation and for the past 2 months we have eaten here once a week, mostly take out.
Then it happened. There was a dice sized cube of meat in my food. If you eat meat, imagine biting into a cat’s paw, cockroach, or a human finger and having to pull it out of your mouth to examine it and then imagine it cooking with the rest of your food, spreading its juices, fat, and flavors. For this vegetarian, that is a show stopper. I couldn’t finish my food and didn’t plan to keep the leftovers. My stomach felt off the rest of the night. Mr. H had devoured most of his food already, but was likewise hesitant to continue and we ended up dumping the rest of the food. Accidents happen, but for this type of food — stews cooked in separate pots — the thought of there being cross contamination is really gross.

Ehtiopian cuisine can be summed up in a few simple words: flavorful stew on bread. The meat dishes are packed with savory spices such as «berbere» (Ethiopian spice mixture which includes chile pepper, garlic, ginger, cardamom, pepper)
The dishes, referred to as ‘Wat”, begin with sauteeing onions, then adding berbere or a slew of varying degrees of spices (depending on level of heat in the dish), legumes such as split peas and lentils, and meats such as lamb and beef. Wats can be vegetarian, vegan, or entirely suited for carnivores. Vegans rest assured that majority of Ethiopian cooks have found many alternatives to cooking with animal fats due strict fasting periods where consumption of animals is forbidden.
«Wat» is incredibly flavorful. In fact, there is hardly a dish at Gojo that isn’t packed with toothsome ingredients. And to get the best representation I suggest the meat and veggie combo, which offers more than a half dozen «Wats», and costs only $ 13.99. Represented will be Doro Wot, Key Wot, and Alitcha Wot in the meat category.
Doro Wot is the national dish of Ethiopia, a chicken stew using chicken legs where the meat falls off the bone, and is seasoned with «berbere», cumin, garlic, and many other dried herbs.
Key Wot, the spicy beef stew, is one of my favorites. It tastes very similar to Hungarian Goulash, as along with the «berbere» there are strong flavors of paprika — along with cumin, turmeric, nutmeg, fenugreek, cloves, coriander, cinnamon, and more. I think this dish speaks to the allure of Ethiopian, as there is such a beautiful amalgam of flavors.
Finally, Alitcha Wot delivers another truly unique flavor profile and texture with lamb, yellow split peas, garam masala, cayenne, and tomato paste.
Misir Wot, the red lentils cooked with berbere deliver such a beautiful flavor and texture that you don’t even realize it has no meat. I highly recommend this, and this generally comes on the combo plate. The lentil and split pea wats are in my opinion the best and most flavorful. Other items you will find on your combo plate are collard greens, cabbage, string bean, and carrot. All of them prepared in the «Wat» style, simmered in onions and garlic and seasoned with «berbere».
It blows my mind that my dining partner and I had two beverages, the meat sambussas (pastry stuffed w/​a blend of minced beef, onions, scallions, peppers & herbs) and the meat/​veggie combo, and the total came to $ 22.
Highly recommend this experience, and indulging in these beautiful spices!

I love Ethiopian food, and after having this place bookmarked for months, I finally went to check it out.
Being that I’m still not familiar with the Phoenix area, I actually passed up this place coming from the I-​51. Once I doubled back, I saw it sitting in a little strip mall, across the street from the Fry’s grocery store, on the SW corner of Thomas and 30^th. It was @ 30 minutes past noon and there was a «Closed» sign on the door. Unilocal said they open at noon on Sundays, so I pulled on the door. It was open. A nice young lady said that they were open. She apologized and said she simply forgot to turn the sign. (Hence, if you come during scheduled open hours and it says «Closed,» double check before driving away.)
If you’re not familiar with Ethiopian food, know that even though there are meat dishes, you can always find vegan options.
Appetizers:
VEGGIE SAMBUSSAS —
Think samosas (if you’ve had East Indian food), but these are filled with lentils instead of potatoes. Ours came out a tad over-​cooked, but they were ok. It was served with a spicy red sauce, which didn’t compliment the sambussas. I’d like to try them with a sweet & spicy type sauce (similar to tamarind); I might like them better that way.
Entrée:
Their entrée menu is divided into to options: Vegetarian and Non-​Vegetarian. Everything under «Vegetarian Dishes» is vegan. I suggest (especially for first timers) the Veggie Combo, which is a sampling of all the veggie items. I don’t like mushrooms (which is one of the offerings), so our waitress was kind enough to let me get double Misir Wot instead.
MISIR (aka Misir Wot) — a slightly spicy red lentil dish. (This is my fav!) Theirs was good and flavorful, but I’ll ask for extra spicy next time.
TIKIL GOMEN — cabbage and potatoes. It’s supposed to have carrots, but they were missing from my dish. The cabbage was well prepared and this dish was very good.
FOSOLIAN — green beans, carrots and onions. This dish is sometimes more tart than I’d prefer, but their tart levels were at a minimum. This dish is decent.
GOMEN — a collard greens dish, which sometimes can also have that tart factor (and I don’t know what it is). I cannot quite put my finger on it, but something was a little off with this dish here. It was ok, but not the best gomen I’ve had.
ATER KIK — Now this is just a personal opinion, but this has to be the grossest thing to ever cross my lips. It was yellow and pretty much resembled what would happen if I ate another bite. My insides are churning just thinking about it. Don’t know what it was because my DD enjoyed it, but not I. Ew. Next.
Now this dish was supposed to come with 8 samplings, but I only got 7 (which included my double order of Misir Wot), so I don’t know if the remaining item was DEFIN MISIR or MITTEN SHIRO. It was greenish in color, so maybe it was the pea dish (Mitten Shiro)? Not sure, but I wasn’t a fan of its taste.
INJERA BREAD — I’m singling out their injera because it’s good and doesn’t have that weird (tart) after-​taste that the injera at some other restaurants have.
There are no vegan desserts.
Non-​veggie in my party:
DD got the DORO WOT (chicken in a red berbere sauce), which came with 2 sides. Her peeps on her paternal side serve this dish with a hard boiled egg, which she didn’t get with her meal, and she immediately went on a Easter-​like hunt for it. Come to find out, you must ask for it if you want it.
Service was good, the waitress was delightfully friendly and helpful. Prices were very reasonable. The food was plenty; I couldn’t even eat ½ of it. I’d certainly return for more Misir Wot and Tikil Gomen.

I Love this place!!! It’s was my first time trying Ethiopian food and I regret it took me so long. First off, let me tell you, the portions are huge and can EASILY be split between two people! I find this important to state because when I arrived I ordered a salad, 2 orders of shambussa and an entrée for myself… I only finished the salad.
Service: I had to get up and ask for a water refill, but besides that our waitress was great and very knowledgeable of the menu.
Food: obviously this is the most important part of the review and I can honestly say, every cent spent was worth it! The food was flavored to perfection and was very reminiscent of home.
* If you like spice, you MUST try the salad. Simple but very flavorful.
* ordered: salad, meat shambussa, meat combo, Gojo combo.

This was my first experience with Ethiopian food.
Everything was OK — I enjoyed the chicken and a couple of the lentil offerings. It took a minute to get accustomed to the sponge bread — but I really enjoyed it.
I have a big appreciation for social and communal foods — so this should have been right up my alley.
Overall, I found most of the items bland, and my dining companion said in her experience, most places she’s been to have notably more spice.
We were in for a late lunch, there was only one other table seated — and service was somewhere between lackluster and very slow.
There was nothing wrong with the meal — but I think I’d rather check out other Ethiopian places than come back here.

The food here is amazing and worth 5 stars!
Blue Nile in Tempe was my Go-​to for Ethiopian, but when they closed down I was forced to look elsewhere. Luckily I came across this place on Unilocal and with the amount of other Unilocalers comparing this to Blue Nile, I knew I had to try it out and I am so happy I did!
My husband and I always get their Meat/​Veggie combo ($ 14) to split. This comes 3 meat dishes: doro wot (chicken), key wot (beef), and Alitcha Wot (lamb); all of their veggie dishes (yay, my fav!) served on top of one large injera (sourdough-​ish spongy bread) and with a side of rolled up injera. For those that are not familiar with Ethiopian Food, its best to eat the injera that is served under the dishes, that way you get more flavor! The Meat/​Veggie combo is so much food for two people, we always have a bit leftover and I usually order their spiced tea ($ 1.50), so for all this food and drink our total (depending on if the hubster gets a drink) is anywhere from $ 16 to $ 19! You can’t beat that price for a meal that leaves you full for hours afterward!
So why only four stars? Well, the «décor» is the left over, dilapidated Bacchanal (Opa!) décor with a few scattered Ethiopian advertisement posters on the wall. It could really, really use a cosmetic lift. It appears that the women’s bathroom has upgraded its appearance from my previous experiences which is great because it needed a lot of help. My husband said the men’s bathroom is still rough. Secondly, the service is SLOW, even when the restaurant is empty, somehow there is always a delay in receiving drinks. But, I have come to expect this so its not really an issue for me anymore. I just mention it because know it will bother a lot of people out there. The food is worth though — so don’t give up, just come hydrated!
There are two booths in the back with the traditional mesabs (low, round wicker tables) with a few stools and plenty of regular tables with a clear vinyl tablecloth which weirds me out. Because this place is never at full occupancy, the husband and I always get to choose where we want to sit.
I love eating with my hands so Ethiopian food and I are best friends!

Two of us discovered this Ethiopian restaurant on Unilocal and decided to come here for lunch. We were the first to arrive and the black-​white colored interior consisted of a small bar, and plenty of tables that spread across several platforms that overlooked a screen looping various images of Ethiopia.
We had the Meat and Vegetarian Combo ($ 13.99) that came with seven vegetarian items and our choice of lamb. There were two types of lentils and split peas, string beans, collard greens, spiced cabbage, and mushrooms. The ingredients were fresh and arrived with good consistency. However, the flavors were rather subdued as many items could use more spice and pop in the flavor. One of their lentils was served at room temperature, and although such practice is common, I still prefer the warm version.
The Alitcha Wot was a bit dry and very greasy. The lamb was unexpectedly swimming in a pool of oil and not aesthetically pleasing. This is not a dish I would order again.
Their injera was fluffy and soft. As other reviewers had mentioned, it is on the sour side, but I really enjoyed it. However, there was a general lack of depth and intensity in the flavor when compared to others that might be more authentic.
Portions were huge and menu prices were excellent. Service was warm, friendly, and attentive. However, the worst part of this experience was when they overcharged the meal by having us to pay these two dishes separately – instead of the combo price that was listed on the menu.
Several reviewers have mentioned about Blue Nile, so that’s the next place I’m going to visit. Otherwise, I recommend people to try Lalibela for those that are searching for the cuisine in the area. My favorite of all times is still by far Awash, hands down.