“ Awesome food and service. Great vegetarian options. Good music and ambience, excellent service. Three of us shared all the food. Apps: - Yemisir sambusa - lentil stuffed pastry kind of like a samosa but with a lovely flaky crust. - Key Sir Salata - chunky salad, crunchy and yummy. - Kategna - tangy, spicy mix in folded triangles, kind of like a stuffed soft thin pizza. Main: - Lalibella vegetarian combo - we chose these four toppings that were placed on different ends of the injera (reminded me of a Gujrati Thali) made with fermented teff batter, one of the healthiest grains there is - Shuro (chickpeas in slightly spicy berebere sauce), - Kosta (spinach and potatoes), - Tikel Gomen; (cabbage and potatoes cooked in vegetable oil with onions and garlic) - Yemisir Wot (lentils cooked in berbere sauce). This came with an Injera basket - spongy rolls that you could dip into the toppings as is or unroll to dip pieces. Our waitress Jano from Andhra was lovely . We had a bit of the injera and toppings left over - cut it into four and folded the bread over each topping. ”

“ Food was tasty but a little cold. Service slow but pleasant. Seemed understaffed. Will definitely return ”

“ Beautiful authentic ambience. Great service and food Very courteous Suggest getting the combination platter. Unique taste and bread. Will surely come again ”

“ Absolutely delicious Ethiopian food at a great price point! The Veggie and meat combination platters are an excellent deal! You get to choose from 4 different sauces to pair with the injera. Their take on the Somalian "sambusa" was quite odd and favlorless. They also served the sambusa with hummus which I've never seen done before. Aside from that, I really love their flavorful and spicy sauces! Their wait times for take out is a bit long and I find that they often times haven't even started my order by the time I finally arrive to pick it up (maybe they're short staffed on the days that I go?). Overall, Lalibela is a fantastic staple in Downtown New Haven! ”

“ The food was delicious. Ambiance was comfortable. Service was a little slow. Only one server on. But a good experience. ”

“ Food 5/5 Service 4/5 Ambiance 4/5 I came here for an early dinner at 5pm with a friend. The restaurant had one other party of 2, and was otherwise completely empty. We were seated immediately. My friend, and I were a little overwhelmed by the menu, given the many choices. We asked our waitress for a recommendation and she let us know that they offer combination plates in which we get to choose 4 different things to try. This is what my friend and I ended up getting. Another thing I liked about the menu is that they offer the same things in a spicy and non-spicy option. My friend and I got a few of the same things but she got the spicy version and I got the non-spicy. Overall, I would rate the food 5/5. It was delicious and I was SO full by the end of the meal. My one disappointment is that I had ordered a coffee, which came out in this beautiful jug. I had only consumed maybe 1/3 of the coffee when the waitress came and said that another customer ordered the coffee and she needed to take the jug away. I thought she would take the jug back and pour the remainder of my coffee into a mug or a different container for me. She didn't. She took the jug away, and next thing I see is the waitress bringing that same jug to the other table. I was very disappointed that I paid for the entire jug of coffee and only got to drink maybe 1/3 of it and I was still charged the entire price for it. Knocked off one star for the coffee incident, but otherwise I would absolutely recommend for the food! ”

“ I had never had Ethiopian food before but now I'm hooked! The food is amazing here. Literally anything off the menu was one of the best thing I ever ate. Two of us ordered the veggie platter and the meat platter. It was only $40 total and it was two full meals worth of food (and we have big appetites) The atmosphere is casual and the service is fine. The food is the real star here!! ”

“ Went here with my family to celebrate a birthday. They were understaffed so it took a while to get our drinks. I had wanted a gin & tonic, but they were out of tonic. ( a little annoying) ended up with a beer. We had sambusa's for appetizers, then a meat sampler platter and a vegetarian platter. The food was terrific! Definitely a different experience eating with your hands! Felt bad for our server since she basically working alone on the floor. She did her best. Would definitely come here again ”

“ Delicious food, cheap prices, huge portions. What more could you ask for? I ordered the veggie combo with yemisir wot (lentils), tikel gomen (spinach), and shuro (chickpeas). All of these dishes, plus the injera, were fantastic. The portion I received was immense considering the price of ~$13. ”

“ When I crave Ethiopian cuisine, I can count on Lalibela to hit the spot! The menu is very vegetarian-friendly, the ambiance is great for casual groups, and the dishes are super shareable. The combo platter is a nice way to start off if you want to try multiple stews or vegetables. If you know what you want (or if you're on the hungrier side!), you can get a bigger entree size that still comes with two smaller vegetable dishes - I ordered the yemisir wot (one of my favorites) which came with zucchini and fosolia. The zucchini was cooked in a savory tomato-based sauce and was delicious. My partner ordered the combination platter with Tikel Gomen, Siga Alicha, Shuro, and Doro Wot. We both agreed that the Doro Wot was the best! Service can sometimes be on the slower side, especially when there are a lot of people in the restaurant. The servers are very nice and knowledgeable, but not as attentive - water glasses were not refilled even though they were empty before we were halfway through with our meal. When we were able to flag down a server they were refilled very quickly. The owner is also very kind and if he's free, he will occasionally stop by tables to chat with customers - we loved learning about the restaurant and his family! He mentioned that the restaurant also has a food truck that offers lunch on Cedar St (near the Yale School of Medicine) during the weekdays, which I am looking forward to trying! ”