Rehoboth Ethiopian Cafe & Restaurant

I live in Fremont, but seem to find myself making excuses (visiting my dentist 10 times a year, going to valley fair though I live near a mall, etc..) to be in the San Jose area so that I can 'stop by' this wonderful place. i love it so.

I think it's a family run business (mother and son team?) and they are always so very welcoming that I feel like I'm visiting their home. The decor isn't anything to write home about, but it's warm and they have clean bathrooms so I'm a happy camper. The area does look a little shady but it's right next to a church and it's actually in Japantown, so I actually feel pretty safe whenever I go.

I always order the veggie combo and/or the meat combo and attempt to plow through the gigantic plateful of food. I can never finish everything, though I always valiantly try. For the meat combo, I always ask for the kitfo well done, but this last time, the lady was nice enough to suggest the siga wot instead. It was SO SO GOOD. It also comes with doro wot(drumstick) and siga alicha(beef cubes). Yum and yum. Veggie combo comes with 5 disastrously delicious dishes and of course their not-too-sour enjara bread thing.

I'm not a person that cares a lot about ambiance or mood-setting lights.. I really just like food, and eating it, in large portions :) So if you're like me and you're an Ethiopian food fanatic, you'll love this place.

This place really is a hidden gem. My friend suggested we go eat some ethiopian food, which I've never had until I came here and I am always up to try new food so I said,"OKAY!!" without any hesitation. And I'm glad I did. Wish this place wasn't so hidden, it definitely deserves more customers!

We were the only customer in there, but probably because it was a Wednesday night. I loved the interior of this restaurant. The front of the restaurant kind of looks like a bar and the main part of the restaurant is in the back which looks like someone's house. It has a very cozy and homey feel to it.

The food and price is awesome. Came here with a group of 6 people and shared a big combo plate of mixed veggie and meat dishes. The two veggie samplers were set and you get to choose two of your own meat samplers. It came in a HUGE plate. We were 6 hungry people so it didn't look enough at first, but we ended up not even finishing it. The bread really fills you up. It don't remember exactly how much we paid, but I'm pretty sure it was about $10 each.

The taste was really unique. I definitely liked the veggie dishes more because they I was able to differentiate them more from other samplers. The meat samplers seemed to taste a bit similar to me. My friend said she tried the veggie sampler before and liked it more. So I'd recommend the veggie sampler.

Service was quick, I guess because we were the only ones there. The guy that served us was very nice and polite. This is definitely a place to try out. I'm craving it right now, must go back soon!

The only reason this review isn't a 5 star is because I thought that the portion of gommen besiga I ordered was too small considering the $11 it cost.

Otherwise, the food was well made and the service was above and beyond expectations. You are treated fantastically from the moment you walk in until the time you leave.

Food: 5 stars
Service: 3.5 stars
Ambiance: 3 stars
Overall: 4.5 stars

Went here on a saturday nite 7pm. Food was great!! But we were the only two people eating there through most of our meal. Don't know if the Japanese Festival blocking the roads off had anything to do with it, but it was awfully quiet. There were a large group that had left just before us, and a large Ethopian family came in for dinner while we were paying. Also, setup of the place is strange: Walk in the door and it's the lounge/bar, then hallway with restrooms, and only then do you enter into the dining room.

Anyways, back to the food.
Yebeg Tibbs - delish like all the other reviewers have mentioned. Plenty of meat, cooked quite tender. Best i've had from all the Ethiopian restaurants i've been to.
Siga Wot - very flavorful and rich. Flavors are strong, while still being able to taste different flavors between different dishes.

Great proportion of meat and sauce to soak up w/ the Injera. One of the dishes came w/ the cheese, which usually costs extra at other restaurants. Injera wasn't sour... i personally don't care either way, but fyi for the authentic junkies.

I'm so happy we found this place! Excellent food (we had the veggie and meat combo plates) and the best spiced tea I've ever had. It was empty tonight, except for us, as others said, so I encourage you to pay a visit. The owner is a really sweet woman and I want to see the place succeed.

Wow!

This was my first experience with Ethiopian food; I literally had no idea what to expect. My buddy had had Ethiopian before, but it was his first visit here.

Everything about this place screamed "small, family restaurant" from the building to the decor. And I'm fairly sure it was a converted house. Because of this, and because the owner was so knowledgable and helpful, I'll assume it was pretty authentic. :)

At only one other restaurant - the now-closed Akemi Ya in Normal, IL - did I feel more like I was sitting down for a home-cooked meal. It's tough to find this - and it should be treasured when you do.

The owner and her son are amazing. Really, they were there immediately whenever we needed anything. They explained the food well, and showed me the right way to eat it. They made suggestions - and whaddaya know, those suggestions turned out to rock. More hot water for tea, more iced tea, more bread, napkins... They paid close attention to how we were doing at all times.

While I was not a huge fan of the veggie sampler (I simply think it was a very well-done example of something that's not completely to my tastes), the absolutely wonderful lamb and beef made up for it. I don't remember their names - but they were numbers 1 and 6. The lamb was quite simply outstanding, and it's definitely what I'd get here. It was perfectly tender, seasoned just right, and the helping was very large.

The value was pretty outstanding, too - between my buddy and I, we had 3 entree selections and drinks. It came to $36 - and seriously, this meal would have been enough for 3 people, easily.

As a note - This is a place that you need to go to with friends. I think it would lose something if the meal weren't shared.

Anyway, I strongly recommend this restaurant... it's exactly the kind of business I love to support.

I could have sworn I left a review of this awesomely delicious restaurant more than a year ago. I guess my mind was just playing cruel jokes on me.

I apologize for not leaving a review sooner - but on the flip side, I am very excited to see so many other people giving this restaurant a shot. When I first came here, there were only 4 reviews so I didn't know what to expect. I came out of the restaurant that night enlightened.

The service is by far some of the best service I have ever received within a restaurant setting. The owner/chef and her son (?) have been at the restaurant every time I dined-in; and are always refilling your injera, drinks, and offering advice on the perfect combinations of foods.

The food itself is often misinterpreted as "small" portions, but the bulk of the food lies in the *expanding* effects of the injera bread in your stomach. Like others have already mentioned, if you have not tried Ethiopian food before I have a few points of advice:

1. This is a utensil-free environment - be prepared to use your hands!
2. Start out with the meat combination and/or vegeterian combination.
3. ASK QUESTIONS! The owner/chef of this restaurant is a LIBRARY of information when it comes to Ethiopian food. She often seems happy and excited to tell you all about her culture's food!

Another side note: this restaurant does not sell any alcoholic beverages, but instead serves a very delicious tea!

What are you waiting for? This place is easily on my top 3 list of favorite restaurants. Maybe it will be yours too!

BEST Ethiopian food I've had in years (read: 16 years). This is my new favourite place. The décor is humble and very open. The feeling when you walk through the door is "family" and "comfort". Some of the restaurants (of all types) I been to over the years have been a place for men-folk to hang out...and leer at incoming patrons.

The owner is so very nice...but don't let that influence your decision about the food...BECAUSE IT'S TERRIFIC!

I don't think a lot of people know about this place. It's a tiny bit off of the beaten path but easy to walk to from Japan town and EASY parking. Go go go go!

When I went there is was very empty - so please fill it up. My dream for this place is that one day...I'll have to wait to be seated!

I come here very often with my roomies for the warm service, excellent food and the variety!

If this is your first time, I recommend the veggie combo and a beef dish recommended by the waitstaff. They recommended me a yellow beef dish that was divine and a red beef dish with home-made cheese.

I also always recommend some Ethiopian tea to finish the experience. ENJOY!

Okay food, not so good service. My boy and I came here for an early dinner on a Sunday when literally no one was there. We were seated in the back and we got a veggie combo. This is our usual, because I don't like meat and I typically don't have as ravenous of an appetite as him so we never really need to get much more than a veggie combo when and go to different Ethiopian restaurants.

The woman didn't like that we ordered only 1 combo between the 2 of us. I didn't let her peer pressure break us so I insisted that we only get one combo, but offered to hold on to the menu for "just in case" it wasn't enough food for us.

It was plenty. We actually had too much of the veggie stuff and not enough injera. (One flat injera + 3 halves in a basket) We asked for one more half piece and the server was not happy about it. But it's not our fault that the veggie to injera ratio was too high! Plus, other restaurants always keep refilling our injera until we ask them to stop.

The injera itself was not that great (a little dry for my taste) and I wasn't supremely impressed. I definitely prefer Zeni (also in San Jose) or head up to Berkeley/North Oakland for Red Sea or Cafe Colucci. Sorry Rehoboth, but I wasn't very happy. No hard feelings.