Walia Ethiopian Restaurant

I ate here for lunch and came away impressed.

I've lived in Washington, D.C. and Walia is as good as any place I ate there.

The vegetarian dishes are top-notch.

Love the Ethiopian food and vegetarian selections! Great place great food!
We have known the owners family for a long time, and they never disappoint. Go there!

Decided to come here for dinner on a weekday while visiting the downtown area. Restaurant is located very close to Starbucks, parking lots and train station. There was a good number of people there even on a weekday. We ordered raw Kitfo with gomen and misr. Everything was prepared perfectly from the food to the customer service. Keep in mind that since you traditionally eat with Injera as your utensil, they typically don't provide unless you specifically ask. Will be back to try their other dishes.

A birthday dinner was in order and Walia was up to the task! Love, love, love Walia
We had a meat plate for two and an appetizer. You must visit this place. It's a gem and the staff are stars.

It was a nice dinner. The service was terrific because the one person there, presumably the owner, enlisted several patrons to help out with food service.
It was very funny.
The food was good, Ethiopian, the place was charming.

For years, Lalibela was my go to for Ethiopian cuisine in North Jersey. With that charming spot in South Orange departed, Walia more than makes up for the loss.

We wandered into Walia around 6:00 on a Saturday night. While busy, we were table to get a table without a reservation.

The menu spans a familiar mix of meats and veggies. Wanting to get a good variety of eats, we split a meat combo: kay watt (beef cubes in berbere and clarified butter), minchet abish kay watt (minced beef in berbere and clarified butter), yebeg kay watt (lamb cubes in berbere and clarified butter), and doro tibs (chicken in berbere and tomato), with gomen (collard greens) and misr watt (lentils). The injera was a bit heavier than expected but every part of the dish was tasty

Food looks good but I wouldn't know how it taste even though there were four empty tables they told us they were full.the white couple in front of me they set at a table for six with no problem even though it was just the two of them but I guess because we were a black couple. There was no room at the inn

how great to have an alternative to NYCs Haile Bistro!

food wasn't quiet as amazing, but definitely stopped the ethiopian food craving i had.

I lived in Ethiopia and in LA so I'm used to good Ethiopian food. The people at Walia are super nice, but the red lentil wat (stew) was not fully cooked (lentils were still a little hard) so I had to cook them another 15-20 minutes at home. I'm also used to wat with more sauce since that's where all the flavor is. Not bad, but could be richer and more flavorful.

This was a great experience. I personally didn't love the food. It was my first time trying Ethiopian food. Nothing was nasty I just wasn't in awe with it to return. I would try another Ethiopian spot to compare or decide if I actually like the food. I would suggest trying it out because you may have a different experience. Staff was amazing & service was informative. I was honestly surprised by the difference cultures of people in the restaurant. I love seeing people step out of there culture bonds with food.

Ah! I've been craving some solid Ethiopian food since... years! The best Ethiopian food is in Atlanta area in GA. Second is DC/N. VA area. Everywhere else I've gone has been meh or nonexistent. I drove to great extent to get to Walia on a random school night bc otherwise the traffic is nuts getting there.

A small place you'd pass by if you walked too fast. A few tables. Slow service, but attentive service (one server who was such a nice HS guy) and the food was great. Well balanced, seasoned, kitfo was awesome.

The prices were much higher than I was used to paying for less food, but,"COVID" and inflation and the Northeast. Yeah, I get it.

Anyway great find, kind people and I will be back anytime there's a break in traffic. I went to add pictures. The food was gone before I could photograph! LOL