Lucy Ethiopian Cafe

I love everything about this hidden, but not so hidden café!
i stumbled upon this shop on accident… I decided to walk to the a flower shop nearby and it got a little too cold for me to handle… Boston wind chill is a killer…
So anyways, I came in here for a coffee and ended up trying their PEANUT COFFEE! (5 stars)
The man who was there was super nice. The store was nearly empty and he took note that I was cold and offered me hot water and also suggested that I try their peanut coffee and boy was i blown away… I was at first hesitant but its so delicious.
P E A N U T C O F F E E is a must get.
+ Nutty, sweet taste PLUS a vibrant hit of the coffee flavor.
It’s hard for me to describe because it’s so unique. I’ve never tried peanut coffee and it def made my soul feel warmer.
I will definetly be back to try there food — especially since they do offer vegetarian friendly dishes****!

Consistently great food and sweet, warm service. Our family of five loves coming here. Came here today for our Ethiopian born son’s birthday and servers gave him a special birthday desert, free of charge. He was very touched, as were we. Thank you Lucy’s. Your small gesture meant a lot to us.

My SO and I finally got a chance to try this place out. We had been wanting to try it for some time now. I thought it was good and I think we’ll be back again. I enjoyed the feel of the place, there was plenty of space. They don’t try to cram as many tables in as possible, makes you feel like they value the experience of eating there more than throughput which is nice. There were neat decorations here and there, mostly in the back though.
We got one veggie combo, the Attkilt Combo, and an order of some Lega Tibs. They served it on a communal dish sitting on injera. The food quality seemed good, some of the flavors were pretty good, the lentils and beef mixed really well, that was my favorite. That was really the only combo that I found I enjoyed a lot though. While everything I thought was good individually for what it was, I wasn’t able to scoop up any more than 1 combo I really enjoyed. Was hoping that there was maybe some guidance on what traditionally you should take together or something. Would have asked the server, but honestly they were a little slow and we made it through most of the food before we would have been able to flag him down. I feel like my experience there didn’t really help my understanding of Ethiopian food, which was near 0 before we went.
The peanut tea was awesome, my SO got it hot and I ordered it iced, and both were great though we each preferred what we ordered.

Mehhhhhhhhh. I feel like I’ve had Ethiopian food enough to know that this wasn’t that great. It was good but not great. My boyfriend and I shared a vegetarian platter but nothing really stood out and the portions were not quite enough. The service was nothing ordinary and the location/​atmosphere was fine but the real kicker was this…
I’m 99% sure that the gomen (collard greens) has beef in it. Fortunately, I didn’t eat this because I happen to not even like collard greens but as my BF was eating it he kept picking out kind of hard pieces and asking me what they were. I said there’s no way it could be beef, it said vegetarian and Ethiopian cuisine is pretty veg friendly. But, again, it was the vegetarian platter soooo… Then we’re almost done and he gets a REALLY big hunk of meat and is like, «Okay, this is definitely beef.» I just roll my eyes and we pay and leave. I didn’t say anything and I probably should have but there were other diners and what was she going to do, give us a new plate? Maybe refund the money, I don’t know. I was tired, and cold, and just didn’t feel like dealing so instead I’m going to vent about it on Unilocal.Seriously though, what was that? Why is there is beef in the gomen???

Good food but I will give only 3 stars as we had to wait for 45 minutes even thought we could see the table is free and available. Once we sat, we had to wait another 30 minutes for someone to get us water and take our order. Go to this place if you are ready to wait for a long long time.

I have eaten in many a Ethiopian food BUT this was not close (but somehow near). Quite disappointing. I hope they improve and bring it to authenticity. They have a responsibility to do so.
M

I’ve been twice now, and I love their greens combo! The potato salad is magical. I don’t understand what it is about it. Also a great setting for a meal with friends. I’m hoping to drag my veggie friends here so we can try one of the combos :)
Lots of vegan options. The service is friendly and for the most part prompt, although on busy nights they just let people queue up in a line by the door — they don’t come over and tell you how long the wait will be or anything, which I found odd. They also kept on forgetting about my water.
For the most part, though, delicious value for the cost.

The food was wonderful, I had the Lega Beef dish which reminds me a Nigerian Stew. This was my first time having injera and it was wonderful too.

I guess I’m going to be the contrarian here. I’ve had Ethiopian food numerous times in the US, and in many different cities (Boston, Houston, Washington DC, San Diego, Providence), so my baseline for comparison is all those other meals.
The restaurant is very pleasant and simple, and conveniently located, and the service was friendly. The peanut tea, which lots of people rave about, was indeed delicious: a bit like a peanut butter milkshake. (I rarely drink anything sweet, and make an exception at most a few times a year; this is one exception I’m glad I made.) Unfortunately, the good news ends there.
The food was a disappointment. We got the vegetarian sampler and another veggie dish. In almost everything we got, the spices were bland, everything was under-​salted (and we’re not huge salt consumers), and the food overall was pretty unexciting. Only the teff injera tasted like it would hold it own at another place (and even then, it wasn’t exceptional). We’d been looking forward to an Ethiopian meal for weeks, and yet left this one wordless in disappointment. None of the dishes were at all inspiring the way we find most food at Ethiopian restaurants.
I hope it was a bad day for the kitchen. Or, maybe, unlike just about every other Ethiopian restaurant in the US, veggie food isn’t something they do well.

Casual. Pleasant service. Very tasty food. Some vegetarian options. Really enjoyed my dinner!

Service gets poor points. We waited long to give the order and the place wasn’t even busy. No waters to start us off with even after asking multiple times. We were moved to a bigger table but our drink orders were messed up.
With All that said, food was really tasty. Appetizers were very yummy. Of Course the Peanut tea is the bomb, I had the hot tea and was such an explosion of flavored in my mouth. I didn’t get mine with honey and I didn’t miss it a bit. My friend had the iced tea with honey and loved it as well. The main course was amazing as well, we got the veggie platter for two and it was very tasty.
All points were deducted for the service, food was great.

Exceptional taste and prices at this spot. Three of us ate way too much for under $ 40. Staff threw together a well-​portioned sampler of food for us to take some of the difficulty out of deciding what to order. The iced peanut drink must have been a million calories, but was worth trying; too bad it didn’t arrive until the food was already on the table. I had to dry clean my winter coat afterward, though, since the smell of the delicious food really took hold…

The food was very spicy, but not flavorful. Service is okay, but really slow. The open kitchen makes the entire place hot and stuffy, but does seem
Authentic. Prices were very reasonable for Boston.

This was such a great meal! It was my first time having Ethiopian food and it was absolutely delicious. I’m not sure of the name of what we are, but it was beef and it was so flavorful. The service was also very good and they had no problem splitting checks for us. I also love that it’s named after the famous fossil, Lucy. This is a great place and I definitely recommend it!

Well, this sure was a disappointing experience. Based on the reviews, I was really looking forward to a great dining experience to kick-​start my visit to Boston. Alas, what I encountered was average service and low-​quality (as in low flavor) and inauthentic food. Having been fortunate to have sampled excellent Ethiopian food in a number of cities, I had high expectations of Lucy and I very much regret that this is the review u ended up writing.
When the best thing I can say about the place is its great location, it’s not a good day. Should have walked/​cabbed further for better quality. Lesson learned.

Food: 4
Service: 4
Value 4
Overall:
Came here after a Lang-​Lang concert, since it was so close to Symphony Hall and I was craving Ethiopian food after having so much Chinese and American food. The food and ambience were great, and the prices were fairly tame as well.
Food:
I had the peanut tea, which was very novel to me, and very comforting. It was warm, thick, and tasted a bit like peanut butter. I shared the TImatim Fit Fit (appetizer), the Addis Combo (vegetarian combo), and the Lega Tibs (beef dish). This was only my third time having Ethiopian food, so I’m not sure how it compares in terms of Ethiopian food, but I really liked it. The injera (the sour pancakes) is one of my favorite parts, and it was particularly soft and tasty here. The food was very flavorful and full of spices, and went well with the injera.
Service:
The server was very friendly, and recommended the dishes to us since we had no idea what to get.
Value:
The prices were reasonable.

This place is amazing!!! If you come, you must get the peanut tea. It’s soooo amazing and rich with peanut flavor. Highly recommended for all PB lovers
I love that this place is so small, homey-​feel, and cozy. The owner is such a sweet heart. The décor here is amazing! Love all the trinkets and accents. So many little things to observe and check out
As for the food – I would highly suggest going with a combo or coming with friends so you can try a bunch of different things. Their menu is huge! It’s also extremely vegan and vegetarian friendly. This is probably my #1 or 2^nd fave African restaurant in boston. Their homemade bread is amazing and so soft!

The experience was a 5 star experience. The server was so nice and informing. I went with my boyfriend and we enjoyed it! The best thing we ate was the beef dish, but thats because we love meat. The veggie dishes were different for us and was good to experience!

Very good service and interesting foods. Some of it is great and very unique, but some others aren’t compatible with my palette. But don’t let that stop you from enjoying it. My favorite thing was this really sour and spicy thing, which I don’t know the name of because I’m not an expert in the Ethiopian language or its cuisine. Also, make sure you use only your hands, as that’s customary and you’ll get a richer experience. There’s a bathroom in the back for you to wash them before you eat so that you don’t infect yourself with whatever gross stuff you’ve been touching all day, and believe me, you’ve been touching gross stuff all day for sure.

Solid 4 stars. The food and injera are great! Service is a bit slow, but otherwise recommended!

Okay, so first off: LOVE THIS PLACE!
This is one of my favorite places in ALL of Boston. It’s the kind of place that my wife and I visit often, and it’s the kind of place we bring people who are new to African or Ethiopian food when we want to impress them.
The food is AMAZING, fresh, homemade, prepped and cooked to perfection, the staff is very friendly, the coffee is a wonderful experience, best injera I’ve ever had, and the art inside makes for a really romantic experience.
We have tried everything on the menu that is vegetarian at this stage and have never been disappointed. I had been holding back at reviewing this place because I can always get a table, and I fear it being over-​run if people realize how GREAT it is.
I give Lucy my HIGHEST recommendation.

Ordered the vegetarian combo for two as well as the #1 in the beef section. The injera here is more sour than Addis Red Sea and seems to be made of whole-​wheat flour instead of regular white flour or whatever they use at other Ethiopian joints in the area. Service was pretty slow, so I would not recommend this place for a quick bite. They also have very little seating, so come early if you can on the weekends.
The food and atmosphere here is not quite up to par with Addis Red Sea, in my opinion, but I do like that they have a larger variety of beverages, like the Lucy Mix (a barley and flaxseed smoothie sweetened with honey… yum!). Also, Lucy is much more reasonable and for $ 20 each, 2 people were filled to the brim with leftovers to take home.

Came here to get my fix of injera, and found what I needed. Great vegetarian options, and the injera was pleasantly sour. Had the spinach, the ginger split peas, and the red lentils; lentils and spinach were by far my favorite, but all of it was good. Not great, but good. It was a little disappointing in that I felt like the dishes were my excuse for eating the delicious injera, and not vice versa, but they were still good. The portions were a little small for $ 10 — if you come hungry, expect to have to order more than one thing, or an appetizer and an entrée.
The feel of the place is very pleasant if you are near symphony hall. While the back of the restaurant is a little dark, the front was filled with light. I recommend getting a place near the front if you can.
I got the peanut tea that everyone raves about because I was curious, and I just want to say — it was delicious! I do recommend it. It tastes like peanuts. It’s like a peanut and honey flavored milk steamer. I’m describing it so that if you go, you’ll know if you are in the mood.
Three stars because of the cost to portion size ratio, and the darkness of the place, but if you are in the mood I definitely recommend.

Came here for a staycation and to try a new cuisine. Was not disappointed!
I loved the intimate venue, filled with paintings and crafts from Ethiopia, not to mention the scrumptious food!
Their house tea was well-​spiced and very strong. It gave me the jitters, but it was delicious nonetheless.
From what I understand, Ethiopian cuisine is meant to be communal. We ordered the Veggie Combo for Two, and we were stuffed by the end of it. Each pocket was filled with everything from potatoes, to chickpeas, to spinach, and each with it’s own unique set of spices. Every bite was a new adventure, which made this meal so fun!
Much like naan is used with Indian curries, the spongy injera bread is used to pick up the food on your plate. I love the soft, squishy consistency of the injera, and eating without forks or even chopsticks was a new skill to try to master.
I love how Boston has unique things to try like an Ethiopian dinner. It was so fun to get out of our usual routine and comfort zones for a day. I definitely recommend it for everyone to try!

I love trying new places and this spot is a perfect new place that could become an old place for me!
Being a fan of culturally diverse food, I loved the delicious Ethiopian dishes offered here. I sampled the Lega Tibbs with the beef and my lunch companions had a shared vegetarian platter. I’m not usually huge on veggie selections as a meat eater, but I loved what I tried. There was a spicy chickpea offering was was so good.
It was fun to scoop up and eat my food with the injera, but who doesn’t like playing with their food? The beef dish was so filling! I needed a nap.
It just so happen that the Jazz festival was going on so this was a nice stop in after listening to great music.