Tadu Ethiopian Kitchen

Very good Ethiopian food — I’ll be back despite it not being that accessible neighborhood wise for me. Appreciate their willingness to cook for restrictioms, and they have GF injera. Also, super friendly staff! Yum

I got the chicken tibs and it did not disappoint! The meal came with injera, chicken, salad, lentils, and more injera on the side. Ethiopian food is made to eat with your hands, but alas I resorted to using a fork.
Service was really nice and fairly quick. The portion size was quite generous (not to mention you can always eat a lot of injera). For people not familiar with Ethiopian food, it’s actually surprisingly similar to Indian food in taste. Injera is a spongy bread like side that’s soft in texture.
The price was also great– $ 9.95 for a delicious, filling meal! =]

I am a big fan of Ethiopian food and there aren’t many options in the city so I was glad to find Tadu on Unilocal.It’s a small hole in the wall restaurant with friendly staff. I shared the vegetarian platter and the lamb special with a friend. Both were excellent. I usually didn’t like the meat dishes at other Ethiopian places because the texture seemed off, but the lamb is super tender and full of flavor. The veggie platter was also very good. We cleaned out plates. I did notice that the injira bread here is slightly thinner than other places but that just mean we don’t stuff ourselves with as much bread :). Would definitely come back!

My second time trying Ethiopian food and it did not disappoint! I like this place more than Enssaro, where I first tried Ethiopian food in Oakland.
This place is pretty small only 5 – 6 tables but it’s very neat and has modern décor. It’s also family ran :) a little boy served us our water.
I really like the injera here because it wasn’t too sour. We order the vegetable combo with lamb tibs and it was sooo good and flavorful!
Warning: the lamb tib is pretty spicy!
I remember really liking the potatoes and the fresh greens in the veggie combo, which went perfectly well with the spicy lamb tibs. The veggie combo + lamb tib was A LOT of food for two people and I think the portion could’ve fed 3 – 4 people. However, my bf and I didn’t know how to order smaller portions.
I was a little iffy using my hands to eat but they’re super cleaver for having a sink outside of the bathroom.
All in all, this place is a must try!

My boyfriend took me to Tadu Ethiopian Resturant on my vacation. I liked the food. We order Vegetable combination and Kitfo. It was finger licking. I tried some other Ethiopian Resturant in Oakland but I find Tadu’s number one. As I am originally from Ethiopia, I know how our dishes taste like and I loved it and Enjoy it with a great customer service. It reminds me of mom’s kitchen.
I highly recommend Tadu Ethiopian Resturant and I’m definitely coming back!

Small and unassuming space, super friendly and kind staff, spectacular food.
We ordered three types of dishes between the three of us on a work trip — lamb tibs, beef banatu, and beef kitfo, served on the same platter of injera bread with an assortment of delicious and warm sides.
Lamb tibs: Definitely the highlight of the experience, perfectly tender and juicy lambs and sauteed in spices, incredibly delicious and so much more than lamb chops I’ve had at fancy restaurants.
Beef kitfo: Since all three of us are relatively new to Ethiopian food, our kitfo was served half cooked and half rare. The flavor was amazing, spices in all the right places and not a care about its rareness — it was delicious.
Best food we’ve had on the entire San Francisco trip, and that’s saying a lot! We polished off all of that with two side bowls of injera bread all during lunch time of a conference. Yes, it was that good.

Tadu is an incredibly tiny restaurant with 5 – 6 small tables. We went on a weekday evening and it was relatively empty… but with the positive reviews, we weren’t sure how long the wait would be so we called ahead for a reservation! They were confused but obliged!
We started with the sambussa — a flaky pastry filled with meat or veggies — which was delicious. As our entrée, we shared the veggie platter with lamb tibs. I love tibs! And these lamb tibs are great, especially with the deliciously sour injera.

Rolls on rolls on rolls of injera! A very comforting spot to get some authentic Ethiopian fare and escape the rigors of the TL for a bit. The veggie combo platter is very colorful and tasty and for $ 12, will certainly fill you up for the night. Very friendly and responsive service too, which warrants a return visit to Tadu soon!

Fantastic service and awesome food. If you can handle spices and don’t mind eating with your hands: Tadu is THE place to come.
No alcoholic beverages available but bringing your own is fine and there used to not have any corkage fee.
Place is small so big groups will have a hard time. Only one or two spots for 4 ppl. The rest is small and good for 2 or 3 at most.

Some pretty solid Ethiopian food in one of the shadiest neighborhoods in town. I got dropped off in an über right outside this restaurant and there was a swarm of homeless people all around me. Be safe in this area, but once you get inside the restaurant, you don’t feel like you’re in the Tenderloin anymore. It’s a small, homely place with just a few tables and chairs.
Their menu has all the regular Ethiopian dishes but the thing I liked most about this place was that you could get their dishes as side dishes instead of the full dinner portion. The beauty of Ethiopian food is that you get to try a lot of dishes with the delicious injera so having the option of getting multiple small dishes was a huge plus for me! The veggie combo is also a great choice for those looking to get a small taste of a variety of their different vegetarian options.
This place is very reasonably priced and their staff is extremely friendly. I will definitely be back again!

Great Ethiopian food!
Had the ground beef with spices… and a lot of spice they have! It is pretty spicy… you might want to get some vegetarian options as well. The vegetarian platter is a very good pick for that. We ordered two meals and it fed 4 people. So you can definitely eat for cheap here.
I would suggest washing your hands before you eat, they don’t do silverware. Like classic Ethiopian food you eat with your hands by scooping up the food with the sour dough pancake stuff.
The coffee is excellent as well. I suggest ordering the Ethiopian Coffee to go with your email.
Parking may be a pain… there isn’t a parking lot so you may have to park out there in street possibly in the sketch area. So… plan accordingly.

I found this place when walking to my usual spot for Ethiopian was too far out of my way. I’m glad I did! I cannot recommend Tadu enough. What a gem.
The menu here is pretty much the menu from any Ethiopian place. Thats’ not a knock at all, it’s just that there were no real surprises. I got my usual veggie combo. The server (and owner?) was quiet but very nice. When he brought the spicy sauce and asked if I liked some, he lit up a bit and went back to get some spicy powder, which he proceeded to add directly to my plate. He explained the two things I didn’t recognize (and couldn’t tell you what they were now).
I’m looking forward to my next trip to SF for Tadu!

Stopped by here for lunch this weekend before seeing a show at the Orpheum.
This is a small restaurant, with a clean, modern industrial look inside, with bold colors and nice art on the walls.
Friendly, helpful service, so even if you have no experience with Ethiopian food you should feel confident that you’ll know what you’re getting.
Great food. Bold flavors, both for the meats and the vegetables. The lamb tibs were my personal favorite — outstanding.
We had a table of four, and of course were looking for variety. We ordered a vegetarian combination along with the lamb tibs and the beef kitfo. That was plenty of food for the four of us.
If you’re in this area, you need to go support this restaurant.

Ethiopian food isn’t my normal go-​to joint, but I’m fortunate to have some adventurous friends. My buddy suggested we meet there for a long, overdue hangout.
We shared the beef tips and vegetarian platter. While it doesn’t look like much, the injira bread does an amazing job of filling you up. I really enjoyed all of the spicy (in a fragrant way) flavors and the beef was cooked to perfection. We even got a free slice of baklava for dessert!
I can’t say enough good things about Tadu. It was delicious, service was fantastic, and I loved every bite. It might be in a rougher part of town, but it’s worth the day trek for some amazing Ethiopian grub. Stop on by and give it a try!
Food: ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Service: ⁹⁄₁₀
Price: $$
Atmosphere: ⁷⁄₁₀

TLDR: flavorful Ethiopian food, large portions, very reasonable prices; definitely recommend for a different dining experience
I’ve seen Tadu listed as one of the «Best of Unilocal» Restaurants for many weeks now (maybe since its opening?). I’ve yet to see a place maintain a 5-​star rating for so long and with 100+ reviews, so of course it made my bookmarks list. Honestly, if fellow Unilocaler Ben K. hadn’t suggested it for dinner, I don’t know if I would’ve ever made it here since I don’t like to frequent the TL.
The restaurant is a small hole-​in-​the wall with maybe 5 – 6 tables and probably has the capacity for only 15ish people. In contrast to the surrounding TL, the inside is pretty nice and clean. The place wasn’t busy yet at around 6pm on a Friday, but it filled up pretty easily and there were people waiting by the time we left.
Anyone unfamiliar with Ethiopian food (like me) might be a little lost with the menu, not because there are too many options, but because everything sounds more or less the same. The menu has a few appetizers and several veggie and meat entrees, which all come with injera, a spongy sourdough crêpe. I’d recommend the SAMBUSSAS as a starter and LAMB TIBS as an entrée. And you can’t go wrong with the VEGETARIAN COMBO, which will give you sampling of almost all the veggie entrees. The food overall was pretty tasty and I really enjoyed anything cooked with berbere (some sort of chili/​spice).
For anyone who hasn’t had Ethiopian food, there are no utensils (unless asked for). You basically break off pieces of injera and use it to pick up the meat/​veggies or dip it in the more hummus-​like veggie dishes.
Entrees range from $ 10 – 15 and portion sizes are big and filling, especially with the unlimited injera. One entrée can easily feed you for 2 meals, so it’s definitely worth the price. Being the fatass that I am sometimes though, I ended up eating much more than I should have.
Service is pretty good here. Our server (who I think may have been the owner) checked in on us a few times to ask how the food was and to see if we needed more injera or water.
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SAMBUSSA ($ 4) — ⁵⁄₅
Comes with 3. Kind of like samosas, but the dough is thinner, airier, flakier and crispier, and the inside is filled with ground beef or lentils. We got the ground beef, which was amazing! A little bit of spice and so much flavor
LAMB TIBS ($ 14) — ⁴⁄₅
[sautéed in spices, onions, tomatoes, jalapeños, berbere]
Juicy and delicious! The jalapeños and berbere give it a good kick, but more heat would’ve been even better. The dish was on the greasy side for me but tasted so good that the greasiness couldn’t stop me from eating more of it
VEGETARIAN COMBINATION ($ 12) — ⁴⁄₅
We ordered the vegetarian banatu/​firfir, but I’m pretty sure they gave us the veggie combo now that I’m looking back at my picture. The vegetarian firfir is supposed to be vegetables and pieces of injera in berbere but we definitely did not get that on our plate. The veggie combo didn’t disappoint though and was a really good sampler of many of their veggie entrees
–MISIR WOT — 4.5÷5
[split lentil sauce made w/​berbere, onions, ginger, garlic]
Orange/​red and similar in texture to a thick tomato sauce. A little bit spicy from the berbere, which I loved. Definitely one of my favorite veggie options

–ALICHA TIKIL GOMEN — 4.5÷5
[cabbage, potatoes & carrots]
Another favorite from the combo. Not as flavorful as the misir wot but I like that it actually has veggies in it
–GOMEN — 3.5÷5
[collard greens]
A little bitter but still pretty good
–KIK ALICHA WOT — ³⁄₅
[chickpea cooked w/​spicy tumeric, ginger & garlic]
Yellow and a little thicker than hummus in texture. Not bad but didn’t impress me
–BUTICHA — ³⁄₅
[ground chickpeas, peppers & onions]
Reminded me of a potato salad in taste and mashed potatoes in texture. I actually liked the flavor but it felt pretty rich and heavy so I could only eat a few bites
–AZIFA — ³⁄₅
[lentils sauteed w/​onions, jalapeño, ground mustard seeds & lemon]
Served cold. Also kind of rich/​heavy
VEGGIE MEDLEY ($ 10) — ⁴⁄₅
[mushrooms stir fried w/​peppers, jalapeño & berbere]
Solid. Not super special and pretty greasy, but very flavorful
KITFO ($ 13.50) — 3.5÷5
Flavorful lean ground beef, cooked to a nice medium rare. I liked it a lot at first but wasn’t really a fan of the half raw ground texture after a bit
INJERA (complimentary)
The entrees are served on a giant piece of injera. I’ve only had Ethiopian once before and didn’t like the injera much because of the acidity, but was pleased with the injera here. Theirs was soft, spongy and tasted like sourdough without being too acidic. I don’t really like sourdough in general so I wouldn’t eat the injera on its own, but it works well with the entrees and soaks up the juices of the lamb very well

Tadu freaking ROCKS!
Was really craving Ethiopian food and after not finding anything comparable to Seattle, I decided I didn’t care and wanted to try this place (the five stars lured me in).
The first time we came here, it was an hour before closing to find that there were no seats and it was SUPER packed. There’s only five tables, so plan accordingly. We waited and waited, and thankfully right before they closed they kindly seated us.
We started off with the vegetarian sambusas (ask for the hot sauce, it spicy and delish). The edges were perfectly crispy, we practically inhaled them.
Next up, the vegetarian combo, beef berebere banatu, firfir, lamb tibs, and shiro wot (so I know this is a lot of food, but leftovers are the best, so whatever).
Bf ate the ENTIRE veg combo by himself. Not only is it super flavorful, it’s massive (one of those can’t stop eating, it’s so delicious), and you get enough injera to swaddle a newborn baby elephant in.
They even brought us a bite each of baklava since we waited outside for an hour for a table. So nice (and so yum).
I absolutely love the beef berebere banatu, and shiro wot. We never come here and not order both of those.
Also, they have gluten free injera (FROM Ethiopia!!), like no joke. Order this (+$ 3) and you’ll leave without feeling fat, no matter how much you dig in. It’s a bit more tart than the regular injera, but so so delicious, absolutely fluffy, and perfectly moist. I never skip it. I gladly take the the left overs home and make my own berebere firfirX (lentils, chicken, etc.) to enjoy for another day.
The staff is always so helpful, very kind, and remembers you.
Seriously addicted to this place.

I tried out Tadu Ethiopian Kitchen one day for lunch. It’s a tiny hole-​in-​the wall in the Tenderloin, Ellis St & Leavensworth St.
I got the Vegetarian Combo $ 11.95. You gotta eat with your hands eating Ethiopian food — Right hand! You can wash your hands in the sink area in the back. 4 different veggie dishes on top of injera, a small salad with 2 dips on the top. More injera given in a small basket.
I liked my dish. Would like to try some meat dishes next time.
I paid Cash, not sure if they take credit cards.

I love Ethiopian food but a good place is hard to find. My friend and I were seriously craving some the other afternoon, but the one in the Mission doesn’t open until dinnertime. So we found Tadu in the TL, which has 5 stars. And it really lived up to its rating! There are only a few tables inside so when its busy, I can see why there would be a wait. There aren’t that many items on the menu, but everything on it is delicious.
I highly recommend the lamb tibs. It’s made fresh to order and is absolutely delicious. The onions are perfectly caramelized and the seasoning of spices and salt is perfect. So yummy!
We ordered the full size of the Alicha but they accidentally gave us the veggie combo, which is fine. The veggie combo was great. We loved the cabbage, lentils, and chickpeas. I also liked the salad a lot too. The collard greens were good too.
We also ordered the Beef Sambussa as an appetizer. There were only 3 but the filling was spicy and yummy.
Next time, I really want to try the eggplant (which they didn’t have a half size of) and some of the other meat dishes. The pictures look awesome!

I’ve only had Ethiopian in San Jose (Zeni), and Tadu wasn’t quite at that level, but it still hit the spot. Bonus points for curing a terrible case of post crappy $ 40 hotel breakfast buffet hangry-​ness.
We got the Sambussa starter which came with three pieces of fried flakey dough stuffed with ground beef and onions. Tadu’s version is extra crispy, the filling is seasoned well, and the tomato dipping sauce was fantastic.
At the recommendation of our server, we chose the Lamb Tibs in addition to the Vegetarian Combo. The Lambs Tibs were juicy, but could have used some more seasoning. In the veg combo, I enjoyed the Misir Wot (red lentils with Berbere spice) the most. I also liked the buticha, which the server compared to hummus. It was made from chickpeas but much thicker than hummus, and reminded me of potato salad.
The Injera bread was not as sour or fluffy as I prefer, but that didn’t stop me from eating an entire basket anyway. Injera is my weakness. There’s something about the act of scooping up food with bread that I absolutely enjoy. Service was attentive and kind as well. Tadu is worth braving the sketch area for!

**HANDS DOWN TO THE BEST 5 STAR ETHIOPIAN FOOD JOINT IN THE SAN FRANCISCO (TENDERLOIN AREA)**
Count me in, where do I sign up? I had no idea this place existed until a friend of mine and I decided to try some Ethiopian food. He chose the place and I have to say for my first time I sure wasn’t disappointed!
I arrived around 7pm and decided to take transportation since the area is not the BEST area in San Francisco. This location is not far from the Civic Center Bart Station.
When we entered the place was packed house. Please note: This restaurant is VERY small.
We were able to get a seat in the back. The owners were very nice making sure we felt comfortable. After we let him know that it was out first time coming to the location he gave us a couple mines to decide on the menu.
After looking at the yummy pictures on Unilocal we decided on:
APPETIZER:
–Beef Sambusa– VERY GOOD! ⁵⁄₅ (tasty sauce to go with it)
~INJERA:
Your meal is not complete without Injera! The spongy, unleavened bread, which acts as a plate beneath a quintet of stews and we used it to transport the delicious food to our mouths. RATED:5/5
MAIN MEAL:
~Lamb Tibs– sautéed lamb leg with deeply caramelized onions and rosemary. RATED: ⁵⁄₅ Comes with a little spicy taste, but nothing you can’t handle.
~Beef Tibs– Very flavorful and good! RATED:5/5
DRINKS:
~Telba Drink– ground flax seeds in water and sweetened with honey. The taste is not for everyone but I enjoyed it. It tastes like a healthy morning drink but I have to admit that the taste is refreshing and good for you!
Everything was really good and tasty. The owner was able to spend time in teaching us a little history about the drink Telba and states that depending on how Ethiopians were raised the drink can be given on special occasions but some athletic people drink it as well since its good for your digestive system. The drink was given as a sample to use before we actually bought it.
After being stuffed from the huge meal that was just presented to us, I had the nerve to ask for something sweet (like the food wasn’t enough)
The owner came out with a plate of Baklava which was the topping to the night! Baklava is a rich, sweet pastry made of layers of filo filled with chopped nuts and sweetened and held together with syrup or honey. Let me just admit that it’s SO good and a must try! What made it more special was that the owner said it was on the house! HOW NICE! Complimentary dessert!
As you can see, this place is GREAT and the food is something that you just have to taste and experience.
I was so full and happy leaving that I couldn’t help but plan my next meal to order when I come back!
My first time trying Ethiopian food was the BEST experience I could ask for!