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The Horn of Africa
Categories: Restaurants Ethiopian Restaurants Vegetarian Ethiopian, Vegetarian [Edit]
364 Rideau StOttawa, ON K1N 5Y8
(613) 789-0025
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
10 reviews for The Horn of Africa
10 reviews in English
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Review from Steph K.
Ottawa, ON
5/19/2012
Horn of Africa is an Ethiopian restaurant located on Rideau street in Sandy Hill. Their menu is 2 pages long. For those of you unfamiliar with Ethiopean food, you receive an injera, which is a large, circular, spongy flatbread. You rip of pieces of injera with your hands and dip it in wat or tsebi, which are various stewed meats or vegetables.
I will admit that Horn of Africa is not the prettiest of restaurants, but for 5-8$ plus tax, you get a huge, healthy delicious meal. The injeras and vegetable stews are vegan, so Horn of Africa accommodates vegetarians and vegans alike.
The only real negative thing I could say about Horn of Africa would be stay away from their salads. They're bland and hard to finish. I'm a salad lover and I did not enjoy the soggy, bitter house salad. All of the vegetables in the salad tasted like they had gone bad or were not ripe yet. Apart from that, Horn of Africa is amazing! -
Review from Chris G.
Oakville, ON
2/23/2012
This is the first time I've ever had Ethiopian food and probably the last though due to no fault of this restaurant. I just don't like Ethiopian food I guess. As soon as we walked in we knew we were out of our comfort zone but hey we felt like being adventurous. We order the platter for two as we had no idea what anything was. What came out was a large platter covered in crepes? and then spoonfuls of different curry type dishes, two hardboiled eggs and two chicken legs. Oh and no cutlery. We tried our best but it was just weird. Nice people though so just want to reiterate that us not liking it was not the restaurant's fault in anyway but I wanted to warn people thinking of trying something new.
Also the bathrooms were not in good shape. -
Review from Iman K.
8/23/2011
I live in the DC/MD area of America, and I have to say, my introduction to Ethiopian food here has (apparently) made me hard to please. The yellow peas here were tasteless and the injera was very light colored and bland. I personally like my injera dark, slightly sour and a bit thicker.
Yes, the vegetarian plate is large and inexpensive, but that's for a reason. They seem to really load you up on injera, and about a fourth of the plate has the actual food: a dollop of yellow peas here, a dollop of spicy lentils there... Yikes.. where's my meal?
I give it 2.5 stars because I was full by the end of it, the patio was nice and comfortable and the meal only cost me $8.47 with taxes. -
Review from Angela L.
1/14/2011
Judging from the filled-to-the-brim pour of the $3.50 glasses of house wine we were served while perusing the menu, we could tell that The Horn of Africa was going to be a tremendous deal. Taking up the large round table in the centre of the small dining room, the five of us shared two gigantic vegetarian combo platters ($7 per person) that could have fed twice as many people.
The simple, warm decor and the attentive service from the soft-spoken and smiley server made the restaurant the perfect setting for our excited dinner party to share food and thoughts. Our group consisted of a couple of first timers to Ethiopian fare, but regardless of experience we all happily agreed in the end that the meal overall was excellent and the food delicious. -
Review from Hannah V.
Vancouver, BC
6/27/2011
I love the Horn. Not just for cheapness, freshness or generous portions. Not because they are happy to serve meals at any random time of day or night and usually offer extra injera to hungry looking patrons. There is just something about the unwavering price, presentation and quality of the food that is comforting and familiar for me. Isn't that what keeps people going back to fast food chains?
Frequented by a mix of Ethiopian expats, Bytowne Cinema patrons and students, in addition to huge cheap portions of food, the Horn offers huge, cheap drinks. The patio is open for the warmer part of the year and on busy nights offers a smug view of people stuck in traffic at Rideau and King Edward. The interior has the ambiance of an elderly relative's living room, which in all honesty draws me back almost as much as the food. I also enjoy trying to guess what is happening on the TV, which used to be permanently tuned to Ethiopia's national station, ETV, but often now displays Al Jezeera English. The regular skipping of the background music also has a warm place in my heart. Basically what I'm trying to say is that the place is comfortable and unpretentious, which is my preference.
I used to live about 2 minutes from the Horn as a grad student, and the location, long hours and lack of money meant my roommate and I averaged about two visits a week. That was a few years ago, and while I don't make it quite as often (not living as close and now able to afford to spend more than $7 on my main meal of the day), I still love, crave and covet their vegetarian platter. It is probably what I will miss most about Ottawa when I leave the city. -
Review from Chris J.
Ottawa, ON
3/11/2012
Love the Horn of Africa. The decor is bare bones, but the staff are friendly and the food is fabulous. Definitely recommend the vegetarian platter.
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Review from Mama t.
Toronto, ON
9/10/2011
As a vegan, Horn of Africa offers some of the best options in Ottawa for a great meal. Though the service is a bit.. off-putting, the vegetarian option is great. Thank you Ottawa for having vegan options that are more than soups and salads :)
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Review from Carrie T.
9/15/2010
This place gives you a LOT of food for very little money. The vegetarian combo platter for one person is $7.50, and it is HUGE.
The place sure isn't fancy, but I find it quaint and I like it. It's not huge, so if you wanted to go eat at a busy time you might want to make a reservation.
As far as the food goes, it was good, but I feel like East African Restaurant (which is right next door) is better. However, that place is a couple of bucks more money. -
Review from Azim A.
Ottawa, ON
10/6/2008
A popular establishment for Ethiopian cuisine, Horn of Africa is a unique joint. With a patio open during warmer months, it's a nice place to hang out, enjoy a few drinks, or savour some flavourful foods.
The pinched Lamb is especially a must-have, and the soup selection is very good. The beef stew is great. The various choices of exotic juices is great. The service is usually good and friendly, but can be slow at times. -
Review from Amanda D.
Ottawa, ON
11/23/2008
The Horn of Africa offers affordable and quality Ethiopian cuisine that usually garners it the title of Best African Restaurant on Ottawa XPress' Best of list. The food is unique, tasty and extremely affordable. The decor is very modest with Ethiopian art on the walls. If you don't mind eating with your hands and sharing a huge dish with your friends, the platters are the best option. I enjoy the vegetarian platter. It has a variety of curries with a large flat bread you rip apart for a piece to dip. They also have a variety of alcoholic drinks for considerably low prices, so this is a great place to go with friends for a weekend dinner. In the summer, they also have a patio that looks onto Rideau Street.
