Soma Grill & Deli

629 Cedar Ave

Recommended Dishes: This standout restaurant has been a reliable servant of the Cedar Riverside Somali community for years. They offer consistent, dependable service with dishes that’ll keep you coming back. For breakfast, try the Malawah & Beer (crepes and sauteed liver, onions and peppers). For lunch, try the beef wrap or spaghetti with salmon plate. Their goat meat and rice is incredible, as well – it comes with your choice of side salad or hearty goat broth, as well as the traditional Banana With Every Meal that Somali cuisine is famous for.

The Red Sea

320 Cedar Ave

Recommended Dishes: Opened in 1990, Red Sea is Minneapolis’ first (and possibly best known) Ethiopian restaurant. They’re known for their food as much as their lively music nights. They also rent out the venue for private parties, complete with in-house catered Ethiopian food. Their menu contains a wide variety of traditional Ethiopian and Eritrean dishes, including injera, kitfo, doro wat, shiro and tibs. The Red Sea serves traditional breakfasts, as well. Try ful, slow-cooked crushed fava beans, or the special egg fir fir — eggs, tomato, diced onion and berbere, a spicy traditional spice blend. Don’t forget to ask for a coffee ceremony!

Cafe Jote Authentic Ethiopian Coffee and Cuisine

1808 Riverside Ave Ste 104

Recommended Dishes: Some of the best Ethiopian coffee you’ll find in the city. If you’ve never experienced that, and you’re a lover of coffee, you need to stop here. Pair it with one of their hand crafted signature dishes: Fuul (fava beans stewed with tomatoes, onions, peppers, yogurt and Ethiopian spices; made fresh to order, so be prepared to wait – but it’s well worth the wait), Lentil Stew with Injera (Ethiopian sourdough flatbread), or Chechebsa (Ethiopian and Eritrean breakfast dish made of torn pieces of flatbread (called Kita) and mixed with spiced, clarified butter and spicy berbere powder). This is a great spot for a hearty breakfast and coffee combo. They also make the regular coffee drinks you’d find at any other coffee shop (lattes, etc).

Oasis Mediterranean Grill

1939 S 5th St

Recommended Dishes: While this restaurant appears to be an Arab or Mediterranean spot, it’s got secret East African menu items that only locals know about. That’s because it’s located in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood, just a stone’s throw from the Cedar Towers (a brutalist architecture styled building blocks home to a large number of the East African community in this part of Minneapolis). Standout menu items include: Malawax Chicken Crispy Wrap (soft crepe filled with chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, sauteed onions and drizzled with a creamy garlic sauce); Goat Meat Plate (heaping hunks of slow roasted and grilled goat meat on a bed of aromatic rice); Sports Variation Plate (for groups; a large tray of basmati rice topped with fish, chicken kebabs and savory slow roasted goat meat and a side salad); Samosas (an East African twist to a food you can find in many cultures around the world; typically filled with your choice of veggies, fish or beef and slivered onions).

Dilla Ethiopian Restaurant

1813 Riverside Ave

Recommended Dishes: This long-standing Ethiopian restaurant in the heart of Cedar-Riverside is known for their delicious meat and veggie and injera combo platters. Try the Tibs Fitfit (cubed tender beef cooked with tomato, garlic and berbere sauce, which comes with giant injera). The Doro Wat is also a standout here – a rich chicken and hard-boiled egg stew cooked in a spicy berbere sauce. There are a ton of vegetarian options in Ethiopian cooking. You can find vegetarian and vegan versions of every meat-based dish on the menu – often swapping out lentils, chickpeas and/or collard greens and veggies for meat. Be sure to take advantage of the traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony (with complementary popcorn) after your meal. Open late (till about 2am on most nights), so there’s no need to rush.

TAMU Grill and Catering

1829 Riverside Ave

Recommended Dishes: TAMU brings Kenyan food to Minnesota, where you'll enjoy a blend of African, Indian and Middle Eastern flavors. Their main specialty is tilapia fish, but the beef and coconut-curry kidney beans follow closely. I recommend the beef curry, greens and Ugali (similar to Fufu or pounded yam, except made with corn flour instead of cassava, yams or plantains). The Samaki plate is also a hit – a full tilapia fish fried to perfection, accompanied by Ugali, greens and a lovely red sauce. Wash it down with some beef or vegan samosas and Kenyan tea!

Capitol Cafe

2417 E Franklin Ave

Recommended Dishes: A local favorite, this small café is on the less traveled Franklin Ave, not far from Cedar. Known for their sandwiches, crepes, wraps and drinks, it’s a must try if you’re in town. Try the Somali Chicken Shawarma wrap – tandoori grilled chicken with lettuce and tomatoes, wrapped in a house-made Somali Crepe. They also have a Classic House Breakfast wrap filled with scrambled eggs and tomatoes and wrapped in a sweet Somali Crepe. The Sambusas are famous here (filled with either meat or veggies) and are best washed down with a hot Somali tea (made with ginger, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves). You really can’t go wrong with anything on the menu, so eat to your heart’s content.

Afro Deli & Grill

720 Washington Ave SE

Recommended Dishes: Known for their sandwiches, wraps, bowls and appetizers, Afro Deli is an institution in the Minneapolis East African culinary scene. The Afro Steak Dinner is a must-try. Shredded beef steak seasoned and marinated with East African spices and cooked with bell peppers, sweet onions, garlic and a homemade red sauce are layered over a bed of basmati rice or couscous. The Chicken Fantastic is also excellent: cuts of white grilled chicken with sauteed bell peppers, carrots, zucchini, fresh garlic, light cream sauce, and grated Parmesan cheese over Somali-seasoned basmati rice or couscous. Other standouts include the Somali Steak Sandwich, Chapati Wrap (made with your choice of beef steak, lamb gyro, sautéed chicken or falafel), and the Yassa Chicken Bowl (chicken marinated overnight in onion, garlic, mustard, fresh lemon and Chef's secret spices. Served over basmati rice or couscous). No meal is complete without trying their Somali Sambusa (beef, chicken or veggie edition) and their Sweet Plantains.

Abdirahman Kahin of Afro Deli & Grill

This restaurant helped put Somali Fusion food on the map. The owner, Abdirahman Kahin, opened the first location in 2014. Immigrating to the area in 1996, he noticed a distinct lack of East African food options in the local restaurant scene and came up with this concept restaurant. Afro Deli is known for fast, healthy food options in a casual dining setting. The flavors blend traditional Somali cooking that meets go-go American lifestyle needs.

Though not a chef by training, Kahin teamed up with Chef Moussa Doualeh to create this restaurant. Doualeh was born in Djibouti and received his chef training in France. He used this wealth of experience to design the unique Afro Deli menu that blends East African spices and flavors with Mediterranean and American dishes. They quickly grew to numerous locations in the Twin Cities and gained a reputation for community support initiatives while highlighting the food and culture of East Africa to a wider Minnesota community.

In 2018, their Somali Sambusas were the official welcoming treat for Super Bowl LII at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. In 2023, Kahin was named both the Minnesota and National Small Business Person of the Year. Abdirahman Kahin is just one of the countless stories of East African entrepreneurship and ingenuity helping to make Minnesota a better place one meal, story and laugh at a time.

Red Wolf Chai

While not a restaurant, we felt it important to highlight the rich Oromo culture in the Twin Cities. Local project Red Wolf Chai is named after the Ethiopian Red Wolf, Africa’s most endangered carnivore which is only found in the Bale Highlands (above 3,000m) in Oromia, Ethiopia. Started as a popup at local coffee shops, they’ve quickly gained a dedicated following and can be found throughout the city. Their intention is to redefine how people view chai – not as some overly sweetened corporate cup, but a complex and refreshing drink for discerning palates. You can order their chai concentrate for home brewing or get it made to order at various coffee shops in Minneapolis and St. Paul, like Dogwood Coffee, Càphin, and Ninth Street Soccer & Coffee.