Shewhat Cafe

Love, love, love! Literally heaven in my mouth and stomach made by the sweetest people. This is how I like to dine—soul infused in every bite. If you want to feel, taste and experience true Ethiopian cuisine and ambiance this place is a must! The family is so friendly and warm and you can taste their passion in the food.

Good vegetarian options. I tried the abbeys vegetarian combo and baklava. The combo had 4 of the standard items one would get in a veggie Ethiopian combo (2 red and one yellow lentil, side made of cabbage carrot potato), some salad and also a dish made of okra which I really liked. The red lentils were really good. I also liked the baklava. The injera itself was a little sourer than what I would ideally like but overall great food.

Nice Ethiopian food and very good service. The food is little spicy, but kids really like it. Definitely we will go again to try different dishes.

Delicious Eritrean food! Definitely the kind of place to order 3-4 dishes with a group of friends and try a bit of everything! All of their main dishes were delicious but make sure to get the Sambosas while you're there! Overall price is solid, food is delicious and the owner is wonderful so come support a local business!

A wonderful place to try Ethiopian food for the first time. I had lamb and red lentils because I couldn't decide which sounded better. I think I liked the lentils more, but when the lamb mixed with some vinegar on the plate (I think it was the salad dressing) I had one of my favorite bites! I enjoyed using their flatbread as my utensils too, it was not intimidating at all and allowed me to feel kind of like a kid again eating with my hands. Be aware the flatbread does have a fermented flavor, which for me, took a moment to get used to.

V G Subramanian

Shewhat Cafe & Restaurant in Oakland, California serves authentic Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine in a cozy welcoming environment. We enjoyed the cuisine for the first time when we visited for dinner. We relished their Okra Kelwa, Chicken & Spinach, Red Lentils, Yellow Split Peas and Lettuce served with gluten free Injiras. The dishes flavoured with their traditional spices were delicious, not spicy and awesome. The ambience and decor are unique and our helpful host Alex made our evening truly memorable.

Mikkia Osman

Omg I love this place 😭😭😭 Seriously some of the best food I have ever had in my life. I have been now 4 times and I've only lived here for 2 months, so that should tell you how much I love it. I think about this food all the time. I would eat here 3 times a week if I could afford it. The lady who owns the place runs it with her daughter and they are soooo sweet and warm. The food is so authentic and perfectly spiced and flavored. Cooked to perfection. The atmosphere is so warm and friendly. The vibes are great. The food is a little expensive but the price is well justified. I took my brother and his wife here the last time I went and they loved it. I will be going back again and again and long as I live here. I seriously wish this lady was my mom so I could learn to cook like her. Best African food in Berkley. If I could give 10 stars I would. Highly recommend. Very clean too and a great experience.

Minjung Kim

Eat here, now! You won’t regret it! The food, the service, everything is top notch. For three people, we got veg combo and the mushroom main, and it was the right amount of food. The honey wine was delicious as well. The ladies that work here are so kind and friendly. I have a feeling I’ll be a regular here 😆

Shivani Ganti

Sooo good! For drinks we got the tea and the chai and both were delicious and unique. The sambusa was so good that I immediately ate them before taking the picture. It’s crunchy, not too oily and pairs well with the sweet and sour sauce that is served with the dish. As a vegetarian I loved having two combo options to choose from! I chose the Simo’s special and my personal favorites were the red lentils and the chickpeas. I usually hate okra but I didn’t mind it at all. My boyfriend got the Shewat Combo. Everything was good but the star of the show was the beef curry which had a hearty flavor. 10/10 Recommend this place!

Mohammad Rao

Loved the food. Great service and the vibe was laid back. Also, get comfy with eating with your hands cause that's how its authentically done for ethiopian food :)

Rachel Nelson

Love, love, love! Literally heaven in my mouth and stomach made by the sweetest people. This is how I like to dine—soul infused in every bite. If you want to feel, taste and experience true Ethiopian cuisine and ambiance this place is a must! The family is so friendly and warm and you can taste their passion in the food.

Gabriela Cadena

Loved our food. We got the shewat special which was a sampler of vegan, chicken and beef dishes. We even had to order more red lentils. We loved the lentil sambusa appetizer. We also enjoyed the honey wine, chai tea and tea with araki. Loved that this is a family run and owned restaurant. Will definitely return.

Eduard Couttolenc

The food was absolutely AMAZING! Everything was delicious! And the service was top-notch! Kind, warm, it really felt like getting a home cooked meal. I will definitely be coming back! ❤️

Shira Abel

So wonderful! The food was amazing. The owners are so great. I don’t eat cilantro and they totally accommodated me. Such a fantastic place, we will definitely be back. Review edit. It’s been 2 years and the food was just as good as last time. Absolutely wonderful!

Alisa Damaso

This is THE spot. I used to live nearby, but now I cross the bridge to come here to celebrate birthdays and special events with friends. The owners are welcoming and friendly, and the food is always insanely delicious. Abby's Veggie Combo is the best and I can probably eat it on my own, it's so good! One of my favorite restaurants in the Bay Area!

Madhavan Kidambi

Good vegetarian options. I tried the abbeys vegetarian combo and baklava. The combo had 4 of the standard items one would get in a veggie Ethiopian combo (2 red and one yellow lentil, side made of cabbage carrot potato), some salad and also a dish made of okra which I really liked. The red lentils were really good. I also liked the baklava. The injera itself was a little sourer than what I would ideally like but overall great food.

Sakie T

Nice Ethiopian food and very good service. The food is little spicy, but kids really like it. Definitely we will go again to try different dishes.

Prats Mathur

Delicious Eritrean food! Definitely the kind of place to order 3-4 dishes with a group of friends and try a bit of everything! All of their main dishes were delicious but make sure to get the Sambosas while you're there! Overall price is solid, food is delicious and the owner is wonderful so come support a local business!

Miles Bliss

A wonderful place to try Ethiopian food for the first time. I had lamb and red lentils because I couldn't decide which sounded better. I think I liked the lentils more, but when the lamb mixed with some vinegar on the plate (I think it was the salad dressing) I had one of my favorite bites! I enjoyed using their flatbread as my utensils too, it was not intimidating at all and allowed me to feel kind of like a kid again eating with my hands. Be aware the flatbread does have a fermented flavor, which for me, took a moment to get used to.

Revathi Raja Kumar

One of my favorite restaurants in the Bay Area, the owners are warm and friendly, and the food is consistently delicious. We ordered Abby's Veggie Combo , it was delicious!

Khwaja Ahmed

Say what? Nah it it Shewhat. This restaurant cafe is gonna have u slapping the table saying how much you vibing with this Injera and meat. Because my gosh guy you gonna be looooving the crispy lamb! Highly recommend grabbing some along with the beef. Whoooeeee that stuff be more fire than California during fire season. Very much recommend y’all try it out. The milk tea taste like cinnamon horchata tho. And the staff be friendly as heck!

This place is amazing! Food was very delicious 😋 I meant to take a picture of the dish which is family style but was so hungry I forgot but very delicious. One thing you should know is that there's no utensils they have these rolls of a very thin breading or what it reminds of is a pancake but tortilla thin that you use to eat with. That was something new to me but we handled it and it worked out great 👍. The servings are pretty big and for 3 of us we couldn't finish it. This place place is a hit, give it a go!

This is our favorite neighborhood Ethiopian restaurant! All of their food is placed with savory flavor that everyone (including our kiddos and vegetarian family members) love, and I particularly like the chicken spinach dish. We've gotten takeout the past few times but their dining patio is super cute and want to eat there next time.

This was NICE! We were quite disappointed by the Kitchen on Fire on the day before and this was a much needed upgrade! Food is authentic, rich, full of flavor and good quality. 10/10 recommend!

Food was very tasty! Had the mushroom and lentil entree from vegan menu and both were very tasty. Great atmosphere and lovely hosts!

Minal Tolpadi

Food was very tasty! Had the mushroom and lentil entree from vegan menu and both were very tasty. Great atmosphere and lovely hosts!

John Neal

This is our favorite neighborhood Ethiopian restaurant! All of their food is placed with savory flavor that everyone (including our kiddos and vegetarian family members) love, and I particularly like the chicken spinach dish. We've gotten takeout the past few times but their dining patio is super cute and want to eat there next time.

Beatrice Naticchioni

This was NICE! We were quite disappointed by the Kitchen on Fire on the day before and this was a much needed upgrade! Food is authentic, rich, full of flavor and good quality. 10/10 recommend!

Shiro was shockingly salty. Other food was good (sambusa, crispy tibs, lentils, chai). They did not serve enough injera and they charge for extra. The waitress was kind but brought us comically small individual plates and comically large spoons after asking (yes we wanted to eat with our hands but serve onto our own plates first). I saw two rats, or perhaps the same rat twice. Atmosphere cozy and cute, but it’s not enough to make up for the shiro. Will not go back. UPDATE: the restaurant reached out immediately about this review and apologized for the oversalting and they say the rats only appear on the patio but not inside. Adding one star for excellent post-hoc customer service :) now might try the place again.

Lila Blum

Shiro was shockingly salty. Other food was good (sambusa, crispy tibs, lentils, chai). They did not serve enough injera and they charge for extra. The waitress was kind but brought us comically small individual plates and comically large spoons after asking (yes we wanted to eat with our hands but serve onto our own plates first). I saw two rats, or perhaps the same rat twice. Atmosphere cozy and cute, but it’s not enough to make up for the shiro. Will not go back.