Blue Nile Ethiopian Restaurant

My husband and I enjoyed a delightful meal at The Blue Nile on a Monday afternoon. The place was quiet, but the food was fresh and delicious! Weve eaten at many Ethiopian restaurants over the years in Saint Paul and Minneapolis, beginning with the first restaurant named The Blue Nile when it was on Lake and Lyndale (no relation). Its great to finally have a good Ethiopian restaurant that is outside of the Twin Cities! The food is presented attractively when you order the sampler, but more importantly, everything we ate was delicious. The Ethiopian honey wine was a perfect accompaniment, and we started the meal with two veggie and two beef sambusas, both of which were great. The owner is very friendly, and I have been recommending Blue Nile to colleagues, many of whom have told me how much they enjoyed their visit to this restaurant as well. We look forward to going back soon.

Cane in, sat ourselves. Decent chairs and spacing. Not loud very relaxing. Smaller menu with great options. We loved everything it was delicious with good portions of food. Leaving very happy and full

Blue Nile is fantastic Ethiopian restaurant and nice to have one in North St. Paul. The entire family and I loved the fish kitfo! The fish was well seasoned and perfectly cooked. Fish kitfo is always a highlight when a restaurant has it on the menu! We also enjoyed the beef kitfo (cooked medium rare), doro wat, and the injera roll sampler. Good portion sizes for the price and excellent customer service!

This is the best Ethiopian food Ive ever had in the twin cities. However, Im extremely disappointed that the portion sizes are not consistent. I first dined in a few months ago and was very impressed by the flavors. I even had some leftovers to take home. Recently I went back and ordered a super vegetarian combination for 2 people for take away. The portion was somehow smaller than when I ordered the vegetarian combination for 1 person when I dined in. My partner and I were extremely disappointed and unsure if we will make such a long drive to get food here again even though the food was so good.

It was my first time trying Ethipion cuisine. The staff was very kind and genuinely care about your dining experience. They recommended the Half and Half meat and veggies combination platter for two people and it was delicious! We also got the Sambusas as a starter which tasted very fresh and flavorful. Couldnt get enough of the sauce. Definitely will be returning to try other dishes!

A slice of heaven nestled in North St. Paul! The lentil sambosa, beef awaze tibs, chicken tibs, and mixed meat/vege platter were delicious! Great service and atmosphere. Bring friends and come hungry! Will definitely be back often.

This was our first dine in experience after we had tried some of their sambusas during the North St. Paul car show. Our meals were fantastic and wonderfully flavored. If youre looking for good food and good flavor, you wont be disappointed!

Ate here for the first time and it was excellent! We ordered kitfo (asked for rare) and the veggie platter and everything was delicious. The staff were very kind and attentive. We love Ethiopian cuisine and look forward to eating here again!

Absolutely incredible food!!! We got one of the veggie and meat combo platters for 2 and had leftovers for 2 meals afterwards!Our server was kind, knowledgeable, and attentive. She even shared some cultural information about eating traditional Ethiopian food, although I definitely struggled to eat with one hand!

This place is an ethnic gem in a surprising location. The food is spectacularly flavorful and served in generous portions. Most dishes are designed to be eaten with the flavorful injera bread (a pancake-like sourdough flatbread) but flatware is available upon request. There are vegetation, lamb, fish, and beef entree options (I do not recall chicken but it might be there). The environment is warm and inviting and the service was great. I recommend the family feast for variety and exploration if you arent familiar with the food. This is a welcome new adventure in North Saint Paul!!!

First saw online where one of our Facebook friends posted a video. We have tried majority of Ethiopian restaurant in the twins cities and suburbs.Great parking area and great location.I tried Zilzil Tibs and Half half and both test great and delicious. The meat is very tender.I will definitely come back and try other food next time.We were offered coffee after our lunch and it was great.Thank you.Side note-Please make sure always serve fresh injera

What a great addition to North Saint. Paul! Went there for the first time today and ordered takeout. Food is delicious! The injera is an acquired taste, and this is some of the best Ive had. I cant wait to come back. The restaurant is beautiful and clean, and the service was very friendly. This is so much better than the brothers bistro who previously occupied this space. Im looking forward to the Blue Nile being here for a very long time.

The Ethiopian restaurants food is an absolute delight! The flavors are rich and authentic, and the injera bread is perfectly fluffy. You wont find a better Ethiopian dining experience in town I cant get enough of the flavors at this Ethiopian restaurant. The kitfo and Tibs are personal favorites, and the staff is always warm and welcoming. Its like a piece of Ethiopia right in our neighborhood.

Wonderful food in a casual restaurant. A friend and I shared the fish kitfo and the vegetarian sampler for one. We enjoyed trying all the dishes and found each one to be very tasty. Highly recommend.

Had a lovely, authentic Ethiopian dining experience at Blue Nile in North St. Paul, Minnesota. BK and Selam are excellent hosts. For coffee enthusiasts, do not miss the house roasted Ethiopian coffee! Excited to continue my adventure through the menu..

Wow! What a great addition to North St. Paul! Wonderful food, atmosphere, and service. Loved the gluten free and vegetarian options. There’s even a gluten free bread that tastes like a spongey sourdough. The owner served us and was a super nice guy. Will be back!

JUST opened in beautiful downtown North Saint Paul. A true taste delight. Check it out!!!Update:Went back for my husbands birthday and got a surprise cheesecake! Yay! Thanks Blue Nile!!! 🥰

Food was amazing! The server was very polite but needed guidance from us on when to take our order, refills, getting the check… will surely go back for more as the food is just that good!

The servers are excellent, and there is good customer service with authentic Ethiopian food with homemade 100% Teff gluten-free injera. Traditional coffee ceremony with good music selection. This place is always neat and friendly at all times. I would highly recommend checking it out.

I wouldnt expect North Saint Paul of all places to have good Ethiopian food, but Blue Nile is shattering that expectation. Delicious options for both meat and plant lovers. I usually get some of each but I could eat completely vegetarian here and be just fine. The injera is nice and springy, sour in a good way, and they arent shy about bringing you extra. If youve never had Shekla Tibs before, its a really cool presentation.The only complaint I have is that the food does take a bit to arrive, but honestly for how good it is I dont mind.

Delicious food with a great atmosphere, definitely recommend to anyone even if you havent tried Ethiopian food before! A real crowd pleasing place, so many good options. Love how clearly labeled the vegetarian options are

We love Ethiopian food, so were very excited to try out Blue Nile. They have great service, flavorful food, a wide variety of (Ethiopian) options to order, and great friendly service! Their prices are very reasonable as well!Definitely recommend them!

The food was delicious! We got a meat and veggie combo. The service was outstanding. Highly recommend.

Fantastic place, came in with friends sat down and our server/waiter Alazar had great service he was tall and strong had beautiful eyes amazing man can’t wait to go back and see him

Food was delicious. I got the doro wat. The only complaint I have is that for $18 you get one small chicken drumstick and a hard boiled egg in a vat of (albeit delicious) sauce. They use organic chicken, so it was even smaller than normal - just a bit larger than what you see when you get buffalo wings. So buyer beware.

We got the tour of Ethiopia for us and the kids and we really liked everything we ate and still had leftovers. All the meat we had was so good but the vegetarian dishes can totally stand alone. We’re excited to return!

Excellent menu for meat eaters and vegetarians. Attentive service. This was our first visit and all of our questions were answered. Absolutely delicious food!

Ive never eaten Ethiopian food but my sister suggested I try it based on my tastes. We found this place close to us and I have to say, I like it! I had the Vegetarian Combo platter to try an variety of items and it was flavorful and I was full, lol. My husband had the lamb. Well probably go back again!

Ate at 4pm. Absolutely dead traffic. Bomb food, though. And if you like spice, they have OPTIONS. Like a great hole in the wall resteraunt.

Excellent food and service. Check out the samosas and the bar when youre there. Would go back!

On my way to a different place when my wife spotted the Blue Nile sign. A quick discussion followed by a u-turn had us there. Its a small place, clean and modern looking. Family owned, with parents cooking and daughter serving. We had a meat and veggie combination platter, plenty for two. The food was pretty good, and the owners were gracious. Weve decided to add this place to our rotation.

If you want to try something new, this is the place. The staff was fantastic and helpful for someone new to this cuisine.

Delicious food! Fresh, well-seasoned, and generous portions. I recommend sharing an entree and ordering a bunch of appetizers and sides to go with it. So excited to have delicious Ethiopian food in North St Paul! Also convenient that theyre open later than a lot of other nearby options. Will definitely be back.

First off, I am not a real adventurous eater and had never before eaten Ethiopian cooking, so I was a little skeptical. Having explain that to the staff, they helped me choose the kitfo and tipps combo along with an appetizer, I forgot the name, but similar to an egg roll. I must say, the food was fantastic! Not spicy, but seasoned very well. The rolls came with beef and vegetables with a dipping sauce that had a little kick to it, but also excellent.The restaurant is clean and comfortable. With a bar that has very good prices on beer and wine. Top it off with a friendly and helpful staff. I am looking forward to returning. I hope they make it, perfect for this small tiwn

Everything i got was cold. No flavor to anything I ordered. I got it to go but I ate some right when I left. Still cold. Biggest waste of money.

Absolutely amazing people that work there! A group of 20 of us showed up from a pub crawl they were so accommodating and gracious. It was great! I can’t wait to go back and have an actual meal!!Highly recommend!

Went in for lunch with my husband. Were new to Ethiopian food and we were well taken care of. We shared the meat and veggie combo plate and were not disappointed! The food was very tasty and we know exactly what we will order when we return. I personally loved that the bread was GF just because thats how its made.Very excited to have different options in NSP!

We were really excited to see this Ethiopian restaurant open in North St. Paul. We went a few weeks ago and the food was really good. I have been to several Ethiopian restaurants around the Cities, all delicious. The price for the veggie sampler is way higher here than at other places in Mpls and St. Paul.. Generally you would expect to pay twenty to twenty five dollars for a veggie sampler for 2, the price here is $36 I think. This will probably make us not come back as often as we otherwise would have.

The food was great. Atmosphere was nice. Good prices and gluten free options! I will definitely be back.

Came to the cities for a birthday and was determined to pick up Ethiopian. We took a tour of Ethiopia and ended up with fantastically happy bellies. Clearly a family restaurant and we really enjoyed being able to eat here.Definitely recommend this absolute deliciousness!

I had the combination plater because I wasnt sure what to get. It was all good except the spicy beef stew, just to spicy for me. Next I will get the veggie platter. I would say be a little adventurous and give The Blue Nile a try. I will be back

Delicious! We were delighted to find a new place to try so close to home! The food was amazing and the restaurant is cozy, clean and beautiful. We are eager to go back again to try more things on the menu!

So excited to have them in North St.Paul. Amazing service and food. Finally something different in town. It was great to try new foods (that were delicious) and get advice from the owners on what to order. They said they will have craft beer on tap too!

Amazing restaurant! The food is so delicious and very reasonably priced. Portions are great. I look forward to coming back and trying new dishes. My favorites are the vegetarian dishes (ater kik alicha, misir wot, and shiro wot). The beef alecha is also great. Highly recommend!!

I recently had the pleasure of dining at Blue Nile Restaurant, and it was an exceptional experience. The food was not only delicious but also bursting with incredible flavors that left my taste buds dancing with delight. The service was top-notch, and the staffs warm smiles added to the overall marvelous atmosphere. I highly recommend Blue Nile for a fantastic culinary journey

First, let me say Ethiopian is my FAVORITE cuisine and would probably be my choice for my very last meal if it came to that. I usually like Fasika in St. Paul, but we decided to try Blue Nile tonight. We ordered the Doro Tibs, Awaze tibs, and Misir Wot to try. My standard dish and measuring stick is Misir Wot. I have to say it was good but not quite up to Fasika’s standards. Really good spice but not quite as rich as I’m used to. The awaze tibs on the other hand were JUST as amazing as I wanted them to be. And the Doro Tibs were MIND BLOWING!!! Like “some of the best food I’ve ever put in my mouth” good! The other thing, I ABSOLUTELY loved is that they actually do the injera the traditional way with 100% teff flour (which for me means I can actually have it since I can’t eat wheat.) It was incredible and I would drive well out of the way just for the injera alone! Living in Minneapolis, we drove past 7 other Ethiopian restaurants to get to Blue Nile; but I can honestly say it was WORTH IT. I think I actually cried a little while I ate my meal… We are already planning our next visit.

Friendly and helpful staff, especially for people who dont know much about Ethiopian food.

A fun experience with great food - it can be spicy, though - and kind service. Plus a selection of Ethiopian beer and one that has become my new favorite lager: Walia.

This side of town needed this!great food. Cant wait to come back again.

This place is exquisite! Ive been coming here for several years with my dad and have brought other family members here so they, too, can enjoy this delicious experience. Eating with my hands is so much fun and the dishes are very unique..unlike anything Ive had anywhere else! The atmosphere is antique but laid back, so jeans are just as fine as a nice dress or slacks. Id like to see some updates to the menu and the service is slow, but everyone is relatively friendly and the dishes are a nice change of pace from the usual steaks, salads and pastas.

Best food and great customer service. Keep it up!

Excellent veggie platter and wonderful service. We appreciate the vegan options and the late hours.

Stopped in this last week for late lunch early dinner. They reopened. Nice selection on the sampler plate and good sized portions. Food was tasty.

Food was not very authentic. Very low quality and expensive. Never going back

We went there around 1730. There were a few people there so it was a quiet atmosphere. there was one waitress on staff so service was understandably slow. we received our food 45 mins later. While everyone else received a warm towel as per the website states, we did not. The food was Luke warm. While the food may be an acquired taste, it wasnt bad. It wasnt exceptionally good either as we thought it was bland coming from West Indies and Asian backgrounds. Id like to come back in the late evening to see how things differ.

Got the veggie plate to go. Excellent flavors and quality. Cool atmosphere, hope to dine in next time.

Delicious, welcoming and great portion sizes! Will definitely return.

Amazing food. So flavorful. Lamb tibs were the best. Expect frequent return trips.

It’s was a very good experience with good food and service, I got quantafirfir , veggie combo and lega lamb tibs which was really good. I really recommend the place.

Amazing food. Wonderful service.

I now have a new favorite Ethiopian restaurant 😋

Fantastic food, fantastic atmosphere, and a quiet/calm location! This spot had only been open 3 months, wish it got more attention that it deserves

Great food as already mentioned, but the bar, service, and selection of beers was outstanding. They had a couple beers on tap not available anywhere else in the Twin Cities! While not the selection of the Happy Gnome or The Muddy Pig, it is a beer lovers destination.

So nice to have Ethiopian food close to our home. The food is wonderful and the service was welcoming.

I was very happy to find an Ethiopian restaurant outside of the cities making it really close to get such great food more often!

Amazing Vegetarian platter so delicious! Large sambusas too...the lentils and beets are out of this world!

I really liked most of veggies sampler. Now I know what I would be ordering again!

Best 👌 restaurant good customer service

Fantastic food and great service. Very nice place to go for a authentic meal.

Al the bar manager has the best tap-beer rotation in the Twin Cities. Great happy hour.

Stopped in for sambusa and it was excellent. Will be back for dinner soon.

Love this spot, I had the Kitfo and it was absolutely delicious!

I must say This Place has changed, from 5 yrs ago It used to be such a nice place now it is filled with a bunch of drunk Thugs, or old men looking to hook up (yuck), I have to find another place to go and enjoy myself it wont be here ever again.

Great food 😋 excellent customer service.

Great place to grab tasty meal!

Among great food, this place has an excellent selection of beer.

Good food and nice and clean place

Visit & enjoy blue Nile restaurants

Always a pleasant staff, great beer, excellent food.

Wait a minute.....is this the Blue Nile that used to be in MPLS?

Legit

Great time! Great food!

Yum!

Great food and service

Disappointing describes the food and ambiance of Blue Nile.

Nice new Ethiopian restaurant.

Awesome food!

Delicious!!

Outstanding

Food was so deliciously sweet and that tall, dark, and handsome young man working the bar, I think his name was Alazar, kept us entertained with his muscular frame. That boy, actually that man, is hands-down the best part of Blue Nile Ethiopian Restaurant.

Big chungus Alazar for the PS5

One of the best restaurants I’ve been to. The food was AMAZING and our waiter….OH BOY our waiter. Words can’t describe the service that was given to us! Make sure to ask for Alazaar next time you go. 10/10 5 stars all around.

Best Ethiopian food in Minnesota