In the past eight years of living in Oakland I have sampled perhaps more than my share of Ethiopian cuisine, always pitting one mound of mush against another. A handful of those meals have been take-out from Blue Nile Ethiopian, and these have varied too much for me to reach a firm conclusion on where it stands. So it was time for a proper sit-down meal to find out.
A quick search yields more than 20 Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurants in Oakland alone, and this plethora has always been one of the draws of the Bay Area for me. The meals hardly ever miss; I can order a vegetarian combination near anywhere, and it will be at the very least a filling and nutritious meal. At most it might be a deeply satisfying experience, and an intimate one, as you touch every morsel of food with your fingers, smell and see the rich coloration and spicing, before it ever enters your mouth.
Blue Nile, at 160 14th St. in downtown Oakland, has been open since July of 2018. It gives off a homey and family-run vibe. The space is decorated with several bright murals; the large plate-glass windows lining the front provided a view of a lively scene on the street when I sat there for lunch Sunday afternoon.
I perused the menu while waiting for my friend, noting that everying appeared to be made in house, injera and tej, Ethiopian honey wine, included. The injera is listed as available for sale as well. The other items that caught my eye were flax and sesame seed smoothies for $5 each. Curious, I ordered the sesame.
Just a few minutes later, this frothy, creamy, and nutty beverage arrived at the table. It tasted like toasted sesame milk, akin to an unstrained version of the multitude of plant mylks now available. I wished it were colder, perhaps even on ice. “Smoothie” seemed a stretch, but I enjoyed the flavor.
After my friend Meave arrived, she chose the flax smoothie (also roasted and toasted, slightly thicker than mine, just the right hint of sweetness). We ordered a standard vegan combination as well as the shiro vegan combo.
Most Ehtiopian restaurants I have encountered offer the same few veggies dishes — kik alicha, split yellow peas, atikilt, cabbage, carrots, and potatoes, misir, a saucy lentil stew, and gomen, stewed collards. Blue Nile also has mushroom tibs, which I had here and elsewhere before, and homemade mit’ten shiro, a seasoned ground chickpea dish, which I do not recall ever tasting.
Shortly thereafter we were served an enormous platter with eight gently dolloped dishes and rolls of injera surrounding (pictured at the top of the story). The colors were beautiful, and the range from smooth paste to chewy lentil to soft and supple vegetable, cut by the small pile of salad dressed in a hummus-adjacent cream, appeared just right.
After washing our hands (at a small sink outside of the restroom for handwashing, an excellent feature), we dug straight in, both more ravenous than we’d realized. Meave requested additional injera. I wished the food were hotter, but we took little time to process details for the first few minutes of eating.
I found myself wishing that the intense starchy, stickiness left behind by the injera, softened by sauces, was backed up by a bit more depth of flavor. Each dish was delicious, but felt a bit flat.
The kik alicha had great mouthfeel but could have used a bit more spice. The atikilt, a perennial favorite of mine (who doesn’t love cabbage and potatoes? Not this Ashkenaz and Irish-made peasant), was also just a tad under seasoned to my taste, needing more than just the vibrant turmeric to come through.
The misir had a hint of spicy spice, which both of us liked and wished for more of, while the gomen were tender and chewy but also missing a kick: Collards have a bit of a natural spice that is tamed by stewing, but these had perhaps been blanched or otherwise drained of their cruciferous bite.
Lastly, the shiro, a beautiful brown-red, so smooth and lush, had more depth than the collards or cabbage. But, perhaps swayed by the appearance, I could not help but feel it tasted strongly of and like tomato paste. Tomato paste I enjoyed, but a tad too tart and acidic, once again lacking a depth of smoke or spice or earth or sweetness.
We finished stuffing ourselves, and the bill, pre tip, came to just under $50. We did not clear the plate (I took the small bits home), and we left quite full. Meave noted that often a comparable meal will yield more leftovers. I found the portions of cooked food to be fine, but the rolls of injera were not enough to cover the food we’d ordered.
Their hours are great (closed only Wednesdays and open straight through the afternoon from lunch to dinner), and the homey vibe will bring me back, but not until I taste a few more vegetarian combos elsewhere first.
Sit down/table service Y
Outdoor seating N
Takeout Y
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Ready to go options/cafeteria style N
Less than 15 min wait Y
Under $20 w/tax and tip N
Many options under $20 Y
More than 1 veg option Y
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Open weekdays Y
Open weekends Saturday Y/Sunday N
Open Mondays Y
Bartable Y
Cash free N
