Cozy Cafe

It’s Cozy. The best kikil (soup), the best Gomen Be siga (spinach with meet and of course injera) nowhere to find but my mom’s kitchen. Also the beef or lamb tips yummy. Mmmmm…

Cozy Café is located in the corner of a small, run down shopping center. As I entered, a couple guys at the bar stared at me, but nobody said hello, including the guy behind the counter. The place was very dark, more like a sports bar than a café, and the only sound came from a TV near the entrance that was loudly playing Al Jazeera America. It was also a little hotter than I would have liked inside, though not sweltering. The smell of the place was also a disappointment — instead of the coffee and food smells you might expect, this place smelled like dust and disinfectant.
A woman (the owner?) came out of the kitchen and asked what I wanted. «Umm… lunch?»
We shared an awkward moment staring at each other until I started looking around at the tables and asked her if they were open. She then told me I could sit wherever I wanted somewhat scornfully, as if I should have already known that. She put a menu down and then walked away without another word — no attempt to make small talk, no drink order. The menu has a small selection — a page for breakfast and a page for lunch/​dinner, maybe five to eight selections on each page. The prices, however, were very reasonable and the menu items were enticing, so I quickly decided on my order. Unfortunately the woman was nowhere to be found, so I sat there uncomfortably watching the TV, aware that the men at the bar had started speaking in hushed tones now, which seemed pointless to me since I couldn’t understand their language anyway, but I guess they didn’t want me eavesdropping on them just in case I spoke Amharic???
When the woman reappeared, I asked if she would accept the mobile version of the
certificate I’d bought. I asked because I find many of the smaller restaurants only take a printed version, which I’d forgotten to bring with me. If that was the case, I figured I’d try them out for today and then come later with my cert to try something else. She curtly told me «We don’t take those. New owner.» Then, without even bothering to asking if I still wanted to order, she grabbed my menu off the table and told me to have a nice day. How funny that the only polite interaction I had with this woman is when she was basically telling me to get lost! Obviously at this point I lost all desire to stay since I clearly wasn’t welcome. I won’t be trying Cozy Café again and I’d recommend you try another of the great Ethiopian restaurants on Colfax instead if you want a more hospitable environment.

I got takeout. I ordered the lamb tibs, which was very tasty. The salad that came with it was flavorful, but rather hot, which was a bit of a shock. The owner was very pleasant and accommodating. It’s nice to have an Ethiopian restaurant at the north end of Havana Street, closer to home. The lighting in the parking lot isn’t great, and they don’t have a lighted sign, so if you come after dark, you have to watch for it.

The owner was very friendly and the food was great. It was a bit on the salty side, but lots of flavor. The only concern we had was that we were the only customers on a Saturday night, except for the number of adult men going in and out of the restaurant to smoke or play pool in the back. It has a bar, a pool table, and a few tables for a food.