Demera

It doesn’t look like much, but looks can be deceiving. So yeah, it looks pretty rundown, but if you close your eyes, you’re transported to Merkato. And that’s all done without the assistance of hallucinogenics. Which reminds me, there’s no tej available, sadly, but there are Ethiopian beers to be had.

Delicious Ethiopian food and super friendly staff. Our waiter couldn’t have been more accommodating. Pair that with very reasonable prices and it’s a winner all around. Our table really enjoy the vegetarian platter.

Food is very good, the service can be slow though. It is a family run business, and the staff are all just part of the family, not necessarily trained servers, so they are all very nice and trying to give a good experience but they do not all speak english very clearly or give the on demand service you might expect.
The food is worth the wait though, just know what you are getting into.

Being from Chicago, I’ve had a fair amount of Ethiopian food. Demera looks like a hole in the wall from the outside, but the warm aroma and friendly staff quickly bring you into the experience.
The flavours of the food are well balanced and the textures enliven your senses. The variety of flavours will please every palette.
My friend and I had the veg platter and lamb tibs along with the delicious Ethiopian coffee. Our one year olds also enjoyed the flavours of the tangy injera and variety of lentils and veggies.
I was impressed by the price as well. Good value for the money.
A definite win.

i love this place! its a lot of food for the price! it’s soooo delicious i want to come here every day!!!

We ordered the meat and veg assortment because we wanted to try as much as possible between the two of us. Had enough leftovers for two more meals. I think this will be our go to Ethiopian because of the friendly, genuine service and the great food.
Everything was in a distinctly different sauce and well seasoned. Best injera I’ve had. It’s not very spicy at all unless you suffer from a MN spicy palate. We were happy to surprise our waitress by defying stereotypes because we enjoyed the raw beef and ‘spicy’ dishes. Try everything and hopefully surprise yourself!

Ethiopian beer, holy smokes yummy. Fried tilapia pretty bland, needed seasoning, but perfectly cooked. The «special beef» was the big hit with everyone at the table, though strangely it included some bits of lamb. Vegetarian platter definitely a good way to sample; everyone liked something on it.
Comfortable but needs some refurbishing and deep cleaning. Spotty service but very kind and friendly.
The beer was the big standout for me… going to have to see where we can buy some.

This place was amazing! I had never had food like this before, it was spicy and hot and damn good. They put fruit in their water, so good, soda is canned but still good. We got the meat sampler and the vegetarian one, all was just so good.

Better than Fasika. Very tasty and among the best we’ve had in the US. Had the vegetarian combo and lamb tibs. Food came out hot and the flavors were distinct. The kids loved it and I think we must have cleaned the plates with the Ingera. Skip the wine but try the Ethiopian beer. The overall ambiance is low key but very pleasant. Prices are reasonable, service good and it’s right next to the Victoria stop. Don’t be put off by the entrance-​quite nice inside.

This was my first experience with Ethiopian cuisine, and it will NOT be my last! I had a wot, a beef stew of sorts that promised not to be spicy (I have no tolerance for spicy) and my boyfriend had the vegetarian platter. The stew looked interesting, but my first taste was amazing. I have never had such a delicious stew in my life! The salad dressing was some light, tangy, peppery vinaigrette, and was a perfect complement. The vegetarian platter was equally delicious, and the prices were very reasonable. I couldn’t really understand much of what our waitress said, but she was very polite, and service was good. I am looking forward to eating there again!

Great Ethiopian food right around my corner. Totally worth it. I love that they are open until 2am, even on Sundays! My new late night eatery.

Classy, cozy, delicious. This place is a winner. The minute we walked in, several people greeted us warmly. I had heard that this place is better than Fasika down the street. I don’t know enough about Ethiopian to say, but in terms of eating experience this place is the best I’ve tried in the Twin Cities.
There was a large flat-​screen TV with CNN barely audible, and lively world music (sorry I can’t place the origin) in the background. I enjoyed taking in the scene. (More on that below.)
And there’s the food! My husband ordered the kitfo, spiced beef tartar. He ordered it «medium» cooked. It was unlike anything I’ve had before. It was very tender, with a spicy kick, and a little bit of sweetness. Even though it was cooked, I could still sense the raw meat roots of the dish. He ate the whole thing, which is pretty unusual – he usually takes leftovers home. I really liked the vegetarian sampler. The sampler was supposed to have only four of the vegetarian dishes, but I was pleasantly surprised that all six appeared on the platter. The gomen (collard greens) was a bit more rough-​tasting than others I’ve had, but the kik alicha (split peas) was very good, and the shiro (yellow split peas) heavenly. The salad was also very fresh, and seasoned with a light and tasty dressing.
The décor alone is remarkable. I wonder what the space was originally before it became a phở restaurant (unfortunately the Phở Mai sign still hangs prominently on the side of the building). One wall has a classy midcentury modern shelf and mirror combination. The prints are contemporary African or African American themed, and the upper walls are painted tastefully in warm golden hues. The bathrooms look like what you’d get if Pier 1 and Bed, Bath, and Beyond got together to think about what ethnic people might actually buy for themselves. The bar displayed some liquor bottles in anticipation, but there was no mixed drink or liquor list. My husband was pleasantly surprised to see there were customary tables and chairs, not the low Ethiopian tables and chairs you see in some places.
I saw some coffee sets stashed on a shelf. It might be nice to try Ethiopian espresso here sometime. In the meantime, though, I will keep Demera at the top of my list of Ethiopian restaurants. You don’t have to wait to get a seat, they were not short-​handed in staff, and the service was attentive and friendly. Another plus: they have their own parking lot, so you don’t have to park two blocks away.

This was an important reminder that I have to make Ethiopian cuisine a regular part of my life. For around $ 10 (vegetarian dishes are $ 9) you get delicious food: enough to nearly burst at the seams. This time I had the misir kei wot (spiced red lentils) which arrived with a copious amount of injera and a nice salad with jalapeños. They were out of Ethiopian beer and baklava, but that’s just another reason to come back.
I was taken aback when the waitress/​bartender asked me if I spoke Arabic in Arabic. I was like, «Yeah to a certain degree…», but I was thinking what made her so sure, I was reading some BBC Arabic on my smartphone, but that was on the train before I came in… how would she just know that? Then she said it was my last name, which she just happened to misread. That was totally random, but cool, since I was able to respond to her question. I would have expected that any non-​English language I’d be hearing there would be Amharic, which I did also hear thanks to the music and a handful of other patrons.
It was kinda dead in there, but then it was 9PM and I guess everyone in St Paul already had dinner? Even so, that shouldn’t be the case as it’s right next to Victoria Station and they’re open til 2:00 AM. This is a new St Paul favorite of mine, so I’m surprised I’m only adding the 6^th review. Oh well, at least this way I might have a chance to get my hands on some baklava and Ethiopian beer before a bunch of Unilocalers clean the place out.

This little restaurant/​bar doesn’t even look completely finished with its construction, but it’s everything I want in an Ethiopian restaurant. Perfect spice blending, just the right fermentation in the Injera, hell even the salad dressing is great (quite tangy and slightly peppery vinegarette). It’s still somewhat unknown, so you don’t have to wait in line for a too-​small table like at Fasika.
If you’ve eaten at Fasika and the old Blue Nile (before umpteen chef changes, like about 13 years ago when they were great), the style is closer to Blue Nile in the moistness of the sauces and the chili types, but while Nile has been rather hit-​or-​miss (mostly miss) as they’ve cycled through kitchen staff, Demera is at the top of their game.
My personal preference is the Key Wot and various vegetable dishes (verrrry good Gomen). I’m not a dessert person so I can’t speak to the baklava, but many others seem to like it. Portions are generous. They mix strong at the bar. Prices are reasonable, a little cheaper than Fasika and much lower than Blue Nile as I recall.
Cons: Hard to find due to inadequate signage, I wasn’t big on the beet salad (but you might be if you like beets), and if it’s very busy you might find yourself parked into the tiny parking lot. However, any restaurant on University that has any sort of a parking lot should get some credit.

We had never experienced Ethiopian cuisine before out trip to Demara (823 W. University Ave., St. Paul) before Friday night. Both Krystyn and I were in the mood to experience something «different» this weekend, and after asking for some advice from a co-​worker, Krystyn thought we should give Demara a try. She had heard nothing but glowing reviews from others.
We arrived at about 7:20 and were seated pretty quickly. This place had the typical wait for a Friday night, meaning it should be good food. We were seated within 10 minutes of arrival and the wait staff were very polite. They asked us if we’d eaten there before and when we said it was our first time, they were excited for us to try the food and made a few recommendations.
Our waitress recommended the Dere Wat and the Veggie Sampler and we ordered both. The food is very spicy with a lot of flavors that neither of us are used to and I would say that we’ve been all over the world between the two of us during our college years (we both studied abroad for two years). The flavors were terrific to say the least. The vegetarian sampler platter had a LOT of different items on it, all of which were very tasty. The Dere Wat (which they told us was a staple at any Ethiopian restaurant) was excellent.
The food was great, the atmosphere was fun and the staff were attentive, professional, courteous and friendly. This is a GREAT place to experience something different. Amazingly, I just found out that this place has only been open for a year. Most places aren’t this successful in that short amount of time, but Demara must be doing something right. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this to anyone and we will be back.

I’ve been here a couple times. The food is pretty tasty. I suggest their fish and any of the tibs dishes. Definitely worth giving them a chance.
Warning: service can be extremely slow. Like 30 minutes to get the check when no one else is there slow. And don’t you dare leave food on your plate and opt to not take it home because both the waitress and the owner will shame you for wanting to try something and just not liking it enough to take it home.

After trying to find Ethiopian Food as incredible as the closed Queen of Sheba on west 7^th, I have finally found it.
The service? Exceptional. The food? Best Doro Wot in the cities. My friend had the vegetarian platter which went beyond the standard leftover tasting veggies at other restaurants. Everything tasted fresh and was spiced perfectly.
Demera opened one year ago. It will be my «go to» place for comfort food, from this date forward!

We saw this place driving down to Fasika’s on Friday nite and made a note to try it sometime. Today we found ourselves driving down University again. It was after 2:30 when it occurred to me that I hadn’t eaten yet today and I was minutes from a meltdown. Since we were close we decided to see if they were open. I went in to check it out.
There weren’t a lot of people in there, but that’s to be expected for a Sunday mid-​afternoon. The friendly waitress asked if I wanted to see a menu. If you don’t already know your Ethiopian food or speak the language, the menu won’t be much help, but that’s okay, because they serve pretty much what you would find at any Ethiopian place you find. I asked the waitress if the food was and she told me, «I’m not going to lie; it’s good.» I’m pleased to say she lied. The food is not good, it’s fantastic.
We got the Key Wot (beef in berebere) and the vegetable sampler which included red and yellow lentils, in spiced butter, carrots & cabbage (also in spiced butter, carrots & green beans, a cold beet & himaca dish and a simple lettuce salad. Both were served on a raft of injera (100% teffe — a little darker and heavier than that mixed with wheat) in generous portions — enough to bring home a 2^nd meal if you can stop from eating it all at once.
Hands down, this was the best Ethiopian food I’ve ever had. I was so happy down to the depths of my being that I told the owner I would put a website together for him for free. I’m sure that being a little drunk on the gin and tonic I’d just sucked down didn’t hurt my existential delight, but I’ve been drunk before and I’ve never volunteered to make a website for a stranger.
Now that I’m home and sober, I’m a little sad though. I will never have the pleasure of going to Demera a first time again. If you’re reading this, you should stop whatever you’re doing a check this place out and write me back to tell me about your first time. Seriously. This place is not to be missed