Royal Coffee (Ethiopian Cafe)

Located on the surprisingly bustling corner of Pratt and Sheridan in Rogers Park in a great location previously occupied by an Eastern European coffee/panini shop, Royal Coffee offers their own imported Ethiopian coffee, pastries, smoothies and a smattering of Ethiopian dishes.

Every time I pass by, the place is fairly busy with a nice mix of Loyola students, old leftist-looking types, and of course East Africans. Lured in today by free wifi and wanting an espresso, I spent the late afternoon sitting in the small outdoor enclosure studying for the bar exam. Not exactly the best place to study, as the sidewalk and street traffic on Sheridan over there is very loud but I managed.

Some friends dropped by in the evening and we decided to order some food. The menu lists a bunch of paninis and devotes just a page to Ethiopian fare. They have a number of breakfast specials that can be ordered all day, including scrambled eggs with veggies and berbere served with injera, which sounded mighty intriguing. Another breakfast dish that caught my eye was injera and ful -the latter being stewed favas, which are a much loved staple of Egypt, the Sudan and East Africa. I've never had ful at an East African place, so I'm eager to try it out soon.

We ordered a veggie combo and some lamb tibs, really the only two dinner options on the menu (though you can also get beef or chicken tibs). The food arrived in small bowls on a platter with some rolled up injera - a departure from the typical Ethiopian serving method where everything is placed in small piles on a large injera. The vegetables included two types of pulses, some collard greens and turnips. All of the veggies were great, particularly the turnips which were perfectly cooked (not too mushy) and some lentils that toothsome, spicy and rich. A bowl of yellow lentils however, while well seasoned were just a tad bit underdone. I really appreciated that each of the four veggie dishes exhibited a unique set of seasonings and spices - some spicy, some mild, some rich with ghee.

The lamb tibs were awesome. My Cuban friend liked them so much he ordered another bowl. Unlike like its long-stewed cousin wat, tibs is more like a saute with definable chunks of tomato and caramelized onion. The lamb, cut into small cubes was tender with a nice chew, and did not suffer from the toughness that often characterizes this type of preparation. Again, the kitchen demonstrated a learned hand with seasoning and spicing and I was delighted to detect notes of rosemary. These elements, combined with the wonderfully gamy lamb made for a hell of a dish. A salad of pickled onions and surprisingly perfect tomatoes was a refreshing accompaniment.

Needless to say I was very impressed with Royal Coffee, it reminded me of some of the best, low-key East African I've eaten in the DC area, which is known for its Ethiopian food, except perhaps a notch better. Chicago has it's share of good to great Ethiopian restaurants but most seem to fit a slightly higher-end (and more expensive) aesthetic that I don't associate with restaurants catering to burgeoning communities of recent immigrants. While Royal Coffee certainly isn't a hole-in-the-wall cabbie joint, the food it serves definitely fits the profile. And the coffee ain't half bad either.

Before I forget - the service was great. The proprietor checked on us repeatedly without being a bother, implored us to stay as long as we wished in the outdoor area even as they were closing, and offered us a glass of wine. The place is BYOB, which is absolutely awesome given the outdoor seating and proximity to two liquor stores. A great way to spend a low-key evening.

Royal Coffee, definitely check it out.







Royal Coffee
6764 N. Sheridan Rd.
Chicago, IL 60626
773-761-8100
http://www.royalcoffeechicago.com

Habibi wrote:Located on the surprisingly bustling corner of Pratt and Sheridan in Rogers Park in a great location previously occupied by an Eastern European coffee/panini shop, Royal Coffee offers their own imported Ethiopian coffee, pastries, smoothies and a smattering of Ethiopian dishes.

Thanks for the report. I've passed Royal when I run the Northwestern-Loyola loop, but the dudes with whom I run think a snack at our half-way point is a bad idea. Now, I'm going to go there on my own.

named best Ethiopian breakfast in the city for 2012 by the Reader:

http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/Be ... &year=2012

Not a large pool of options, I admit . . .

It's worth noting that the people who run this place offer a warm welcome. Good French breakfast, too. As in cafe au lait and croissant. I feel sorry for those who pack into the Starbucks a block away for stale scones when they could be relaxing and reading the paper at Royal Coffee.

Yum. Thanks for bumping this thread.

Looks like Saturday morning breakfast for me.

Chicago Hokie wrote:named best Ethiopian breakfast in the city for 2012 by the Reader:

http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/Be ... &year=2012

Not a large pool of options, I admit . . .

It might not be widely known but Lake Langano (1023 W Wilson), without question Chicago's finest Ethiopian-Chinese restaurant, has a sizeable menu of Ethiopian breakfast items. I had an excellent plate of yequanta fir-fir, sort of an injera stir fry with housemade beef jerky. I really need to write about this great little place.