For a first Ethiopian meal in Oakland, California, the most useful question is how to compose the table. A combination of legumes and vegetables can introduce different seasonings at once; a slowly cooked wot or sautéed tibs can then provide a contrasting preparation. Enssaro and Café Colucci both offer enough range to make that approach work. Their identities also give the meal a local story: one has begun a new chapter in Rockridge, while the other connects its North Oakland kitchen directly to a spice operation in Ethiopia.
Enssaro moved from Grand Avenue to its new College Avenue home in 2026, announcing the opening for July 31. That change matters because older accounts still associate the restaurant with Lake Merritt. Owner Nesanet Tamirue describes a cooking tradition learned from her mother and grandmothers, and the current menu carries that inheritance into the new neighborhood. A vegetable sampler brings lentils, split peas, greens and cabbage with potatoes and carrots together; larger combinations add seasoned chickpeas or mushrooms. The order offers variety without requiring a newcomer to select every preparation separately.
A contrasting dish can make the meal easier to understand. Enssaro’s doro wot combines bone-in chicken and boiled egg in red sauce, while lamb tibs move toward sautéed meat with peppers, onions, garlic and spices. Mixed samplers bring meat and vegetables into a shared order. Injera accompanies that style of eating; the menu distinguishes the house version from a separate gluten-free teff option. That distinction is useful for a table with dietary needs, because the bread deserves as much attention as the dishes placed beside it.
Café Colucci offers another point of entry through its pantry. Founder Fetlework Tefferi opened the restaurant in 1991, and difficulties sourcing spices helped lead to Brundo’s operation in Modjo, Ethiopia. The menu lets diners compare kik alicha, a split-pea preparation with turmeric and aromatics, with messer wot, whose lentils take on berbere, mitmita and red onion. A vegan combination and individual greens or shiro can shape a complete vegetable-centered meal. The bar and the spices offered for sale extend that culinary story beyond the platter. The restaurant currently operates on a walk-in basis and announces its patio closed for fall and winter, so an outdoor dinner should not be the reason for choosing it this season.
Enssaro suits a visit organized around shared samplers and a family kitchen now established in Rockridge. Café Colucci adds a particularly clear connection between food and the people supplying its seasonings. Both provide an introduction with room to explore: begin with several legumes and vegetables, then add a dish whose sauce or cooking method offers a contrast. Comparing a gently seasoned split-pea dish, a berbere-rich stew and sautéed tibs gives the first meal a direction, with each order adding something different to the table.
Explore the profiles: Enssaro Ethiopian Restaurant · Café Colucci
Recommended restaurants
The profiles below explain each restaurant’s cooking and give practical details for planning a visit.
Now in Rockridge, Enssaro gives Ethiopian stews, sautéed tibs and shared vegetable samplers a new home while retaining its family’s culinary identity.
Ethiopian cooking; doro wot, lamb tibs, lentil and vegetable samplers, shiro and injera, with a separate teff option.
Fetlework Tefferi’s North Oakland restaurant connects Ethiopian stews and injera with Brundo’s spice supply, a full bar and a deep selection of vegan dishes.
Ethiopian cooking; vegan combo, kik alicha, messer wot, shiro, meat tibs and wheat-blend or gluten-free teff injera.
Sources & references
Sources for the information and reporting discussed in this guide.
- Enssaro: current Rockridge location and hours ↗ Primary source www.enssarooakland.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Enssaro: dishes and shared samplers ↗ Primary source www.enssarooakland.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Enssaro Ethiopian Restaurant: Google Maps listing ↗ Primary source www.google.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Café Colucci: concept, patio and walk-in policy ↗ Primary source cafecolucci.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Café Colucci: Fetlework Tefferi and restaurant history ↗ Primary source cafecolucci.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Café Colucci: Ethiopian menu and injera choices ↗ Primary source cafecolucci.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Brundo: origins and spice sourcing ↗ Primary source www.brundo.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Café Colucci: restaurant-published hours on Toast ↗ Primary source www.toasttab.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Café Colucci: Google Maps listing ↗ Primary source www.google.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Rockridge Voice: Enssaro's new home in 2026 ↗ Secondary source www.rockridgevoice.com · Accessed September 28, 2026
- Black Restaurant Week: participant listing and social accounts ↗ Secondary source blackrestaurantweeks.com · Accessed September 28, 2026