“ Absolutely outstanding from the moment we walked in until we left. You can feel the ambience and warmth of the owner who personally comes out to each table and immediately greets you with a smile, but when the platter comes out, the food is a delicacy that cannot be explained. He immediately asked what our dietary needs were and hence adapted by offering the veggie platter as I'm a vegan with strict dietary needs. The injera is the most unique part of the dish as most 'Westerners' won't use their hands. It is typical in certain cultures of the world for people to use their right hands to eat and the other hand to do other things. The unique taste of each individual dish on the platter made the experience even better! We were both pleasantly surprised, and my guest actually decided to take everything left on the table home to experience it once again! Thank you, thank you thank you for an amazing experience, but more importantly, healthy food ! ”

“ Well so far trying a different Ethiopian restaurant they just open 2 years ago and I didn't know it was the owner who was running it. He opened his business for about 2 years now. His restaurant was named after the ancient city next to lalibela and where the St George chapel in a gorges. It's in Northern Ethiopia. So far ambience is quiet I'm the only customer In for lunch I was craving for Ethiopian was going to go to the other familiar places one of them was closed on Wilson they don't open until dinner time and I just stumbled upon this one when driving around. I haven't had Ethiopian in a while.i had impress the owner on my amaharic language since I have been to Ethiopia before In 2007. He gave me Tej or honey mead wine which was delicious but was waiting for my appetizer of Beef Sambusa and despite that I ate it for a while a semi cooked beef dish called Gored Gored. Be careful eating it in Ethiopia. It's safer to eat Gored Gored in USA with traditional injera bread . Well in regards to their Gordon Gordon or should I say in there injera I've been going to so many Ethiopian restaurants and dimitra and Ethiopian diamond are okay but I noticed that especially dimitra when they make their injera it tends to lean towards being more vinegary or being sour. I don't know if for each Ethiopian who has to make in tefl with scratch if there's variation but I'm beginning to notice that. I don't see gored gored overrated and expensive Demetra and Ethiopian diamond used to carry Gored Gored in their menu but I don't see it anymore. Also those two restaurants are overpriced for Ethiopian dishes in the menu. This was not too bad. I think this is now going to be my go-to Ethiopian restaurant the only downfall is they don't have desserts. Only coffee (buna in Amaharic) or tea (chai in Amaharic) I will be coming here again. Four stars because of no dessert but otherwise the food is very delicious, not overpriced like most of the other Ethiopian restaurants in Chicago Injera bread was not vinegar tasting or sour. As for their sambuses as an appetizer they were much more filling in beef than most of the other places where the portion of the sambusa is smaller. Finished my meal with Ethiopian chai or tea ”

“ Young/Cool Crowd. Downtown fun. I had a wonderful time with friends. Must Order Item: Honey Wine!!! ”

“ This place is EXTRAORDINARY! The service was attentive, but not intrusive, and the atmosphere was super inviting. But the FOOD! Oh, goodness, the food was stunning. As a vegetarian, I've been pleasantly surprised by the number of veg options in Ethiopian cuisine, but this is my new favorite Ethiopian restaurant. There is a quality to the simpler ingredients that just feels good mixed with a sophistication of spicing that is artisanally inspiring ingredients. Support this gem! ”

“ Axum is amazing!!! Went in yesterday for lunch for the first time and I am obsessed. The owner Yared has the most authentic Ethiopian food in the city. He was so kind and welcoming and so knowledgeable about all the dishes. We had the meat and veg combo and it was out of this world. It had chicken and beef and a bunch of sides. The sauce on both meats was to die for. For the sides we had lentils, cabbage, chickpea, collard greens, salad, beets and green beans. They are available for delivery, pickup, and catering as well. The music and ambiance was so great. I can't wait to got back again soon and bring more friends. ”

“ Flavorful! I was excited to see that my previous Ethiopian spot that shutdown soon after the pandemic got a new Ethiopian restaurant in its place. I met the chef and he was very welcoming and made this veggie meat combo! The restaurant layout looks good and I'm glad they kept certain aspects of the old layout and added their own touch and identity to it! So happy to have a delicious Ethiopian place to go to again! ”

“ Great food and service! Will definitely be back. We came for valentines dinner and was also really nicely decorated. Prices were very fair ”

“ Great spot with nice decor. The owner is super nice and friendly, and he's clearly excited about people enjoying the food at his restaurant. I split everything with a friend, and here's what we ordered - Two veggie sambusas, which came with a yummy sauce. They weren't too big, honestly I could've had two for myself, but they were good. - One Meat/Veggie combo plate for 2, which was very colorful. It came with ~18 different samples, five of which I think were meat, and the rest were veggie. It also came with 4 rolls of injera bread, plus the one that came with the plate. My favorites were all the lentil/pea dishes, and some of the meats were pretty good too. Everything was really yummy! It was a bit over $30 per person, but the plate really fills you up, so I'd say it's worth it. I definitely want to come back and order some of the other dishes here. It also seems like they offer several wines and other drinks so I'd like to check that out too. Overall, very happy with the place. ”

“ Tried Ethiopian food for the first time and it was a nice experience! The place was clean and tidy, but the service was pretty slow. My husband and I ordered the Veggie and Meat combo for 1 (~$35) - I would say it was a good enough quantity for the both us. We were also served the complimentary spring rolls in the beginning. The overall taste was pretty good, would love to visit again and try out other items on the menu! ”

“ We had such a great experience here! I'm a big fan of Ethiopian food but prior to moving here last year, there was only one Ethiopian restaurant in my area. That's the magic of Chicago - so many cultures here brings so much diverse and delicious food options and several to choose from! We've tried a few Ethiopian restaurants in the Edgewater area and this one is by far our favorite. We had a chance to meet the owner as well and you could tell the pride he has in his cooking and this restaurant, as well as a genuine desire to make sure all of his customers have a great meal and great service. We shared the meat and veggies combo which was more than enough for us (and we're pretty big eaters). Our meats were cooked perfectly and seasoned well (it comes with beef, lamb, and chicken options) and the veggies were perfectly cooked too. I can't think of anything on this platter I would have preferred not to have, but if I were to add a small critique, I would have liked maybe one more roll of injera for the combo for 2. To be fair, we were offered the option of more but I didn't want to pay extra for it (according to the menu, additional injera incurs a charge). But not a critique to knock down a star from the 5 stars Axum definitely deserves. Looking forward to dining again there soon and getting the chef's combi. We'll need to come very hungry for that one though! ”