Vegan
Take-out
African, Ethiopian
Ethiopian restaurant offering vegan dishes. A microwave is used on some foods. Ask about special of the day. Black-owned. Open Tue-Thu 11:30am-9:00pm, Fri-Sat 11:30am-9:30pm. Reported to have irregular hours - call ahead.
34 Reviews
First Review by erbavore
foodieforlyfe
Points +18
Best Spot - Edit
Little Africa is the best restaurant a vegan can find!!! You can eat absolutely everything. Highly recommend getting the platter and the tea. Anytime we’re in Grand Rapids we’re coming here!
Read moreGuest
MatthewMMcCormick
Points +94
Wonderful Tasty Ethiopian Food - Edit
Little Africa is a small restaurant-All-Vegan-which offers a delicious and authentic array of traditional Ethiopian dishes, served, of course, on injera bread, the traditional style.
Read moreCompared to Gojo Ethiopian, the other big Ethiopian restaurant in town- the portion sizes are much smaller, but the quality of the food-Stellar-is comparable. They don’t offer the classic Coffee Service that Gojo does, complete with the incense, but the coffee, nevertheless, is great!
Pros: Wonderful Service, High-Quality dishes, Great Coffee
Cons: Cash-Only payment, No elegant, traditional Coffee Service
Guest
GRVegan
Points +43
Delicious Ethiopian food - Edit
Get the group platter for two and get a taste of everything on the menu! Super affordable and super tasty.
Read moreGuest
lansingmiveganfoodie
Points +873
Incredible! - Edit
Very flavorful. We enjoyed the spice level and authentic flavors.
Read moreGuest
polishphoenix
Points +233
Great service amazing food - Edit
Got the combo platter - my favorite dish was the ground chickpea one - the lentils were my least favorite - but everything was amazing - can’t wait to come back. Staff was super nice.
Read morePros: Chickpea dish
Guest
Zeldacat424
Points +97
Best Ethiopian food - Edit
Such great tasting food, a good variety if you get the shared plate, but also can order individual dishes. Try the tea too. We come whenever we're in grand rapids and it doesn't disappoint. And it's ok to eat the injera off the plate!
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2023-06-17
Pros: Greg flavors , Great variety , Nice owner
Guest
dgourd
Points +39
Vegan and Gluten Free - Edit
Most restaurants we can eat at offer a few vegan dishes and a few gluten free dishes that are usually not vegan. Little Africa is a completely vegan restaurant. You can order the combo either regular (with wheat injera) or gluten-free (with 100% teff injera). All the food is unique and delicious. We don't get to Grand Rapids often but ate here about ten years ago after finding the restaurant in Happy Cow. It was a surprising discovery then and we rediscovered it with Happy Cow yesterday. The food is still delicious. The prices are also very reasonable. Credit cards can now be used to pay. The restaurant is a small, not so up-to-date place, but everything is clean and the owner is pleasant. We recommend it highly.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2023-05-19
Pros: Completely Vegan, 100% Gluten Free Available, Pleasant owner
Cons: Not updated restaurant
Guest
WholyLove
Points +198
Tastebud paradise - Edit
Every single one of the options are blissful! Highly recommend!
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2023-04-18
Guest
GrenMoyo
Points +26
Wonderful Dive - Edit
A great place and the owners are friendly. If you've never had Ethiopian cuisine before you're in for a treat.
Read moreGuest
Bohemiangirl
Points +58
Favorite vegan restaurant - Edit
The food tastes great and I swear has healing properties. The combination of spices is really good. Absolutely still our favorite vegan restaurant in Grand Rapids. We always get the spicy combination for two. Lou’s tea is sweet and a favorite of ours as well.
Read moreGuest
itselectric
Points +84
Ethiopian Platter - Edit
Service was phenomenal! The food was good, as was the tea. Some items are microwaved. Be aware it’s cash only. Not the cleanest restaurant, but I would eat here again.
Read morePros: No meat in site
Cons: Cash only
Guest
GyanS
Points +82
Enjoy Ethiopian - Edit
Truly enjoyed Ethiopian dinner.
Read morePros: All vegan, Reasonable price, Delicious
Cons: Decoré is sub par
Guest
iscloviscool
Points +62
Great food in a cool atmosphere - Edit
Fully vegan, delicious, not too expensive, what more could you ask for. Went on a week day and were the only customers, so very timely service. Got the group platter and everything was delicious, lots of interesting spices and tastes.
Read moreGuest
Jimmy&Mack
Points +545
Platter Matter - Edit
We stopped in while driving through GR and picked up a couple combo platters. They were excellent. Would definitely return.
Read moreGuest
BallroomVegan
Points +258
This place rocks!! - Edit
Incredible meal, fantastic service and what sweet owners!
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2021-09-09
Pros: Delicious , Intriguing flavors, Well executed
Cons: None!
Guest
Piggy
Points +406
Yummy, Comforting Food - Edit
We were traveling through Michigan and were happy to find this place. They have gluten free teff Injera, though we had to call way ahead of time to make sure that it was prepared once we came in. Their food was great (I got the Kik and Alicha) and the mango juice was very tasty. The owners were very friendly. I would highly recommend going here!
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2021-07-24
Guest
JillKeb
Points +199
Always delicious! - Edit
Lou puts some love into the food. Best sweet tea to offset the spice. Yummm
Read moreGuest
eaglenws
Points +519
Excellent!! - Edit
While visiting our daughter we went to Little Africa. This was our first Ethiopian food experience. The food and the experience were GREAT!! This is definitely a place to return to.
Read moreGuest
gwild
Points +1596
at least it is vegetarian.... - Edit
We ate at Little Africa on July 25. We ordered the vegetarian platter for four people for approximately $11 each. It included a sample of every available dish. Some of the items were a bit spicey but not too bad. We all liked the lentil dish best.
Read moreEverything was served on injera and you eat with your hands.
We were all stuffed and couldn't finish.
The place is a little worn around the edges. Service was adequate. We've had better Ethiopian food.....
There aren't many places for vegetarians in Grand Rapids and I wanted to love this place however I doubt we will return.
Pros: all vegetarian
Cons: bit worn around the edges
Guest
DoryThomasJohnson
Points +41
May be out of business - Edit
Called to see if open since op said they can be closed randomly. Voice mail said it would be open for lunch on Fridays. Arrived for lunch and it was locked up tight. Windows were dirty and it just looked abandoned to me.
Read moreCons: Visited Friday June 28. Looks out of business.
dgourd
Definitely still in business.
Read moreGuest
AlexandraBryant
Points +231
Wonderful restaurant - Edit
The tea is amazing. The spicy tomato soup is so good too. The first time I went I got the deluxe platter with my SO and my family. The platter is good to get the first time because you can try everything on the menu, and then you know later exactly what you like best (it’s hard to figure out still though cuz everything is amazing). The platter is $18.50/person. You get to try every entree, soup for every person, as well as tons of tea. Individual items are priced much cheaper.
Read morePros: All vegan restaurant, No wrong choice because everything is great
Guest
KatieMoore
Points +19
Amazing - Edit
Seriously amazing food - all vegan!
Read moreGuest
Damntastyvegan
Points +961
very very good - Edit
Absolutely delicious. Perfect blend of spices and flavor. Ran by a sweet married couple. Atmosphere is very laid back, kind of a diner feel but with African music and decorations. Highly recommend
Read moreGuest
happycowgirl
Points +5684
Delicious! - Edit
You can't go wrong with any of the entree selections. The mango and guava juices are also amazing. Coke products. Casual interior. Large, spacious booths to sit at. Very reasonable prices & friendly service. Cash only. Love this place.
Read moreGuest
amenenema
Points +26
Great, all-vegan restaurant, cash only - Edit
What else is there to say? Great small business, friendly service, excellent food, you get to eat with your hands, and you'll leave full! My recommendation is to get the sampler platter for 1 or 2 more people than you have if you really wanna be stuffed.
Read morePros: All vegan, Small, family-owned business, Get to eat with your hands
Cons: Cash only?
Guest
kapustaparty
Points +21
Best ever - Edit
Little Africa is by far the best restaurant in Grand Rapids. It is impossible to leave hungry and to spend more than twelve dollars. It's also BYOB, so if you bring a bottle of wine, Lou will provide glasses for the table. Not open on Sunday or Monday, unfortunately. Don't forget to bring cash!
Read morePros: Great food, Good atmosphere, Super affordable
Guest
Laurie24Sutra
Points +116
Randomly opens and closes on a whim - Edit
I wish I could review this place. My husband and I were very excited to try the food after reading great reviews and receiving a word of mouth recommendation. I called ahead in the early afternoon to make sure the place was open. The person who answered the phone said they were open until 9pm. When we arrived a couple hours later the place was closed. No sign. No explanation. We wandered around the neighborhood for 30 minutes hoping someone would come back. Nope. We called and got the answering machine. We called again an hour later and got the machine again. A proprietor on the block told us that randomly opening and closing on a whim is a regular occurrence at this restaurant. We are from out of state so we won't have the opportunity to give it another chance.
Read moreCons: Random, unreliable hours
Guest
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