Restaurant Semhar in Jordaan

I live in Amsterdam and this is the best food I’ve had in the city! The injera is soft and thicker than other places. The injera:stew ratio was perfect with full of flavor and spices! Food portion is relatively big and your smooch will be filled with happiness:)

Very tasty food and super friendly staff

Advised. True Ethiopian/Eritrean cuisine. Nice environment, courteous staff. Prepare to eat with your hands!

Here you can eat delicious food for a cheap price. You get a kind of pancake with everything on it. You don't get cutlery. You can also order a coconut beer. It is very cheap, very friendly service. Very hospitable and you will be served quickly and well

We recently dined at Semhar, an Ethiopian restaurant in Amsterdam, and it was a delightful experience that stood out among the many Ethiopian spots we’ve visited across several countries. Having been to a couple of dozen Ethiopian restaurants in places like the U.S., Canada, and beyond, Semhar impressed us with its excellent food and service. The staff were warm and attentive, making us feel right at home from the moment we walked in. The menu offered a variety of dishes, but what really caught our attention were a couple of vegetarian options we hadn’t encountered before, even after years of exploring Ethiopian cuisine. These new dishes - part of the veggie platter -- were flavorful and well-spiced, showcasing the diversity of Ethiopia’s plant-based offerings, which are a staple due to the country’s Orthodox Christian fasting traditions. The injera, a cornerstone of any Ethiopian meal, was great—darker and crispier than some we’ve had, with a pleasant tang. However, unlike the restaurants we’ve visited in DC and LA, where injera is often made with 100% teff flour, Semhar’s version was a blend of teff with other flours, likely wheat or barley. This seems to be a common practice in European Ethiopian restaurants, possibly due to the high cost of teff or to cater to local tastes, as we’ve noticed this trend in other European cities as well. While the injera was still delicious, we missed the distinct nutty flavor and texture that pure teff brings, which is a hallmark of the more traditional injera we’ve had stateside. Overall, Semhar is a solid 4-star restaurant. The excellent food, unique vegetarian dishes, and top-notch service made for a memorable meal, though the blended injera was a slight departure from what we’re used to. The cozy atmosphere and the social, communal style of eating—scooping up stews with injera by hand—added to the experience, making it a great spot for anyone looking to explore Ethiopian cuisine in Amsterdam.

Went here with a friend and the food was fantastic, and the service was even better. We finished the dishes and still had some injera left, and the chef offered to bring us some more food to finish it off. They also brought us a small bowl to wash our hands after. 10/10 service, would dine here again.

Excellent food, good taste, could be a bit more. Warm welcome, good atmosphere. The bottle of Spa Rood that is put down will cost you 6.50 euros. That is not mentioned in advance.

Wonderful food, highly recommended! We ate the vegetarian platter and loved it. Extremely friendly service and nice atmosphere :)

The food was terrible, absolutely inedible. I'll never go back here again. Unfriendly staff, poor service, and the food was not fresh and undercooked.

Good treatment and excellent and abundant food. Excellent value for money.

One of the nicest in the city. Very nice staff and always delicious food. Good prices and nice atmosphere.

Super rude waiter/owner, really honestly haven't experienced waited this rude ever! Would NOT recommend. Sorry.

Bad food bad waiter and portion is not enugh bad quality and bad smell

Don’t ever eat there worst foods ever with low portion low quality

Worst food ever portion for two is nit even enough for one person we ordered number 12 and it was bullshit for taste and everything i never recommend to anyone

Fantastic experience in authentic restaurant. The food was delicious, the portion size was perfect and the host was very welcoming! After dinner we enjoyed the traditional coffee, which was very lovingly prepared. A big recommendation for eating Ethiopian/Eritrean!

¡Buena comida! Si no sabes qué pedir, Semhar te mantendrá en lo cierto. Pedimos carne y verduras Meadi... . estaba delicioso y pulió los platos con la injera!

We had a very nice experience, staff is friendly, service was fast, atmosphere is pleasant and the food is delicious. Great experience to try a different type of food

Food was delicious, people were super friendly, and we were able to go straight away and were helped straight away. I was asked several times how it tasted, overall it was really great!

Semhar restaurant is one of the places that you truly enjoy - it’s not just nice like most of the places seem after you’ve experienced quite a lot of different restaurants, it is a really unique place which even an experienced food lover can enjoy and learn from. Thank you!

Cozy atmosphere, dim lighting, very nice, courteous service. Food didn't take long to arrive. We had the vegetarian platter, four or five different dishes.

Delicious food at reasonable prices - and fantastic coffee too

My first time eating eritrean, and it was delicious!

We had a very nice dinner there yesterday! We picked a shared dish with lots of different foods to try and it was amazing, it was spicy, delicious and colorful, the crepes were very nice and soft! The menu is both in dutch and english, we had a very good time, thank you.

Deliciosa cena - - pedido dos platos combinados para nosotros cuatro. Tan bueno, si no mejor, que la media docena de veces que hemos comido comida etíope en los Estados Unidos. Servicio agradable y un buen ambiente; a un precio razonable. Vale la pena probar, especialmente si estás buscando un lugar en el Jordaan.

An aggressive black employee was shouting and acting violently because a friend didn’t pay 4€ for the toilet. My question is: where are the receipts for using the restroom in the restaurant? The case has been reported to the city authorities.

Enjoyed the meal very much. Lovely presentation, tasty, and wonderful service.

Had dinner here yesterday with my friend. Service was very friendly, the food was delicious. Definitely recommended!

We were there right before closing time, the only customers there. The food was amazing, the staff was attentive. Highly recommend!

Excellent authentic food, kind owner, and cute terrace overlooking quiet canal. Very clean also. We had the 3 person surprise meal and absolutely devoured it, highly recommend!!

Waiter super disrespectful that made us feel really not welcomed. He nearly threw menu and food at us and tried to stop someone from the group to go to the toilet. Not recommended at all

Waiter super disrespectful that made us feel really not welcomed. He nearly threw menu and food at us and tried to stop someone from the group to go to the toilet. Not recommended at all

Very delicious food!! We ordered me'adi (with meat) and bebeanetu (vegetarian). A large platter arrives with a lot of different dishes. Both menus are incredibly delicious and taste wonderful. Yum!! In addition, you eat the delicious enjera, which are very tasty and juicy. There is a nice, authentic atmosphere at the place and you feel welcome. If you come to Amsterdam you must definitely visit this restaurant!! P.S. they are closed on Mondays :)

Delicious! Vegetarian platter highly recommended, as well as the honey wine! Service very friendly!

fantastic diner with business partners & colleagues

Un colega y yo fuimos invitados a un restaurante de negocios. Estábamos sentados fuera en una noche de verano ardiente después de una bienvenida amable y cálida por el (lo que sospecho que era) el propietario / chef. Un consejo de la relación comercial que pedimos a los Me’adi. Como nunca comí comida etíope, y me dijeron que estaría deliciosa, ¡estaba ansiosa por probarla! Y no me decepcionó, un plato enorme (¡realmente enorme!) con una colección de verduras y carnes con Injera se colocó delante de nosotros. Fue absolutamente increíble, cada componente fue preparado y cocinado a la perfección. El café se servía de una manera tradicional (lo que me pareció). El personal fue amable y explicó el contenido de los platos. Con todo, una experiencia perfecta, volveré!

Very nice little gem by the canal. Delicious food

Amazing food, service, smiles and coffeee. What an absolute gem in Amsterdam 💯🙏🏻

I personally like their Ethiopian cuisine better than 2 other restaurants I’ve tried so it’s a regular for me whenever I visit Amsterdam with friends. I would recommend this to everyone- must try. Also try their special beer.

Was really nice , both vegetarian and non vegetarian options were good

One of the best food experiences I've had in Amsterdam. The people are wonderful and the place welcomes you. We had the chef's surprise meal and omg...it blew our minds. You've got to give this a go. Can't wait to be back.

Atypical restaurant and delicious cuisine!

Ethiopisch - Eritrees en dat zie je! Super leuk restaurant en heerlijk eten uit die landen. Een schaal vol lekkers, zonder bestek en met Enjera’s. Aardige mensen ook! Leuk restaurant, leuke inrichting. De glazen mogen wat schoner ;).

Era la mia prima volta in un ristorante di cucina eritrea e al di là della novità di mangiare unicamente con le mani, le pietanze erano davvero squisite. Certo, i sapori erano piuttosto intensi e l'odore di cucina/cucinato ti rimane addosso per 24 ore. Al di là di queste annotazioni, è stato estremamente soddisfacente, da riprovare.

Delicious, wonderful service and AMAZING homemade date cake as dessert. Would recommend for authentic Eritrean food!

Great food, a bit pricey but very good experience overall. The service could improve: the restaurant was almost empty but we had to wait some time before getting our order taken.

Lovely place for a dine-in experience. We had the tasting menu and the food is very tasty. The drinks are also unique and worth a try!

Delicious food, friendly staff.

The taste of the food was disappointing. The Kitfo did not have the right spices. And the sauces had a strange taste, the berbere(most important spice) used is not of quality. It is certainly not the traditional Eritrean/Ethiopian taste that I know. The so-called “traditional” coffee was very thin and was definitely not prepared in a traditional way. And the injera was dry and not well prepared. Very disappointed about the food.

Delicious. We had the Bebanetu and to put it simply, it was the nicest vegetarian dish I have had. Really good price point too. Though to gauge the atmosphere as we were there on a Thursday in February but the place is worth the food alone.

Delicious!!!!!!! Price and quality top!!!! Recommend a 100%

We loved the experience and the food. We will return for sure!

We had a party of 5, arriving at short notice around 8pm, or thereabouts. I’d had Ethiopian & Eritrean food before; my friends hadn’t, but they were open to a new experience. The main course came as a single, vast communal plate filled to the brim with injera bread (not unlike a crepe), upon which was piled a variety of chicken, lamb and vegetable ‘curries’ (for want of a better translation). The consistency is not unlike Indian food, but the spices are completely different, and the flavours are like no other cuisine I can think of. Some of the dishes were spicy, some mild. The meal was *absolutely delicious* , and we demolished it, along with a couple rounds of beers which - truthfully - were probably some of the most reasonably priced we had in Amsterdam. The sauces soak into the injera, which you roll up and eat with your hands. All told, it came to about €150, or €30 each which, for an enormous evening meal & two beers is an absolute bargain in Amsterdam. Staff are Eritrean themselves, and were friendly, very efficient, and indulgent of a party of hungry Scots. Cannot recommend Semhar highly enough.

Amazing food. Vegetarian friendly. Very fast Service. Beautiful presentation.

Delicious as always! One of our favorites! Because we had both vegetarians and meat eaters in our party, the dishes were neatly presented separately on the large platters. Recommended!

Delicious food. Very friendly service and a wonderful culinary experience!

The wonderful Semhar restaurant was completely full this Friday evening. A truly delicious meal in an attractive, hospitable and authentic restaurant with an extremely good price-quality ratio. Delicious rich flavors and African spicy tea.

Amazing place! We ordered the bamea and zegni, both were incredibly delicious & flavorful, not to mention the injera that came with it too! The atmosphere of the place is lovely, you can tell that a lot of care goes into the food and service. We were in love with this place and hope others will be too! This place definitely warrants more attention. (p.s please order the honey wine)

Food was lovely. Their honey wine is very good as well. Price is about €25 per person if you get the shared set with a drink.

Best food experience I had in Amsterdam! If you love simple, spicy, well balanced food and a nice atmosphere you will love this place.

* * * * * * Goedgekeurd door Irma.

The food was absolutely delicious. Just remember, there is no cutlery here. You eat with your hands, and you will love it 🥰

Excellente découverte à Amsterdam. Ambiance, accueil, deco… tout est authentique et respire la bonne humeur. Ce restaurant vous fera voyager c’est certain ! La cuisine est juste délicieuse ! Attention, l’eau est un peu chère. Détail appréciable, les tables sont grandes. Vous n’êtes pas collé à côté de quelqu’un d autre, et vous avez vraiment la place pour déguster, c est bête mais c est ce qui fait qu’on s y sent comme à la maison.

Kortom niet mijn smaak. Onvriendelijk personeel

Food was great, atmosphere as well, service gentle and fast. Nothing to complain, we’ll comeback

Great food! Service is fast and efficient, the place is very cozy and nice decorated. Don’t forget to order the typical coffee after the dinner. It’s delicious and the presentation is amazing. Definitely coming back!!! ❤️

Four adults shared an excellent vegetarian platter. First time for our 3-year-old trying Ethiopian food. They fixed her a small plate, and she was absolutely delighted by having her own food and by the flavors. We will definitely be back here.

I went here for the first time a few days ago and absolutely loved it... the restaurant is beautiful and cozy and the server/host (maybe owner?) was so kind and attentive throughout the whole evening. The food was absolutely incredible I could have kept on eating and eating. Such delicious home-cooked food. I highly highly recommend it. I'm not a frequent reviewer, but I loved this place so much I made a note to make sure I left a review!!! Another side note is that our order was completely vegan, and they were super attentive to that as well! Lots of veggie options :).

Semhar is top.Al meer dan 15 jaar. Eten , bediening en sfeer/ambiance allemaal top. 🏆 Speciaal eten met een geweldige prijs / prestatie verhouding. Als ik terug ben in Nederland rij ik er 20 km voor om, om er te komen eten😊 En wat is het binnen en buiten mooi geworden. ☺️😃

This place is a gem and family run. The quality of the food is always incredible, and it has a warm atmosphere. The owner is incredibly sweet and cares about your experience. Always a pleasure to eat here :)

Very nice place, the owner is such a sweetheart and showed us how to eat the food. Delicious and good quality! Definitely recommended!

Afgelopen maand waren we inmiddels al 25! jaar te gast bij Semhar. En daarvoor kregen we een leuk cadeau :-)

Ein absolutes MUSS wenn man in Amsterdam ist! Am besten man bestellt eine misch Platte für ab 2 Personen. Super afrikanische Küche, netter Kellner und schönes Ambiente.

Great cultural experience and delicious food.

Heerlijk eten, fijne sfeer en vriendelijke staf. Kortom enorme aanrader! We zijn er meerdere keren geweest en semhar stelt nooit teleur.

Another hidden gem in Amsterdam! This place is just excellent and I will surely be back many times.

Wonderful Ethiopian/Eritrean food, they also have mead which is super tasty! The man that greeted us didn’t know much English but the food was great

Eritrean-Ethiopian restaurant in the Jordaan. Locally owned for about 30 years and the food is delicious. The inside is much larger than it looks from the street - very cosy but still a lot of seating including view of the canal behind. In the summer they also have a nice terrace. The shared platters are generous portions from about 15-20 euros / person.

Very good food for the price and the staff are very helpful. I would highly recommend this restaurant if you visit Amsterdam.

Wij komen al meer dan 30 jaar in dit fantatische restaurant. In de loop jaren hebben wij een erg goede band met het team opgebouwd. De maaltijden zijn verrukkelijk en bijzonder snel geserveerd. Het is onze gewoonte om er eens per drie maanden te dineren en wij zijn nog nooit teleurgesteld. Als wij (buitenlandse) vrienden op bezoek hebben nemen wij ze altijd mee naar dit restaurant en het is iedere keer weer een genot om de reacties van onze gasten te zien. Eerst verbaasd dat je de enjalla's met je handen eet, en dan na afloop het super voldane gevoel van een heerlijke maaltijd. Vergeet vooral niet het mango biertje te bestellen, geserveerd in een halve kokosnoot, een ervaring om nooit te vergeten. Je kunt ook met grote groepen in dit gezellige restaurant dineren, wel even van te voren bellen, dat scheelt in de wachttijd als je met tien of meer mensen gaat.

Super lecker und sehr sehr nettes Ambiente

Looking for African Food...this is the place to be. Reminds of roots on how food was eat. All share food in same plate . Excellent place to eat food Have vegetarian option Washroom available Facing canal Friendly staff Excellent service

Amazing food and amazingly warm service by the owners, must recommend!

Super lekker. Nice service and food is delicious 😋

The food was delicious! We ordered a 2 person menu that contained a variety of dishes. They were all served in a big bowl, together with some sort of pancakes. Paid around €20 per person for this. Bonus: they serve beer in a coconut 🥥

Best Injera I’ve had in Europe, top tier, great customer service, very clean bathrooms, beautiful building with a good view, overall very great food.

Great food, lovely presentaties, nice People and colourful space.