I've been looking to try Ethiopian food in LA and once I saw that Aunt Yvette's was ranked the #2 best place to eat on Yelp, I knew I had to visit. We were able to make early reservations (highly recommend as the seating is very limited) and were pleasantly surprised by the ambiance of the restaurant. The dimmed lights and small space brought a cozy, warm atmosphere to the restaurant. The service was amazing - all the servers were extremely attentive and Aunt Yvette herself was such a genuine, kind and warm woman. I really appreciated the breakdown of the menu and the suggestions as well. Our party of 4 got the vegan combo platter, doro wat, and beef awaze. The vegan combo platter is so beautifully curated and the flavors are amazing. The beef awaze is an amazing protein dish that added rich flavors to the combo platter. The doro wat was my least favorite but still very delicious. The servers were very attentive and offered more injera as we quickly devoured our meal. Even though we were stuffed, there's always room for dessert. We got the banana split and basque cheesecake. The banana split was my favorite. The textures from the roasted pistachios, hazelnut, and sunflower seed elevated this dish. I was a huge fan of the bruleed banana. I thought this dish was very well thought out. The basque cheesecake was okay in my opinion- there was a spice in there that I wasn't a huge fan of but was still solid. I hope to give their affogato or coffees a try next time! Really looking forward to returning to this establishment. Congratulations to Aunt Yvette and the hard working team on the Yelp recognition. Very well deserved!

Can the owner adopt me? Seriously. I've never had such insanely good food. I don't know what to say. The teas we got were amazing, great service, great cozy vibe, what else can you ask for? Definitely get a reservation, there's like nine tables.

Make sure you get a reservation on Resy! I came here in March of last year and we didn't have a reservation and were able to be seated for lunch with no problems, no mention of reservation. I've been raving about this restaurant to my friends so we decided to go back last night. I looked on Yelp just in case to make reservations but I didn't see a link. But when we arrived last night, the first thing we were told was "you have to have a reservation for our restaurant". They saw us scrambling to change dinner plans outside and said they could seat us but only for 1 hour and that was a hard deadline. And we were able to make it work!! The gentleman and lady who served us were both lovely and worked great with the timeline. There were 3 of us so we ordered 2 vegan combos and the Dereq tibs and chicken doro wat. We definitely did not need to order 2 of the vegan combos. When I came in March with 4 people we ordered 1 vegetable combo and 3 proteins and that was the perfect amount. But this time ordering 2 vegan combos left us with quite a few leftovers. But I'm not complaining because leftovers of great food isn't a bad thing in my book! We loved the doro wat. It has such a depth of flavor. You can tell a lot of love went into that dish. This flavor profile is honestly 10/10 Everything on the vegan combo was great as well. The orange and yellow lentils were so delicious. The restaurant is very small (which is why you need reservations) and very tastefully decorated. The lighting, the rose water ritual, everything made the experience great. We didn't have enough time for dessert last night, and I can't remember what dessert we had back in March. But both options look great. We are grateful they were able to squeeze us in, it was a great dinner!

Amazing, all the experience, service, food and ambiance. The owner personally greet and give an overview of the restaurant and history, friendly service. In love with the Lamb special also Wat doro.

What an incredible restaurant! My husband, toddler, mom, and I had the most delicious dinner here. The staff were attentive and kind and the ambiance was beautiful. We ordered the veggie combo with braised beef and lamb shoulder from the specials. Everything was arranged beautifully and the four of us were stuffed afterwards. That didn't stop us from ordering a banana split though! The house made ice cream and cardamom whipped cream were incredible. We couldn't decide which dish was our favorite because they were all SO good. My toddler thoroughly enjoyed her first Ethiopian meal and we will definitely be coming back. Per others suggestions I made a reservation on Resy hours ahead of time which was the right move because it was quite busy even on an unassuming Wednesday evening. We were seated right away. We can't wait for our next meal here. Thank you Yvette and staff!

Veggie Combo. All day, every single day. I really could eat here daily, I think. At least one meal. There's nothing that satisfies quite like Ethiopian food, and Aunt Yvette's is doing everything right. I used to live on the edge of Little Ethiopia, and I hate to admit I took it for granted. Now, I'm in the burbs, and not one proper Ethiopian restaurant in Pasadena. It's shameful. But Aunt Yvette's is well worth the drive to Eagle Rock and then some. I love it here. I love the tables and chairs, and the art. I love the lighting and the small, chill, yet bustling space. I love how attentive and friendly the staff is. And most of all, hot damn do I love the food. I get a little giddy just thinking about it. The Veggie Combo is vegan, it's my go-to, but don't sleep on anything the menu has to offer. We had a tofu dish a few visits back that was incredible. What impresses me is that all the dishes of the combo taste completely different. I dive in and every bite throws my tastebuds through a loop. They have a house-made hot sauce that kicks it up a notch if that's your thing. This place has date night meal written all over it. It's located in a generic strip mall but once you step through the door, it's another world. They have takeout via their website, but I've yet to find them on the delivery services. It's just too good. Open a location in Pasadena, pretty please?

WOWWWW this spot was SO good. Aunt Yvette's Kitchen is a must try, I can't wait to go back. We got a variety of veggie dishes and meat dishes and everything was excellent. They have gluten free injera which was fantastic too! It's a small location so I recommend making a reservation or going early. The service is friendly and efficient and the atmosphere is a nice cozy vibe.

Definitely make a reservation before coming, especially on weekends! I was getting hungry at 5 PM on a Saturday, but upon arriving the place was packed, and I didn't have a reservation. I had to wait until 7 PM to get seated--but Aunt Yvette's Kitchen was absolutely worth the wait! Parking: There's free parking in the parking lot where this restaurant is located at :) Ambiance: This place feels like a cozy hole-in-the-wall with only a few tables, so it fills up fast. The inside was dim and relaxed, making the whole dinner experience feel super relaxed and enjoyable. Service: The service was amazing! Our server asked if we had any food allergies and gave us great recommendations to start. We even got hand towels and rose water to clean our hands before diving in, which was such a nice touch. They checked in often, making sure we were taken care of the whole time. Food: We ordered the veggie combo, and wow--there was so much variety! Most of the food on the plate is vegan, super flavorful, and some dishes had a nice spicy kick. It was my first time trying Ethiopian food, and it was an amazing experience with all the different flavors. If you're a meat lover, you have to try the lamb stew. I added it to my combo plate, and it was hands down the best thing I ate! The lamb was melt-in-your-mouth tender and paired perfectly with the rest of the dishes. We had leftovers even after sharing the veggie plate with lamb stew between two people Overall: I'll 100% be back for the unique experience and delicious food if I'm in the area.

My first time having Ethiopian food and mostly vegan!! I had the Veggie Combo and Doro Wat. The veggie combo comes with lentil, salads, tofu among other dishes. The Doro Wat is chicken and has some spice to it. Really good. Everything was served on a circular platter. You eat with your hands here and given some rose water to help cleanse your hands prior to eating. The place is very small and reservations are a must!! You will probably be turned away without reservations.

I've only had Ethiopian food once before, so I can't comment on how legit the experience was, but everything was very well done from an ambiance perspective and food was very flavorful! I got lucky walking in at opening time on a Sunday but highly recommend getting a Resy because the place was packed in matter of minutes. There isn't much seating so expect 30-40min wait if you don't get a table right away. The service was highly attentive. Staff checked in at an appropriate amount to ensure everything was good and I loved how they offered the rose water to wash your hands before the meal began. For food, we ordered the vegan platter which was shareable for the two of us since we weren't starving. My favorite was actually the coconut curry out of all the items, but everything was well seasoned. I'm not much of a spicy eater but the items here were generally tolerable. I paired it with the Ethiopian spiced ice tea, which is basically their version of Chai flavor and I liked that you could adjust your own sweetness level with the syrup on the side. Overall I loved the set-up, experience, and food, so I'm highly recommending this spot for Ethiopian. Another plus is they have free parking out front although the lot isn't very big though.