Konjo Ethiopian Food

I ate here a year+ ago with no issues, and I was really excited to eat here again. I told the person behind the counter I had celiac, paid extra for the gluten-free combo and confirmed it was all gluten-free before I took the food away.

Three hours later I was throwing up, bad. I *never* throw up after eating out, and I'm not always super careful. It's so bad I'm even wondering if they gave me regular injera instead of the gluten free kind m.

I don't know what happened but I'm not going to eat here again. I made an account on this site just to leave this review.

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Not at all

Safety Feature Ratings

• Food comes out flagged or marked gluten-free

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu

Has this place gone downhill? Low, recent google reviews seem to confirm yes. I had good experiences in 2021. This time, there was contactless ordering via a screen and I saw no clear way to mark gluten free. Calling that out to symptomatic folks!

After ordering and thinking, I went back to make sure I could get my expensive order made gf. The one employee there (for dinner time!?) told me he’d have to throw away what he put together for my order and after further sighing and saying it’s easy to mark gf upcharge on the contactless screen (uh not that I could see) but difficult to charge me afterwards, did charge me (guess the system default asks for a tip for on every single transaction) and remade my order. I spent at least $35 on a single meal. And they talk with pride about their fast casual approach.

Then the food was off - dry injera, something going on with meat, spice and salt levels. Spinach was the most tasty; potatoes within were undercooked. I got mildly but distinctly sick from gluten fairly soon after the meal. I don’t want to finish my leftovers when usually can’t wait. Portion size is still decent. Did the one employee not change gloves after the gluten prep? Or were the meat n veg previously contaminated because they’re generally not aiming for safe gf anymore.

They need to make it impossible to miss to specify gf on the screen order flow. Regular or Gluten free, single select, shouldn’t be hard. Necessary if they’re trying to remove the conversation with a person.

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Not at all

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Most/All

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Average

SUCH a disappointment. I asked the man at the counter about gluten free and he pointed out how to order. I also double checked again when he served me if it was the GF injera and he insisted it was. But then he cracked a joke as I was leaving like “or is it?!?” And it wasn’t. I threw up everywhere. I hate that a single employee would ever do that.

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Not at all

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Not Much/None

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Poor

This place is great!! Everything can be made gf and many of the menu items naturally are. The lady prepping the food was able to answer my questions about gluten confidently. The food was delicious and I had no reaction. Highly recommend!

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Very

Safety Feature Ratings

• Staff is knowledgeable and can answer questions
• Staff will clean kitchen space or change gloves if asked
• Food comes out flagged or marked gluten-free

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Most/All

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Excellent

Konjo is really good - they have a food truck and a storefront in the Edgewater Public Marketplace. The food is always good and they have GF injera. The service is always great and it’s great having them in the marketplace so that if I’m craving Ethiopian, which my family isn’t into, I can get it and they can get other food. My only criticism is that there is an up charge for the GF injera.

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Somewhat

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Most/All

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Good