I wasn't a fan of East African food until my neighbors brought me to Den Den. Wow. What an experience and such tasty food! We were happily greeted by the waitress and seated to a table for the 6 of us. We got two large plates: one filled with meat dishes and one that was vegetarian. Both spectacular. The waitstaff is helpful in deciding what dishes you may like - although I think it'd be difficult to find one that isn't likeable.
I want this business to do well as it is local and family owned. I think it is a quality place. The honey wine is a fun accompaniment. At some point I need to order the coffee service.
I was visiting Chicago last weekend and staying in the Roger's Park area. So glad I found Den Den for dinner. I ordered the veggie combo and it was delicious. The shiro was spicy, the lentils were rich in flavor, and the injera was fresh. The service was great, the portion of food was perfect, and the interior was decorated nicely. This was a true Ethiopian experience and I would recommend Den Den to anyone. Thank you from Nashville!
Review Source:not as good as ras dashen, but an interesting change. Â this is eritrean food, which is a little different than ethiopian food. Â main difference is the spices. Â eritrean usually has more of a curry & cardamom influence. i prefer ethiopian. Â however, i had the best coffee in my life here! Â so maybe it's worth it just for that. Â they smoked the beans by hand, then carried them around the restaurant waving smoke around for all to smell. Â then they took the beans back and brewed them. Â served in a giant gourd. Â was yummy! Â parking is easy.
Review Source:Just cane back from dinner with two friends after being lazy on a damp, rainy Sunday.  One of the friends passed Den Den and was not familiar with the cuisine but found out it was similar to Ethiopian food so  we decided to try it out.
I am a huge fan of Ethiopian Diamond on Broadway, but Den Den was a bi better. Â The food was less oily and plentiful, we were the only patrons in there so the service was excellent. Â We asked questions and recommendations and they were quite helpful and informative!
The spices were very nice, the tea was amazing and we ended it with the most flavorful coffee. Â For the amount if food we had the bill was less than we thought. Â
If you are a fan of Ethiopian food then  you must try Den Den...
I absolutely love this place and eat here as often as I can.
It is a gem for Chicago and more so for Rogers Park and oneof the 18 distinct ethnic restaurants within 3 miles of my house.
Honestly I do not know whoch to rate higher - the food or the people.
The staff is always soooooo nice and attentive and friendly. They try to give a bit of themeselves in their service and the only time I have EVER been recognized and greeted in such a great way was at Les Nomades.
Fortunately you won't spend 400$ to eat at Den Den and you'll be a welcome guest and friend from the moement you step into the place.
The food  - to me - seems to have some italian influence with its furtada and spaghetti. They cook with herb infused oils and butter.
They keep the teft bread plentiful and everyting is made and prepped with great care. My favorites are a giant vegetarian get up with Lamb or spicy chicken on the side.
Of course their greens are awesome and their lentils are fantastic.
My only word of caution is tothe coffee. It is an experience when they cook the beans and smoke them in the brass pot and bring you out a jug of coffee and the popcorn is just so cool. BUT careful how much you drink unless you plan on being up all night driving coast to coast. Delicious but powerful.
I have often driven past this place and regretted having eaten at work when I could have stopped here and been treated like family and served wickedly good food.
Parking can be a hassle but usually within an easy walk.
I hope this place stays open a long long time.
This is by far one of the best restaurants in Rogers Park, not to mention the best African-food restaurant on the North side of Chicago. Eritrean food is similar (but not identical) to Ethiopian food, so I cannot claim this as my favorite Ethiopian restaurant, but it is much better than all Ethiopian restaurants in the vicinity, including "Ethiopian Diamond" (which used to be my favorite, but no longer!!).
The food takes a while to be prepared, but it tastes fresh, hot, and diversely seasoned. The injera bread is light, the meat is very well-seasoned, the vegetable dishes diverse and delicious. I haven't tried all of the items, but all of the beef, chicken, seafood, and vegetable items I've tried were fantastic.
Some dishes are spicy, but to my joy I detected no jalapeno peppers, unlike many other places, which add jalapenos instead of chili spices that are more endemic to African cuisine.
They recently raised their prices, but they are still cheaper and better than their competition.
My friends and I are always anxious about the empty tables in this restaurant. We like the quiet atmosphere and having the staff's attention, but we want this place to thrive. I live in walking distance, but I would drive here if I didn't.
Definitely give this place a shot!
Everything was freshly prepared and very tasty. Â Our meals were accompanied by several vegetable sides, all very yummy. Â Coffee is served with an interesting ritual. The people were extremely nice, and the service was attentive. Â The room was very pleasant, and there is a full bar.
Review Source:I'm going with 5 stars, the coffee just pushed it over the top. Sort of like expresso, sort of like Turkish coffee yet ordering  it is an experience! I tend to say that all meals out are experiences but this is a really cool and interesting one. They actually roast the coffee when you order it, it's flavored with maybe cardamom? Not heavily or unpleasantly, I will add, I am not a fan of favored foofy coffee. I like a nice dark roast and that is what this is. In fact it is so good, I did not even add cream, just some sugar and it was a sweet dark treat! Note, coffee takes a while, They roast it when you order it, so order it early it may take longer to prepare than your food.
The staff are friendly, I mean not bothersome chatty sitting at your table, but attentive and very kind. Which is perhaps rarer and preferable.
The food is Eriterian, similar enough to Ethiopian yet  better in my mind than the Ethiopian I have had before. It's been a while, I'll admit. There were 4 of us, and we had all the food on a central platter. This is convenient for sharing. When I was a kid we did Chinese food that way and restaurants had a sort a lazy susan in the center of the table.  Well, the circular tray works like that and you can bring a dish you want to try around to you with a quick spin. Â
I enjoyed teh bread here miore than I have had previously. Perhaps it's more authentic? I've heard it isn't wheat or barley but something particular to East Africa. It's a sort of sour dough pancake that you use to scoop up tastes of food that you want to try. Um, they are used sort of like tortillas. Theirs are very good adn they brought out more when we ran low without us having to wave anyone down. That sort of attentiveness is always welcome!
I particularly liked the red lentils in a sort of curry, I mean I REALLY liked them I ordered chunks of beef  in spices, which was quite tasty. There was a cabbage dish taht was also good and two lamb dishes  and we had one chicken. They were all tastey. Now you might think this would be enough, but the waitress brought us some (don't know the name) a sort of chick peas pureed with lots of butter. Or maybe butter flavored with chick peas, phenomenal and surprisingly filling.
So if you haven't been, GO! You won't be disappointed. One of our number  left their purse and teh waitress came out to get us by the car. Very friendly and attentive!
The Peacock has flown to Rogers Park LOL. Â For those of you who don't know, the owners of the Peacock Eritrean Restaurant on the 6000 block of Broadway closed this location a while ago, because they needed a bigger space. Â They moved to a new location on Clark a few blocks north of Devon, and changed the restaurant's name to Den Den. Â I was there earlier this week with two friends of mine, who are Eritrean. Â We had a tasty meal of tender chicken and beef, seasoned just right, accompanied by a selection of spicy lentils, spinach, potatoes, and carrots. Â The injera was freshly made and warm. Â I love the sourness of injera. Â It is made from teff flour, which is gluten-free. Â I love this fact about Ethiopean/Eritrean culture: Â In East Africa, food is communal; Meals are shared and guests are welcomed and admired. Â Â I spoke to the owner, who is looking forward to this new endeavor in Rogers Park. Â I will be back for more. Â Den Den is amazing.
Review Source:since the closing of mama desta's red sea (clark & belmont), i have been searching for a place to get my zil zil tibs fix. Â and den den has definitely become my new favorite when i'm craving eritrean or ethiopian cuisine! Â everything i've tasted is excellent. Â lamb, beef and chicken dishes are all amazing. Â and, whether you're a carnivore, or not, you have to order the veggie combo platter (a hearty and spicy assortment of stewed lentils, chick peas, greens, cabbage, carrots and green beans). Â the food at den den is incredible and the service very friendly.
TIP: they serve alcohol, but the wine list is pretty awful. Â skip the honey wine and opt for a pot of cinnamon-scented tea.
My friend and I were the only ones there on a Wednesday evening.
The food was so tasty and satisfying. Â If you like Ethiopian food, you will love Den Den. Â We ordered a spicy dal (lentil bean) and chickpea puree main dish (these main dishes are thick stews piled atop a large, round, disk of spongy, sour-ish bread called injera). Â When the whole platter came out, we saw that they also gave us a little pile of collards, curried potatoes & carrots, and lettuce salad. Â Such nice (and unexpectedly extra) additions to round out our vegetarian meal! Â The injera seemed more tangy than at some Ethiopian restaurants I've been to, in a pleasant way.
The coffee is a recommended experience. Â So fragrant and wine-like in complexity.
As has been noted in other reviews, Eritrean cuisine is very similar to Ethiopian cuisine. However, my friend and I noticed that Eritrean food is more herby than spicy, giving it more of a fresh and light feel. I'd heard that Eritrean food is just like Ethiopian food but with spaghetti but none of our vegetarian entrees came with spaghetti :( We quickly got over that disappointment because the food was so delicious and the service was fantastic. They made us feel very much at home as the vibe in the restaurant is very down-to-earth and friendly. Also, the coffee really is to die for. I thought I was going to overdose on it and I did not mind that at all.
Review Source:First trying Den Den, and was very pleased with the experience. Food is, as others have mentioned, very similar to Ethiopian, with the various stew-like dishes served with injera, a crepe-like bread with which you sop up the food. Went there with some friends, the four of us ordered four dishes (everything is kind of traditional/family style on a giant platter) and received small complimentary portions of some of the other veggie dishes included, which was great. Portions were generous, and even four hungry people couldn't quite polish all of it off. The meat dishes were excellent, and well spiced, and the vegetarian dishes were excellent as well. In terms of quality of food, they are directly competing with any of the Ethiopian places I've been to. Full bar available, limited, but adequate beer list, and pretty good ambiance. Service was pretty good, and a man I'm assuming was the owner or manager came around a couple of times to check on us. Overwhelmingly positive experience, and I'll put this one in the rotation for when I have that Eritrean/Ethiopian food urge.
Review Source:The good: Â The food is very good and reasonably priced. Â One MUST try the Eritrean coffee, not just because it's fun to have the woman bring the roasting beans out to the table in a little copper kettle, but the way it is served and the flavor is really unique.
The bad: Â Though extremely friendly, the waitress was clueless (I believe beyond limited English) ,even pointing at the menu was no help. Â In fact, nobody really spoke English. Â This normally doesn't bother me that much, but it is really a hassle when you don't get what was ordered as was the case for us.
Also as of 2/4/2012 they are still unable to accept credit cards so I suspect that the "malfunctioning machine" is a ploy.
Although Den Den is just getting its sea legs, it's worth a visit and bound to be a success. Â We happened to be driving by, noticed it, and decided to stop since we love Ethiopian. Â The restaurant was pretty empty (it was around 3), the credit card machine was still on the fritz, and the waiter seemed to be a bit new to the game. Â But the shai was hot, and the food was delish. Â They also accomodated our request for ib (cheese), even though it was not on the menu (and which is not available at Ethiopian Diamond I or II, Lalibella, or Demera). Â We will go back.
Review Source:Den Den = Yum Yum!
I've been here twice and both times were fantastic. The food is so delicious and always fresh and hot. The servings are plentiful and prices are even better. When we ordered coffee, a woman came out and showed us how she roasted the beans right then and there. It was, of course, some of the most flavorful coffee I've ever tasted. Â
If you haven't tried it, you're missing out. Get yourself to Den Den!
I was so excited when I discovered Den Den was opening in my neighborhood because I had always wanted to try Eritrean food. I finally went last night with my sister, and it was everything I had hoped it would be.
The cuisine is very similar to Ethiopian food. I am a vegetarian, and Den Den had a few veggie dishes that I had never tried before at an Ethiopian restaurant. They were incredible! All the food was delicious, and our waitress kept bringing out more. We had to tell her to stop refilling our plate because we were way too full.
We also ordered an excellent hot tea that was spiced with cinnamon. I would definitely recommend trying it after your meal because it was a real treat.
The atmosphere was cozy and inviting, with big, round tables that reminded me more of a dining room table in a home than in a restaurant. My sister and I ended up staying an hour after we finished eating, drinking tea and enjoying each other's company. Our waitress even brought over a big communal bowl of popcorn for us to snack on with our tea! It was adorable.
Right now the credit card machine isn't working because they haven't been able to switch it over from the previous business yet, so be sure to bring some cash. There's also a full bar, so you can bring your drinking face, too!
I love Den Den :-)
Went on a whim having had and enjoyed Ethiopian before and been told that they were really good, and they did not disappoint! First off they have this honey wine, Tej (I think is how it's spelled), that is fantastic. Being that this is a mostly byob area I was pleased with the option, not to mention a full bar!
The food was fantastic, the staff was great and the atmosphere was very comfortable for sitting around and enjoying the wine after dinner. The only draw back is they don't accept credit cards. This may be because they just opened and they haven't set it up yet tho.
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