Vegetarian-Friendly Food In Midtown: Blue Nile Ethiopian Kitchen

Vegetarian-Friendly Food In Midtown: Blue Nile Ethiopian Kitchen

Updated February 2019

From the culinary masters who brought us the flavorful kebobs and veggies from Stick 'Em Food Truck comes Blue Nile Ethiopian restaurant on Madison Avenue.

Blue Nile Mural
The dining room, with mural by local artist Gino Spotso.

Blue Nile is tucked into a small space on Madison next to the Bar-B-Que Shop. They focus on Ethiopian cuisine like wat (stew) with injera (the soft, spongey bread you use to pick up the food), lots of fresh vegetables, and will also carry the kebobs like you can get from Stick 'Em Food Truck.

Stick Em - Holly Whitfield
Chicken skewers with veggies from Stick 'Em.

I checked it out right before they opened in 2015. Here's what happened:

There are about a dozen tables, including a couple of big booths, as well as a bar. My friend ordered a traditional Ethiopian chickpea stew, shiro wat, with a tomato salad and a side of greens. I was curious, so I tried the lamb burger with a beet salad.

Blue Nile Shiro Wat

The shiro wat (the orange stew above) was the best thing we tried; it had the bold flavors and spices that you'd expect and made me want to try the other wat options. It wasn't a big deal to use the injera to eat the stew and the sides, but they're happy to give you silverware.

The lamb "burger" (below) was not really a burger as it was prepared for me. It wasn't a patty and it wasn't on a bun. It was more like a sandwich with ground lamb and feta. I thought the meat was well-seasoned and pretty tasty, but it needed a sauce or something extra to bring the sandwich together. Later in the meal, I actually spooned some of the sauce from the shiro wat onto the meat: a good call.

Lamb Burger

Normally this will come with fried jalapeños rather than just fresh.

The sides were simply fresh veggies with minimal seasoning rather than the salads described on the menu. I have exactly zero problems with a side of fresh sliced beets or chopped tomatoes - we could all use with a little more of that in our diets - but that wasn't what we expected. It may have been a soft opening thing. This won't deter me at all from going back, though.

Blue Nile Menu

The dinner menu was very affordable, with dishes between $9 and $13. They have High Cotton beer on tap.

Blue Nile is open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and then 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. They are closed on Sunday.

Kids with adventurous palates should have no problem finding something to eat, but you might want to take a look at the menu first to be sure. There are plenty of vegetarian-friendly items.

I'm looking forward to adding Blue Nile into my midtown lunch and dinner rotation. And when I have a craving for Stick 'Em's kebobs, I don't have to pray the food truck is somewhere near me that day.

Go there:

Blue Nile Ethiopian Kitchen
1798 Madison Avenue, Memphis TN 38104

Facebook.com/BlueNile901

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Lauren Phelps
The skewers look awesome! Can't wait to try it!  
June 25, 2015 10:56am
Luke Cravens
I went to Blue Nile on Friday night 6/26/2015. First off it is definetly a new restaurant working out some minor kinks.. But the food! The food we ate was so good I woke up the next morning thinking about it! The communal style is fun and keeps everyone engaged through out the meal. The staff was extremely friendly and helped us make the perfect selections. Blue Nile was absolutely amazing and I can't wait to go back!
June 29, 2015 11:53am
pat Primrose
Do they serve wine, etc.?
June 29, 2015 2:13pm
Holly Whitfield

Hi Pat! They've applied for their alcohol license, but it's BYOB until then.

June 29, 2015 2:31pm