GST/HST-Free Dining until Feb 15

Enjoy authentic Ethiopian cuisine at Selam without paying GST or HST! From December 14, 2024, to February 15, 2025, savour your favourite dishes and drinks while saving more thanks to the Canadian Government.

What’s Covered?

All meals, whether dine-in, take-out, or order delivery.
Non-alcoholic drinks like coffee, tea, and juices.
Alcoholic beverages under 22.9%, including beer, wine, and cocktails.
Tips are included in your bill, and it is also GST-free!

Don’t Miss Out
Gather your loved ones and indulge in the rich flavours of Ethiopia at a reduced cost. Whether it’s a special occasion or a casual meal, this is the perfect time to visit Selam.

Share the Joy
Tell your friends and family about this limited-time offer and join us for a memorable GST-free experience. We can’t wait to welcome you to Selam!

Unforgettable Catering: Ethiopian Food & Coffee Ceremony

Three people dressed in traditional Ethiopian outfits sitting before a coffee ceremony

Catering in Toronto That’s Perfect for Everyone

Make your next event unforgettable with Selam Restaurant & Lounge, Tripadvisor’s Top African Restaurant in Toronto. Whether you’re hosting a corporate luncheon, family celebration, or special gathering, Selam delivers the vibrant traditions and flavours of East Africa to your event.

Delight your guests with popular dishes like the Vegan Platter and Beef Tibs, paired with a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony.

Book Today

Traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony jug

Why Choose Selam for Your Event?

Selam is more than catering—it’s a cultural experience. Here’s what makes us the ideal choice:

Delicious Food for Everyone:
Our menu includes vegan options, bold stews, savoury meats, and authentic gluten-free injera, catering to diverse dietary preferences.
The Magic of the Coffee Ceremony:
A sensory experience where fresh coffee beans are roasted, brewed, and served on-site, symbolizing hospitality and connection.
Memorable Events:
Ethiopian food and traditions make your event stand out, leaving a lasting impression on your guests.
Support a Women-Owned Business:
By hiring Selam, you support a local family-run business dedicated to a neighbourhood and a community.

Catering Tailored to Your Needs

Whether you’re hosting an art gallery opening, a corporate event, or an intimate family dinner, Selam’s catering fosters connection and community. Our dishes, from spicy lentils to slow-cooked stews, are perfect for creating a welcoming and vibrant atmosphere.

A woman in white dress with a jebena pouring coffee as part of an Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony

The Magic of the Coffee Ceremony

Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee, offers a one-of-a-kind experience with its traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony. Watch as coffee beans are freshly roasted, ground, and brewed on-site, filling the air with rich aromas in a ritual that embodies Ethiopian culture, friendship, and respect.

Celebrate Connection and Culture

Ethiopian dining emphasizes sharing, while the coffee ceremony fosters a warm and friendly vibe, ideal for team-building and networking events. Let Selam create a meaningful experience for your guests, blending authentic flavours with a deep sense of tradition.

Ready to Make Your Event Unforgettable?

Let Selam transform your gathering into a celebration of culture, flavour, and connection. Reach out today:

Call: 416-915-7225
Visit us: 812 Bloor St W, Toronto

Book Today

Tihlo is now served! (ቲህሎ)

Tihlo is a dish from the historical Agame province in Tigray commonly consumed as a side dish, especially in Ethiopian and Eritrean communities.

It is made of barley dough balls covered with meat and berbere-based sauce.

To ensure the availability and freshness of our Tihlo dish, we kindly request that you make a reservation for a serving of tihlo a day in advance or get in touch with us. This allows us to prepare your order.

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No change to operations with new owners of Selam

As of June 2024, family members Azeb, Soliyana, and Genet are the new owners of Selam. They are relatives of previous owners Ruth and Selam (who are old friends with the previous owner, Pero).

No changes have been made to the operations.

New name, new beginnings!

Instagram screenshot of new sign

We have a new sign as part of a name rebrand. And Selam Vegan has moved upstairs for better service, accessibility and universality. See our Instagram story “New Beginnings✨” @selamtoronto.

Selam is our new name

✋🏿Selam is a greeting meaning “peace be with you”. Pero Restaurant and Selam Vegan have joined in name to reflect new service and management. May there be hope in Eastern Africa as well.

Ruth

Together with her sister, Ruth owns and manages the restaurant. She has a career in local restaurants and has been a friend of the former owner, Pero, since their teens.

Pero

Pero founded Pero Restaurant in 2012 and started Selam Vegan in fall 2018. Having every confidence in the new management he sold the restaurant on spring 2019 to launch his own food and beverage brands. Please reach out to him by email. Thank you Pero and the many friends of who helped build the restaurant into a warm community connected around delicious food and entertainment.

Eating with injera

Injera is the national dish of Ethiopia and Eritrea and central to any meal of our meals. It’s a flatbread, an eating utensil, and the plate itself! The meal is over when the entire “tablecloth” of injera is gone. Utensils are optional.

How to eat! Pieces of injera are used to pick up bites of entrées and side dishes.

Tear a strip of injera off with your right hand
Hold it with your fingers and thumb
Grab several pieces of food with it
Eat, enjoy, repeat

What’s in traditional injera?
Injera is not just a delicious flatbread; it’s a nutritional powerhouse. Made from iron-rich, gluten-free teff seeds, it’s a healthy choice. Teff, the smallest grain in the world, is a protein-packed grain containing 11% protein, 80% complex carbohydrates, and 3% fat. It’s also an excellent source of essential amino acids, especially lysine, which is often lacking in other grain foods. So, not only does it taste great, but it’s also a smart choice for your health!

Traditional gluten-free injera is available by request from our menu.

Outside Ethiopia, such as in Canada, regular injera is a blend of self-rising flour, whole wheat, sorghum, rye, buckwheat, barley, and sometimes other grains along with teff.

Here’s a recipe from the Food Network.

Enjoy a coffee ceremony

Being invited to a coffee ceremony is a mark of great respect. In Eritrea and Ethiopia, it brings relatives, neighbours, and visitors together in a social gathering.

Our Coffee Ceremony

Green coffee beans are first roasted over an open flame in a pan, then ground, boiled in a clay jebena jug, strained, and served. Popcorn is offered as a snack. Traditionally, loose grass is spread on the area where the coffee ceremony is held, but we use a round grass plate.

We usually serve coffee from Yirgacheffe. It’s not like other coffees. It has a distinctively fruity flavour profile and a bright, floral aroma. It is consistently ranked among the best coffee in the world and certainly among the best in Ethiopia itself. It’s widely considered to be the birthplace of coffee. Ethiopia is the motherland of all Arabica coffee! When coffee was taken to other countries, people had to find ways to adapt it to the local climate. That’s why Arabica coffee grows best in places with climates similar to that of Ethiopia: mountainous and tropical, with moderate wet and dry seasons.

Use frankincense for cleansing and more

Frankincense

Frankincense is part of a traditional coffee ceremony. The dried tree sap gives a sweet pine-like aroma when heated.

Frankincense helps mental clarity🙋, relaxation🧘🏾 and is anti-fungal🌞. The distinct aroma comes from special molecules ⚛. A growing body of research is showing that it may help with pain relief, depression and anxiety. Learn more: 5 Benefits and Uses of Frankincense — And 7 Myths.

Local villagers collect the sap from a mountain tree called boswellia carteri. Since ancient times in Africa and beyond, it’s been used to heighten spirituality, to cleanse a room🧹, and to ward off bad spirits!

An invitation to attend a coffee ceremony is considered a mark of friendship or respect and is an excellent example of Ethiopian hospitality. Join us in a traditional coffee ceremony and enjoy the frankincense aroma if keen.

Our unique spices and sauces

Ethiopian and Eritrean spices have a sort of mysterious nature about them, as they are not commonly found around the globe.

Dedication and skill is taken to prepare these spices. The agriculture system for spices 🍃in Ethiopia and Eritrea are all rain fed and almost all are cultivated organically from the wild. Farmers also observe Global Good Agricultural requirements. The final evidence is in the taste. Here’s a sample of what we use.

Berbere Spice
Mit-Mita Powder
Korerima
Awaze Sauce

Berbere Spice

Berbere is at the heart of Ethiopian/Eritrean cuisine as garam masala is to India, as vegeta is to Eastern Europe, as thyme is to Jamaica, and as phố is to Vietnam. Ingredients: cayenne pepper, white cumin, garlic, black cumin, dried red onion, basil, cinnamon, thyme, rye, coriander, clove, ginger, rosemary and sea salt.

Mit-Mita Powder

Mit-mita is sometimes sprinkled on delicacies, spooned onto injera or flava beans, or can be lightly dipped. Ingredients: Hot chili peppers, cardamom seed and salt.

Korerima

Korerima/Black Cardamom is a sweet, lively, very expensive and an adored spice. It’s used in our sweat potato, lentils, and stews and sauces. It grows wild under the shade of coffee trees in southern Ethiopia and is sun-dried. It can be a base spice for most spice blends and used to add flavor to cream and tomato based sauces, stews, sautes, and soups.

Awaze Sauce

Awaze is dipped on BBQed meats and veggies for a heightened flavour that comes from its berbere mix, red wine and mustard. Ingredients: Un-spiced cayenne pepper, mustard, red wine, ginger, extra virgin olive oil, rue seed, sage, sea salt.

Sauce and spices