Cafés in Bole

Bole Medhanialem and Cameroon Street

Medhane Alem, "Saviour of the World", is the Ethiopian Orthodox cathedral that gives Bole Medhanialem its name. It is described as the largest cathedral in Ethiopia and the second largest in Africa, and it seats more than 5,000 people.⁵ Moyee's branch nearby is an industrial room with plants, leather sofas and plenty of daylight, and the company puts its profits into reforestation and women's health programs.⁴

Edna Mall, on Cameroon Street, opened in November 2008 with the Matti Cinema and Bob and Bongo's Fun Palace. It closed to tenants in December 2021, and in April 2022 East Steel announced a plan to overhaul the building as a modern mall.⁶ The street still has coffee: Münch German Bakery is at No. 221, and Elseven Coffee is on the same street.

Tomoca, Mamokacha and the Bole Road chains

The Bole branches of Tomoca save a trip across town to the 1953 original in Piassa. Besides the Bole Road café and the roastery outlet, there is a Tomoca on Namibia Avenue, and Tomoca bags its own beans, whole or ground, to take away.³

Mamokacha is best known for its macchiato, but it also serves food and smoothies and has been moving into wine and dairy.⁴ Smaller cafés fill the upper floors along the main roads. Sunbird cafe is in room 2-106 on the first floor of a building on Africa Avenue, the Bole Road, and Moyo's Cafe is on the first floor of the Babi building on Mickey Leland Street, on the road from the Atlas hotel. London Cafe is air-conditioned and smoke-free, with indoor seating, and Panda serves bubble tea.

Bakeries between Cape Verde Street and Cameroon Street

Bole has the biggest group of pastry shops in the city, ahead of Olympia and the Meskel Square streets. Bilo's Pastry, on Cape Verde Street, has outdoor tables; Münch German Bakery bakes on Cameroon Street; and Cupcake Delights Bakery, which Wikivoyage placed on Djibouti Street, sells cupcakes, cakes, fruit juice and coffee.⁷ Abyssinia Coffee also has tables outside, and Alem Gallery and Coffee House, Café Crema, Karavan Coffee and Haro Coffee are in the same district.

Getting around Bole

Traffic between Piassa and Bole can be slow, so plan a day around one end of the city rather than both.³ If you use a ride-hailing app, check that the plate number matches and that the driver starts the trip in the app before you set off.⁷

The long wet season runs from June to mid-September, and a shorter rainy season from February to May, so an upstairs café makes a good shelter in the afternoon downpours.⁸