For a tasty Ethiopian/Eritrean meal in the Porta Venezia quarter of Milan, Asmara is a pretty good…read morebet. This friendly eatery is named after the capital city of Eritrea and has lots (but not all) of the well-known Ethiopian/Eritrean dishes. Being with my Italian friends who had never eaten Ethiopian before, it was fun showing them how to eat with their hands using the spongy Injera bread as a scoop. We all shared the Antipasto Misto appetizer with its variety of offerings including a delicious sesame puree. For my main course, I opted for the Gored Gored and was not at all disappointed. The beef and veggies were perfectly balanced and the spicy housemade Berbere sauce gave a sharp kick addition. I had no room for a dessert, just for another Ethiopian beer! The owner stopped by to chat a couple of times and we all left contented to stroll along the nearby Corso Buenos Aires!

I absolutely loved this place! We came one Friday night for dinner and we did not have a…read morereservation. This place was packed --a happening scene among the Milanese Bohemian trend setters. I was hoping we would not be turned away. The owner looked at me and said wait one moment, then he seated us! My roommate swore up and down that it was because of my brown face. I just smiled and said tomorrow we can use your white face, but for now let's just enjoy! She laughed and we proceeded to order. Eritrean food is almost identical to Ethiopian. I still cannot even figure out the difference? The menu was not complicated; you get the standard platter with chicken, beef, lamb, greens, and cabbage mash, with injera. It was delicious and the staff is excellent! For 20 euro this huge platter, cinnamon tea, and the smoothest South African red wine. We could have used another stomach at our table with all the food they brought out! I could kick myself for not having my camera, but the décor of this place was so funky and cool with real animal skins on the wall, hues of dark mahogany, and citrus. Pure African Swag! Check out Claudia R's pict to see what i'm talkin about! Porta Venezia, the area I interned in, is a beautiful upscale melting pot of culture, this community reminds me so much of 14th and U Street back here in DC. If I had more time I would definitely have come here just one last time before leaving! I highly recommend this restaurant as a tourist attraction, the staff speaks perfect English, and the area has a lot of affordable shops off of Buenos Aires.

Disclaimer: I was quite drunk during this dinner…read more This is one of the top two places (out of maybe 20) where I ate during my stay in Milan. Furthermore, the atmosphere is very nice. I was there alone but this group of girls invited me to join their table. We ordered chicken, beef, etc. all of which comes in that bread which reminds me of Indian bread called dosa. Very flavorful and everything went very well together (except for some random couscous). Decent wine and grappa too. Although by the end of that last one my judgment was quite hindered.

While spending a day in Milan can mean easy to find pizza and pasta to curb your appetite, those…read morelooking for something more out-of-the-box should head to Savana Ristorante Eritreo, a cozy, laid-back spot located near the Piazza Ercole Luigi Morselli. Serving delicious food from the country of Eritrea, along the African Coast of the Red Sea, Savana was quite the hit for a delightful solo lunch. First, I must compliment the restaurant design, which looks authentic and rustic, with light sand-colored walls and African art that makes it seem like you're eating the tasty dishes directly in Eritrea. The service was incredible, the waiter was very attentive and went above and beyond to ensure my lunch was excellent. Since I was alone, he was willing to engage in conversation and make me feel welcome. Real Eritrean hospitality. Instead of cutlery, you're provided with injera - a thin bread baked fresh that day using wheat, corn, rice, and sorghum flours to deliver the tasty morsels into your mouth. For the food, I chose the Sambusa di Carne to start, which was a fluffy, doughy dumpling stuffed with meat and parsley. The meat had a bit of a spicy kick to it, which I absolutely loved. Really fresh and flavorful. Next, I tried the Zighini di Carne, a spicy version of beef stew, loaded with potatoes, carrots, cabbage and green beans, and seasoned with fresh herbs. Served with plate of couscous, red lentils, salad, chicken and boiled eggs, I was almost too full to try dessert. Almost. Everything about the Pistachio Halva was delicious, and exactly the perfect ending to my lunch. I highly recommend Savana to anyone looking for something completely different while visiting Milan. From the hearty and exotic food, to the exceptional service, Savana is one of my new favorites!

Savana, a customer friendly restaurant, welcoming smiles everywhere. The scent of cinnamon & cloves…read morethat warmly surrounds you upon entrance. The homely and simple decors, nothing kitschy here. And then there's Zighini, this tasty, typical Ethiopian dish. A variety of vegetables, basmati & hummus surround tender, spicy & hot meat bites. Perfection & nirvana reached, we leave the place in a happy and serene state of mind. Next time we'll try the vegetarian version: it seemed very tasty, full of good veggies and, in the end, the meat was too much to finish. Love it and shall be back.

I came to this delightful restaurant for lunch with my friend Carmen,who has lived in Milan…read more20+years. She knows her way around very well and used to work in this area years ago and kept telling me there were really good restaurants here. This was the other Eritrean restaurant down the way from Warsaw. The menu offered a platter with chicken, beef, greens, and, cabbage mash, with injera. Or you could choose from the buffet. It was a lot of food, the meats were well seasoned and tender! The collard green mash was delicious! Everything was fresh. The price point was reasonable, as there are three other African restaurants on the same block. The owner was very kind and personable, his secondary language was Italian. This does not present a problem if you know how to order in Italian or you speak his native language. But, between the two restaurants, I have to say I enjoyed the energy and the overall experience a little bit better at Warsaw. Perhaps, because I went to Warsaw for dinner and came to Adulis for lunch? Not sure, but both are excellent recommendations in terms of the quality of the food.

A star-plus for the very friendly service, but only a meh for the food, which is pretty bad…read more As for the food: The sambusa appetizer was stale. Then it was further ruined in the microwave. So there's your chewy and rubbery appetizer for you. Yech. And the main attractions - the reason you dine Ethiopian (or Somali, though they're really identical)? Well, the injera was stale and dry. THE INJERA WAS STALE AND DRY. At that point, why bother? Well, we there we were, so we plowed on. And the meats (lamb and beef) were the gristliest and cheapest cuts imaginable, when you even managed to find some meat, since they served us mostly bones. And the vegetables? Only chickpeas and some spinach, with mostly insipid salad. (Salad? Huh?) Wait: The portion was about two thirds of what you'd be served in New York, a city not at all known for Ethiopian restaurants. Ethiopia was an Italian colony. You'd think that there's decent, if not good, Ethiopian food in Italy. Nope. Not in Milan; not in Rome; certainly not in the boonies. Nice place. Nice people. Really bad food. Up to you.

Simple but warm & welcoming Ethiopian joint. Excellent zighini, meat tender and well seasoned with…read moreyummy berberé sauce and tasty vegetables. They don't serve alcoholic beverages. Smiling and kind staff. Locale semplice ma accogliente.Zigini ottimo,carne morbida e ben condita con la deliziosa berberé.Non servono alcolici.Prezzi bassi per la qualità del cibo servito.Servizio sorridente e affabile.

Amazing food and really nice service!…read more The choice is incredibly limited, as you can only choose between different kinds of zighinì (meat, veggie or fish) but we didn't mind: we shared a giant zighinì plate - which is basically made by stew and vegetables served on top of a large flat bread, called enjera - and that was incredibly delicious! You have this plate in the center of the table and you eat the food with your hands, with the help of some bread: no plates, no forks or knives, it's kind of entertaining too! The waiter was very kind and he even offered us a generous meat refill (probably shocked by the eating pace we were keeping, I suspect :P ) The menu also included some appetizers (very tasty as well), tea and coconut cake. All of this for a reasonable price: 21 euros for the complete menu, which included some beverage too! I'm coming back here very soon! Definitely advised!

What a pity! I had to cross town to get here, where there's a huge concentration of Indian and…read moreEthiopian/Eritrean joints. After a frantic search for parking (I was with a friend who abhors public transportation:(( ) we entered this joint, which does not condescend to ethnic paraphernalia. First star. Owner and daughter friendly and welcoming. Second star. I wanted vegetarian zighini but the patron told me that it was not an option. We ordered two zighinis, one with spicy and hot beef (for me), the other non spicy. That's where the stars stop shining. The place was gelid, truly polar. I'm always hot, I love cold weather but this made me really uncomfortable to the point I had to eat with my coat on. The dishes looked great but my meat was hard to chew & came with a very acidic hot sauce, like it was off or something. Even worse, everything was like the place. Darn friggin cold. Beef, injera bread, vegetable, sauce: everything was freezing cold. Since we were there with a 50% discount and the bill was less than 10 bucks each, we didn't complain, ate just a bit and left. I started feeling sick right outside the place and had to hold my mouth & stomach tightly shut until I got home. Savana is insuperabile for me. You pay a couple bucks extra for hot, delicious and fresh food with no bad surprises. Not worth defying Milan's traffic,not worth the bus/trolleys/subway hassles. Una vera delusione, anche perché la famiglia che lo gestisce è di gentilezza squisita. Zighini gelato: carne,verdure e injera gelidi in un ambiente polare. Ho mangiato col piumino e di solito soffro molto il caldo. La strana acidità (mai riscontrata in altri ristoranti etiopi/eritrei) della salsa poco piccante, la carne dura, le verdure poche e appena uscite dal frigo mi hanno provocato una congestione immediata. Attacchi di nausea non appena uscita dal ristorante. Boule di acqua calda tutta la notte. Bocciato su tutta la linea. Non credo fosse per lo sconto 50% di The Fork. Il mio eritreo di fiducia è quasi a Chinatown: di pochi euro più caro ma li vale tutti.