I am not sure how this place reached 5 stars on Yelp but I'm here to provide some perspective. I love Ethiopian food, live in DC and have it regularly. This place should be UberEats/Carryout only. The service is HORRIBLE. When you walk in it looks like a small ethnic restaurant. Nothing special but plenty of spacious booths so you imagine that there will be... service.
Alas. We sat at our table for over 5 minutes before I got up and went to the counter to order. No water was offered. No beverages at all, in fact, were offered.
We ordered 4 chicken sambusas because the kids were hungry and we hoped they'd be quick. Wrong. 29 minutes later: 3/10. They mince the chicken and it is VERY loose so it falls out after every bite. It is flavorful if very mildly seasoned, but typically when I've had them the sauce is heftier so it makes less of a mess. They also provide 1oz of dipping sauce, which makes for fun when sharing with a crowd. The kids each got two dots of sauce and it was done. She never came back to ask if we needed anything. No small plates. We poached napkins from the surrounding tables.
The food took FOREVER. I ordered my favorite veggie plate with Gomen and misir wot and they were BLAND and tasteless. After waiting almost an hour for the food I was immediately angry.
The lamb tibs were fatty and bland, which may be my fault since I ordered them mild (I did specifically say medium just not too spicy though) and they don't have any small plates.
While I regularly eat and enjoy Ethiopian food, sharing with small kids at back to school time is not my idea of a good time. They gave hefty portions of fresh and enjoyable injeera but the food, aside from the tilapia, which I don't usually eat and was DEFINITELY SPICY, was just meh.
Between the meat and veggies I'll give it a 6/10 which is generous given how abominably bland the gomen was. I was absolutely outraged.
I can say honestly I won't be back, but not just because of the service and the food; we just have amazing spots in Silver Spring and DC.
Maybe if you speak Amharic and can request things done a certain way it would be better. The ladies were nice BUT there was definitely a language barrier. The bathroom was hanging on by a thread. It was cleanish but everything was broken and there was no soap.
Overall rating 3/10 read more