After almost 7 years, I was in the area again and I was super happy to be able to come back…read more The food is still amazing The people are still awesome, one of the best services I've ever had. We all loved it, and can't wait to be in the area again !

Enatye is a true hidden gem, tucked away in the back of an industrial park. You'd never know it was…read morethere unless someone told you--or you were actively hunting for Ethiopian food. At first glance, I wasn't impressed ( yeah yeah judging a book by its cover... I know better) I was wrong. The food was very flavorful, generous, and downright satisfying. We started with the sambusas (meat and veggie). They were good, though a bit mild (personally for me), I still give the edge to an Indian samosa, but that's just me. The combo is absolutely the move. We shared a three-person platter with lamb, beef, and chicken tibs, plus a variety of vegetarian dishes (see photos). Everything came served on rolls of injera, the spongy Ethiopian flatbread. This is a hands-on meal. As in, you eat with your fingers. Yes... it was glorious. The presentation is classic Ethiopian style: a large platter lined with injera, topped with meats and vegetables spread out like they're feeding 50 million people. The trick is to tear off the injera under the food, not the extra rolls, because it soaks up all that flavorful gravy. It's harder than it sounds, but totally worth it. The main dishes were very flavorful. I was genuinely impressed by both the quantity and the depth of flavor across the entire meal. These are the happy surprises I live for. Highly recommend giving it a try.

Great food & customer service. Also very nice restaurant with beautiful artwork!…read more Will return!

Want some home cooked Ethiopian fare, served by and made by! a lovely lady...say no more, make a…read morestop at the Tensu Market. Ordered the Awaze Tibs (Spicy) $14.99 One word - Fantastic! Large serving, amazing flavors (heat, earth, spice) springy serving bread, perfectly cooked beef and tomato and jalapenos! Ever bite was excellent and a little different. Stop by this shop and try some of the ingredients of Ethiopian....stop by again and pick up some of the supplies to start to make it on your own.

The food is always absolutely delicious. The menu has a great variety, and everything I've tried…read morewas well-prepared and satisfying. The staff is also very friendly and attentive, which made the whole experience even better. The atmosphere is cozy and welcoming, perfect for both a casual meal and a nice outing. I'll definitely be coming back and would highly recommend it to anyone in the area!

This is an interesting restaurant because it serves both Ethiopian food and Central American food…read more When you enter the restaurant, you immediately sense that food is the focus here, not the décor or ambience. Latin music was blasting, and later the TV switched to a soccer game, all in Spanish. We tried a 4-dish combo and a fish dish, all very good - tasty, complex flavors. We also enjoyed the bread (injera, like sourdough bread in flavor) and the rice that comes with the dishes. This is my first time trying Ethiopian food. It reminds me of Indian food with the uses of lots of similar spices and the complex stew dishes. Our server was nice and checked on us frequently. I also got to practice my Duolingo Spanish with him--most of it was lost in translation. It was a fun experience. The fish dish was my favorite.

Came with two other people Wednesday evening and ordered the Sambusa Lentils as an appetizer,…read morefollowed by Large Vegetarian Sampler and Awaze tips. The Sambusa (triangle pastry) was very good. Filled with lentils with a little spicy kick. Accompanied with a diced hot pepper relish, which was very good. We enjoyed the Awaze tips, beef tips sautéed in a spicy sauce. The vegetarian platter also was good. A couple of the items were less impressive than the others (I really liked the greens and green beans), but overall a solid platter. Plenty to eat for the three of us - we couldn't finish everything. The injera bread was legit. And we were served a good serving of them with our platter. We were there the evening before Thanksgiving, and there were no other eat-in customers. While we were there, two take-out orders were picked up. The restaurant is a bit dark. Decent music playing through the sound system - not too loud.

The food is extraordinarily good. The service is like family. The atmosphere is very caring with…read moresmiles and laughter. Thank you! -Vanessa

Decided to order take-out from this place after my ethiopian friend made me kitfo. We've ordered…read moreout a few times now & have this place on daily rotation now! So far, we've tried -Awaze tibs: beef cubes sautéed with some veggies, spices. Very spicy! Beef was tender & was drowning in oily sauce. Too oily in my opinion but we loved the spice & flavor. -Geba Weta: tender meat sautéed with veggies, herbed butter, spices. My personal fave! Not spicy. The beef is beyond tender & the sautéed onions & jalapeños add great flavor & slight sweetness. -Kitfo: raw ground beef mixed with butter & spices. Ethiopian tartare if you will :) Also very spicy! We order this every time & absolutely love it. Don't forget to order extra injera for the leftovers. The portions are SUPER generous & good for 2-3 meals for hubby & I (& we both have hefty appetites!). Excited to try their other dishes & dine in!

Great service, servers are sincere and the energy vibe in here felt great. I wanted to really have…read morethis place be my new go-to because it's close by, and their veg-meat combo dish is an amazing deal. It is an amazing deal, but it fell a little short on the meat dishes. The lamb and beef meat were pretty tough and hard to eat. The veg dishes were pretty good, but unfortunately, this won't be my go-to spot for now.

One of my favorite Ethiopian restaurants in the area. The food is always really tasty, and the…read morestaff is nice and friendly. I typically get a vegetarian combo and it always tastes delicious. On one visit, the owner stopped by our table and explained how Ethiopian food is typically eaten, which was such a thoughtful touch and really nice to learn. Overall, it's a great spot and one I'm always happy to come back to.

Promising First Visit, Let Down the Second Time - Wish There is a Negative Rating…read moreDec 2025 * Friends I wish there was negative rating!!! This was my second visit to Enat Kitfo, and unfortunately, it was completely different from my first -- in a very disappointing way. The first time, I happened to be in the neighborhood and searched for an Ethiopian restaurant nearby. I decided to try Enat Kitfo because it was nearby, and I was genuinely impressed. The food was delicious, the service was excellent, and the server was kind and attentive. The owner even came to greet me, checked on my dish while I was eating, and made me feel welcomed. It was such a positive experience that I shared it with others and looked forward to coming back with my family. Because of that great first impression, I drove more than an hour for my second visit, this time with a friend who had just arrived from back home. We came around 6:00 PM, during the Eagles vs. Lions game in the 4th quarter -- it should have been a great evening. Unfortunately, the experience could not have been more different. The waitress was kind but inexperienced and had to ask the owner about everything. When the owner came out, he appeared unwelcoming and dismissive, which was surprising given how well he treated me during my first visit. As an Ethiopian who has lived in the Washington, DC area for a long time, this interaction reminded me of the old Ethiopian restaurant culture of the 1980s and 1990s, when Ethiopian customers were often treated poorly, while customers from other countries were treated as masters -- even though Ethiopia has never been colonized. Thankfully, competition have improved customer service standards over the years, which made this experience especially disappointing. We ordered Cotlet (fish) and Tsom Beyaynetu aka Veggie (Combo). The Cotlet (fish) was delicious, well prepared and enjoyable. However, it arrived without the combo. We waited, assuming the Tsom Beyaynetu (Combo) would follow, but no one checked on us. I eventually went to the bar to ask about it. The owner's response was simply "" (okay), with no concern or apology. When the combo finally arrived, it was delivered as if nothing had gone wrong. While the fish was very good, the Tsom Beyaynetu (Combo) -- which I had truly enjoyed during my first visit -- lacked flavor this time. There were many items on the plate, but none stood out as good. No one came back to check on us, and even ordering drinks required me to go to the bar myself. Overall, the service was extremely poor, worse than many Ethiopian restaurants from decades ago. With so many good Ethiopian dining options available today, I will not be returning. I truly want Ethiopian-owned businesses to succeed and flourish. However, I am accustomed to the American service standard and vote with my wallet. I do not accept neglect or disrespect as a customer. I hope this feedback is taken constructively so future customers are treated better and the business can improve. I wish Enat Kitfo the best, but without meaningful changes in service and consistency, it will be difficult to succeed in today's competitive environment.

Decided to come to Ikon and try out their food with a friend, after hearing they had good Ethiopian…read morefood. They also are a hookah lounge if anyone is interested in that as well. The Food: After browsing their small food menu, my friend and I shared a platter. We went with the "Veggie Combo" and the "Awaze Tibs". The flavor and seasoning on both the veggies and meats were absolutely delicious! The veggies were cooked well and the meats were tender and juicy. Pairing all of that with some Injera absolutely hit the spot. The Service: Service was great! The staff here were very friendly and attentive. I didn't use the Hookah, but they were very attentive with checking up on my friend to see if everything was good with her. Overall, a very good experience. The Atmosphere: The space is a little plain as of now, but from what I understand they recently just opened. The overall decor could be better, as it is kind of dark with minimal lighting. But not a bad spot if you are there for the food and lounge. Overall, a 4/5. Food was delicious and from what I've heard from my friend, the drinks and hookah were great as well. Definitely check this place out if you're in the area!

A small hookah bar in a plaza. Very dark with a warm ambiance and a small bar…read more Ordered to go, and felt that while it was freshly cooked to order, it did not come with the salad and sauce that would've made this dish better. Also did not see a single jalapeño slice in this dish.

Ordered the Bole Bole beef, medium, lentil and collard greens. Was different than I expected…read more However, the food was so good. Must try. This will be a favorite of mine for my return trips to the area.

Cannot even describe how obsessed we are with Bole Bole. The food is EXCELLENT! We tried another…read moreEthiopian around the corner & came running back to this place because it just cannot be beat! Family operated & delicious. Kind staff. We love the Gaze Light, Derke Tibs, & veggies. Doesn't churn tables like other places, but worth your time! Every bit of 5 out of 5 stars.

I have passed by this place many of times the past few years and kept telling myself that maybe…read moreI'll try it out sometime but never have until last night. I am very glad I did! I have always gone to Enat a couple miles down the road the past few years, but it was always unpredictable how it would be. Sometimes the food and service was fantastic, other times it was Ok, and last month it was awful...so last night when we were craving Ethiopian food, we decided to try Monarch. The service was absolutely fantastic and the food was amazing! The two of us ordered the vegetarian combo and I don't remember what meat/tibs because we asked the server which one she recommended and went with that. The food was definitely better than a couple other Ethiopian places I have been to in the area and the portion was generous! I almost thought we accidentally ordered a double portion of meat because it was a much bigger portion than I received from other places. I had leftovers for later that night and again today. The food was a little bit longer of a wait than I expected, but to me that just means they are making it from scratch and that it is fresh. The bill came to around $30 before tip which is quite a deal for that much food of great quality. The service was also very good with our server being friendly and attentive. Not only that, two other workers there...maybe the owner or chef (I'm not sure) dropped by to check on how we were and how the food was. If they keep this up, watch out Enat and other Ethiopian places in the area. You have some competition from Monarch!

3.5/5 Tucked in a…read morestrip of Little River Turnpike dominated by office buildings and a gas station, Monarch offers a terrific selections of Ethiopian fare at a fair pricepoint. I ended up at this restaurant on my lunch break thinking I'd just order some Chicken tibs to go, but was nudged to dine in by a welcoming host. I could afford a longer lunch break today, I thought and glad I did. I ordered the vegetarian combo and was immediately impressed by the selection and flavor. I'm always a fan of the Misir Wot and loved their rendition of it. All of the different parts were great: the creamy kik alicha, the tangy gomen, and the refreshing tomato salad. The place proved solid and I would come again!

They have this warm cozy ambiance with a fake fireplace. When they do the coffee ceremony, you can…read moresmell incense. They have a shared parking lot. It's fairly quiet in here if you want an intimate dinner. We got the Shiro (Chickpea powder soup) Veggie Combo BK Tibs Yeshi Salad Derek Tibs Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony. The injera was spicy but I couldn't even handle the salad so that says how weak I'm. The Ethiopian coffee ceremony so interesting to see. How they roast the beans to get this rich taste and we drank it after our meal. If you're wanting to try authentic Ethiopian food, come here! The service was bit slow but we did have 10 people basically ordering the entire menu and made it a feast.

The food was wonderful! Excellent flavor!! The special Kitfo is awesome and they have a light teff…read moreenjera that's really nice. They serve it with traditional cheese, spinach and a small mix of both that by far the best option. Their Awaze tibs is also yummy! The atmosphere is midday cafe, large comfy booths, rustic but chic hanging fixtures, on a tree trunks with rope, a little incense burning in background, lots of natural sunlight. Great place to work for lunch or go for dinner. They have a bar and TVs around the pale yellow walls with vaulted ceilings and lots of greenery! Great calming energy The pic below is what was left of our Awaze tibs because it was too good, we devoured it! Do come here and don't forget to order their traditional tea steeped with cardamom, ginger and other spices!