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I went to Arada last night with a group of 5 others. The place was completely empty at 7 pm. I don't know if it is like that frequently or if it was because outside it was 10 degrees; regardless, the place was a ghost town. A quaint, clean, and warm ghost town.
Every reviewer before me that has told you Arada has slow service is 100% correct. Even on a night when there are only 6 people in the restaurant things are still at a snails pace; however, the service is attentive and thorough. Luckily for me I had read up on the yelp reviews before going and knew to expect the slow service.
One of my friends and of course myself are vegetarians so we got a seperate plate from the 4 non-veggies. We tried:
- Vegetable Sambusa: which is beyond delicious
- Yate Alitcha
- Yatukilt Alitcha
- Yemiser Wot (by far my favorite, next time I will order this dish as an entree size)
- Gomen
- Injera Bread
- Tomato Fit-Fit
Every single thing on the plate was delicious. It's spicy and vinegary so if you don't like both of those then this place is not for you.
They also have mango juice as a main beverage and a full bar.
If you are looking for something a little different then your normal everyday fare that won't cost you an arm and a leg try Arada.
Great Ethiopian food! Yummy! Be prepared to eat with your hands! That is how it is done!
So, this is my first time having Ethiopian food outside of my good friend fixing it for me when I've gone over for dinner.
The first time I ate at her house, I have to admit. Some of the flavors were quite different to me, obviously.
I had to get used to it. But, I knew it was good. Over time (about 4 or 5 times eating at her house), I can now say that my taste buds are jumping with joy!!
Now...on to Arada. I love this place. Of the items I had, they are comprable or better than my friends. And she's as Ethiopian as you can get...
I started out with the Beef Sambusa...triangle shaped pastry filled with love, meat, spices...etc.
The Hummus Dip....equally fab.
Siga Wot...Beef in a red pepper sauce
The entree came with tomato fit-fit...like another reviewer stated, I've never been a fan of tomato, but this is AWSOME.
It also came with Injera (a pancake type bread. Not sweet like pancakes, just shaped as such. Injera has more of a sour tast)
As stated, everything is awsome. The people are very nice also.
Here's the deal--I don't think that anyone can argue that the food isn't yummy. Ethiopian flavors are incredibly warm and comforting even if it's your first time trying it. I mean, who doesn't love spiced beef (sorry vegetarians--but it is pretty good) wrapped in fried dough (beef sambusa). PLUS, you get to eat with your hands!!! Not "I'm-eating-with-my-fingers-cuz-I'm-eating-finger- food" noshing with my hands. I'm talking, unadulterated, full-on hand-to-mouth yumminess.
Also, unlike previous reviews, the service here was fabulous. Very attentive and helpful.
I'm deducting a star because of the price. While exotic flavors sometimes warrant a slightly higher-than-expected price tag, the quantity of food for the price was a bit of a letdown. After ordering an app and two entrees with two Ethiopian beers, I can say that I was barely full--granted I steered clear of over eating the injera (delicious but takes up valuable real-estate in my tummy). The entrees were minimal--perhaps I expected too much but I really thought that I might be able to have doggy-bag breakfast, but no such luck.
Overall: yummy. soul-satisfying, adventerous, albeit a bit small, but TOTALLY worth a second (and third) trip.
We've been going to this restaurant for ten years and always pick it for any type of nice celebration dinner. Tonight we went for an end of the summer feast before me and the brother start up school again! We always get the Vegetarian Delight for 2 and the Super Arada for 2 with an extra order of Alitcha. It is always too much food for the four of us to finish but it is always amazing. The owner and waiters are always very nice and tonight I had the Mango Juice which was wonderful as well! Definitely a must try for anybody looking for a great meal in Denver!
My favorite restaurant in Denver, and has been for years since way back when it was in that tiny little space on Coflax. We've become friends with the owner over all that time so it's hard for me to give an objective review. I don't understand the complaints about small portion size- we typically get the veggie combo for two, and are usually unable to finish it and have to be rolled out the door on gurneys. And I can eat.
If you're a vegetarian, you need to get acquainted with Arada. You can have a fantastic, varied, healthy, delicious meal without seeing a single piece of tofu.
One of the things I find most interesting about Arada is how the seasoning in the dishes is always changing a bit. The Yemiser Wot went through a period for a while where it had a really strong cinnamon flavor, the spiciness level on the shiro is always going up and down, the greens are sometime really tart and vinegary like southern greens, and sometimes really smooth. She's always tinkering with everything. Makes things interesting.
Also, try the Ethiopian stout (if it's in stock- it's not always available). Interestingly sweet and refreshing. A really nice beer that suits the food perfectly.
A couple weeks back, my good ethiopian friend took me to her favorite place... Arada. We skipped Boulder's ethiopian and made our way to Santa Fe Ave... so, we really committed to giving this place a shot.
The food was extremely tasty! The spices jumped and rattled around in my mouth... the lamb and chicken were great, but the lentils were amazing!
Also had some "Ethiopian Beer", as listed on the menu. It's called "Meta" and apparently is a standard ethiopian brew. kind of sweet, but very dry like an asian brew. very tasty.
Only drawback was the small portions, they could have been way bigger, but luckily the injera (spongey bread) filled us up!
This is about how our dinner went:
Enter restaurant, find a seat,
wait 20 minutes, no water no greeting, no service
Waiter comes, order two coffees, waters and an assortment of food
wait 10 minutes, go find someone to ask for water again, get some water in a few minutes
wait for 10 minutes we are out of water again we again need to go find someone to get water
wait for 10 minutes more, finally the food comes, out of water again coffee still hasn't arrived
eat some relatively flavorless food with bones in the sauces (bite carefully)
wait 20 more minutes ask about coffee and find that "it is still brewing it takes a while to brew"
wait 10 minutes finally the coffee arrives luke warm and over brewed
Finish eating, wait for bill, leave disappointed and hungry the portions were tiny, going home to have dinner =(
This is the first time I've ever had Ethiopian food, and I actually consulted Yelp to decide which Ethiopian restaurant to try. This one had the best reviews and so I went. It's nestled in the middle of the Santa Fe art district, which is awesome if you want to make a night of it, or if you want to try to get a table during a First Friday. Our waiter was so adorable and nice. I just loved him so much because of his dazzling smile, his polite respectful demeanor and his patient willingness to help us decide what to order.
I'm writing this for the audience who has never tried Ethiopian food. If you like spicy, you'll love this fare. I ordered something that was a sampler of two meats and three side dishes of my choice. The gal I was with ordered just one thing and it came with one meat and two sides. I highly recommend the sampler because who wants to try three things when you can try five? The tomato salad (two types) was hands down the best thing there. It was spicy, but not the way a fresh jalapeno pepper is spicy, haunting your mouth for hours afterward. It was an enjoyable spicy that hits you and then you're ok (kind of like Wasabe). And it was so flavorful without tasting like it was doused in salt!
There are some familiar foods on the menu as well. Lentils is a staple, and their lentils were wonderful. The chicken was probably my least favorite because everything else was so good. The ground beef was awesome and again, very spicy. They also let me try a traditional Ethiopian Honey Wine. It was delicious and I could tell by smelling it that it was way more alcoholic than most wines. It was sweet and thick and potent but very delicious. I didn't go for a full glass, only because I was afraid to drive afterward!
Another thing when you eat Ethiopian food is that you have to prepare yourself to experience something totally different than what you are used to. Their bread is not like bread. It's more like a spongy tortilla, simply meant to be a utensil for the rest of the food, since forks and spoons are not automatically offered. Another thing is, that you are not going to get a meal that serves 3 when you order an entree (even though between the two of us we only ate half of what we ordered and we each just ordered one entree). If you order the chicken you won't get half a chicken. So just keep that in mind and you won't be disappointed.
We even met the manager (not sure if she's the owner too?) and she was very gracious, humble and really wanted to talk to her customers. I just loved the experience and I will definitely be back.
Not as good as Queen of Sheba in Santa Clara CA, but still pretty damn good.
Beer: So, on the beer menu is listed "Ethiopian Beer". I have been to a few Ethiopian restaurants and know some of the beers. When I asked the server what brand the beer was, I kind of got a blank stare. When I asked if it was dark, he said, no, so I ordered an iced tea. The iced tea never made it to the table. In fact, no non-alcoholic drinks with the exception of water ever made it over. No problem, water works for me.
Bathroom: Weirdest bathroom I have ever been in. It's a single stall/room with two toilets, side by side. WTF?
Fork: Yes, I know, this is a hands on eating experience. But, I like to have a fork, just in case I want to reach all the way over the injera to try my friend's food. Asked for a fork, twice, it never made its way to the table.
Food: The food was good. Again, not as good as Queen of Sheba, but still quite tasty. The injera was warm and plentiful. I recommend the #6, a dish of beef that is cooked with spiced and injera, then served on injera. The lamb stew was quite good as well.
Ambiance: Well, they tried to make this place look like a nice cafe, rather than have any ethnic music, ornaments, etc. I miss the voo-doo looking dolls at Queen of Sheba :) It was just a little strange eating with my hands (sans fork) and listening to Brittney Spears, you know?
Overall, I would definitely head back here, for the takeout if nothing else. I just wish there was better parking.
WARNING on Parking: Although there is a nice empty lot across the street to the left of the restaruant, DO NOT PARK THERE! As we walked out of the restaurant we saw that our friend's car window had been bashed in and items stolen from her car. Those of us who parked on the street were not broken into.
Nothing compares to ethiopian. Eating with your hands, yummy bread and great meat and lentil dishes.
The service has vastly improved! The first few times we went, about a year ago, the service was kinda slow. This time, it was awesome! The waiter was all over it, even when it was busy!
Worth every penny!
The Super Arada is the one to get. If you're not big eaters, you can probly split the Super Arada for 1, that's what we do.
I love ethnic food e.g. Ethiopian, Moroccan, Korean, Greek, Peruvian, etc. I'm kind of like that weird girl Polly from the movie Along Came Polly (although I have yet made anyone have diarrhea -- go watch the movie). I like Ethiopian food because it's flavorful, communal, and different. Here are my comments on the items I've tried:
Siga Wot (spicy beef): very good, had just the right amount of spicy-ness
Yebeg Siga Alitcha (lamb stew): had an overwhelming lamby flavor, but what do you expect, it is *lamb* I guess
Yater Alicha (yellow split peas): the texture was a little too hard for me, I didn't think it was cooked through enough
Yatakelt Alitcha (steamed cabbage and carrots): loved this veggie dish, I wish I can get more
Yemiser Wot (lentils): the menu description said it was cooked with a red pepper sauce, so I expected it to be spicy, but it wasn't; I'm not a big lentils fan though
Greens (eh, greens): very soft and flavorful, one of my favorite veggie dishes
I also tried their honey wine. It was *very* sweet. I would recommend it with dessert rather than with dinner.
If it's your first time, a combination plate is always a good idea to try multiple different dishes. One word of advice though, eating too much of the Ingera (bread) can fill you up pretty quickly. So take it easy on those. The Ingera is like a giant sponge that sucks up all the things you ate plus all the things you didn't think you ate and makes them expand even bigger in your stomach.
1 star off: small portions on the good stuff
A unique experience some will tell. Since from where I am from, we often have "communal" eating events and when you use your fingers and hands to eat, all in all things are ok.
Food wise: They have a distint flavor to it, depends on what you order. I had my first experience at Arada with like about 11 other friends for dinner sometime on April 29 2008.
The service was indeed at a slow mode pace aka laid-back. The host do provide us with plenty of the "special" chewy bread in called Injera. Injera or Taita is a pancake-like bread made out from Teff Flour.
The table that I am seated, my friends and I ordered these:
Yebeg Siga Alitcha ~ lamb
Doro Wot ~ chicken
Meat Combination ~ Minchetabush and gomen Besega Yebeg Alitcha, Siga wot, Bozena shiro
The rest of the dishes I cant recall. All the entrees include Injera, Tomato Fit-Fit, Tomato Salad or the choice of any dishes in the Vegetarian menu.
Since its a communal type of eating, the people at my table indeed enjoyed their experiences and the food. We are the only guests at my table who finish our dishes from the communal plate at the end of that evening.
If only the entrees comes with a larger portion I would come for more. For now, I would rather check some other places in Colorado that offers Ethiopian dishes.
Way to go Yelpers! I tried this place out after reading my fellow Yelper's reviews, and it was great! What a gem!
I had my folks out to dinner, and there was a great deal of skepticism when I suggested Ethiopian food, as neither of my parents had ever tried it. We got the lamb, and a beef dish. It was STELLAR!
I highly recommend that if you have never tried this interesting cuisine, you drop by Arada some day soon! Fantastic staff, too!
Well done!
I have to say, my experience with Arada was not the best.
Now I should preface this by saying that I love, love, LOVE ethiopian food. I've had many excellent meals at two of the places on East Colfax (Ethiopian Restaurant and Abyssinia, I think). So I was very excited to try this place, since it's right in my neighborhood, much as I knew it would be extremely dangerous to discover a delicious Ethiopian place so close to my home (dangerous on the wallet, that is).
But, alas, my wallet can rest in peace. The food was fine, but, no colfax Ethiopian Restaurant. Everything was just a little blander, a little greasier, not quite as flavorful and robust. (We just got the veggie combo, which is what we always get everywhere). Not only was the food not as good, but it was a couple dollars more expensive. It's possible I just caught them on a bad day, but for now I think I'll be making the trek over to Colfax, for more reliable deliciousness.
To skip this overly wordy review skip to the last paragraph.
Nice server albeit his clock seems to run at a slower pace than the rest of the world's. I went with a large group of people (13) and not knowing the logisitics of eating Ethiopian food with a large group I learned a few things. Arada's menu has pricing for one person or two people for each of their entree dishes which includes two veg. sides from the veg. entrees menu. What wasn't explained before we ordered is that all our food would be served on two large platters divided 6 orders on each and one vegan plate for our veggie guy. We ordered one of the special higher priced multi-combos to sample several items (Arada Six Combo) and also a Doro Wot (chicken) before realizing that six of us would be sharing each other's orders. After an indeterminable amount of time the two large-ish (emphasis on the -ish) platters were brought out with a smattering of veggie type piles placed around the rim (way fewer than what I perceived 12 per platter would amount to by the way (2 sides times six orders). there were maybe 4 small piles. Then the dumping of the little bowls began (chawan or rice bowl sized). I know that two of the people on our platter ordered the Doro Wot but the portions for all the entrees were all the same size except that there was a hard boiled egg in the center of the chicken (maybe they figured they were giving us a whole bird that way). The injera was cold and some of it wet and we had to wait bread/utensil-less and ask several times for more. The couple across from us ordered Sambusas near the end of the long wait for our dinner and did indeed get them... after we were pretty much finished eating (the sambusas were by the way the most flavorful thing I tasted that night).
If you're dining with a big party here, know that your food comes on a communal platter so order entrees to share, you'll eat with injira (sponge textured slightly sour pancake shaped bread) as your only utensil, it'll be pretty pricey if you're a big eater, and forget it if you're in a hurry, this is the exact opposite of fast food. Adequately tasty but, Arada's? I think I'll pass.
I'm a little confused about some of the negative reviews below, particularly those mentioning small main/meat portions, and I wonder if people writing reviews are just less familiar with Ethiopian food. I'm no expert, but Arada reminded me a lot of my favorite Ethiopian restaurant in Portland (Queen of Sheba), and I'd be happy to go back next time I'm in Denver. In general, though, expect to sample from several small dishes that cross a good spectrum of flavor, not just meat plus injera (the delicious sourdough-like, spongy flatbread).
Anyhow, I wouldn't say the waiter was slow -- we got our water, drinks, and food all in good, if relaxed, time. There was one screw-up on one of the sides, but they brought out the right one soon after. The waiter certainly was very nice and explained things for us.
The food was quite tasty, though I can't remember the names now. We both got meat entrees and opted to choose from the vegetarian menu for "sides". We both liked the lentils and split peas. My wife got the spicy chicken with the egg (good), and I got what looked like ground beef with cottage cheese -- except way more tasty than I realize that sounds (trust me).
I also had the Ethiopian beer, just to try it. It was surprisingly sweet (malty), but I enjoyed it with the food.
I have tried five or six Ethiopian restaurants in Denver, and I think that Arada is - hands down - the best! As far as I can tell, each restaurant has their own (closely guarded?) recipe for injera, and Arada's has the perfect texture and "sour-ness." Arada also appears to be the only place in town that serves tomato fit-fit - a mixture of small pieces of injera, diced tomato, onion and jalapenos in a vinegar-based dressing. I don't much like tomatos and I don't much like jalapenos, but I LOVE tomato fit-fit. Go figure! I am also highly addicted to their Kitffo - finely ground lean beef with spiced Ethiopian butter and house-made cottage cheese. YUM!
When Arada first opened its doors on East Colfax, it raised the bar for Ethiopian restaurants in Denver. Fast forward to now: Loftier digs in the Golden Triangle, more seats, and a bar, and it's still the best of the bunch. The spongy injera is excellent, and the main dishes shine with numerous choices for carnivores and herbivores alike. To sample both, order the meat/vegetarian combination.
Service is laid back, but gracious, the cliental is a diverse mix of neighborhood hipsters, urbanites, and ardent ethnic food fans, and the food, all of it prepared with love, is not only amazingly good, but deliciously inexpensive.
Good food, small portions and slow service in traditional Ethiopian Restaurant fashion.
I can't say that I had high expectations the first time I tried Ethiopian cuisine. Actually, I couldn't really picture what it was- a less tactful friend, referring to the famine conditions in Africa, opined, "Ethiopian food? What is that- they serve you 30 grams of food, then take it away and tell you that the American aid money all went to promote abstinence so you don't get to eat today?"
On the contrary- this Ethiopian cuisine is spectacular, and if you can't figure out what the words on the menu mean, either ask the very friendly employees or just order it anyway- it's bound to be good. There are plenty of choices, and each that I've tried has been excellent. It seems like lots of folks stop in here after the First Friday Art Walk for a quick, yummy, and extra inexpensive post-free snacks nosh.
We love this place! We hadn't been in a while, but we always think of it! The wait staff is definitely quicker than they used to be, the bread supply is more prolific and my water glass definitely stayed full! The presentation of the meal has also changed a bit. Instead of bringing all the food in little bowls and then putting it on your plate, they bring the plate all set up! They also bring rolls of bread instead of having it hanging over the plate. That was really great! My hubby and I split the super arada - definitely enough food for 2 when you order for 1. Our friend ordered the veggie delight and she was pleased with her choices as well. The food was fabulous as always!
I would give it five if the meat servings were a bit bigger. BUT I do like this place a lot! Yummy food, authentic menu and authentic service (yes, that does mean it's a bit slower than American restaurants, but it is supposed to be!). I'm going again this weekend!! And bringing friends this time.
I love this place. The food is fantastic and atmosphere isn't bad either. The price is quite reasonable. It can be slow if there are a lot of people in there, and they won't take a reservation on first friday, which is a great day to go.
Oh...My...God. I would eat this every day, if there weren't so many other things I wanted to eat on any given day.
Neighborhood: Northeast
Category: Ethiopian
Neighborhood: Park Hill
Category: Ethiopian
Neighborhood: Park Hill
Category: Ethiopian
Neighborhood: City Park
Category: Ethiopian
Neighborhood: Southeast
Category: Ethiopian
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