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Awash
Category: Restaurants Ethiopian Ethiopian [Edit]
338 E 6th StSte A
(between 2nd Ave & 1st Ave)
New York, NY 10003
Neighborhood: East Village
(212) 982-9589
- Nearest Transit:
-
2 Av (F)
Astor Pl (4, 6, 6X)
8 St - Nyu (N, R)
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 4 pm - 11 pm
Fri-Sun 1 pm - 11 pm
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Romantic, Casual, Intimate
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
About This Business:
Mesob Ethiopian Restaurant of Montclair, NJ is a favorite for both vegans & meat lovers with its authentic Ethiopian food. All of our foods are… read more »
112 reviews for Awash
Review Highlights
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"The honey wine washed down the food oh so perfectly." In 21 reviews -
"...Food and some of the tastiest injera I've ever had." In 25 reviews -
"...Awash chicken, Shiro, Yemesir Kik Wat, and Yater Kikalicha." In 3 reviews
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112 reviews in English
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Review from Rahul P.
Jersey City, NJ
5/9/2012
After visit no. II to Awash:
We did the special combination which included two meat dishes and three veg dishes for under $30. My favorite dish was the special tibs, a hearty and flavorful beef stew. The meat was fairly tender and the portion was just enormous. The chicken awash was on the bland side, with the consistency of a chicken stir-fry dish. The gomen (collared greens) was nice and garlicky, a good balance to all the meat. The Yater Kik Alicha (yellow lentils) were quite nice with a mild spice and the Shiro was a surprise, the chickpeas are very thoroughly ground and spiced heavily, so much that we weren't even sure it was what we ordered.
One REAL annoyance was that both times (once it was a pretty empty night and this time a busy Saturday night), the service was painfully slow. You'll be waiting about an hour for your meal.
It cemented my feeling that its really about a 3.5 but for Yelp purposes, the great value for your money makes it a 4. -
Review from Lily C.
Manhattan, NY
5/8/2012
First of the many Ethiopian restaurants I plan on going to! I never had Ethiopian food before and I was so excited to try it!
I was actually going to go to another restaurant nearby but they turned me down. So I wandered to this lovely location! It had a comfortable and cute atmosphere and the waitress was lovely.
We got a sampler plate, me and my mom, and we were super excited!
We liked a lot of the more "dhal" and "lentil" kinds of foods best. The only downside was that the bread they had was tart! Which threw off the flavors of the food. Since it was new food to us we still enjoyed it all. The chicken dish is delicious!* I believe the waitress recommended it so I'm happy it was good!
I will definitely come by again, to get the actual dishes instead of the sampler. But now I know!
*terribly sorry I can't recall the names of the dishes! -
Review from John P.
Houston, TX
5/4/2012 1 Check-in Here
First off... I am not a big eater when it comes to Ethiopian food. It's been 7 years since I was last at a restaurant. With that being said, after going to AWASH I realize that that was a huge mistake.
There are two locations in the city and I thought the East Village location would be great to go to and then hang out in the area afterwards.
The food was great, the wine was great, the atmosphere was great - overall, yep, great.
I always love basement apartment restaurants, they ar great and it just totally sets the vibe that this place is going to be something special, and it was.
No reservations, and about a 5 minute wait on a Saturday night. Not too shabby! -
Review from Sheena V.
Manhattan, NY
4/30/2012 1 Check-in Here
This place was really cute! I came here on a Sunday evening to catch up with a couple friends from HS. We had a great time. The only thing I would warn about is that the food is VERRRRYYYY SPICCCYYYYYY!!!!!!
If I go again, the one thing I will make sure to do is to request a milder version of all the dishes. I got the plate of 5 dishes -- 2 meats, and 3 vegetables. Since I only eat chicken, I tried both of the chicken dishes. One of them was REALLLY good - I'm pretty sure it was the Doro Wat dish (it had bellpepper, and chicken -- kind of like fajita filling). The bread that was served with the dishes was pretty good - the individual dishes are served atop the bread, and then additional bread was provided for the table.
Overall, it definitely made for a very interesting dining experience! I would definitely want to try dining here again! I want to try eating in the side room next time, with the smaller "tables." -
Review from Amit K.
Clifton, NJ
4/25/2012
Pretty good food. But service can be really slow.
We had the vegetarian combo for 4 which was very good. -
Review from Ishan G.
New York, NY
4/21/2012
Service - average. Food - decent. Terribly understaffed
4 of us came here on a Friday evening for dinner. We were promptly given a table, but the place was packed and totally understaffed. Only 3 waiters for a pretty large place. The food took ages to come from the kitchen. Some of the meat which we wanted cooked medium was plain raw. The drinks (wines) were pretty bad. Despite all the nagging we made the our waiter was very polite and smiling all the time.
I've been here before and had a pretty decent experience. But this time was disappointing. -
Review from Kais S.
FOREST HILLS, NY
4/13/2012
Ate here today as I was in the mood for some ethiopian food, and it was mediocre. I have had Ethiopian from a restaurant in Washington dc (Das Ethiopian) and one in Brooklyn (Ghenet) both were superior to this place.
I ordered the meat combo with two veggies and the food was mediocre. The flavor of meat was ok and the veggies were pretty disappointing...It did enough to satisfy my craving and both much else.
The great draw about this place is the affordability of the meal.. its leaps and bounds cheaper than Ghenet, but not up to par with its food. The meat combo which came with three meats (lamb and 2 beef) and 3 veggies.
The food also upset my stomach it acted as a natural laxative so be forewarned as the food is very spicy. I guess the spice has to add some flavor the bland food they serve. -
Review from Astra G.
3/6/2012
I've eaten here twice and both times were good. They have a great pre-fixe deal for 2 people. This place also has a selection of Ethiopian beers and honey wine which is always a plus. Also, I really like that this place gives you hot towels to clean your hands with before your meal. Every ethiopian place should do this.
I like Awash better than Meskerem which is also located downtown. Awash has a much nicer cosy interior with decorations as well as a bigger and cleaner bathroom. They also have some traditional seating available and outside seating during the warmer months! It is a good place for a date.Listed in: NYC Ethiopian
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Review from Tiffany L.
New York, NY
My first time eating Ethiopian food! And without any utensils! Definitely an interesting experience.
Had the vegetarian dish/combo/whachamacallit with mild to spicy bean sauce thingies (which I liked the most!), somewhat mashed potatoes, beets... some other vegetarian-y concoction that I cannot remember. I enjoyed it. Really.
Oooo...and the bread (injera?), was something else! Kinda reminded me of a flaccid dildo I felt that one time...I couldn't get my mind off of it. I also cannot describe the taste. Just felt spongy.
I had a blackberry honey wine?! The thought of ordering anything blackberry sounds like it'd be delicious. And this definitely was. I downed that shit like it was water.
Comfortable atmosphere. Lightly dimmed red lighting. Intimate. -
Review from Donald L.
Brooklyn, NY
4/27/2012
Tucked on slowly diversifying Indian Row on 6th St in the East Village, this Ethiopian place is to die for. Bring a friend and get vegetarian for two and take the Ethiopian beer flight. My favorite is Meta. The labels are wicked too. You probably can't find these African beers anywhere so enjoy them at Awash. I don't recommend the traditional seating but if you're into it, go for it!
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Review from Julian L.
Brooklyn, NY
4/18/2012
Yikes. It was a while ago now, but this place was memorably bad, I had tried great ethiopian before in Ann Arbor and was excited to try it in NY. I am not surprised to see that a cockroach did its thing up on some guy's table, because this place seemed pretty unsanitary.
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Review from Ian M.
Manhattan, NY
2/19/2012
I always enjoy Ethiopian cuisine, and Awash did not disappoint. I split the meat combo. I especially liked the two types of tibs and their spicy, savory sauce. A couple of the meats (whose names escape me now) were quite boney, though, and it made for a bit of annoying time.
The combo also came with a few sides of vegetables. The beans were okay, but the beets and greens were underwhelming. Though I can't say I've ever been blown away by any Ethiopian restaurants vegetable spread.
There was plenty of injera to go around, and the service was good. -
Review from Javier M.
New York, NY
12/25/2011
It's Christmas, 3:34am in the morning so I think I'll be brief. If you've had Ethiopian before, skip the first paragraph and read on. If you haven't the foggiest notion of the type of food they eat down in good old Abyssinia (and by St. Tekle it IS old!) you can read from the start.
Ethiopian food can be quite a marvelous feast.
Upon being prompted to commence your first hearty Ethiopian meal in your life, you will easily find yourself launched in the primeval past; and this isn't due to Ethiopia's Coptic calendar, which is a whopping 7 years behind ours (yes, it is still 2004 in Ethiopia), but because your hands are the only utensils you have to ingest the overly pungent (but utterly delectable) concoction that is Wat. But before you weep for the loss of standard table manners, know that Ethiopian dishes come served with injera bread by the plentiful; the moist thin sourdough flatbread that, once mastered, will be the greatest ally against greasy fingers (and possibly awkward date meltdowns and downright rejections. You've been warned)
Wat, or Wot, is not an archaic version of the interrogative pronoun we use to express perplexity, but the traditional mushy stews central to Ethiopian platters; overly thick, and made with legumes, beef and/or chicken, fish, lamb AND civet cats! (at least in remote regions, I'm told). Wat, in its flavor, does share "What's" occasional use as a declamation of perplexity though; it is really tasty.
But more than all the traditional Ethiopian zestful fare (uber spicy zest, be forewarned) that is served here, Awash bears the particular hallmark of serving Honey Red Wine; a literal nectar which name is anything but contradictory, though maybe, a sweet contradiction for the 33% of Muslims in Ethiopia. As loopholes have it, Muslims are allowed to drink alcohol as long as it does not derive from grain or grapes, so Honey Red Wine is all good. Scratch that, it is delicious.
Awash also bears the pride of having the most romantic and lit setting along that stretch of E 6th St, which is not to say that there aren't any other good options for dining around (Brick Lane Curry and its delicious buffet brunch lie in the very same stretch), but it is THE date spot in the East Village's "Little India"
So give it a try. Delight and surprise await at Awash. Or maybe we should call it Awe-wash. -
Review from Joshua G.
New York, NY
1/16/2012
It's a nice place. You might find some water stains on your glass, they gave us small thin paper napkins, there were boxes and things stacked in the corner, the bathroom was tidy but could have used another scrubbing. Not real classy but not run down either. Just nice enough.
The food was very good and off-beat. I'd go again when I'm looking for something different. Never had Ethiopian wine before, very sweet! Great place to take out-of-towners or anyone else you want to impress that you know a cute Ethiopian restaurant in the East Village. -
Review from Andrea C.
Manhattan, NY
3/9/2012
This is the best Ethiopian food in know in NYC. The vegetarian combo for 2 feeds 3 and the food is very flavorful and fresh. On Friday and Saturday nights it is a fun place for dinner and drinks. The traditional tables, the decoration, and the good service made our experience excellent, and we've returned 4 times.
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Review from Julia S.
New York, NY
12/27/2011
I'd rather give 3.5 stars but I don't see that option. I have eaten Ethiopian at 3 places in Manhattan, one in Philadelphia and one in Raleigh, NC, and this was OK but not my favorite.
Pros - fun traditional seating option, good flavors in the various meats and veggies.
Cons - The platter for two was oval instead of round. Picky I know, but I've always eaten off round plates, and the injera hung off the edges on the oval. The gravy/juice(?) from the various meat and vegetable dishes was too oily. I am someone whose mantra is "fat equals flavor", but the gravy soaked injera under the meats and veggies which is normally my favorite part of the dish was so heavy in oil it was too much even for me. And finally, I got my favorite, which is the Doro Wat (chicken leg I think) and 3 other meat dishes and 6 vegetables, and there was no hard boiled egg. Sure every place has their own take on things, but I miss that egg.
I'm not saying it's bad, but other places are better, so I'm reserving my 4 and 5 stars for them. -
Review from Erica D.
Brooklyn, NY
1/18/2012
I forgot how much I love Ethiopian.
Went here last Saturday night around 8pm with a group of 6. The place was packed - thankfully we had a reservation. It has a cozy, dim-lit vibe. The traditional small tables are beautiful.
We started with Veggie and Meat Sambusa - terrific, spicy - wish we'd ordered more! Then we shared Veggie Combo for 3 and the Meat Combo for 3, and it was just enough food. I have no idea what the meat-eaters ate - but I know they cleaned their platter. I was too busy with all of the amazing veggie options - not only was the veggie combo packed with 5 different choices, the meat platters also came with several veggie sides, too, so we got to try all of the available veggie dishes. YUM. Loved everything we ate. The injera was spongy and delicious. Also had both the red and the white honey wine - the red was almost too sweet, but the white was perfect. Will definitely be back. -
Review from Vivian H.
11/13/2011
Ethiopian is my favorite cuisine. Nothing makes me happier than stuffing my face with a morsel of injera and some kind of veggie stew.
Awash has two locations, I believe. This location is in the basement. It is in a cozy spot, dimly lit and perfect for a date or with a close friend.
My friend and I hadn't bonded in awhile and so on a blustery cold evening, we ventured here for some good Ethiopian food.
I showed up early and it was pretty empty at 8:30pm on a weeknight. Since it was so cold out, I popped inside and the waitress was kind enough to let me sit at a four-top. A few minutes later, my friend arrived. Boy, I was relieved. I had finished running and I was starving.
I ordered up the veggie combo for one. It came with the usual suspects including okra, lentils, carrots, potatoes, etc. The injera was warm and the waitress was kind enough to give us more when we ran out.
All the veggie dishes were excellent and on par. No complaints here.
My only gripe is that Ethiopian food generally is lacking in desserts. I have a very bad sweet tooth, so this doesn't bode well for me. I don't understand. How can a nation with beautiful, sweet people not have any desserts? Surely, this is a mistake...Listed in: My future homeland..., I left my heart in Addis…
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Review from Chi N.
2/27/2012 1 Check-in Here
i have to dock them down to 3 stars for cleanliness... as we were about to enjoy our feast of veggie combo for 1 and meat combo for 2, an uninvited guest decided to join our table... slime style... a cockroach the size of my thumb comes crawling across the wall inches away from jumping right onto our not even touched platter... the rest of the meal i had to try to forget about this cockroach that it had escaped and was crawling on the floor somewhere possibly under my feet. when we told the server, he hovers over behind us trying to catch this cockroach that was long gone... grade pending indeed.
now despite this guest, the food was great! flavors were all different and plenty of injera, nicely spongey and plenty to go around. even extras on the side if u don't want the ones that are soaked in the different combo items. highly recommend eating this with beer.
some highlights
- doro wat - wished it came with an egg and was more than just one tiny leg. order the full portion if u want that next time
- yebig alicha - my fav of all the meat choices... super tender with slight gaminess to it.
- tibs wat - got a spice to it and plenty to go around
- special tibs - another beef thingy... plenty of that as well
- string beans and carrots was slightly sweet and diff
- collard greens looked better than it tasted... was expecting it to be vinegary but wasn't... more of a sweet bitter taste
- mung bean was on the drier side and sorta sweeten... -
Review from Francisco H.
Astoria, NY
2/20/2012 1 Check-in Here
I didn't tell her where we were going to dine because I like to surprise her. As we walked east on such a chilly night, I stopped in front of Awash and asked if she had ever eaten Ethiopian food. She said she hadn't; she added that when she saw the sign she wanted to ask if we could eat here but didn't say anything because she thought I had planned on eating elsewhere.
Started out with the veggie sambusas. Yummy appetizers.
She had the veggie combo an I went for the special tibs. She said the veggie combo was delicious and my tibs were spicy without making my eyes water. They provide plenty of injera.
I felt like I had eaten for days only to look down and see that I had eaten only a portion of my meal. I had to take the remainder of it to go (and it made for a yummy lunch the next day).
Wonderful service. By the time we were done with our meal, the place was packed with more people waiting to be seated. If you're in the area and want some great food, stop by. Next time i will try one of the Ethiopian beers or the honey wine.Listed in: You Want Date Number 2, Right?, My Girlfriend is a…
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Review from Angel C.
3/2/2012
Reserved for a party of 6, were seated with even outstanding members. Service was well-timed, food was delicious (had virtually everything on the menu), and amazingly affordable. Lots of hot towels to keep clean and sanitary, well paired drinks offered, absolutely no complaints. Come on the earlier side, we noticed bunches of people come through after and had a much longer wait than us.
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Review from KL Z.
Manhattan, NY
4/30/2012
I wouldn't say I've experienced better because I haven't sampled any other Ethiopian food but I can say for sure I don't like it. I don't like the soggy flat spongey bread. I don't like the sourness of the things that came with it. I don't like the fact the waiter decided to charge extra for something that was advertised as some other lower price. Overall, don't like the food, don't like the service, and don't like the company I was with which made the meal more unappetizing as it already was.
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Review from Sean S.
10/1/2011
I'm always surprised to find a place that I've been going to for years, that I somehow forgot to review on Yelp.
This is one of those places. And it happens that I had a chance to bring a lovely date here just yesterday. And what to my surprise she had never had ethiopian food. So what a treat to turn someone on to a new awesome food experience.
Turns out she didn't mind my ordering the veggie combo for two, so it was quite simple to order. Plus we both had a dark ethiopian beer to compliment our dinner.
I reminisced about how the first time I had Ethiopian food was when I lived in Buffalo. Only we had no real cultural experiences there, so we would pile into a car, and drive and hour and a half to Toronto. There it was cultural mecca to the north. Cold and windy like, Buffalo, but offering a warm canadian welcome.
So here we sat enjoying dinner, and plenty of stories to share too. -
Review from Vinayak N.
Ridgefield Park, NJ
1/12/2012
First time at Awash, it located beside lots of indian restaurants. Even with that said, and it being a Wednesday, the place was busy. Awash has nice ambience, though it felt like quite a few people were in the place.
Cuisine is ethiopian, they have a few choices of ethiopian beer, honey wine (which my friend recommended). For appetizers, we ordered M. FitFit and Sambusa, both were amazing, especially the M. FitFit. For the main course, we went with Veggie and Meat combo (you get a choices of any 5 veggie dishes in the veggie combo, and 2 meat and 3 veggie dishes in the Meat combo). for 7ppl total that was more food, than we could eat.
All in all nice, nice place and great food (better than the ethiopian place in West village). My reason for a 3-star is service sucked a little. Felt like there were only 2 waiters for the entire place. -
Review from Dan W.
Sunnyside, NY
3/1/2012
This place is just so so. Service is incredibly slow and some of the food potions are really bland. Not recommended.
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Review from Christina S.
Chino Hills, CA
10/23/2011
Food was fantastic, however the service was quite bad. Ethiopian bread in unlimited quantities is a standard for most Ethiopian restaurants. Here, the waitresses would give us tiny amounts of bread on a big plate, as if to say that we're eating too much.
After asking for bread a few times, the waitress, almost tongue-in-cheek, gave us one piece of bread, as if to say, "You've had enough." Quite rude.
Five stars for taste. Negative three stars for service. The average equals one star. -
Review from Katie B.
Brooklyn, NY
9/25/2011
We came across Awash on a drizzling, gloomy night when we were planning on Indian food because it sounded warm and comforting. Injera sounded better to us that night than naan, so we changed our plans and had Ethiopian.
We ordered the meat combination, with collard greens, ground chickpeas, and yellow lentils. The yellow lentils were the weak link - and I think that might have only been because they had a milder flavor than everything else. It was the best Ethiopian we had had in a quite a while.
As I see others have mentioned, the waitstaff wasn't the most attentive, but, at least in our case, I could understand why: the restaurant was busy (including a large party with possibly the loudest, shrillest girl in Manhattan).
Four solid stars. -
Review from D T.
New York, NY
4/20/2012
This place has very good food with interesting flavors. Great service.
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Review from Jake L.
Santa Monica, CA
11/27/2011 1 Check-in Here
Having been to many Ethiopian restaurants through the years, I'm a tough critic.
This is some of the best Ethiopian I've ever had...not the best, but up there.
The meat combo dish is sufficient for two people...don't even think about ordering it for one. The honey wine is truly all that as well.
The meat dishes are very salty, and the veggie dishes are well spiced. -
Review from Kathreen K.
Oakland, CA
4/13/2012
I love the food here! Flavorful with generous proportions. Altho I just read a review that said there was a cockroach, so not sure if I'll go back, which is a shame because it's the best Ethiopian food I've had in the city so far.
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Review from Mr. N.
New York, NY
6/20/2011
You win, Ethiopian waitress, you win! I had ordered your Gomen Besiga dish thinking a safety choice of beef would be my best bet to try Ethiopian food for the first time. To my surprise, a lamb dish had arrived instead. When I questioned if this was beef, you confidently admitted it was lamb. I reaffirmed that my order was Gomen Besiga under the beef section, but you again confidently assured me that I had ordered lamb.
After several minutes of our one-sided mind games, it was clear that you won. You convinced me that I had mistakenly ordered a lamb dish under the beef section. That perhaps I had misread and ordered something else. Thinking back, I realize now that you probably messed up my order but found it easier to convince me that I was the one in the wrong. Well played, waitress, well played!
So for being such a cunning waitress, i give this place 2-stars! You won the battle without question, but I will have the last laugh. For little do you know that I have just become business partners with the Prince of Ethiopia. I'm helping him transfer some funds to my account, so he will owe me big time when we're done. Then we'll see who has the last laugh! -
Review from William F.
Falls Church, VA
2/22/2012
I have only eaten Ethiopian in a few places, but this is among the best. I was in NYC for a visit with friends, and since they knew how much I loved Ethiopian food, we went here.
The service was good. The inside was a bit cramped, but I'm willing to assume that's normal in a crowded place like NYC.
The food, on the other hand, was stellar. Everything was a bit spicier than some in our party would have liked, but there was fantastic flavor to everything. The meat was tender, the vegetables were perfect, and the lentils made me very happy. I would greatly recommend this place to anyone in NYC!
One more thing: I highly recommend getting the "tej", or honey wine. Yes, it's very sweet, but it helps to mellow out the strong spices. Also, after a bottle of the tej, a combination plate for 4, and tip, we still made out around $100. -
Review from Lina F.
8/17/2011
This review might sound a little like this quotation "It's me and not you" in this instance.
Awash was my first ethiopia restaurant so I really dont have a benchmark or much experience with Ethiopian food. But at the same time, I do have a palette and my palette either did not like Ethiopian food or Awash's version of Ethiopian food. This is really a first for me as I always thought I would enjoy all cuisines (being asian and all - we eat and like everything - beating cobra heart is on my list).
The texture and the consistency of all the dishes ranged from mushy, gamey mushy(that's the lamb), lumpy-mushy (beef or chick peas), liquid mushy and collard greens (which I liked because I could identify that). Pretty much the food looked the same going in as it would coming out. I know that's not appetizing at all, but it's the god honest truth. I love indian food and was told it was quite similar. But it really isnt! I've eaten Vegetable Samosa, Chicken saag, Tandoori chicken, Chicken Tikka Masala, Saag Panir, and Naan - just to name a few! And ethiopia food isnt not like that - it's got the consistency of I guess baby food ....
I might try again .... I'll try to rate what I can rate on. The service was slow so that's true given what other yelpers have said. Though they are attentive - I did drink a lot of water while I waited for dishes. The decor isnt like a midtown restaurant. It's sort of one of those basement type set ups with the paper lanterns from a freshmen dorm. It's a litle above average priced - my bf and I had the samosas (really meat filling wrapped with oily phyllo dough), meat combo for 2 and 2 beers which came out to $50. -
Review from Cathy B.
1/1/2012
I really enjoyed this place! The menu is extensive and the service helpful (albeit a bit slow). Well prepared food and very flavorful. The restaurant is low on atmosphere, but that's OK - what I particularly appreciate about the restaurant is its quiet. Set slightly below street level, you feel like you are in someone's home having a small dinner, and you are isolated from the street noise.
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Review from Erica S.
Manhattan, NY
1/16/2012
Try the Meta beer. It's sweet and lovely. Also, veggie combo FTW.
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Review from Michael D.
Jackson Heights, NY
1/30/2011
I'd never had Ethiopian food before last night.
Reading other reviews it seams that most think this place is pretty mediocre. Even my friend who brought me there kept saying that some other place in Brooklyn was much better. Being that I am a novice to this food I can only write what I thought.
There were three of us. We ordered a meat platter for two and a veggie platter for one ...I think. I should also mention that at this point I had the good part of a bottle of cava in me, and the better part of a joint. I don't usually indulge, but my friend is a bad influence.
I did not know that I was going to be eating squishy food with spongy pancake bread with my hands.
So that was trippy.
I kinda got lost in the pancake bread sometimes. It had all these little holes. It looked like the surface of the moon. I also got a little paranoid, because I wasn't sure if I was allowed to eat with my left hand. I know that's a big no-no in Morocco. I made an effort to eat with my right, but I'm left handed and kept drifting back.
So anyway, the food. Man was I hungry. They brought out a huge platter of beef, lamb, goat, chicken, beets, potatoes, and other things that I was unsure of, in different states of stewed spiciness.
Everything tasted sooooooooo good. I'm pretty sure it was because it was good and not because I smoked a doobie.
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Review from David J.
New York, NY
11/5/2011
Having recently read "Cutting for Stone," which is set in Ethiopia, I had a taste for the cuisine, so we tried this place in the East Village on a Saturday night. We were seated right away.
For an appetizer, we got vegetable "sambusas," which were similar to samosas, and came with a nice spicy coriander dipping sauce. We each drank some Ethiopian stout, which was a little lighter than Guinness, and very tasty.
We got the combo dinner for 2, for $28. Two meats (we chose chicken "doro wat" and beef "special tibs") and 3 veg (chick peas, collard greens and red lentils), all served on that springy injera bread. They brought extra bread for picking up the food (no forks), but we couldn't finish, we were both so full.
If you like spicy food, as we do, you'll find a lot of items good and hot. They serve a honey wine that I would have liked to try; maybe next time. Also, we were disappointed they don't serve Ethiopian coffee, which is supposed to be delicious. I think it's pretty expensive, and people would balk at paying a few dollars for one cup of coffee. The place was really good, for something both exotic and delicious. -
Review from Heather M.
New York, NY
Updated - 5/13/2011
Brought the parents here and they very much enjoyed.
Made a res at 530 on a weekday because we had a show to catch at 8. Restaurant was empty which was actually kind of nice, my parents like it quiet.
After we expressed interest in honey wines - server brought us samples of regular and blackberry. I chose blackberry, so yummy. The sweetness of the wine balances the spiciness of the food nicely.
We started with a Veggie Sambusa which was delicious. Then we all had combos - I did two chicken dishes and 3 veggies, all amazing.
I enjoy Ethiopian food because it's delicious and filling but you don't feel grossly stuffed later in the night. In fact, I had to finish my leftovers last night before bed, they were calling to me!1 Previous Review: Show all »
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9/18/2010
OOOO yummy! My first time with Ethiopian food and I enjoyed it. Got the combo platter for 13.95 - 2… Read more »
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Review from Ki G.
12/9/2010
My best bud Susan N. and me came here after halfheartedly scaring (or confusing...maybe irritating?) people during the Village Halloween Parade.
We were cold, hungry and super sober. We needed to rectify this situation. I mean, come on - it was Halloween night! Drunken antics are part and parcel of the gear you wear.
It's a nice restaurant, a place where you would want to bring a group of friends or just a special friend to. Me and my special friend enjoyed the stares from the quieter patrons and overheard one of them say to their table "you don't see *that* in Bombay everyday, do ya?"
But, more than trying to freak out patrons and wanting to down an entire bottle of honey wine (which we did), we wanted to eat injera, and yebeg wat and gomen, etc. All were prepared superbly and the injera was light and spongy, everything we could want in an Ethiopian meal on a cold evening. That wine helped with the cold as well.
All an all a good meal, in a quiet atmosphere with good service. I'd come back. -
Review from Kristel S.
Manhattan, NY
4/10/2011 1 Check-in Here
I didn't think the place or the food was anything special. This place gets 2.5 stars from me though because it is better than the first ethiopian meal I had years ago in Midtown.
Ordered the special kitfo and yebeg tibs which were both flavorful. The kitfo is a mushy ground beef mix while the lamb was a pile of tiny overcooked cubes--very dry and very though to chew. A "pro" would be the injera. I was so afraid it'd be way too sour, like the midtown joint I went to... but awash injera was just right.
Food aside, the service sucked. We arrived at 7 and the waiter kept coming to us asking if we were ready for our orders... he must have dropped by every minute or so. But once we got our order in, it was so hard to find him! Getting my coffee took forever that I had to remind him I had ordered one. Water was also scarce... I'd recommend slowly sipping on your water just in case it doesn't get filled up again.
Although we rarely saw our waiter, our plates were quickly taken care of as soon as we were done eating... but then we didn't get our checks for another 10 minutes. I felt so bad for people waiting in line to eat... they could've had our seats.
