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Dahlak Restaurant
Rating Details »
- Hours:
Mon-Thu. 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Fri-Sat. 12:00 p.m. - 3:00 a.m.
Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
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15 reviews for Dahlak Restaurant
My, my, my.... I know that the Trinidadians flinch if they are mistakenly referred to as Jamaicans.... the Pakistanis would never want to be called "Indian".... so why is it that we refer to Eritrean cuisine as Ethiopian?
Yes, this place is more of a bar/club atmosphere than a restaurant - at times. I will stick with what I said in my previous review... The tibsi & sambusas (not always available) are excellent. There have been a few changes in the kitchen staff over the years - so you might get a 'hit or miss' experience. Many of their patrons are not coming solely for the food. You can come here for drinks and on certain nights listen to music from a local DJ.... not unlike many other establishments.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
2/11/2009
Eritrean... not Ethiopian. Try the sambusas and tibsi. I went with my friend who does not eat… Read more »
I really feel misguided by the previous reviews. We were really disappointed with our meal at Dahlak last night. We had the veggie combo (per usual) and a spinach sambusa. The veggie combo was $16 for one plate, which they told us was for 1 person. We ended up splitting it because it was so expensive (everywhere else charges around $10-11 for a veggie combo.) It was definitely too big for one person but not enough for 2 unless you're both not too hungry.
The food was also pretty bad. I am very forgiving in the Ethiopian food department seeing as I am not Ethiopian and like almost everything that sits on top if injera. This food was just plain not very good though. I actually can't say that about any other Ethiopian place in DC, I have liked the food more or less everywhere else.
The service was excellent. They had live music and the band was great except we had to shout in each other's ears during dinner to talk.
Dahlak is about 1.5 blocks from my house, so I am pretty bummed. Stick with Lalibela for veggie Ethiopian. It might be nice for the music and a beer but the food falls flat.
it's a wonder to me that more restaurants don't try their hands at late night shenanigans. especially the food over fashion type. clear the tables out, bring in a sound system, and presto.
brightest young things rocked this well
Update on the beer specials: now all of their beers are $3 on most weeknights and $4 on weekends. That's EVERY BEER they have (about 8-10 choices). What are you waiting for?
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
5/7/2009
How Dahlak, housed in such a prime location, has not yet become a go-to drinks location for people… Read more »
Came here last night with a buddy of mine as this was the only place left open.Had a great time,good service, drinks are very reasonably priced. $3 beers everyday.I had 2 shots of remy martin XO that didn't set me back an arm and a leg. Food was excellent!!!! best Eritrean food I've ever had hands down.
Highly recommend this place if anyone is looking to get away from the crowds at other adams morgan spots.
This was my first time trying Eritrean food and I am definitely a fan! My friend and I randomly ran into it and decided to give it a go. It also happened to be during their $10.95 lunch buffet! Not only was the food great but the staff treated us so well from the beginning to the end. We were the only non-Eritrean people at the restaurant (there was a family gathering) but we didn't feel nor were we made to feel out of place. The restaurant feels more like someone's home than anything else.
One of the ladies who I assume was one of the owners had us try her freshly made coffee, which she prepared out in the open. The lunch buffet consists of about 10 options, which were laid out in the back table with piles of ingiria (bread) for the taking.
I agree with one of the reviewers. Dahlak is a well guarded secret that is pleasantly removed from the bustling part of U-Street that tends to be saturated with "culinary tourists" and inadvertently transform the restautants' cuisines to fit the American appetite.
Great food & friendly fast service... Afiza appetizer (a shareable salad on injera) was excellent, and my entree, tibs (beef chunks) in spinach and collard greens, was delicious and different, much more appetizing that it sounds! The beer was $4 during regular hours, but that made it easier to make a selection since domestics and imports were all priced the same...
Dahlak is a well-guarded secret. The food is spectacular, the drinks are cheap, and the staff is incredibly accomodating. Great ambiance, too, without any real effort.
I am a flexitarian, and have ordered everything off the vegetarian menu and have been pleased throughout. The beers are $3. For a friend's birthday party Daniel (the owner, who is awesome) had his mother make for our friend arguably the best cake I've ever had. It was this light, fluffy peach and almond affair. I had three pieces. Two were eaten without the aid of silverware.
The reason I go to Dahlak as regularly as I do, though, is the Open Mic on Wednesday nights. I really, really like it. A lot of talented youngs and olds show up and do their business. The stuff ranges from originals to standards to comedy to poetry. It's a surfacing of the quirks and passions that lay in wait while we punch the clock. The scene is always a bit different, depending on who all shows up, but it's always very welcoming and lighthearted and easygoing. A good feel. Especially after 4 or 5 $3 beers.
Checked this place out last night with a friend. Judging by the reviews, she and I ordered the right dishes because they were great. Very flavorful. We ordered the "hot" version but basically that just meant it had taste. No heat whatsoever. So if you go here and ask for one of the two others (mild and dull? i don't remember), you might be wondering where the flavor is.
So what dishes did we get? The beef tibsi i believe (#2 in the meat section) and some red lentil one. They both rocked.
Beer was 3 bucks, so props for that. 22 bucks for the two dishes and beer; we were quite full at the end too. Not bad if you ask me.
The food is very bland and very unmemorable. In fact, it's quite a miracle I even remembered it enough to write a Yelp review. I eat vegetarian as much as possible and noticed that most of the vegetarian options not only didn't look tasty, but didn't look filling. I love lentils, but not that much.
I ordered, then, the spinach and potatoes, with a samosa. The samosa was a bit spicy, but mainly bland. I hated eating it. This dish needed so much more flavour than it had. Not only that, but the bread that was supposed to be used to eat the food was so bizarre- it had the texture of sponge cake and the taste of wheat gluten. It was so unappetizing.
It wasn't terrible. But, it wasn't even mediocre. I did have my hopes up for this place. I see that others who have reviewed this positively ordered the lamb. One note: lamb is delicious anyway you make it. I could eat a live sheep and it still would taste great. I didn't think it would be difficult to mess up veggies, but apparently, it is.
hmm...this was my first meal out having just moved to DC and I have to say that it was, well, hit and miss. On the plus side, the $3 beer special is awesome! We also had a chicken dish that was solid (hot apparently means 'includes big chunks of jalapenos'). The appetizer that we got, however, was moderately disappointing (from what I could tell it was iceberg lettuce, jalapenos, tomatoes, lentils, and Italian dressing) and the spinach and potatoes was bland--but tasty if you dig on massive amounts of spinach. Not sure that I'll go back for food...but given that it's right around the corner I probably will...at least for the cheap beer!
At the crossroads (17th and U) of two hoods with great options for Ethopian is Dahlak. Dahlak is easy to pass by because its windows are darkened- look for el Tamarindo as your landmark.
On the inside the decor is pretty sparse, but they do have candles on the tables. Order one of the spicy vegetarian platters- of course served with injera. The entrees here will only set you back about eight bucks a piece.
For entertainment, there is a pool table here. On Saturday nights they host live music- typically R&B acts.
This place had so much potential. A bar, a restaurant, entertainment-- but it might be the worst experience I have ever had at a restaurant in the DC metro area.
We sat ourselves, because there didn't seem to be a hostess. And then we sat there for about 10 minutes before a server walked by, but he didn't even come over to us. We motioned him over, and he gave us menus and took our drink orders. After we ordered, we realized he hadn't been back to refill our waters. So we grabbed him again, and said he would be right back.
The next time we saw him was when our food came out, waters STILL empty. We weren't rude or anything, so we just asked again to have some more water. He said he would be right back. After another 10 minutes passed we realized we were not getting any water. The girl I was eating with had to go to the bar to get a refill (she cannot handle spicy food so she was in agony!) but those waters were quickly drank. The waiter never came back to check on us. Once again we caught him as he walked by and asked for more waters, and said he would be right back (almost as if he didn't even realize we had asked for some quite a few times before). I saw him walk back to the kitchen for a minute, and then when he came back, he walked out the front door to SOCIALIZE. He hung out in front of the restaurant laughing with friends for about a good 15 minutes, and then he disappeared for a long time. When he came back, it seemed as though he had gone to the market to get a big barrel of ice. He walked right by our table, not even clearing our plates or asking if we were still hungry or anything. Then he went right back outside to socialize even more.
When it came time to pay the bill, he was no where to be found. I'm surprised we even left cash on the table at all. We had to estimate how much it was with tax and everything. I'm sure we could have walked out without paying and gone unnoticed, but I would have felt too weird about it. Anyway, worst service I have ever experienced.
The food wasn't fresh, and nothing was spectacular about it. Large portions with not much enjoyment.
Also, its more of a hangout place, I wouldn't take a date here or anything. A lot of people were standing listening to music, only about 6 tables in the whole room (at least the night I went).
Wow, I've never had Ethiopian food before and was a bit scared to try it, just because we had to eat without any utensils. But to my surprise, the food was very good. We ordered the garlic lamb, cabbage stew and spicy chicken. There were three of us and the portions were just perfect. Our favorite was the lamb, seasoned perfectly with garlic and onions. The service was quite friendly as well. The next time I'm in DC, I'd definitely go back for more!
Nothing was bad, but it was nothing special either. I got the giant vegetarian platter thing to share, and it just seemed unsatisfying and not particularly fresh. Maybe it would have been better if I'd gotten meat, but I ordered exactly what the waiter recommended.
