Jarra's Ethiopian Restaurant

 

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14

Josh P.

Lake Oswego, OR

Jarra's was an interesting experience.

This was my first time trying Ethiopian food, and I have mixed feelings. I was surprised to learn that there is no silverware. You eat with your hands.

The restaurant is converted from a house and seems to be run by a family. The service is friendly, but was a bit slow.

I can't really compare it with other Ethiopian places, but based off my personal tastes it was decent. Not sure if I would eat there again, but it was a unique experience.

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1

4

nick h.

Portland, OR

Theres really not much to say.  Me and my girlfriend decided to grab a bite to eat here one night, and we ended up just going somewhere else.  We were seated, and waited for a good 45 minutes, no water, nothing.  The entire time we waited not a single server came to us, one of the only times I've ever walked out of an eating establishment.

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Elite '08

39

67

Stanley T.

Portland, OR

The place has little ambiance - a rather plain looking dining room. The men's room is definitely not a place to perform surgery.

Yes, the service was slooow. But it was friendly.

The gentleman (I assume the owner) may have been the only worker in the place - perhaps he was seating and taking orders and cooking and serving and settling up tabs? And, as I said, he was friendly (to a fault?). He took our order, taking time to explain the items on the menu, most of which would require fluency in Amharic to decipher on your own. What's spicy, what's mild, what's vegetarian, what's Wat. Our party included one who prefers macrobiotic vegan fare, one who is intolerant of spicy, and me (who'll eat anything that won't eat me first), so this assistance was necessary. After taking our order (before getting the kitchen started on it - or cooking it himself, maybe), he stopped at the neighboring table and had a long, animated, friendly conversation about the situation in Mogadishu. So it was a while before we saw food.

The food was very tasty. I had a spicy lamb dish that turned out to be a lamb shank - it was a challenge to rip all the meat off the bone armed with only a tear of injera flat bread, but the bone was left bare. My dear wife (who needs training wheels to operate chop sticks) asked for and received a fork, so they do exist. There were lots of things on my plate, but the highlights were the lamb and the collard greens. Both very spicy and very good. Ms. Mild and Ms. Vegan made lots of satisfied noises, so I'm sure they were happy too. 4* food, but I agree with others that it's a bit overpriced.

The service during the meal was good - he checked on us several times and brought more water and beers. After, it took forever to get his attention (back washing dishes?) to get a to-go box and our check. Then we had a long, friendly conversation about our niece (Ms. Vegan) and where she is going to school and where his daughter went to school and how much it cost and what a good thing it was that our niece was in grad school and how he thought his daughter should go to grad school and that it's really important to go to grad school right after graduation rather than taking a break and, and, and...

Don't get me wrong, I really like this guy and I think his intention is to provide excellent service. He has his way of doing that, however. I wouldn't go to Jarra's if I was on any kind of a deadline. Oh, the joys of being retired :-) I'm usually not pressed for time. So, in spite of my 3* experience, I will most likely return. And I would recommend it to others (with caveats).

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Elite '08

18

170

Edward J.

Portland, OR

Just to let you know, this is one of the worst restaurant ever in Portland.  It was definitely the worst yet experience I've ever had in a restaurant.  So its Tuesday night, raining hardcore, my boyfriend and I just got out of the gym and we are starving.  We decided to head out to eat and avoid the time to cook.  We were driving on Hawthorne aiming towards Vege Thai (BIG MISTAKE NOT GOING THERE!) and we ended up at Jarra's since it was on the way.  Ethiopian food sounds so good right then.  So we get in there and the place is half lighted, almost empty, and we waited for ten minutes for someone to sit us down.  The old man sat us down and was really chatty.  We ordered two hot tea (so blend must have been tea bagged) and a vegetarian plate to share.  He insisted we get two plates, but from my experience Ethiopian food is big served on a taft flour bread called Radna.  And you are suppose to eat the food with your hand and a side of unlimited Radna.  Guess what?  Its not unlimited!  He gave us one Radna bread each.  FUCK'N CHEAP BASTARD!  Didn't warn us.  And then it gets even better, I told him I was willing to pay for a side of Radna, he said NO.  I frowned and said "come again?"  He said it will mess up the order.  I was like... what in the world is he talking about?!  You won't let me order food in a restaurant 'cause it will mess up your order?  There are only two other couples eating there!  And it was 9pm!  We finished as soon as we could so we could get the fuck out of this shit hole.  
And this is not even the end of the nightmare.  To top off the sundae with a cherry.  We walked up to the counter to pay for the food.  He asked me if I was Korean, I said no, then he went on with Cambodian? Vietnamese?  Japanese?  I was like... none of of your fuck'n business but instead I said "I'm Taiwanese."  Oh you mean you are Chinese.  Taiwan belongs to China, you don't deserve your independence and hundreds of years of unique ethnic identification.  He literally clapped and laughed at the thought of China's take over my homeland.

Yes, nothing like a restaurant that refuses to serve you food and top it off with political commentary that will make you want to piss in your pants.  

I was so mad that we went to Hungry Tiger Too afterwards ordered a drink and shared a vegan cheese nacho plate.  

BTW, the food was not horrible.  It was decent.

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14

24

kenny h.

Portland, OR

Not good. I was really disappointed. The food was OK, strictly average Ethiopian. Yes it was spicy, and that was all fine and dandy...but let's face it...this food is CHEAP to make. The value is below average.

From our experience in the bay area we could order a large sample for about $13.00 and be full. REALLY full. Tasty, messy, and oh soooo good.

Here...as we were ready to order one vegetarian sample, the waiter recommended we get two different ones with a different free side. I had to think for a moment about this...but we followed his advice so that two of us would have a satisfying meal.  This would make the meal exceed $20...but if the portions were large and we had food to take home...heck, why not?

The two meals were the the typical bread with curry sauce and a couple veggie portions. One had a exceptionally small amount of the collard greens, and the other an exceptionally small amount of potatoes and carrots...or I should say ONE baby carrot with two halves of a potatoe.

The darker curry on the plate with collard greens was spicy and flavorful. The other lighter sauce was tasty enough. The ONE carrot tasted pretty good.

They had brought about 5 pieces of the bread to scoop. The dishes could use aout 8.

I waited to continue eating my food until they came around and I could ask for more bread.

To be honest, if they gave a decent amount of bread and increased the vegetable content on the platter...one serving of vegetarian sampler would totally fill two people up. That would make this place a destination for a good value on decent Ethiopian cuisine.

There was only 5 tables full, 2 of which had a party of over 4 people, the other 2-3 seated.

We waited over 30 minutes for someone to give us water. Our waiter had another lady on the floor as well. No excuse. I asked for bread and the waiter had the gull to say that I was supposed to use the bread that was saturated with food underneath...(duh). I guess it was hard for him to understand that for the amount we were spending "a little more bread" would make it more of a real meal.

He brought the bread. ONE piece! Ghetto?

This place is in major need of a face lift inside as well. I could forgive the crooked ancient lights via early 80's decor and sexy wood panelling in the dark gloomy dining area, if the food was absolutely incredible and portions and service rocked...but that was not the experience.

This place would be worth eating at if you have lots of time and a two for one coupon. Otherwise I cannot recommend dining here.

Had I known they had a half off bar I might have gone and been OK with the food.

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15

262

Abe I.

Portland, OR

Located at the bottom of Hawthorne, it is the only Ethiopian food in the area. Normally, I like to eat vegetarian when it comes to Ethiopian and the time I went I was with a carnivore so the food was high percentage meat based. I thought it was okay, but mostly just the kind of meal that you suffer through because you ordered it  and you will pay for it and you are there already and the food is right in front of you and there is nothing else to do, but keep putting bites into your mouth and chewing, then swallowing.

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27

512

Kelly M.

Portland, OR

I believe that Jarra's is one of the sole Ethiopian restaurants located in Southeast Portland.  The coffee is strong and smooth, and the food was tasty.  However, I recommend ordering on the milder side.  I thought I had a high tolerance for spiciness, but the medium-spiced food made my food difficult to get down!  Nevertheless it was tasty, and I especially liked the 80's Ethiopia travel posters on the walls.

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39

172

Christen M.

Portland, OR

Good food, bad service.

We came here earlyish on a Saturday night and discovered that one (1) waiter was covering the entire joint. And the joint was packed -- there was one 20-person party there. Unsurprisingly, took us forever to get our food, our drinks, and our check. Not cool.

Once we got the food, it was fantastically spicy and tasty. So we might check out the special at the bar, but will not go to the regular restaurant again.

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54

133

Anthony R.

Eugene, OR

It's the bomb, yo.

Go to the bar downstairs (after 11) and get tasty drinks and a choice of nine different Ethiopian dishes for half price.  And play pinball.

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