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Categories: Music Venues, Ethiopian, Jazz & Blues
Neighborhood: Western Addition/NOPAMon-Thu. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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My first Ethiopian dining experience and it was a damn good one!
I came here with a group of 8 friends. We rolled in around 9pm for dinner and snuggled into a booth. The band was warming up and we were all really looking forward to the entertainment.
Our server was brilliant. She scored big points with all of us. Her cool personality made us feel really comfortable and happy. She was awesome!! Checking up on us and making sure everyone was satisfied. When I return for a second visit I hope I sit in her section.
The Funk and Soul Jazz band (didn't catch the name) was amazing! They even got me to dance a little jig on the impromptu dance floor. Oh man, there was this one guy who was breaking out some dance moves that I've never seen before. He reminded me of the male version of Elaine on Seinfeld. He had all of us cracking up. So great!
I shared the Doro Wat dish which was chicken simmered in a spicy barbecue sauce, garlic, ginger, cardamom and onion. Perfect balance of spicy, savory and sweet. I really enjoyed this dish. I love the "bread" that's used to scoop up all the yummy goodness. It's this spongy crepe like bread that soaks up all the juicy meat and veggies - brilliant.
I tried the honey wine which is really sweet and not my fav but it complimented the spicy food. If you like dessert wine, you'll really enjoy it. Overall this is a fantastic restaurant and great venue to see live jazz.
I don't know about their meat dishes, but their vegetarian dishes are all a hit. I would recommend the platter to try them out and then just get the $7 one you like the best to cut costs.
The atmosphere is great, definitely a mature crowd. However it does get crowded on Friday and Saturday night. Monday night is best as it is open mike and very mellow.
Only 4 stars as the service can be incredibly slow. Great staff, just overworked and understaffed always.
I would have given this restaurant a 5 star rating, but in the end service is everything.
We showed up to this fabulous place and everything seemed to be going well. We listened to Jazz and ordered a plate the was supposed to be a sample plate of all of the foods they offer. We had a party of 5 but we mostly came for the jazz. The waiter then said "For all five of you?" and we concurred. The food came and it was delightful... everything was great until we go the bill.
Turns out we had ordered large portions for 5 people of this dish we thought we were ordering one of. Flustered at the over a $100 bill we talked to the waiter and tried to explain what had happen. Being very unresponsive they called the manager, Soon after the waiter explained the manager would like to talk to us. So over the phone she BITCHED out my friend and then told us she was coming down there.
When she arrived this time our ENTIRE party was bitched out. She then told us we had to pay all of the bill, which none of us could afford. After trying to clarify this fact she then told us we would at least have to pay half the bill. Finally we paid it and left.
I dont know what kind of establishment thinks they can treat their customers this way but they sure thought wrong. I understand there was a mistake in communication but really, your going to come down and curse out a table of women who are trying to clear up an issue?
Never coming back to this whack ass establishment.
My friends and I went here after the Ting Tings show at the Fillmore. We didn't want the night to be over yet and we stumbled over to this place because it was across the street.
The wait service took a really long time (maybe about 25 minutes to get their attention) --I think they were short staffed that night. It was around 11 PM and they were still taking food orders. We ordered a combination plate that consisted of some Ethiopian bread and sauteed veggies and dip. I wasn't such a big fan of the food because it was too bland for my taste. The price was reasonable for what it was so I guess it can be justified that way.
There was also a band playing jazz --that was nice however the crowd consisted of some really annoying drunkards that ended up bugging us for part of the night.
It's definitely not a classy joint... I don't see myself going back here in the future.
The music and food are excellent.
I am here quite frequently, singing, eating and drinking.
The only detractor, in my opinion, is that the wait is usually long. If you're not in a hurry, no problem.
Salsa?
Did someone say salsa?
So I use to come to Rassela's for dates and listening to jazz with my circle of friends back in the day. Dating a man who played the saxophone meant that we would usually be hanging out around other such musicians and groups. But what I recently found out, via Los Boleros (also here on Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/bi...) were the Friday evening salsa nights.
The fellow had never done it before and I'm all about encouraging such interests. Why? Because you live only once and I've done enough salsa when it first seduced me at a session at Cocomo's years ago and since then, my hips and high heeled calves have been hooked.
So this event utilizes the back events room at Rassela's. Just walk through the front entrance and then meander around the dining tables and booths towards the back. By arriving right on the dot (8 pm) after paying the $10 fee, we were fully immersed in the dancing lesson. Great instruction by the two dancers for the basic steps and I have to say, due to the large space and lack of a crowd, I was able to hone some of the steps. See Eddie H. who led the instruction: clean, basic structure to salsa dancing, perfect for first-timers as well as intermediate to clean up existing form. I'd recommend him as well as this list he provided (http://www.yelp.com/li...). Once the group session was over, we switched partners, circle style.
Now, given the fact that most of my experience came not from these lessons but afterward, during the dancing/band playing when the wallflowers were fodder for the men there to dance. So I learned how to salsa by dancing with many partners through the night. In addition, once you find that one partner you match well with in regards to movement and leading, you have a tendency to dance with them often throughout the evening.
After the dance lesson we were let loose to mingle and dance to our own devices. The good thing about going with someone who has never done salsa before is that the dancing is less frenetic and one can take their time perfecting the more basic steps. In addition, going with someone close to you makes for easier leading and coordination of the feet and arms because one does not have to worry about courtesies and space. My fave part, was teaching him how to do the basic merengue. Talk about another sexy dance.
The band that played that night was not Los Boleros, but still good nonetheless. When we were not dancing, we were still tapping our foot away to the beat on the various couches and chairs arranged perfectly around the dance floor. For others, there is an upstairs in the event you'd like the formality of tables and chairs.
What a perfect way to fire up a Friday evening!
Friday June 12th will be the last Salsa Friday at Rasselas Jazz Club (unfortunately, I will not be there as I will be out of town).
As for club lessons, I will be taking a break from that to focus on private lessons in/around the Bay Area.
As always if you're looking for more salsa festivals, concerts and other events, check out the facebook group Salsa Aficionados at -
http://www.facebook.co...
------Disclaimer------
This must be on the few times on Yelp you've read a reviewer giving less than…
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The band that played that night was good. When we were not dancing, we were still tapping our foot away to the beat on the various couches and chairs arranged perfectly around the dance floor. For others, there is an upstairs in the event you'd like the formality of tables and chairs. Been to a few Ethiopian restaurants, but this is a standout because of the great service and great music that accompanies it.
Rassela's was a very chill spot to drop by for a tame evening. We arrived to the bar around 10:00 pm and it was near impossible to find a seat anywhere as the musicians were performing during the time. A few spots finally opened up at the bar where we remained for the remainder of the night.
The bartender was prompt and we placed our drink orders and a few friends ordered some food. The music was amazing and everyone seemed to enjoy the setting, but eventually it did get real busy and I could hardly get a glimpse of the jazz musicians, but hey, we should have gotten there earlier.
I tried some of the Ethiopian food that my friends ordered and it was a plate of mixed spicy beef with some vegetables and a side of some type of soft tortillas to wrap it in. It was very good, in fact it bursted with flavors and I would love to try it again sometime, but since I was just picking off someone elses plate, boo to me.
I would recommend this place to anyone who likes jazz music and would like to just chill out and listen to music. But do get there early as seats get filled up quick.
Went here for the first time this weekend for a party. Would not recommend it for large groups, but will definitely be going back with small groups! Food was excellent. Service was friendly but unfocused and disorganized. The band was amazing.
I had no idea what to expect from Rasselas--all I knew was that they'd been here a long time and thus gained insta-cred when that goliath Yoshi's moved in down the block.
First surprise: There's actually two parts to the joint. The windowed-&-carpeted front room (very 80's) is the Ethiopian restaurant, though it has a nice bar and a stage for the "lounge band", as it were. Then there's the brick-wall, hardwood-floor back room where the "real" concerts are--though there's table seating for everyone, and you can still order food (we just stuck to drinks).
The band on this occasion was the Fil Lorenz 14-piece "Soul-kestra", proprietors of fair-to-mid(dling)-century jazz. Think anything from Ray Charles' MSICWM period to the kind of stuff they use to kick people off stage at the Oscars. But down-n-dirty soul? Not so much. As for the "kestra" part, it was just a big brass combo; those of us expecting a masterpiece of orchestration a la Mingus' Black Saint & The Sinner Lady, or Joe Henry's Tiny Voices were rather disappointed.
I guess in the back of my mind I was secretly hoping for something like the jazz joint in Altman's Kansas City. But instead, what with the lights being on too high and the somewhat obsequious bartender, I got a sanitized, slightly dull vibe that I would've expected from...well, Yoshi's. But hey, a live music venue where you can sit down and listen to classics will always be up for consideration in my book, so a bonus star for that.
But damn, they really need to fix that website.
We came here on a Friday night, looking for the salsa room in the back, and we were completely caught off guard by the jazz music in the front. The rest of the group hadn't arrived yet, so we guessed that we had misunderstood, and we just started enjoying the jazz and dancing in the corner! When the rest of the group arrived, we made our way back to the salsa room in the back, only to find an even more fabulous venue!
The band was fabulous - I think the singer was Cuban, and the music just had so much energy! The dancers were talented, friendly, and patient with the non-pros! The bartenders were super nice too!
I definitely plan to come back for dinner in the front and then dance the night away in the back!
Went there last (Saturday) night with 2 friends. I've been here before and like the place but last night was a huge succes! We sat at a bartable next to to the bar and the waitress stood us after checking in once.
People, if your wait has been 5 minutes, take charge and do something about it and don't sit there and wait, and then complain about over here. When the waitress gave up on us, I didn't wait and get worked up about it. I just asked the bartender (Josie) if she would want to help us so she took over. And she was fantastic! Great service, friendly and on top of her game. Ordered some appetizers to share and it was very flavorful and delish. There was no cover and the band was fantaaaastic! A mixed bag of jazz, blues, dance, they even did a Zeppelin! We had to hit the dancefloor a few times.
Not overly crowded, easy to make conversations, interesting characters. Will be going back! Thank you Josie, you rock!
1 star for food
5 stars for music...so average and round up...
4 stars!
I have fond memories of Ethiopia---landscape, people, culture, Amharic language, food, coffee, etc as I spent time in Addis Ababa, Jimma, Kafa Zone...so I will forever love anything r/t Ethiopia
Salsa dancing Friday night in the back room was a flash back to 8th grade with boys on one side, girls the other..awkward and wallflowers...no sexy salsa...but the live band was working it....and the salsa instructors were stellar....we loved every minute of it ;)
We also loved the jazz band in the main front section....soulful and classy sassy....
we made the mistake of ordering the bar menu chicken drummies and pita chips....no bueno...the chicken was previous frozen and then thawed out a week ago-plain and stale...and the deep fried pita chips left a lard residual on my tongue....thank goodness the music was good b/c I had to burn off the lard calories by dancing all night;)
"Ish"
One of the problems with Yelp is that when you review a place, you're combining all aspects of the business into one rating. This is a bar, a live music venue, and a restaurant.
So do you average the rating for each together? Or do you add them, as it is that much better that it offers all of them?
I would go with the latter. The food itself is about 4 stars, drinks are fine, but the music is just awesome. No cover during the week is especially great.
I went to Rasselas last night (Saturday) after bouncing around at a few spots in the city, including another jazz spot. I haven't tried the food at Rasselas yet, but I enjoy their music.
The place is spacious. Great for big groups, but you will probably be left standing next to the bar. The drinks are reasonably priced. It was $8 for my drink of choice, Remy VSOP neat (even served correctly in a snifter). The music was great. The bartender wasn't bad, but wasn't personable at all. Never cracked a smile. Only thing that I would have reservations about is that the crowd is definitely an older crowd. Thats cool and all, but being in my 20s I would feel outta place unless I came here with a big group of friends such as last night.
More places on Lower Fillmore need to take notes from Rassela's.
Solid place to listen to some Jazz and sip on moderately priced - and stiff - cocktails.
However, I've heard that service is bad at the tables, so I'd try to snag a seat at the bar. I've never had problems getting served sitting there.
This is what my cinematically-addled mind conjurs when someone utters "jazz lounge".
So, as the lead guitarist/vocalist makes his way around the room, riffing chords one-handed while nursing a drink with the other, I polished off my third Stella w/Rose's Lime, and just took in the scene. What a great spot!
Funky jazz/blues standards thumping through the room, courtesy of the 5-piece band, fronted by an age'd and obvious veteran to the scene on lead guitar. Linen suit'd men, leaned back in their seats, sipping on bourbon-n-cokes, tapping their feet, nodding their heads, fedoras tilted stylishly to the side. Women, in extravagent party dresses and waist coats, with their hair did, swaying left to right, eyes closed, snapping away to the rhythm, flashing gold bangles and fresh manicures...
"Mmmmph, go on now...."
And as the action at the bandstand keeps the audience entranced, the action at the bar gets just as hot; slick gents with a "lean" gabbing smoothly, employing their best macks on the voluptuous honey-dips sided up next to them.
"Yo, what's good, sugah....? You're lookin' lovely tonight..."
... yeah... smoove....
Him: So... do you dance?
Her: Depends, you askin'?
Him: *extends hand, gestures to the floor*
Her: Alright, show me what you got...
__________________________________________________ __
In between sets, the house system plays a mix of vintage to current R&B, to which some spontaneous (or liquor fueled) dancing might spring forth...
If I could split up the stars for this place separately for the band and the restaurant, I would give the band 6 and the restaurant -2, which averages out to 2.
The food was okay. I've had better Ethiopian food (Go to Pico in Los Angeles - Little Ethiopia rocks!) It wasn't bad, it was average. The sambussa was really greasy, the lentils that were supposed to be "spicy" did not excite my taste buds and they were stingy with the spongy bread. They charged $4 per drink and for each refill. Fucking ridiculous.
The service was crap. The server who sat us said "I guess I'll take care of you" and tossed menus our way, it was obvious she didn't want to be there. Then another girl came up to her and said "Hey this is my table" to which the first girl gladly threw the rest of the menus at the table and walked off. Our waters took over 10 minutes to get out and appetizers even longer. The server claimed "Oh the veggie combo is barely enough for one!" when it's obviously sufficient for two. I hate wasting food and I detest people that make me over-order.
People everywhere seemed frustrated with the service: I saw a server spill a glass of wine on someone, yell across the restaurant to say "WHAT!?" while the band was playing. Worst of all, she fucked up our bill and charged us for an extra entree which screwed up our calculations. Fixing this, arguing about the refills and paying the bill took over 45 minutes.
Robert Stewart and the band were the saving grace of the night. Thank God for good jazz. If I come back here, I'm going to eat elsewhere.
I saw Los Boleros in the back room. The band was fantastic. The price was a little steep and the food was nopt so great but the music was very good.
We rented the back room for a party and it was a geat space! Various friends performed on their stage. The sound system was good and the sound/light guy was very helpful. The balcony helped break up the crowd and the sound is well dispersed. Food was ok, not great, but our budget was limited. Rental price included clean up. Owner was nice & let us in earlier in the day to set up. When we left, there was a great band playing in the front.
We warned people DO NOT PARK IN THE SAFEWAYS PARKING LOT!! THEY TICKET & TOW! There's a parking garage across the street.
With respect to Mark A. this review is about the restaurant.
I expect that in a such a large diverse city the "ethnic" food, what ever it may be, should be outstanding. Rassela's was boring. Ethiopian food should be anything but boring. The food was spicy but didn't have the big round exciting flavors that I expect from Ethiopian cuisine. The chicken dish was good but the lamb was tough and had a big...check that, a GIANT piece of gristle plus a couple of good sized bones. The beef was tough too. The injara was cold and a little too spongy. Again, the food wasn't bad. Just not worth it to go back.
I also think it was our waitresses first day. It took us forever to order and get our check.
Go for the music, I hear it's great. Don't bother with the food.
Definitely not like what I have expected from a jazz bar. It was a big band jazz playing and the crowd was older. So, I didn't have that much fun. Food? didn't try it, but sounds interesting from the menu.
2 stars for you! One for the bar (they serve Blue Moon). One for the nice waitress when had the first time we came here. ZERO for everything else!
The next time we came we had family in town and the four of us came here. We walked in and we have never felt more uncomfortable and unwelcome. We stood there for a while just waiting, then the lady comes out and says "Do you have a reservation" and looked at us like we were ridiculous for not having one. I can understand if they were booked up, but they could've been more friendly. She then walked away for about 5 minutes and another waitres comes and tries to seat us, then they say "NO" that's reserved! (probably for like 2 hours later) We went back to the front, but instead of waiting and feeling more akward......we walked straight out the door! Then the lady yells out the door "we were getting a table put together for you!" Ummm....no thank you! We wouldn't want you to go out of your way! They just lost over $150....their loss.
GO TO SHEEBA LOUNG INSTEAD!!
The owners there have no clue. It is indeed a Eeeeeeeeeki place.
Ordered drinks & within 5 minutes they couldn't find my credit card.....duhh go figure. Complete Morons I most say. They made it appear like it was my fault but they somehow in that time span 'stole' my cc & obviously I complained to no avail. They actually threw me out of the
place & ruined my jacket & jeans while they where @ it. They are crooks in there & they don't care about what you think abour em'. Hopefully enough patrons will wake to what they are all about.......ripping off patrons. Period!
I love this spot! This was the first time I had Ethiopian food and I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. If you haven't tried Ethiopian food its a great place to check out. Since its small, it has a mellow vibe and the Jazz is right up in your face. It was open mic night and all of the musicians were really top notch.
There was this cool nutty professor guy in the corner booth by himself with piles and piles of sheet music that he seemed to be working on. He got up towards the end and sang his heart out! Another random woman got up and did the same. All the music was great except for the homeless guy who managed get on the mic towards the end. He looked somewhat normal but once he opened his mouth the band started getting ready to shut it down. All in all a great night!
Jazz is music that makes my heart flutter. Spicy Ethiopian food is food that makes my taste buds flutter.
I met up with an old friend this weekend who moved to San Diego and she wanted to go to Rassela's to listen to spme jazz, since SD doesn't provide her with any good jazz clubs. My friend and I used to come to Rassela's many years ago and it was a great blast from the past. I had never tried the food at Rassela's though, so I found it to be a great opportunity to experience their fare.
We couldn't decide on what to get, so we asked for the sampler plate for 3. Great choice BF. We sampled the Doro Wat, Tibs Wat, Kitfo and the vegetarian combination. All were amazing, but my favorite was definitely the Doro Wat....the chicken was cooked perfectly and the berbere sauce was spicy and sweet. I love the bread that is served with the food, which has a spongy, crepe like texture and a sourdough kinda taste to it that meshes well with the sweet and spicy.
The jazz band was AMAZING. I enjoyed every note.
Only complaint and reason for four instead of five stars....the service was terribly slow. They may have been short staffed which would explain the lack of attention we received in the first 15 to 20 minutes we were seated, but once our server finally came around, he managed to be pretty attentive kinda sorta most of the time.
It's Monday night and there is absolutely nothing better than listening to talented musicians perform in a venue that is so intimate. It's being able to have that candlelit dinner and light conversation, but by the end of your evening, your table has been transformed into a cocktail holder and you're still able to enjoy a quicker pace without leaving and going from bar to bar.
it's even better when you come with someone that you've known for a long time and can comfortably share a blues/jazz filled evening.
My favorite was when a woman who had been trying to get all of the couples in the room to dance, settled on making the single men in the room dance with her and then took the microphone and sang 'Happy Birthday, to Ya'll' with sultriest smokers voice you've heard.
What a great night.
Let me break it down for you...because a place that is holds patrons in such disregard should get blasted...
This is a rant - not intended to be useful, cool or funny. The service at this place is abysmal. The concept of this place is great - mixed crowd, good music, eat and drink on, but if you're coming to the Fillmore for jazz AVOID this place - go to Yoshi's, the service at Popeye's Chicken is better.
1). We (a party of 4) seat ourselves at a table, no staff in sight. The waitress comes around and removes the greasy cheap-o paper place mats on the table and leaves the soggy not-so-dirty mats on the table. I hand them to her and she says "that's just water on there" and walks away...
2) Service took soooo long...I mean we were sitting there for 30 minutes without even water
3) I eventually got up to find the waiteress to order a bottle of their Robert Mondavi Chardonnay. I found her she said okay and I walked back to our table.
4) She gets there with a bottle and 3 glasses and she doesn't show us the bottle and proceeds to uncork it, she's obviously in a hurry...out comes some red wine and I look at the bottle and it's a Cabernet. I told her I ordered Chardonnay?! She mumbles something under her breath and walks away...I called her out on it, and asked her what she said....She said " you just said Robert Mondavi, you didn't say you wanted the Chardonnay" By this time, I'm like an inch from socking this lady in her dome. I let her know I knew what I ordered.
5) My friend asks for a glass of milk...they don't have any milk that's not spoiled waitress says (!!??) She then orders juice then (for her daughter) and it took literally 45 minutes to get that
I was really disappointed in this joint. I had folks visiting me from out of town and I wanted to show them a good time...and we were all totally disappointed
-by the way, i've been here 3 times now and service has ALWAYS super sucked.
Have you ever seen Adventures of Babysitting where they stumble into the Silver Dollar Room and that guy says "Nobody leaves here without singing the blues"? I honestly felt like that when I walked in.
I came here for dinner with a group of 6, and they could NOT have been nicer. The waitress did a good job of hearing our orders given how loud it was, and the music was great. The night we came it was more blues-y than jazzy, which is fine with me, I'm from Chitown! My brother plays the guitar and I have NO idea how the lead singer/guitar player could tell, but he made my brother play with the band. He did a really good job and it was such a fun moment. The food is decent, but not what would bring me back.
They are playing live salsa music in the back room. Great wooded floors for dancing and great music. I say, thumbs up.
Stopped in here last friday after the Yellow Jackets/Mike Stern concert;
everybody was charged, very lively and watching the Olympics on one of the many big screens. Standing room only. I split, a bit too crowded that night. I'll return.
I came to Rasselas last night to their first Salsa Friday. Wow it was so much fun. It was absolutely fantastic. Great set up to enjoy salsa groups and it was 10$. I am going to come back to their Salsa Friday, but you have to check out their calendar to see who is playing next. I must say I hope to come earlier so I may taste their food. Overall, great atmosphere, drinks and great music.
It's good-quality Ethiopian food but the menu is regrettably small, the prices are high, and portions not impressive.
This is the place for dinner and jazz if you aren't looking to spend $100/person. I like that they have jazz every night and every band I have heard has been very good.
It is a spacious place so if you are there just for the music you can sit feet away from the band or if you are trying to have conversation there is enough room to move to a quieter area and just have background music. The prices are what really won it over as the kind of place I return to since most entrees are under $20 and good portions. This is also in the Jazz district of Fillmore so it's a good alternative to the expensive, super highend Yoshi's a block away with equally good music.
The food alone was nothing outstanding but I do not particularly like Ethiopian anyway but they also offer bar food for my kind. The service is the only thing I am deducting a star for as they seem to be understaffed so were slow on food service, getting drinks, and bringing the check but the waitress was very nice.
Undecided on a place to meet my dining companion, I just said "Meet me around Fillmore and Geary." I parked my car a few blocks away and started walking.
Four ghetto thugs, three crack heads, two donated cigarettes, and a partridge in a pear tree later, I ducked into Rassela's to wait for my friend. I was pleasantly surprised to see they had a full Ethiopian menu! So I parked myself at the bar across from a very loud dude who reminded me of Chris Rock, only he was old, and drunk, and dressed in a purple suit. Ahhhh, the purple suit. I just realized this description fit almost everyone in the place last night. Well, there were only like four other people. And it was a Tuesday night.
And the suit colors varied. Some were like, more maroon.
Anyway, we really enjoyed the food. This kick-ass jazz band started around 9, but we left shortly thereafter, because we are old and need our sleep. But, I will return on a Saturday night to check out the band and get crunk on the dance floor. Also, I want to try the Vegetarian Sambusas. MMMmmmMMMmmm.
Even though I've lived 2 blocks away from Rassela's for the past 1.75 years, I went for the first time last Thursday, and was pleasantly surprised!
We ordered the meat and veggie sampler and a bottle of honey wine, and it was good enough to satiate but not overly-fill the 4 of us. I really enjoyed the various items on the sampler platter, especially the goat curry and the chickpeas. And I love spicy food so that made it even better. The honeywine was very sweet but paired really well with the food.
Another great thing was the live Latin music which was a tad bit loud, but was really enjoyable. After we finished eating dinner at our table, we sat on the couch by the fireplace and listened to music and relaxed. What a great time. Definitely would come back here.
The price came out to about $70 for the sampler and the wine.
I should like Club Waziema, and I actually have given them a great review on Yelp. CW is in my neighborhood too, which is all the more frustrating that it's recently been super busy, super slow and just sort of lazy, making me not want to frequent this otherwise delicious Ethiopian option. In fact, last week we waited for almost 20 minutes to order a drink; instead of staying we left in frustration and went over to Rassela's.
Wow, what a difference. I wasn't a huge fan of Rassela's when they were in Pacific Heights (where Solictice is now). But this new location, right near the Fillmore, is something else. It was a slow Tuesday, so not too busy. The space is set up to showcase the jazz bands that play there - and that can get a little noisy and hard for conversation. That said, the food is top notch, nicely spiced, filling (do not be afraid of the steak tartare!). We also had the excellent meat samosas beforehand - probably not necessary - but oh so good.
I'm not sure if they are the best Ethiopian out there, but man, when I was hungry and needed my injera bread fix, Rassela's was there with open arms.
FTR, I wouldn't know authentic Ethiopian food if it knocked me upside the head with an empty tej bottle. I will say that I definitely liked my doro wat, and there was no shortage of spice.
The service was fantastic- we were seated immediately, and our waitress was awesome all night- very attentive without smothering us.
It happened to be Latin Night when we were there, and Mucho Axe was playing. It was too loud for conversation at the table, but the music was good, and the room was set up pretty well for it.
My only complaint was that they were out of damn near every bit of alcohol- one tap available (out of about eight), and we apparently got the last bottle of tej. I won't mark down for that because they had some street fair this past weekend. Seems fair enough. All in all, I'd be happy to come back.
My first review based on hitting up a joint for the first time and I was Blown Away! That was my reaction when I walked into Rassela's last night... My second reaction.. I can't believe I've never been here before.
There were young, there were old, there was whites, blacks, yellow, green and purple people! The jazz had me feeling like I was in the 60's, the women had me feeling like Whoa, and the double jack & cokes made me forget what time it was. With such a variety of personalities and background you'd think there had to be someone with a stick up their ass.. NOPE!!! Plus, I do not think there was Soul there not having a good time. If you have never been to Rassela's and you like Jazz you have to check it out.
Highly recommended.
Neighborhood: Western Addition/NOPA
Category: Ethiopian
Neighborhood: Financial District
Category: Performing Arts
Neighborhood: Mission
Category: Jazz & Blues
Neighborhood: Pacific Heights
Category: Jazz & Blues
Neighborhood: Civic Center/Tenderloin
Category: Music Venues
FOOD IS SO GOOD! oh and other cool things to know…
My local dry cleaner, watering hole, deli, cafe,…
this is a list of all my favorite restaurants in…
Places where you can at least semi-regularly come…
The Western Addition is a notoriously ill-defined…
In honor of my 5th continent - cuisines from…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
One Man's Quest for the Best in Ethiopian &…
