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Cathedral Pkwy (B, C)
110th St-Central Park N (2, 3)
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the atmosphere: so inviting, romantic, warm, zesty yet calming, unabashedly unpretentious, invigoratingly luscious.
the food: simple, fresh ingredients kissed by dizzyingly combined bouquets of spices. the garlic, paprika, berbere, & ginger. mmmmm.
the ritual: undeniably romantic, the splitting of the familystyle platter, no forks, all hands and the silliness of sharing soft scoops of bread and spice. so excuisitely romantic, had i gone on a date with a dud i'd have fallen for them. on the spot. sans background check.
Delicious, messy and cheap what else could you ask for in your Friday night?
The veggie sampler was by far the best Ethiopian I've had in the city. The yelpers below are correct though, the injera under the food is a bit stale- we solved this by simply asking for more injera on the side (I'm pretty sure they didn't even charge us).
Service is slow but once the food arrived I didn't care - who needs a waitress when you have a platter full of goodness!
I think Zoma officially qualifies as the last remaining Ethiopian restaurant in the city we still had to try. I love Ethiopian food and have sampled it in almost every city I've been to.
So, I don't say it lightly that Zoma has the best Ethiopian food in New York. I've been several times now and the quality is extremely consistent.
The ingredients taste very fresh and the lamb & chicken are both moist & succulent.
So why not a 5 star?
1 - I agree with some of the others that the service is neither fast nor particularly friendly. (Meskerem is much "friendlier")
2 - I find their injera to be slightly dry and tart for my taste. I prefer a fluffier, moister base, but now I'm nit picking...
Oddly, the one place that really has Zoma beat is not even in the city. Mesob in Montclair, NJ is still my very favorite Ethipian restaurant and almost justifies the extra 20 min drive out of the city.
But if you're looking for great Ethiopian IN the city, then you'll do no better than Zoma.
Decor / ambiance - 5 stars
Absolutely beautiful inside
Food - 2 stars
Large portions of food that is not that good. The best in this city is definitely Meskerem (any location).
Not the absolute best Ethiopian food in the city, but it's up there. Had my best experience this past weekend, as my homegirl decided she wanted be a veggie for the day and we had a fantastic combo of vegetarian plates. Man, I love stuff with bebere sauce.
The only bad thing was the same as my last time, the terrible service. They weren't understaffed that night, Zoma is only SO big, but these ladies never looked back over at our table, which got annoying very quickly. Good service would make me go back to a place before great food, so unless someone else wants to go, I don't know the next time I'll be back at Zoma, unfortunately.
Ethiopian food is great. Fun, messy finger food. If you're ready for the spices (not necessarily spicy, but flavorful).
Very modern restaurant in the lower Harlem/East Morningside area. A little sketchy outside if you're walking at night, so fair warning.
Kategna - spicy. Their soft finger bread, watch out, add the cheese to help moderate it, but it really made me sweat. Fortunately plenty of water served. This was good with the merlot.
Fillo pastry - I liked this, flaky and filled with lentils and beef. More sauce would've been good..
The vegetarian platter is four of your choice - we had the carrots (awesome!), what looked like sweet potato mush (nothing exciting), the collard greens (great), and mashed chickpeas.
Zoma meat platter of four meats was great, too. Doro wat was crowned by the egg (the chicken was only so-so). Lamb was awesome, soft and flavorful. The beef, not so exciting. Plenty of extra spongey bread to sop it all up, and packed away much of it as leftovers.
They need to give the table more napkins or the same hot towel that they start with as well at the end to help clean off one's hands at the end. Bathroom is nice and clean, though.
The honey wine - tastes like cough syrup, I suppose it's an acquired taste?
Service was okay, but like Chi N. mentioned, it was pretty much a language issue. At least they'd eaten the food there before. Overall, good spices, but if you've been numbed by eating too much in the way of spicy food, you might want to choose the spiciest dishes rather than the non-spicy ones.
Without a doubt, Zoma is a solid choice some good Ethiopian food. From what I hear, they are very consistent with the quality of the food served. Their food is very enjoyable, and to be honest the service is just OK if not poor due to under staffing and lack of confidence with English. That said, they do offer a wide variety of dishes to suit anyone at very reasonable prices. For first-timers, Zoma has an adequate choices to experience the Ethiopian cuisine.
I have to comment that did decline to accept my American Express because no one in the restaurant knows how to change the paper tape roll in the credit card machine, and they wouldn't allowed me to help! (how lame!) I smell a mouse in the cash register!! I think the owner is taking off the top, not paying taxes, and making it inconvenient for their customers!
Was here with a group of girls from my flag football team for a defense dinner. It's the first time I'd ever tried Ethiopian food so I was excited. We tried all of the combo dishes. The food came out very quickly and with extra bread-like stuff to eat it with. No utensils here ladies and gents, it's all hand to mouth stuff. It's hard to tell when the food comes out which dish is which but just eat it all. I especially enjoyed the spicier dishes with lamb and beef. It ended up only being about $20 per head, very filling and fascinating! Redolent of Indian food but slightly different spices and runnier with a spongier kind of flatbread.
Great for eating in big groups, family style! Just be sure nobody has a cold....
This is the best Ethiopian in the city because it brings flavor equal or better to its competitors but uses significantly higher quality ingredients.
The sambusas are delicately fried, with tasty ground meat inside, and a well-paired spicy sauce (it's thick, like a paste). The Doro Wett was incredible - bursting with flavor. You will want to lick up all the sauce. The gomen was so fresh, and the flavor was brought out through seasoning (and not the overcooking that happens at many restaurants).
The only thing that may be better elsewhere is shirro - Massawa's shirro has a richer taste whereas Zoma's is a subtler taste, and it is less pureed. I don't know which is the "authentic" way but they are both really really good.
i think compared to queen of sheba for some reason queen of sheba stood out way more for me. and compared to philly well philly is still the best! down and dirty is how i like it...
I have no idea what it was, maybe the dishes or the intensity of the flavors and spices... this place was pretty mild... maybe cuz we didn't ask for spicy! regardless interesting "modern" restaurant tucked away in a shady area of harlem... word to the wise... take the train and get off at 116 and walk down... don't do wat i did and get off at 110 and walk up... it was the scariest 3 blocks i've walked ever... and then u enter into this place and breath a sigh of relief... odd huh.. .
anyway onto the food
- kategna - spicy yum, loved the cheese that cancels out the spice, i think this was my fav of the nite
- fillo pastry was also nice - lentils and filling nicely spiced and season... like the green spices to add as sauce
- we ordered for the 4 of us (WAY TOO MUCH FYI ) 1 vegetarian platter (4 choices) and a zoma meat platter (also 4 choices)
each of these dishes had a very distinctive taste that made it taste like u were eating diff things... other places tend to taste all the same with the same smooshy texture... this place was def diff
- doro wat - yeah i remember queen of shebas was way bigger and more flavorful in sauce however this was pretty moist and tender... gotta love the hard boiled egg! how the heck did 4 of us manage to not finish one chicken leg i have no idea
- yebeg alitcha - i think i liked this more cuz of the many chunks of tender sweet lamb
- some beef thing - also pretty good, more tomatey based
- chickpea smashed - yum, good balance with the meats
- collard greens - no sauce yet held its flavor, good to balance out with all the other sauce intensive choices
- atakilt wett - very sweetened carrots and super soft, goes well with the green beans
- some other orangey runny thing
the bread was nice and moist and tons of it brought out it was impossible for us to finish...
i would suggest maybe next time ordering maybe 3 dishes less than wat we got haha
the honey wine was not a good complement to all the spicy foods, it made the wine taste bitter sweet... i liked my merlot tho... that cancelled out the spice and brought out the taste of the wine after awhile!
service
friendly but language barrier definitely apparent... they filled our water constantly which was greatly needed however otherwise don't expect to strike up a long convo with these peeps.
I had never had Ethiopian food before, but this was delicious. It has flavors very similar to Indian food, but you scoop it up with this spongy, fleshy bread.
I loved it and was very satisfied. I probably couldn't eat it every week, but I'll definitely be back when I feel like eating with my hands.
My momma came to the city to visit me for the afternoon and I decided to walk around the wayyyyy northern part of Central Park to the Conservatory Garden, (where coincidentally my mom decided she wants to have my wedding....good.lord.mom.find.me.a.husband.before. venue.please.thanks)
Anyways, I wanted to pick a place for dinner in close proximity that offered healthful vegetarian fare. She loves Ethiopian food... so Zoma it was! We arrived on the early side of dinner time (6PM) and had no problems being seated. (There were only two other tables occupied at that time.) Excellent touch that they bring hot towels for us to cleanse and refresh before indulging in the delectables with your hands! (Extra points from the hereditary hygeine freaks.) The servers were friendly and very helpful with recommendations for our vegetarian combo platter...it was flavorful and filling. Though, I wish they served up some salad and dressed the plate a bit more...I guess preparation and flavor should always outweigh presentation anyways.
Though the list looked good, I didn't try any of the beer or wine, because my mom loves to remind me how many calories are in each drink...and well... that would just delay the husband wrangling for my big upcoming marriage in central park...ya know.haaa.
All said and done - I will definitely come back here if I am in the area again and highly recommend it in conjunction with a trip to the north end of the park! :)
Wow, dinner last night was fantastic. Not just good for Ethiopian or whatever.. It was one of the better restaurants I have been to in awhile..
Will be back sooner than the last time
OMG...This is place is heaven! The restaurant its beautiful...and the FOOD is truly the best Ethiopian I have had in the City! It cash only..so prepare for that ahead of time. David and I got the combo plate, it was reasonably priced @ $24 and came with a lot! The best part is unlike some Ethopian places..they were generous with the injirea...the bread that comes with Ethiopian Food. So good, the waitress was super nice!
Oh and I love the hot towels they provide before the meal!! Very chic and old school! I am definitely going back for more!!!!! By the way if you don't know much about Ethiopian food just order anything Tibbs (meat sauteed with onions, tomatoes in a flavorful spice)!!!
Service is good! Restaurant is a bit overpriced... and they claim to accept American Express, which is clearly a lie as everytime I've been there the machine is broken... They used AMex to get a free commercial and now don't accept the cards... Food is okay- typical Ethiopian cuisine.
This is a great Ethiopian restaurant. I've only been to Zoma once, but absolutely loved the food there. There is a great, relaxed ambiance and the food is at a reasonable price. The service was a little slow, but overall very nice. They also had a great, and eclectic wine list.
It's a great place to go with a good group of friends. This was actually my first time eating Ethiopian food. I would definitely go back. I'd recommend this place to anyone who wants to try something different.
This is the cutest Ethiopian restaurant I've ever seen -- the decorations are really classy, its a chic spot! On top of that, the food is also great. It's a bit pricey as compared to other Eth. restaurants but I think its well worth it. The service was decent and they have a nice bar too. I would totally recommend it in fact I think I want to go tonite the more I talk about it. :)
Oh- but bring cash! They don't take cards. That is the only not so good thing.
I've come to this place quite a few times and its always delicious!!! They also have a decent selection wine which is a plus!
I usually get the combos which are great- the vegetarian one is wonderful and so is the meat. Cool vibe too. I agree w/the previous reviewer about the Tibb Weitt - It is the best in the city!
ONE THING YELP GOT WRONG IS THEY DO NOT ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS SO YOU MUST BRING CASH!!!!!!! That would have to be the only drawback about this place. Otherwise, its great and I would definitely check it out!
Rarely do I venture above 100th street but for Zoma I could see myself changing my tune. Candlelit with clean, simple decor and a beautiful long bar, they set the atmosphere right for a seriously gratifying meal. The menu is simple, authentic and supports a relatively wide variety of wines to get you and a date drunk.
We ordered up the vegetarian platter, okra and steak tibs. While the veggie platter was tasty and typical, the steak tibs were a real highlight ... perfectly cooked and not too spicy for my weakling tastebuds. The serving sizes are slightly less than I'm used to for Ethiopion--between three people we quite literally cleaned the plate with not even a spongy survivor in site.
Note: they only take cash so hit the ATM before you get caught in a lurch on that romantic date you planned out...
I just got back from Ethiopia, where I completely FELL IN LOVE with the food, so of course the first thing I did when I got home was try and find the best Ethiopian restaurant in the tri-state area. So I journeyed on up to Harlem to give Zoma a try.
The main thing I was super excited about was the fact that Zoma had vegetarian options. I'm pretty sure I was the only vegetarian Ethiopia had ever seen, so when I was there I did a lot of picking around all the meat in the food (there was a LOT of meat in every meal). So now, finally, I had a chance to enjoy a delicious Ethiopian meatless meal, no picking necessary! I chose the Vegetarian Combo, which allowed me to pick 4 veggie dishes: the Gomen (sauteed collard greens), Misir Wett (red split lentils cooked with berbere, garlic, ginger, black cumin, plus a ton of other spices), Atakilt Wett (carrots, potatoes, cabbage and onions sautéed with garlic, ginger and tomatoes), and Shiro Wett (chickpeas, lentils and peas cooked with a "multitude of spices"). Everything was delicious, especially when I attempted to combine all four dishes into one bite. I had a chance to try the yellow split peas too, which were phenomenal. Next time I'd probably order those over the collard greens. My only qualm with the meal was the injera that was underneath our food tasted super old and stale. They gave us fresh injera on the side, which was delicious, fresh tasting and the perfect texture, but why bother putting practically inedible food on the plate to begin with? The injera here was a bit less sour than it is in Ethiopia, which I figured would be the case since most Americans probably don't like super sour or spicy things (the sourness of the injera goes very well with the spiciness of the food). But still, everything tasted relatively authentic, and I left very, very happy.
I wish I could give this place 5 stars, it was really amazingly good, except I can't get that nasty stale injera out of my head! If they can just work on that, Zoma would be perfect.
When I think of Ethiopian food in NYC, I'll always think of this place first. When I lived in the area, I was delighted to find this place. It's some of the best Ethiopian food I've ever had. I was also very happy with the couple of carryout experiences I had... Even in the take out cartons, the food was beautifully "plated".
My favorite appetizer would have to be the stuffed pastries... They're stuffed with lentils and are accompanied by super-hot crushed green chillies. All of the chicken dishes have been perfect, and you can't go wrong with the vegetarian combo.
You can guarantee that your meal here will be full of wonderful, exotic flavors. The atmosphere is pleasant as well.
Very nice, though not extraordinary Ethiopian. The flavors were good, but didn't sing to me or make me smile the way I have in other places and times. The place is nice, friendly, with a cool aesthetic and relaxed attractive vibe. Prices were okay, not cheap (but what is now?)
They don't accept credit cards -- cash only.
Gomen (collard greens), Misir Wett (red split lentils), Buticha (pureed chickpeas) were all delicious.
I can't wait to go back the next time I'm in the city. After reading all the reviews with less than four stars for ethiopian food in manhattan, I chose Zoma. The environment and mood was comfortable and artful, and so I had to give this a 5 star rating.
I like Ethiopian food, largely because it's spicy enough to penetrate my dead smoker's tastebuds. But I have a shameful secret about eating at Zoma: The whole time, I just wanted a damn fork.
Homo habilis started using tools like 50,000 years ago specifically to avoid getting woolly mammoth juice on his nice velociraptor pelt or whatever (I'm not a trained paleontologist). So why do this homo gotta use bread to pick up unwieldy chunks of meat sauce? Zoma is a yummy mess. Probably not good for a first date unless you're into some kinky shit.
A very chic setting for flavorful Ethiopian. Our waitress made excellent recommendations for the selections for our vegetarian combo plate (perfect for two), each distinct from the next. Cocktails were strong, crowd was cool. I'll be going back armed with cash since they didn't take plastic.
Zoma is a sexy, romantic restaurant. From the sleek, modern decor focusing on details (even the bathrooms contain well-thought out designed) to the sensual experience of eating with your hands (lol I sound like I'm writing smut..) Zoma keeps it sexy.
The food was damn tasty too. We ordered a vegetarian and a meat sampler for 3 people and had more than enough food. My favorite dish was the aromatic tibs wett (best I've had in the city).
I was so jealous that the table next to us was friends with the owner and she kept bringing out dish after dish. I need to somehow become her friend for the same treatment...
I'm lucky enough to live across the street from this place. This restaurant is one of my favorite restaurants in Manhattan. Appropriately priced, awesome service, great little space and very nice crowd of people.
I recommend getting the $25 plates that you can share with another person... usually we'll get two big plates for a party of 4 and a bottle of wine and share with the bill coming out to no more than $70 or $80 for 4 people. Awesome!
- overall rating: 3.5
- recommend: honey wine, yebeg alitcha (lamb)
- loved the yebeg however as a huge disclaimer to the dish, there are tiny shards of sharp bone throughout the dish. BE CAREFUL!
- mentionable atmosphere
i've only been to a handful of ethiopian places, some in boston, and even dukem in washington dc. so i am certainly not qualitfied to say this was authentic ethiopian but i can sure say it was the best ethiopian i've ever had. forget about the ethiopian, it was easily one of the best meals i've had.
the sambusa was really flavorful and light and it went really well with the green chili condiment. i think i like sambusa even better than indian samosa.
order the vegetarian combo. its the bargain of the century. you get all this amazingly tasty food and you are completely stuffed and satisfied. for you meat lovers out there, you really don't even need to order meat dishes here. the vegetables are so tasty. split pea, chickpea, collards, pureed split pea, and string beans all excellent.
i did have to try the lamb though which was so well spiced. i would tell them to make it spicier next time. surprising how tender the lamb leg meat was considering that they sauteed it. i would have tried the raw meat dish out of curiosity but it is prepared with a heavy butter sauce. tried a drop of the butter sauce for taste and it was really damn good but i just knew it would've made me puke if i ate even a few bites of that heaviness.
injera is very good but fills you up like crazy. if they gave you a fork to eat then you could definitely eat all you want but since you have to pick up the food with injera, you are so full of carbs half way through your plate. the tej is very nice, tastes like a sweet beer.
the last time i remember being this stuffed was when i hobbled out of sasabune. its a good stuffed, so stuffed you want to vomit but not because you are disgustingly buffet stuffed but just so overly full stuffed.
zoma is a place i would drive out of my way to dine at. parking is pretty easy to get around here. the staff is really nice, they have good recommendations. the service is slow and they can forget about you but thats ok, you are having such a good time here that you forget about them too.
Is it wrong that the cuisine of a country where so many people are starving tastes so delicious?
Had a great experience here with a couple of girl friends. I think it would also be great for a date - and a good test to see if they're down enough to eat with their hands.
The honey wine was excellent - a real wake up on the taste buds. The various dishes on the vegetarian platter are all flavorful and have distinct tastes.
Note - the atmosphere is upscale, but the prices are very reasonable.
Zoma is beautiful. As you can see (I guess), I don't tend to give a lot of 5-stars, even to places that I love.
Zoma greatly exceeded my expectations. I had unconsciously avoided Zoma for a while because I had cynically presumed that it would coast by on the novelty of being such an exotic commodity. I guess I needed to learn my lesson in true open-mindedness. The chefs' ability in spicing and flavoring is SO refined - a very subtle talent. This is not merely the best Ethiopian I have ever had; it is one of the best restaurants period! Every dish is a totally independent creation.
The atmosphere is wonderful too - clean and unique, refined yet unpretentious. I second Maria F's "OMG This place is heaven." I couldn't say it any better.
Great service, great ethiopian honey wine, great atmosphere, and fantastic food.
Great for groups - get the combinations, they bring plenty of extra injera bread for you, just ask!.
Friends from Michigan, needed a late-ish spot, and i was between Zoma, Native and one other I can't recall. None of us had tried Zoma, so there we had it. Lovely atmosphere, excellent Ethiopian food (nothing like Indian food, as one reviewer stated, except that food in many Brown countries tends to be based around stew-like dishes - ). I would highly recommend Zoma, were it not for two things: First, our adorable, sweet server was suddenly replaced with another server at the completion of the meal; and, second, we had ordered a bottle of wine, which she poured from, and with at least a quartino left in the bottle, TOOK IT AWAY! Worse than that, she claimed it was empty, but none of us were either drunk, nor first timers on the wine, nor restaurant etiquette front. VERY UNACCEPTABLE, and we felt it was a way of pushing us out the door, as we were among the last parties there. I seriously can't grade them any higher because of that. I'm not fighting over the wine, but you shouldn't STEAL it, either! We still way over tipped - more than 30%, but had it simply been me and some local friends - that may not have gone over so rewardingly for them. Too bad, the management really shouldn't encourage or allow that!
Zoma = VERY tasty morsels!
And by morsels I mean any yummy veggie or meat you want mixed in with delectably spiced sauces all on a huge platter with that damn injera bread you can't stop eating. All our dishes - meat and veggie - were excellent as was the refreshingly not-too-sweet honey wine! Okay, granted it was my first bonafide adventure into Ethopian cuisine, but the fresh meat and veggies did not go unnoticed! Service was very slow at first, and at times we thought they forgout about our table, but it picked up in the end... maybe cause we ended up closing the place down that night. Prices were also very reasonable.
Zoma may signal gentrification, but the fresh flavors are most definitely worth trekking the city for. I'll be coming back on my next jaunt to Harlem.
Went for lunch on Sunday afternoon, and the server and food were a bit cold. Nicely if minimally styled decor, which I'm sure benefits from a full room of sexy people at night. Shared the vegetarian plate for two, for the low price of $17, and liked it, but it wasn't making my taste-buds sing. And it wasn't piping hot. I kinda wondered if there was a steam table in the back. (ouch.) No honey for my hot tea either :( The server was on her phone for easily half an hour while we ate and then had to get up to ask for our check.
I'll go again at night and see if they benefit from a busier scene, as I do love this style of food, but for my next lunch I'm heading to Society a few blocks away. As I walked to Zoma I passed Society and wondered why it was so packed compared to it's neighbor, and now I know.
Full disclosure: The visit yelped in this review happened under the influence of a relatively awkward first date. It wasn't bad really, but still I feel the need to throw it out there that the vibes of somewhat uninspired conversation might have spilled over into the overall experience.
zoma was my first foray into the world of ethiopian food. i told my friends, "order what you want cuz i have no idea at all what this is all about." i believe they ordered 2 combos, one vegetarian and one with meat combo. and it was freakin delicious. i ate ALL the collard greens and i do mean ALL of them. and who doesn't like eating with their hands? well, i didn't like the weird floury feeling my fingers had afterwards but it's nothing a quick wash in the bathroom couldn't fix.
get the honey wine. i don't like wine much but i do like anything with the word "honey" in it. and that was pretty tasty. it has a simple setting with candles at the table. and between us 3 girls, we couldn't even finish all our food.
although zoma is a trek coming from brooklyn, i'd probably eat here again.
I really love the food here. The atmosphere too. I get the awaze tibs, which I sometimes dream about later. Cash only is sad, especially because it's a little more expensive than some other Ethiopian restaurants. But all in all, I keep coming back, and I'm never disappointed.
I was supposed to meet Hugo at Melba's at 8 on Saturday. My stupid self gets completely disoriented if you put me anywhere between 100th and 168th streets. Every street/avenue becomes the name of a liberator, third-world style, and then I forget my traffic pattern system and am rendered quite useless. Let me also mention here that I've been to Society, and Melba's is just across the street, so I knew where I was supposed to go....So I made it waaay late, and Hugo's brother gave me trouble for it, but in the end, I endeared myself to everyone, of course, with my delightful and witty banter.
The place was really nice and sleek. The decor was simple with uncluttered, clean lines, the whole nine, and there were some cool pictures on the wall I checked out by the ladies room. The lighting concept was also fabulous and conducive to many things, so the restaurant is a great choice for most occasions. This place is great for aesthetics-hounds.
For drink, I had some tasty, alcoholically green concoction that was reminiscent of a Midori Sour. For the appetizer, we had some toasted Injera with some spices that was really excellent, and I could have done with that for the entree as well, as Injera is meant as a sort of bread to scoop up the food. Untoasted, it's really more of a spongy crepe. The entrees were excellent too, with spicealicious sauces and succulent meatiness, but by the end, I was not so happy with the regular Injera we were given. However, I was loving that it was OK, even EXPECTED, for me to eat with my hands. After all, that is the way God intended. This is one of things I love about NYC: I can do away with much of the table manners I was taught. In China/Koreatown, I can slurp my soup all day long. Here, I can eat with my hands. Again, for more details and names, mozy on over to Hugo's review.
The wait ladies were very attentive and had that mysterious ESP thing going, so they knew exactly when we would be ready for any next steps. They were pretty gorgeous and smart-ass, but in a good way, as Ethiopian ladies are known to be. Plus, one of them referred to me a few times as "The Master" for whatever reason, and anyone who knows me knows that i am a sucker for flattery. When it is repeated, that's even better.
The company, the drinks and the wait ladies get it a whole extra star, but I might not come here if in that part of town again. But if there is a next time, I will tape a map to the back of my hand.
Zoma is a new Ethiopian restaurant that was reviewed in the Times in early January. When I lived in Chicago, I used to love going to a place called Mama Desta's with friends. I haven't eaten Ethiopian in ages, so when I read the review, I knew I needed to go with a bunch of friends.
Saturday night, C. and I went out for dinner with Rick, Shannon, and another friend. We arrived at 6 p.m., and even though we didn't have a reservation, they seated us, placing several tables together. Rick and Shannon thought the honey wine was too sweet, but the food -- all served on the traditional injera -- was awesome.
For the five of us, we ordered three combination platters -- two vegetarian platters, so we could sample all the options, and a meat platter featuring chicken and lamb. The platters are supposed to serve two, but three were enough for five. Amazingly delicious food.
When we were finished, I wanted a coffee, but the place had gotten crowded, and because we didn't have a reservation, they hustled us out. I felt a little put out, but in the end, decided that it was fair -- they'd done great seating us in the first place.
Recommended. But with a reservation if you want coffee.
This was the perfect spot to take a vegetarian friend. The food was delicious and the ambiance is sexy. We liked the wine list, too, and the bar area is a good spot for waiting (although a bit drafty...)
I keep returning!
Neighborhood: Manhattan Valley
Category: Ethiopian
Neighborhood: Hell's Kitchen
Category: Ethiopian
Neighborhood: Harlem
Category: Coffee & Tea
Neighborhood: Harlem
Category: Caribbean
Neighborhood: Harlem
Category: African
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