Ethiopia Restaurant - (510) 843-1992

I heard this restaurant had very good food, and okay service. I went there for the first time last night with my girlfriend.. and we had a delightful time. I found it nice that it wasn't super busy because the food was made faster. The lentil and meat samboussa appetizer was EXTREMELY delicious. It was crunchy on the outside, with a nice soft texture of meat on the inside, and exotic seasoning. I highly recommend, if you like spicy food, to order the meat "tibs" with a side of "awaze". The bread was yummy, and although I'm more of a meat guy, my girlfriend could not have enough of the veg. combo. Overall great experience, and fully plan on going back again within the next week.

I went to this restaurant also based on decent reviews and although the food was decent, was highly disappointed by the service. The seating was prompt despite having a group of 14 since there were few patrons in the restaurant (it was raining outside). However, although we were seated at 7 pm, we did not order until 730 pm, and different people in our group received our food over the span of 30 minutes starting at 820 pm. Some people in our group had almost finished eating before others had even received their food. Also, despite prompting, it took the waitress 10 minutes to bring us our check after being asked. Oh, and the food was "okay"-- certainly wasn't the best Ethiopian food I've had; but, it was fair.

I went to Ethiopia Restaurant based on the generally good reviews, but was very disappointed. First, the place was not heated (on a rainy day in December) and was uncomfortably cold. Second, the food itself was mixed. There were about six vegetarian dishes available for the lunch buffet. They were competently prepared and pretty tasty, though I've had better Ethiopian food. The injera (the staple bread of Ethiopian food), though, was bland, cold, and crumbly, and you had to reach into a plastic bag to serve yourself. I don't know what the restauranteurs are thinking, serving stale injera in a bag. Finally, the service was inattentive. With few customers in the place, another fellow had to go the counter to put in his order because the waitress was busy chatting with a friend, and I had to do the same to get my check after the waitress offered to bring my the check and then forgot about me for ten minutes. With the wide variety of east African food available in Oakland and Berkeley, I wouldn't bother returning to Ethiopia Restaurant.