Desta Ethiopian Kitchen

Reviews 4

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Rohit Kotibhaskar

Went there for lunch on a Sunday afternoon after reading a lot of good reviews. Location & Ambience - This place is located on Briarcliff road, right after taking Exit 91 from 85 North on Clairmont Road. The ambience is decent, with seating available inside as well as outside on the patio. We got a table outside, so didnt really get a chance to peek inside. Food Menu - The menu consists of some Breakfast items, Appetizers & Entrees. Entrees are divided into Signature Entrees, Sandwiches, Salads, some Vegan fare and the rest, and dessert to finish it off. Alcohol - They have a collection of beers (Ethiopian and international), wines and spirits plus the usual non alcoholic soft drinks and tea and coffee Note - Sodas, tea & coffee are not unlimited, so you basically pay for the can or cup (respectively) with no refills Price - All the items, including food and alcohol are decently priced. Our experience Drinks - We ordered coffee (one cup, no refills) and a can of diet coke. Coffee was good Appetizers - We didnt order any appetizers Mains - We ordered the Chicken Tibs with Injera and a side of Miser and Chicken Fir Fir with Injera. Both the entrees were absolutely delicious. The chicken in the Chicken Tibs was succulent, tender, nicely grilled. The side of Miser was cooked well too. The Chicken Fir Fir was very flavorful, with the injera soaked with the flavors tasting exquisite. Desserts - We didnt order any desserts Overall experience - The food was more than decent, no complaints whatsoever. We came looking for good Ethiopian food and were not disappointed. However, the service, was anything but stellar. It took forever for the coffee to be served; in fact the coffee was served after the entrees, even though that was the first (and the only) item ordered. We asked for another serving of Miser (because it was so delicious) but it was never served to us, even though they did add it to the final bill. Our server did spot that and promptly updated the bill though. Also, the outside patio was not very comfortable because of the heat. We had to change our table twice, since not all the tables had adequate shade to protect from sunlight All in all, we loved the food but the ambience and service left a lot to be desired. The consensus was that the next time we feel like having some Ethiopian food, well either have it delivered from here or will order to-go. :)

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T Jae

Wow! Wow! Wow! So let me preface this review by saying that the only reason I went to this place is because of my friends birthday party!!! I had never tried Ethiopian food and by the look of menu, I was not too excited! But hey, when in doubt eat chicken, so thats what I did!!! So we came in with a party of 17 and after a 10-15 minute wait, were seated. It was kind of warm inside, so we all wished we were outside....Other than that it was great! The servers were extremely friendly and professional and although we had a big party, they kept the drinks flowing and the food arrived hot and so freaking delicious!!!! So, first I started with a Spiked Mango Lemonade....It was good...It was made with mango Vodka... For the appetizer, I had Sambusa with ground beef in it. It is sort of like an eggroll without the cabbage and carrots...It came with this spicy sauce...For my entree I had the Chicken Tibs, with rice, and Gomen, which is basically sauteed collard greens....Everything was sooooooo amazing!! My friend ordered lamb which tasted great and another friend ordered the short ribs which were delivered to her sizzling from the skillet!!! Another lady was vegetarian and she got a beautiful looking vegetarian platter, so theres something for everyone!! All in all everything was awesome....The food, drinks, staff (Nansanet and Jodana, I dont think thats correct) Oh and the music had me feeling like I was on an island somewhere... The food prices werent bad...My chicken entree was $11...The appetizer was $3...and the drinks were about $8.....I love that there was a private lot, so you dont have to worry about paying for parking but it does stay packed!!! I will MOST DEFINITELY be back....I had no idea Ethiopian food was that delicious!!

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Tamara Langman

I called ahead to make reservations as we would be eating around 7 on a Saturday. The receptionist said they only take reservations for parties of 6 or more. She said for a party of 2 just to walk in. When we arrived around 7, there was a 25-30 minute wait... We were slightly disappointed in that we had tried to make reservations in order to avoid having to wait. Apparently other parties felt the same way because we witnessed several people leaving to go to the other Ethiopian restaurant across the street. We did decide to stay and I am SO HAPPY that we did. I asked if we could order drinks at the bar while we waited for our table to come up. We went inside, ordered wine, and brought it to the outside bar to drink. At the outside bar, we placed food orders, and then our food was to us about 10 minutes before I received a text that our table was ready! Despite the confusion, the service was extremely fast and courteous. This was my first time eating Ethiopian food, so I cant speak to specifics, other than to say everything I tasted was absolutely delicious. I had Salmon tibs with injera, cabbage, and miser. (As well as some of the rib eye and potato stew off of my boyfriends plate!) I could have filled up on injera alone until I got too full to stand! So thankfully the portions were reasonable. I dont usually care for sweet wine, but I wanted to try an Ethiopian honey wine. Our bartender recommended the Sheba, which was the least sweet option and I found was not at all too sweet for someone who usually chooses wine on the drier side. Boyfriend had Carrols Mead. It was also tasty, but what I would have considered a desert wine. Cant wait to go back!

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Michelle Turner

I have had Ethiopian food before and I actually didnt want it again. But then I thought to myself, that wasnt exactly true. I just didnt want the injera. Injera is their bread, which is sponge like and is used to eat everything. But I came to Desta with an open mind since I have heard so many great things about it. Needless to say, I had an awesome dish that had no injera!!! I was able to order Lamb tips with rice and potato stew. Can. You. Say. Yummy!!!!! The lamb was juicy and seasoned! I love well cooked lamb! The potatoes and rice were the perfect compliment and the dish was awesome without the injera! And it wasnt a special request. The waiter was like, "No you dont have to order injera." *Enter fist bump with waiter here* I was very happy with my selection. Friends ordered the meat platter and it came with three options and the portions were huge to share between two people and still have plenty left over! The menu was easy to follow and even includes some definitions on the side so you know what you getting. There is a full bar so they make some specialty drinks, but I stuck with a classic Crown and Ginger and it was fine. Overall very good customer service and great food. There is plenty of parking and even a take out window in the back. So if you park in the back for your first visit, dont be nervous that is not the main way into Ethiopian food delight!