Address: | 110 12th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122, USA |
Phone: | +1 206-328-2290 |
Site: | sabaethiopiancuisine.com |
Rating: | 4.1 |
Working: | 11AM–2AM 11AM–2AM 11AM–2AM 11AM–2AM 11AM–2AM 11AM–2AM 11AM–2AM |
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Patrick Braae
If first impressions are everything then Im surprised that this business is still open. I was dispatched here one afternoon to pick up an order for Postmates and deliver it. I show up and park outside on 12th ave. Not much parking on this street in this part of town but it was early in the day. The place is very non descript. Its almost like they dont want you to know they are there. They must have a large word of mouth customer base because the place is pretty busy late nights. Anyway, I go inside and there is no host(ess) to speak of. There is no one anywhere in sight so step further into the restaurant where I can see people through the kitchen door. There were at least three or four people in the kitchen doing prep work. A man comes out and greets me and as I start to tell him that I am there to place a to go order, he informs me that their waitress is late and that they cant get a hold of her. He tells me that they have no idea when she will be there but until she arrives, no one else if able to take my order and that I cant wait inside WTF? I call my customer and inform her of this beyond bizarre situation and she asks me to wait 15 minutes to see if the waitress shows up. I happily agree to wait and begin to mill about on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. A few minutes go by and the same guy who told me that I had to leave is now waving at me from inside through the window. Im thinking cool, the waitress must have showed up and I go inside. Unfortunately, the waitress was still MIA but now I was allowed to wait inside. I stand around and check my phone etc... You know, the things we do now days while waiting around and after a few more minutes, a woman comes out of the kitchen and tells me I can sit. I told her that I was okay standing and she replied that she cant believe that the waitress isnt at work yet to which I reply to her, "I cant believe that she is the only one here that can take an order"! to which she replied, "well thats why you can sit down"! I promptly took a seat as I didnt want to upset her further and I kept on waiting. The entire 15 minutes went by and I left. I never got to order any food. My customer went without the food that she had originally wanted for lunch. My company had to pay me for attempting to make the pick up and the restaurant lost out on not only my order but all of the other customers who came in before or if the waitress ever showed up that day. Needless to say, I dont recommend this restaurant to anyone and I definitely wont ever go there again. Its not good for a business to run this way. Maybe they should look up the term, Cross Training. Thanks for reading.
BR
Brian Sandford
Ive been looking for a go-to Ethiopian restaurant in Seattle, and tonight I tried Saba after trying several other options. One of those options, the one near Pike Place Market, was flat-out bad, and the others were a bit lacking in flavor. Two things pleased me when I entered Saba on Saturday night: I was able to be seated at the bar, where the University of Washington football game was airing, and the food arrived much more quickly than Id expected. The quality of the food is what will keep me coming back, though. Another reviewer was critical of the cost of the vegetarian combo, which runs $15. I was dining solo, and I had to take about 60 percent of my meal home, even after stuffing myself. Itll make for another great meal tomorrow. Average Ethiopian food is distinctive in that the various dishes dont taste all that different from one another. In this case, the lentils, okra, greens and other veggies had distinctive flavors, with good but not overwhelming spice. The presentation also was good; none of the seven or eight pockets of food was touching another. My quibbles with the place were that the servers werent particularly attentive; the Saturday-night music was turned up a bit too loud at first; and the menu is limited. There are no appetizers to tide you over if youre hungry. In that regard, some of the other Seattle Ethiopian restaurants are superior. There also are other Ethiopian restaurants with better atmosphere. But if youre looking for the citys best dishes, this is your place.
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Patrick W. Deegan
Best Ethiopian food on the West coast after LA, and easily the best Ethiopian in the PNW. So, yeah, the service is authentic, and the decor is, too, for that matter. What can I say about that? Harden up? Learn to get up and ask your server? Welcome to real Ethiopian cuisine? I actually like it. But hey, this is about the food, which is SUBLIME. The tibs are excellent, the Quanta firfir is stellar, the vegetarian combo is a bedrock of gastronomic happiness. The injera is authentic and unlimited (as it should be). And in our case, the service was actually quite good, very fast, and very pleasant. We were there with six adults total, and our baby (just an infant); the staff were great about everything. Nearly every other table there was occupied by a family—just fantastic to see. The best part? Including beers for 5 out of 6 adults, and enough food to stuff us to the gills, we walked out for just about ten dollars per person. Bottom line: I weep that I do not live close enough to go there at least once a week.
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Ashu Keto
It was Saturday night and friends took me out for dinner. We entered stood there for 5 minutes before someone came and assigned us a seat. We were placed in the corner and forgotten again. The servers pay attention only to white skinned customers. This is common in Ethiopia and called reverse discrimination. we had to wait for everything longer than usual. The food was ok but after I went home it gave me stomach upset and too much gas. I had to drink Tequila to fix the problem. I will not go back to this place
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Zach Lym
Best Ethiopian in Seattle and totally authentic, as evidenced by their primarily Ethiopian customer base. You wont know what to buy, so just ask what their favorites are. One dish for each person is more than enough and the ingera will expand in your stomach. Speaking of ingera, as the owner educated us on our first visit, "This isnt Mexican food." Pinch off a piece of this delicious spongy bread and use it to pick up a bite-sized portion from the plate.
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A Private User
Delicious food and authentic injera. The warmth and friendliness of the Saba is powerful too. You must experience this place. The flavors will stay with you. Ask the kitchen give you a sampling of their best items and enjoy. It is not expensive and you will surely have some leftovers to take home. There is a back room with a pool table and Carambola going day and night. Late night there is dancing. Daytime, kids are welcome and appreciated.
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Skip Albertson
The food here is wonderful, and the service is great. However, the music here was like 120 decibels. My ears were ringing after I got out. The restaurant has a sort of half night club half restaurant set up and there is no sound beriour. The management needs to decide weather it wants to be a night club or a restaurant once and for all. Or, put in a sound proof beriour. I will not come here again until it has a tolerable atmosphere.