good food, slow strange service. First, in the old tradition of constructive criticism I would like to mention the positives. The food was good (even coming from someone with impaired taste). Now, on to the constructive criticism part. It was a weird time of the day (around 4:30) so we were the only customers in the place for a while. The waitress did not seem to understand any English at all, so even for the simplest menu questions she had to fetch someone else to translate. Hence, she could not recommend anything when asked. One of the dishes we initially attempted to order was lamb, which was the only part the waitress did seem to understand, and told us there was no lamb today. But when a different dish we did end up ordering contained lamb (at least it looked like lamb), this led us to believe that the waitress did not understand that part after all. The bottle of beer that - I am told - is normally supposed to be served with an accompanying glass and a slice of orange came only in a bottle. The side salad, called Ye'Abbysinia Salad, which according to the menu description was supposed to contain an array of vegetables along with "special Ethiopian dressing" turned out to be nothing but tomatoes and lettuce with some oil and vinegar. It took at least an hour after the salad and the drinks came to get the main meal, even though the place was virtually empty. The meal finally came, and it was enjoyable, however when we attempted to order ginger ale, we were told (after some time) that it was flat, i.e. not available, so we had to settle for Coke. Because the entire experience took so long, we almost didn't order dessert (which strangely was listed under "appetizers" in the menu), but due to my fondness for baklava, we took the plunge. It was the first time I ever had Ethiopian baklava... and it turned out to be a pleasant surprise because it was quite good. A little denser than the Middle Eastern variety, the piece was large enough for 2 people, and a great value for the price. We even overlooked the fact that it only came with one fork even though we made it clear we were sharing :). The decaf coffee I specifically ordered turned out to be the caffeinated variety, and so I came very close to being awake all night (because that’s what very strong caffeinated coffee does to me when I drink it after 2pm). Luckily I thought to double check and was then told that they do not have decaf. The coffee was taken back and I got a Lipton teabag with hot water with some Ethiopian spices, which unfortunately I couldn’t really taste. The only thing that came rather fast was the check. I definitely would not recommend going there if you are on some sort of restricted time schedule because you just never know when you will get your food.…
The wait is gone.. I have been a long time customer of Abyssinia. In my mind the food and service have always been top notch. However, in the last couple years, the waiting time for food did migrate to the ridiculous. Well, Good News. In the last couple months, sanity has been completely restored. Once again, teaming heaps of the finest Ethiopian offerings to be found in Philadelphia arrive with near alacrity. The dining experience has resumed its' all round excellence. Once again, I'm a thoroughly satisfied patron.…
has been a faithful customer since. My first experience with Abyssinia was very pleasant. I sat in the bar area and was entertained for the wait of the food though was over 20 min I expect that from any restaurant with ethnic foods. When I tell you i was an ethiopian food virgin you would never had guess the way i ate. I crave this food everyday and would eat it for dinner everynight if i could. Its also great you can call for pick ups if you dont like to wait order from home then pickup when ready . I recommend this place to anybody with patience. I find in better to eat in the bar area then the seated area.…
Service terrible, food merely bad.
A lot of reviews on here seem to say that even though the service is bad, the food is worth it. Well, they're right about one thing - my group honestly waited an hour and a half for our food, and
that was after waiting half an hour to order. When we finally did order, they were out of 3 of the dishes we wanted (although they didn't tell us that until 45 minutes later).
As for the food, I would have to say that it is mediocre at best. It wasn't terrible, but it was the worst Ethiopian I've ever had. I honestly don't know whether the place as undergone significant changes since someone wrote that the food was "exquisitely prepared," because we found the dishes poorly spiced and often too liquidy to even pick up with the injera. The injera itself was cold, as was a green pea dish that tasted only like yellow mustard (may have been a little more palatable if it was warm). If anyone knows where to find good Ethiopian in Philly, please let me know! But skip this place - the wait is DEFINITELY not worth it for the crappy food.…
What a way to spoil an evening!. Awesome Food. Awful service. I love the place for its food although that has deteriorated over the past few months. Service is THE worst ever I have come across. I have always had to wait at least 40 minutes for the food and last time I was taken aback when the waitress asked for at least a 15% tip. I rounded up the amount to a couple of dollars to make it close to to 15% but slightly below - turned out it was 13% - and the lady started doing calculations to let me know out how much I had paid and how much I "should" have paid. Granted the food is good but it is a sure way to spoil an evening. Not worth it!…
