McFarofinha

Pretty good food, but the service isn't really it's strongest point. It's not like they're rude or anything, just not pretending to love you. I actually appreciate it to be honest

Michael Panton

Meskerem has got to be one of the best Ethiopian restaurants in the City. I’ve been there a few times and the dishes I’ve had have been excellent. Every time I’ve come here it’s been a great culinary treat. This time around I had beef sambosas as my appetizer. The beef was mixed with peppers, onions, and garlic inside flat bread. Kind of like a samosa. So good, with a slight bit of a spicy kick. Along with the sambossas I had gomen bessega which was beef with collard greens. They went really well with the injera. Overall this a great place to sample some Ethiopian dishes at very reasonable prices. I already look forward to my next visit. If you’re in the neighborhood then this is definitely an interesting and tasty option. Give it a try!

India Ratha

Pretty good Ethiopian food, better service! Our server recommended some great Ethiopian barley beer because they were out of honey wine, and also helped us package our leftovers to go (because rolling up injera bread is not too easy). We ordered the Meskerem and the Vegetarian combo platter as well as a chicken dish, but were somewhat disappointed with the portion size. Next time we might try to order specifics to get larger portions.

O V H

A very tasty Ethiopian restaurant in a uncomfortable basement space. The vegetarian dishes here are amazing. I thought the chicken was dry. The ingera has that amazing sour taste that it should have. The space is crowded. The back is unsightly. But over all a great meal.

+3

Jameela Ayoub

The food was good, albeit small portion sizes for sure. Our waitress was kind but took an extremely long time to bring us anything. We were the only customers in the restaurant and ordered 1 appetizer and the same entree and it took us 2 hours to receive our food. It seemed like they were prioritizing to-go orders over in person, which I didn't love. Overall, if I'm being honest there are better Ethiopian restaurants in Manhattan, for a similar price.

Peter Yong (PedroJoven)

Staff was friendly. Food tasted good but small portion for the price. Double portion of the combo was same size as the single portion. Small place and the waitress had some difficulties figuring out how to accommodate 6 of us. It was relatively warm and uncomfortable.

AX

At first glance, the Zagat ratings and New York Times writeup posted in the window makes this restaurant look promising from afar until you see these ratings are 15 years old. There was a moldy smell inside. Staff looked completely checked out. Food took forever to come out, 45 minutes, and the place was practically empty. Food was bland, small portions, really too expensive for what you’re getting. Everything tasted kind of old. Tons of tiny flys everywhere. To top it off, there was a literal hair in our food. Two stars because there is so much potential here. In 2009, The New York Times rated you the best Ethiopian food in the Tristate Area. What happened? You were once champions of the world.

Al Dana Villas Sharm Fujairah

I visited this Ethiopian restaurant in New York for the first time with guests of another nationality. While the food itself was good, the service was very disappointing and uncomfortable. Unfortunately, the male host/waiter completely crossed professional boundaries. He spoke to my guests using unnecessary and inappropriate words, made unacceptable jokes, and did not allow us to enjoy our conversation. He stood at the counter directly in front of us for a long time, constantly talking, which made us feel very uncomfortable and wasted our time. In addition, his appearance and hygiene were not suitable for this kind of place. Cleanliness and neat presentation are very important in hospitality, especially for staff who interact directly with customers. When we asked to take the remaining food with us, instead of properly packing it, he placed a used glass and spoon on top of the food. Because of this, we had to order new food just to take away, which was very frustrating. As an Ethiopian, I felt ashamed in front of my guests because of this behavior. This kind of service does not represent Ethiopian hospitality or culture. I strongly advise the restaurant owner to ensure that staff are professional, respectful, clean, and understand personal boundaries. No customer should experience this, especially on their first visit. I hope management takes this feedback seriously and improves the service.

Hes Cht

Portion sizes were the same for double vs. single, as people have mentioned (which is not a great practice) and the chicken from the doro wot tasted unfrozen/frozen multiple times. The waiter served us a beer that was 2 months past the "BB" best by date, which is legally fine (I think), but it was also flat. To not draw attention, we quietly asked him to take it off the bill, which he politely did. This is where it gets strange: a few minutes *after* we paid and tipped 20%, he tried to justify why serving the beer was fine by showing us something he had googled. Two other customers chimed in that they agreed with him, which wasn't his fault, but he acknowledged their comments to us. We reminded him that the beer was also flat and he just seemed to care a) that we didn't report him or b) to simply justify he was in the right. It's a shame because the food and price was enough to argue not coming back, but this total lack of customer service really sealed the deal.

Afrah Boateng

I ate here last night. The food was incredibly bland. I got the doro wat. It tasted like nothing. I bit into the boiled egg to see if that had a flavor just to make sure it wasn’t me. The boiled egg tasted like a standard boiled egg, my tongue was in fact not broken. If you want quality Ethiopian food go uptown, there’s some good spots in Harlem. Sadly this is the worst Ethiopian food I’ve ever had, and I love Ethiopian food down. (Side note this was my second time coming here. I came a few years ago and similarly the food was flavorless. I decided to give it another shot last night thinking it would be different this time — maybe they got a new chef, maybe I’m remembering the food wrong, etc… — but it was just as bad. This time was worse though because I was further disappointed that they have not tried to improve the food despite having poor quality, for years, and it was expensive and the portions were small)