Great place for a date or friends night. Ethipoic is an excellent, slightly upscale place with delicious food, attentive servers who are happy to help customers who aren't familiar with Ethiopian cuisine, and a dining room that is both cozy and modern.For those who like to dine outdoors, they have a covered patio facing 4th Street.It's usually busy, but there's rarely a long wait. They also take reservations.If, like me, you hate ordering on your phone via a QR code, you can get a physical menu, but you have to ask.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Top Combo - Vegetarian Sampler II Ethiopic Signature TIBS
Cole Turner
Very good amount of food for the price. Delicious, too. Hope to come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Recommended dishes: Beef and Chicken Sampler
Ashlee A.
My first time in a long while with such a spread! Reservations I would suggest but we were able to squeeze in a table or two on a Sunday evening. Ordering is through QR code and thankfully I had my experienced friend with me as I truly did not know what to order or even expect. Once I shared plate came, we went to work! Loved trying the different combo and see what I liked best though. I wish the injera in the basket had some type of paper underneath instead of just sticking to the wicker basket. Samosas were perfectly crunchy with not too much breading to filling ratio.
Denny Stallman
Great foodVery friendly and helpful staffKid-friendliness: Very kid friendly staff
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lamb TIBS
Kati H.
Amazing food!!! Service was great, loved the lighting and interior of the restaurant, especially the art!
Steve Walser
The food was pretty good, but the service was terrible. It is a scan to order menu, but they don’t tell you this when you come in so we sat there waiting for 10 minutes; we finally asked and then ordered online; food took another 20+ minutes after ordering with no contact from server, actually I don’t even think they had servers, just food runners/bussing. No one checked to see if food was ok. We had to get up and go near kitchen to find someone to ask for more injera. Water was empty for 50% of meals. When finished, no one cleared plates or brought bill; we had to go back to kitchen to find this. 20% mandatory service fee plus request to tip additional 15-20% when I don’t think I even had a server. Maybe I was supposed to do everything on ordering app including requesting additional water and paying bill, but nothing about the app was communicated when arriving. Normally I care not about service, especially if the food is good, but I ended up sitting here for close to 2 hours due to all the waiting time and the place wasn’t even full. Friday night.In theory, server less/server lite dining is could be a cool concept in some situations, but it was implemented very poorly here since expectations weren’t set upon arrival. Not sure what 20% service fee was for since I didn’t have a server.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
Kc
Our entrees were great I got the Doro Key Wot and the beef sambusas. The bread they brought out for the table was cold. The service was very poor and it’s unfortunate because our meal was great! I won’t be returning due to our bad service.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 2
Emna J.
My friends and I had a nice time at Ethiopic. The outdoor seating was a little loud at times because the restaurant is on a very busy street, so I recommend that you call in advance to get a reservation to sit inside. The staff was very kind and we didn't have to wait that long for our food. I requested to not have jalapenos in my dish and they accommodated that very easily. The signature lamb tibs were very good, flavourful and filling. Seasoned with rosemary and served in a little special dish with a candle underneath, the presentation was nice. It seemed to be a popular spot and there were lots of other people there.
SCD2
Ethiopic is a gem. Delicious food, friendly and attentive service. Bustling location on the safer end of H Street. I have just one gripe: Please bring back physical menus! The app works fine, but many customers have questions about Ethiopian food, and some customers find ordering on their phones difficult. Eating out shouldn't be hard! Ethiopic's pleasant servers are happy to make food recommendations and will take orders verbally if asked, but they don't tell you that up front. The hostess just seats you at a table with a QR code on it and walks away. Once that hurdle has passed, however, the rest of the dining experience is delightful.
Emily Callahan
This place was so good. I almost never think to leave a review but I had to for this place. I went for Restaurant Week January 2024 and the menu was truly fantastic. The sambusas and stew were delicious and I loved that everything was served with injera bread. Honey wine was sweet but not overly so and I liked the carbonation. For the main I had the short ribs which were truly to die for and the dessert souffle also knocked it out of the park! Every single thing they brought out was just fantastic. The dining experience was also smooth and service was regular without being overbearing. I also appreciated that there is an automatic 20% service fee, so you don’t feel obligated to tip (although I did, because it was that good). Truly not a single thing to complain about and I will definitely be going back. Hats off to the Ethiopic Restaurant staff!
Honestly the restaurant week menu was not very good. I wish we had gone with the traditional platter. Short rib was tough ( and only one rib). Chick pea stew and lentil fritter were good but very small portion and not hugely flavorful. The space is lovely, service was excellent. Maybe we just ordered the wrong thing.
Michael R
The food is not good enough to consider ordering, and the wait staff is pushy about making you order food with drinks. However the atmosphere is nice.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 2
HRKinDC
Consistently one of our most favorite places to dine in DC. The food is the very best in a town (region) with some of the best Ethiopian outside of its home country. The staff are fantastic too.
Elizabeth Guilford
Overall the food is meh at best. My party had a veggie platter for 2 people and two glasses of wine. The total came to $78 (including the 20% service charge that gets taxed as well) which I think is outrageous. On top of that the bill asked for an additional tip of 15%, 18, or 20%. The spinach on the veggie platter was clearly just chopped up frozen spinach reheated. We usually are very good about finishing our food but that spinach dish was just not good. We asked to have menus and not use the QR code which they did provide but the prices were not the same on the bill and they did not inform us beforehand so it was surprising to see the bill. We will not be coming back.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Melissa C.
My first time trying Ethiopian food and Ethiopic did not disappoint. The food was fresh, flavorful and the service was excellent.
Great place for a date or friends night. Ethipoic is an excellent, slightly upscale place with delicious food, attentive servers who are happy to help customers who aren't familiar with Ethiopian cuisine, and a dining room that is both cozy and modern.For those who like to dine outdoors, they have a covered patio facing 4th Street.It's usually busy, but there's rarely a long wait. They also take reservations.If, like me, you hate ordering on your phone via a QR code, you can get a physical menu, but you have to ask.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Top Combo - Vegetarian Sampler II Ethiopic Signature TIBS
Very good amount of food for the price. Delicious, too. Hope to come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Recommended dishes: Beef and Chicken Sampler
My first time in a long while with such a spread! Reservations I would suggest but we were able to squeeze in a table or two on a Sunday evening. Ordering is through QR code and thankfully I had my experienced friend with me as I truly did not know what to order or even expect. Once I shared plate came, we went to work! Loved trying the different combo and see what I liked best though. I wish the injera in the basket had some type of paper underneath instead of just sticking to the wicker basket. Samosas were perfectly crunchy with not too much breading to filling ratio.
Great foodVery friendly and helpful staffKid-friendliness: Very kid friendly staff
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lamb TIBS
Amazing food!!! Service was great, loved the lighting and interior of the restaurant, especially the art!
The food was pretty good, but the service was terrible. It is a scan to order menu, but they don’t tell you this when you come in so we sat there waiting for 10 minutes; we finally asked and then ordered online; food took another 20+ minutes after ordering with no contact from server, actually I don’t even think they had servers, just food runners/bussing. No one checked to see if food was ok. We had to get up and go near kitchen to find someone to ask for more injera. Water was empty for 50% of meals. When finished, no one cleared plates or brought bill; we had to go back to kitchen to find this. 20% mandatory service fee plus request to tip additional 15-20% when I don’t think I even had a server. Maybe I was supposed to do everything on ordering app including requesting additional water and paying bill, but nothing about the app was communicated when arriving. Normally I care not about service, especially if the food is good, but I ended up sitting here for close to 2 hours due to all the waiting time and the place wasn’t even full. Friday night.In theory, server less/server lite dining is could be a cool concept in some situations, but it was implemented very poorly here since expectations weren’t set upon arrival. Not sure what 20% service fee was for since I didn’t have a server.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
Our entrees were great I got the Doro Key Wot and the beef sambusas. The bread they brought out for the table was cold. The service was very poor and it’s unfortunate because our meal was great! I won’t be returning due to our bad service.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 2
My friends and I had a nice time at Ethiopic. The outdoor seating was a little loud at times because the restaurant is on a very busy street, so I recommend that you call in advance to get a reservation to sit inside. The staff was very kind and we didn't have to wait that long for our food. I requested to not have jalapenos in my dish and they accommodated that very easily. The signature lamb tibs were very good, flavourful and filling. Seasoned with rosemary and served in a little special dish with a candle underneath, the presentation was nice. It seemed to be a popular spot and there were lots of other people there.
Ethiopic is a gem. Delicious food, friendly and attentive service. Bustling location on the safer end of H Street. I have just one gripe: Please bring back physical menus! The app works fine, but many customers have questions about Ethiopian food, and some customers find ordering on their phones difficult. Eating out shouldn't be hard! Ethiopic's pleasant servers are happy to make food recommendations and will take orders verbally if asked, but they don't tell you that up front. The hostess just seats you at a table with a QR code on it and walks away. Once that hurdle has passed, however, the rest of the dining experience is delightful.
This place was so good. I almost never think to leave a review but I had to for this place. I went for Restaurant Week January 2024 and the menu was truly fantastic. The sambusas and stew were delicious and I loved that everything was served with injera bread. Honey wine was sweet but not overly so and I liked the carbonation. For the main I had the short ribs which were truly to die for and the dessert souffle also knocked it out of the park! Every single thing they brought out was just fantastic. The dining experience was also smooth and service was regular without being overbearing. I also appreciated that there is an automatic 20% service fee, so you don’t feel obligated to tip (although I did, because it was that good). Truly not a single thing to complain about and I will definitely be going back. Hats off to the Ethiopic Restaurant staff!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sambusa - Lentil
Restaurantji Recommends
Honestly the restaurant week menu was not very good. I wish we had gone with the traditional platter. Short rib was tough ( and only one rib). Chick pea stew and lentil fritter were good but very small portion and not hugely flavorful. The space is lovely, service was excellent. Maybe we just ordered the wrong thing.
The food is not good enough to consider ordering, and the wait staff is pushy about making you order food with drinks. However the atmosphere is nice.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 2
Consistently one of our most favorite places to dine in DC. The food is the very best in a town (region) with some of the best Ethiopian outside of its home country. The staff are fantastic too.
Overall the food is meh at best. My party had a veggie platter for 2 people and two glasses of wine. The total came to $78 (including the 20% service charge that gets taxed as well) which I think is outrageous. On top of that the bill asked for an additional tip of 15%, 18, or 20%. The spinach on the veggie platter was clearly just chopped up frozen spinach reheated. We usually are very good about finishing our food but that spinach dish was just not good. We asked to have menus and not use the QR code which they did provide but the prices were not the same on the bill and they did not inform us beforehand so it was surprising to see the bill. We will not be coming back.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
My first time trying Ethiopian food and Ethiopic did not disappoint. The food was fresh, flavorful and the service was excellent.