No more reservations only starting Tuesday. I encourage everyone to check out Ethiopic and try the food. They are planning to tweak the menu slightly, and they already have a couple of Ethiopian beers that don't appear on the current menu. One of these was a promising looking stout. Ask your waitress for details. 401 H Street.
Oh, and check out more on Ethiopic in my upcoming H Street Life column in the April issue of the Hill Rag.
19 comments:
What's the other new business at the location? There's a sign up that says Serenity, Inc. It looks like something in the back of Ethiopic.
Off topic:
I was at a community meeting on Saturday with Councilman Thomas. He indicated that the new Aldi will actually be built ACROSS from Hechinger mall in one of the now vacant lots.
Liz,
that was what I originally heard, but then I heard there was some issue with that lot. Honestly, I don't know if the Aldi is moving into Hechinger Mall proper, or right across the street.
Across the street on benning road, 17th St or Md ave?
I drove by the old liquidator store in Hechinger mall this weekend. I didn't realize how big that place is..honestly I think it's a little too big for an aldi. All of the aldis I know in the midwest are small, usually the size of a trader joe's or a harris teeter.
17th.
in that case, I am in FAVOR of an aldi's coming to the neighborhood
Serenity Inc. appears to be a faith based social services organization - here is the link - oh boy, anger management classes for thugs!
http://serenitysocialservices.com/
We ate at Ethiopic Saturday night & it was great. Spouse & I split a veg sampler for 1 and an order of kitfo. Both were delicious, ample, and reasonably priced. Service was a little clumsy (new restaurant, soft opening and all), but pleasant and attentive. The beverage options are a little thin at the moment, but we each had a glass of passable (and inexpensive) Ethiopian wine. I recommend it, and am very happy to see a sit down restaurant on the west end of H Street.
I realize it's very easy for me to say this since it's not my life savings tied up in this place, but I think Ethiopic will struggle to capture the high end dining market it appears to be aiming for with uninviting security bars on the windows. From the pictures the place looks absolutely gorgeous, but the bars scream "stay away" to me. I wonder if the owners can achieve their security goals without permanent bars on the windows. I think it would help this place a lot to remove them. I will still wind up going if the bars are not removed, but I'm afraid others may be turned off. I really want this place to succeed!
i don't think the bars are a big deal. pretty much all bldgs on H have them from days of yore and ethiopic is not a 'high brow' destination, i mean it's not teh ritz it's a nice affordable place with awesome grub, no one is going to give a hoot about windows...
the stout is hakim stout. lighter than irish stout, it goes great with the ethiopian food
I agree with the bars on the exterior this does'nt look welcoming.....also there is not any signage out side that identify that this is a resturant. If it wasnt for the web-site (Frozen Tropics).I would not know this place exist. Please get some signage.
Just ate a meal there, was FANTASTIC. Great crowd, great service, great food, great scenery. Glad to have another nice looking restaurant to replace Napa 1015, so sorry that closed. Liberty Tree is another semi classy place on H with great food.
Russ
I dont like the bars on the windows either. Sam (the owner) is a friend of mine and I asked him about this week. I pointed out that Sidamo hasnt had any problems and they dont have any bars on their windows. He seemed to indicate that given some time, without any incident they would most likely come down.
I ate @ Ethiopic last week and the food was delicious, the service super friendly.
Everybody should go and give it a try!
I don't think this or any other restaurant can survive on neighborhood business alone. At some point you have to rely on drawing people in from all over. I think it's great that local folks are so supportive of this place despite the bars. I just don't think other people who would be traveling to our hood to dine will be as forgiving. Bars on windows have a negative impact on your dining experience. Name me one nice restaurant that you actually enjoy going to that has bars on its windows. I would hate for something so minor to impact this restaurant's chances for success. Ethiopic has so much great potential, but this business is brutally competitive! You need every advantage possible.
Anonymous 7:40
Is it still reservations only? If not, do they take them at all? What's the typical wait for a table at dinner time? Is there a bar to pass the time at?
They do accept reservations, but they don't require them. They have a bar. It's a little early to know the average wait time for a table.
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