Kategna Restaurant — Restaurant in Addis Ababa

Total disappointment.

Had the chebchebsa for breakfast on Timket morning (Jan 19/20). My first time at Kategna. Impressive place, yes, but both the food and service was horrible. The chebchebsa was dry and tasteless. No kibehe, berbere, or salt.

When I arrived, the place was relatively empty and well-staffed. The host/server who ushered me in was very pleasant. He brought me the menu promptly and took my order in a timely fashion. Some 40 minutes later, a hostile servant dropped the chebchebsa off with 2 forks and disappeared. I guess one order of chebchebsa is typically shared by two people and I was passing my place? Anyway, 10 minutes into my meal, I started to look around for a waiter to inquire about my tea. My eyes would eventually connect with the host who assured me from afar my tea was coming. It arrived 10 minutes later. Again, the servant appeared hostile.

Some 20 minutes later, I inquired from a cleaner if there was a box available to take the leftover home. She left to inquire, but never returned. For the next 20 minutes, I patiently observed the incredibly hostile servers busily attend to everyone else but me. I finally flagged one of the servers to bring me the bill and a container to take the leftover home. He promptly returned with the bill and a container with a filthy lid. He then disappeared without so much as a word. After 5 minutes, I flagged him to complain about the poor service and filthy lid. He seemed indifferent. He offered to bring another lid. No apologies. When I declined, he merely left, not bothering to take my payment.

After 5 minutes, I took the bill payment to the bar and asked them for change. I was fuming by this point. Mission accomplished, they probably thought. The host, now serving guests, quickly ran over and took the payment from the bartender. He apologized for the tardiness and told me to take a seat. When I expressed disdain for the poor/hostile service, he apologized and brought me the manager. The manager apologized, but the good Lord only knows if he meant it. When I told him I'd be sending a picture of the filthy lid to head office, he hardly looked concerned.

It's typical of Ethiopian servers to target and mistreat Ethiopians from the diaspora. It's actually a running joke amongst Ethiopians in the diaspora. I just haven't seen such coordinated effort on this level in a while, so it did take me by surprise. I certainly didn't expect it from an establishment of Kategna's size, that's for sure. With the exception of the host, every server I crossed appeared to be severely unhappy. It's possible management is part of the problem. I did notice that service charges aren't automatically added to the bill - something I agree with as it takes away incentive for providing good service.

Whatever the case, the servers at Kategna are just strangely hostile. Aside from the ambience, there is nothing nice about...

It’s hard to even describe or explain because I love this place so much that a 5 star is way to low for the restaurant, OMG the food taste I went back home in 2015 and 2016 and now back in 2022 and 2023 the TASTE they keep that same taste and I’m so so proud and so happy because most restaurants keeps changing around their taste and which makes me mad because you go to that restaurant because of how the food taste and kategna never disappointed me in any way every time I go every day every couple years their food taste stays the same and that says a lot about the restaurant, they have a good management and knows what they are doing, keeping the taste they come up with and never changing it going with it all these years it’s professional, I always always enjoy and every time I plan to go to Ethiopia first thing in my mind is oh yes Kategna I’m coming for you 😂 Tomuka and kategna are my favorite place to visit. When I go Ethiopia until I finish my visit I’m there everyday lol 😂 and mostly the most and important part of it all besides the food is the waiters they are awesome 👏 the best of best I swear I don’t have words how to appreciate them because they are the BEST caring and give exactly what customers need and deserve, if I have a bad waitress I can’t enjoy the food so that’s the most important thing about this place because any other place you go even from facial expressions it just throws you off and ya back home they are not used to caregiving for customers I understand but its always nice and fuller when that is a plus on top of everything. Kategna I really want to thank you starting from the chefs to waitress to everyone keeping it all clean, and of course to the main management for putting in the best crew in your house. Keep it up 👍 I mean I didn’t have anything that I didn’t like lol everything taste great at kategna when you try it other place and you come back to kategna it’s a whole another story lol it’s just no words I can’t get enough of this place lol. My husband get it before even tho he was living there and after he came to America and then went back for visit he understood everything I was saying lol, even my daughter was like no outside restaurant kinche lol and chechebsa I got her hooked on chechebsa which is the best of best, I’m telling you If I write a review of this place I would end up writing a book 😂 I mean just go and enjoy the...

I used to love Kategna Restaurant for its great Ethiopian food and service, but I was very disappointed by my recent visit. I ordered some of their signature dishes, such as injera, doro wat, and kitfo, but they were not tasty at all. The injera was dry and sour, the doro wat was bland and watery, and the kitfo was too fatty and chewy. The food was not fresh or well-cooked, and it did not match the quality I expected from Kategna Restaurant.

Well when I complained to the staff, they were not helpful or apologetic. They just took my plate away and brought it back a few minutes later, without changing anything. They said that was how the food was supposed to be, and that I should be happy with what I got. I felt like they did not value me as a customer, and that they did not care about their reputation. I ended up taking the food out and giving it to someone who might need it near Medhanialem church.

This is a stark contrast to the positive reviews I have read about Kategna Restaurant on Tripadvisor. Many people praised the restaurant for its delicious traditional meals, reasonable prices, and awesome location behind Bola Medhanalam . Some even said it was one of the finest Ethiopian restaurants in Addis Ababa and the best in Bole. They also complimented the staff for their friendly and attentive service, and the restaurant for its spacious and cozy atmosphere.

However, I also found some negative reviews that echoed my experience. Some people complained about the poor quality of the food, the slow and rude service, and the lack of hygiene in the restaurant . One reviewer even said that they got food poisoning after eating there. These reviews made me wonder if Kategna Restaurant has gone downhill recently, or if I was just unlucky that day. Either way, I hope they can improve and restore their reputation, but for now, I would avoid this place...