Taste of Ethiopia II — Restaurant in Austin

I would like to be as fair as possible. To start with the highlight, the food was tasty (but getting cold) and the staff was friendly and courteous.

Unfortunately, we ran into several issues with the overall service. We came as part of a larger group, which I understand poses its own challenges, but counterpoint to that, the general dining style should be suited to this given it is served as communal plates, etc.

The first main issue is that it took around 1.5 hours from the time that we ordered food to it arriving (seated at 7:30, ordered shortly after, entrees served at 9:30). Secondly, the way we ordered the food and were set up at the tables is that my family (3 of us around a table at the end) ordered a specific combination platter that was designed to serve us. When we asked the server about that being a possibility to order it just for us at that table, they said yes. The rest of the party ordered their own 2 smaller combination plates to share amongst themselves.

When they finally served the party, they only served 2 of the platters, served them to the rest of the party excluding our table, took the food that we ordered, and allegedly split it between the other two platters. None of this was communicated to us at at any point and when they left we had to ask for additional plates to even get some food down to us. We had no way of telling which food was ours, were unable to even get any without asking the rest of the party to fill the additional plates that we had to ask for, and the cited reason was injera shortage. I won't claim to know their inner workings, but injera was still provided to us in baskets, provided to other customers on their platters who arrived and ordered after us, etc. If they were short on the actual injera, then how was it still being provided without issue. If the problem was an ingredient shortage in general, then why was that not communicated to us prior, and would it have be so serious of a shortage that we were unable to get one more platter (that we ordered and paid for) down at our side of the table?

All in all, just a incredibly disappointing experience to feel left out and that we didn't get the food that we waited 1.5 hours for with almost no...

Extremely disappointed by the food I received as takeout. I've eaten here for years and have noticed the decline in quality recently. I understand the pandemic has affected all of us so deeply so I want to cut everyone some slack and I mean no harm by this review. My intention is to bring awareness to the level of care and attention that each of us brings to everything we do, including the state of mind we have when we cook or serve food that will nourish the bodies that consume it. Specifically the greens (2 dishes) were spiced outrageously so that they were inedible and they also tasted on the verge of spoiling. The portions were sadly minimal. I paid $25 for the vegetarian sampler, which in house might be acceptable because the presentation is so beautiful. However, as a take out dish in half full plastic containers, the value is extremely lowered. Even if I had paid half of the price, I would not have been satisfied with the quality. This is the 3rd try on the sampler and I will never order it again.. the only dish worth its salt is the shir wot, even though I noticed it's quality has declined also. Adding water? to thin out a dish does nothing for its quality and maybe keeps employees paid and the lights on- an immediate bandaid. You may lose some customers for the long haul. The entire meal pictured was $68. I myself am shocked and saddened. Please try to Keep your hearts open and ask for miracles so you, your employees, business and families can thrive.. we all CAN still thrive. Keep the faith and make an effort to do better. Your intentions...

Very rude employees at the South Congress location. I remember the first time I came in person was during 2020. I had carefully checked the restaurant's hours. However, when I showed up, the employee there claimed they were closed and refused to serve me. It took me a few years until today when I decided to finally try this location again. I was wanting to try African food again as I'm not experienced with it. Time also was not on my side today. There is no direct service to order online on the website. I had to call the restaurant. This lady spoke to me for a few minutes, then immediately put me on hold when a customer came into there. Excuse me, but I'm a customer, too. When she came back on the phone, she was entirely unhelpful. She didn't seem willing to discuss different options with me even though I let her know upfront I wasn't experienced. She told me they offer what you can buy at a grocery store. And she claimed the meat dishes were not made with dairy even though the menu indicated some contained butter...? I have allergies/intolerances so this already brought up a red flag. Then when I told her I'd need to look at the menu quickly just for a minute, she told me she had customers, to call back in 30 minutes, and literally hung up on me. I don't have that 30 minutes today. All I needed was 5 minutes of her time and a bit of help with figuring out the menu. This is the second time the employees clearly did not want me there as a customer. This is hurtful when I was looking forward to this place's food. Thumbs down, 0 stars. Do...