Desta Ethiopian Kitchen — Restaurant in Brookhaven

I wasn’t going to write a review but after reflecting, here I am. I went to Walgreens and when I was heading to my car, I noticed the restaurant looked opened and that they just moved there because a different one use to be at the location. I read the signs and see That it was Ethiopian food. I got excited because I always wanted to try it and here was my opportunity. I saw Takeout from the outside so I thought it was my perfect moment. I walked in after 7p and the place didn’t look too busy and from what I see it looked decent and clean at first glance. In the front there is a sign that says “wait to be seated” I stood at the front and patiently waited. As I’m standing there, couple of servers passed me and didn’t great me or told me that they’ll be there in a moment NOTHING. It was as if I was invisible. I proceeded to take up a menu when I saw a server came and picked one up and I saw where she grabbed it from. Mind you, still no greeting. I rolled my eyes and just picked up the menu and decided I’ll just do a quick takeout, nothing too crazy. A man walked in and guess what, he was greeted! And another lady as well! So now I’m annoyed, I had to yell out “excuse me” to one of the servers to get their attention. After explaining my situation I told her I’m now disappointed at this service I’m receiving and I didn’t even order yet! She apologized multiple times but I told her I want to express my concerns with a manager. She got the “manager” not sure if she was or not but she was one of the servers who passed me and didn’t say anything and I told her this too. She apologized many times as well and said she will make it up to me. Now my intentions were pure and I was not trying to get some kind of free hand out, but since she insisted because I told her no, and I was ready to walk out. I stayed and she helped me order and she said she’ll take care of me and she said she will put in an appetizer. when the food came out, I then end up having to pay for one of the dish which annoyed me because again I really didn’t even want to spend money at this establishment anymore so it will be the first and last time I will pay my dollars to this restaurant. I had a really bad first experience although they did try to make it up to me, it came off as if they didn’t want to get in trouble. I just feel the overall experience left a bad taste in my mouth. Some of the food items were good but again I didn’t really enjoy the food because of how my initial interaction went. I felt like I was being ignored, and they were only paying attention to “certain kinds of...

I recently revisited Desta with friends at their new location, hoping for an improved experience, and while some things have definitely gotten better, there were some disappointments. I had the Bozena Shiro with lamb, which, although flavorful, was unfortunately unchewable. The lamb was tough and indigestible. On a previous visit, I had the salmon, which was absolutely delicious, so l expected a similar experience. However, I would advise steering clear of any meat dishes here!

The price for the Bozena Shiro was $14.49, and I added Teff injera for an additional $2.99. With an 18% tip, my bill came to $30, which was quite a shock - only a magician could make that math work! On the positive side, the waitress was very kind and attentive, but the overall experience left me with a bitter aftertaste. Sadly, this visit didn't live up to my expectations!

UPDATE TO MY PREVIOUS REVIEW from 24th March 2025: After sharing my initial feedback, the owner kindly reached out, asking me to call so they could make things right. I appreciated the gesture, but unfortunately things have only gone downhill since. I called the restaurant three times and left two messages on the managers voicemail with a call back number. it's now been three days and I haven't received any response. Frustrated, I decided yo visit the restaurant in person on Friday March 28th., around lunch time. I asked the only waitress that was there, if I could see the manager. She said she didn't know what time he would show up. But I was welcome to wait. As I waited I witnessed eight other customers walk out because they hadn't been seated for 15-20 mins. After waiting for 30 mins. myself, I left as well. I am really not sure what's going on with the food and service at this place anymore. They have been in business for a long time. The lack of responsiveness and service issues are incredibly disappointing, especially after the owner's outreach. And we have had good service and food in the past. I hope they get things back on track, Or else we won't be...

We decided to come to this restaurant because my daughter, she Eats there frequently, it was a special night because it was papa birthday, the food was good, the service was good, until right before we were getting ready to finish our food. We were asked if we wanted to go boxes and we said yes, not thinking, it was for us to hurry up,But we wasn't finished eating, and I had a glass of wine and papa had a sunrise mixed drink, and we wasn't finished drinking, we were rushed out of the restaurant the waitres brought the to go boxes, she brought the check. Start removing things from the table in the midst of us, packing up the food It was just like pushing us out.and we wasn't finish our drink so she brought a to go cup for my wine and papa just swallow up his drink real fast and this cause him to feel very intoxicated on the way home, because she said it was the end of the night and other people needed the table. She was pregnant and was very nice, I feel very sorry for her because i'm sure she wanted to make the extra tips from the other customers because I know we're living in some hard economic times, but on the other hand we spent about a $170 something dollars and we didn't get a chance to open up pa pa gift as I said we were practically, pushed out the door , when people spend their hard earn money, and try to support black own businesses we shouldn't be treated this way, because I feel like my money is just as good as the next person waiting,. I hope in the near future Desta Kitchen would consider they're paying customers...