Abyssinia Restaurant — Restaurant in City of Rochester

We have eaten here before and it has been excellent, so it really disheartens me to write a negative review. However, if the owners cannot improve, then I cannot see this place lasting much longer.

Firstly, we had called in about 45 minutes early as we had just got done at Letchworth and we were super hungry. They did not pick up the first 2 times. We called about 20 minutes later and they answered. When we tried to order the items that we saw on their menu, they seemed confused and couldn't answer very basic questions, but were able to place an order still.

20 more minutes go by and we arrive at the restaurant. When we go to pick up the food, they claimed they did not have the food we ordered… why not say this over the phone? Okay, fine, let's order something else. We wound up waiting another 30 minutes - we tried to order ahead so we wouldn't have to deal with this, but whatever, this isn't even the absolute worst part about our little trip to Abyssinia.

When we get to the restaurant there are only 2 people working. A man and a woman. The woman is the only one who greets us and apparently she makes all the food and serves it herself. The man was cleaning clean tables and ignoring other customers that had come in. While we wait there's another woman at the bar area waiting. She apparently had already been there for 30-45 minutes and she was still waiting. The man had come over and she asked him where the food was (she worked for a food delivery service, so she needed to be in-and-out understandably). He was extremely rude and condescending, when she mentioned that her tip was dependent on her speed he said, 'I don't care, not my problem.' In front of people, this man was just horrible and was just nasty.

The bar area was sticky and disgusting anyway. When the food finally came out, the woman had food and grease all over her hands - did she serve the food with her hands? It honestly looked like it. As she packed our food into plastic bags - which we did not ask for - the white bags suddenly turned a nasty orange color from the grease on her hands.

The food itself was not good at all either. We all felt physically sick and had almost instant indigestion. It will take a long time for us to return -...

My favorite restaurant of any kind, ever, anywhere, period. It's not fancy, it's not pretentious... It's amazing home-cooked food that's made to be shared. Literally everything is good, from the mango juice to the tomato salad to the injera (a soft sour dough pancake you eat with)- yes even the raw beef dish (kitfo) is great. But don't worry- they'll ask you if you really want it raw and even cook it for you if you're not ready to take the plunge. The food is well spiced but not hot spicy. There are plenty of vegetarian options and they're as good or better than the meat dishes. Which is saying something, because the meat (chicken, beef, and lamb) is all tender from long slow cooking in gingery, garlicky goodness. There are other Ethiopian restaurants in Rochester and the world. I've tried some of them- two in Rochester(admittedly only because Abyssinia was closed on a Monday and I had a craving), one in Washington DC, one in NYC, and one in Ithaca NY. The flavors at Abyssinia are distinctly my favorite. Expect to eat with your hands. Expect to wait a little bit for your meal, but once it arrives, expect to eat until you burst. Expect to go home happy, looking forward...

Food is amazing. I always come hungry and leave happy. There's nothing negative to say about the food at all.

Service is always quick, and staff is very polite and friendly. Would be nice to get a water refill, but all things considered, that's very minor.

Also, I don't know what category it falls under, but I must say that I always make my friend order, as I don't know what anything is, and the descriptions are nonexistent, or not helpful.

Atmosphere is where they need the most improvement. It is way too quiet in the ambient noise department. No music, just a small TV playing what looked like an Ethiopian wedding show. A couple sat right next to us, and if you wanted, you could easily listen to their entire conversation, as they could ours.

All in all, service and food make this place excellent. Will continue to go back, hopefully more frequently to get more acquainted with...