Habiba's Ethiopian Kitchen — Restaurant in City of Syracuse

I've wanted to try Ethiopian food for a while now. While staying in downtown Syracuse on business, I saw that Habiba's was closeby so I decided to give it a try.

Street parking along the main road was easy. There are tons od active parking meters in effect until 6pm. After that, parking there is free. I parked about half a block away.

The storefront is very plain and somewhat dark...it wasn't immediately obvious that the place was open. I walked into a lovely greeting by the staff. It was practically empty, but I went at around 6:15 pm and I believe they close at 7 pm, so that may be expected.

The decor was lovely. The space was also very neat and clean with lots of tables, chairs and bench seating.

Not knowing what to order, the lovely server was able to suggest one of the platters which had a sampling of a few items. (About $18 for a sampler of 2 meats, 3 vegetables and injera.) The food came out in about 15 minutes. While I liked some items, more than others, I understood that my palate was not acustomed to the spices they used. I did like the heat of the food, I didn't immediate love one of the main spices, which was present in all three vegetable dishes. As with many things...I figured this was an acquired taste.

Overall I had a great experience at Habiba's. I hope to return and try some other items. The staff was very nice, patient...

Habiba’s Ethiopian Kitchen opening day in Salt City Market. I have been meaning to try this place ever since I heard about their opening and was blown away by the quality and the flavors of each of the selections. Each bite that was taken was full of balance with earthy, spicy bliss. The food is full of love and as you eat, you can feel how nourishing it is for one’s body.

I got the Yebere Beyaynetu which is a choice of 2 beef dishes and 3 vegetarian dishes. I ordered Gomen Besiga (beef stew and collard greens in a curry broth), Siga Wot (beef cubes slow cooked in berbere sauce and mekelesha), Misir Wot (red lentil stew with berbere, tomato, black pepper), Shiro Wot (middle one, ground chickpea stew with curry and berbere), and Kaye Siir (chopped beet stew with potato, onion, garlic). Everything was served on injera with more on the side. Injera is a fermented pancake like flatbread with a spongy texture.

Whatever you end up ordering here will tantalize your tastebuds and have you coming...

My housemates and I ordered Habiba's to be picked up for dinner. Habiba's has a beautiful website and makes it very easy to look at the menu and contact them. I called ahead to ask questions, to which they answered and explained everything very thoroughly. I was going to email in my order, but it seems the email system wasn't working, as my email failed to send. I ended up calling in my order, and the guy at the other end of the phone was again very kind and thorough. We ordered the doro beyaynetu (chicken) special for 1 person, the yebere beyaynetu (beef) special for 2 people, and then the beyaynetu (vegetarian) for 2 people. Everything was delicious and I loved that we could sample all of the small dishes with the specials. It definitely provides more food than suggested - it was very filling and we had plenty of leftovers! I'm very pleased with Habiba's and love supporting the refugee community in the Northside. When you're on the website, I highly suggest reading about...