mesob — Restaurant in Denver

After spending a long day under fluorescent lights, I appreciated the atmosphere. The front room was more of a lounge than the expected low circular tables and floor seating, but maybe I didn't look closely enough. I was afraid that there was hookah smoke from the odor when I walked in, but with the 2 big windows open, it did not affect my dining experience. The main dining room had black chairs and black tables (standard height) with a full bar, rather plain but my eyes needed a rest! There were more decorations in the lounge area. There was a large TV next to the bar that sometimes had music videos to go with the (presumptively) Ethiopian music that was playing.

I am vegetarian, and it was my first visit so I got the veggie combo. It was served quickly. The collard greens were amazing! The split yellow peas were very good. The red lentils were pretty good, and not as spicy as I feared. Only a very sensitive palette should be concerned. The cabbage, potatoes, and carrots were not exciting for me. The string beans had a nice texture, but they tasted fishy to me so I didn't finish them. The injera had good texture, did not stick to itself too much, and was not too sharp tasting. If I was there with a friend, I would just share the collard greens (Gomen) and yellow split peas (Kik Alicha). (Ethiopian food is served on one big platter to share)

There are many other Ethiopian restaurant in the area that I haven't tried, so I might be more likely to order the Gomen for carryout.

8/16/2023. Poplar Street is closed construction south of the restaurant, so approach it...

So I have to start off by saying that I am a bit of a foodie and this was the most stressful dining experience I've had in years. I actually had to drive around in my convertible with the top down for an hour after just to de-stress and feel back to normal. My fiance took hours after to feel calm again.

Okay, so where to begin? Perhaps the best place to start is I showed up around 1pm, 2 hours after they opened at 11am. I saw the person who showed up right before me (perhaps the owner?) unlocking the front entrance, so my fiance and I were the first to get in (I'm guessing they opened 2 hours late?).

So now, we go to sit down. The table is wobbly, as well as my chair. Not a big deal, right? Well, right after that, we notice a child of one of the employees at the other end of the restaurant. He's watching a kid's video on something with the volume turned up to the max. You could hear it louder than the music everywhere in the restaurant. It had a volume that just pierced any conversation and even your inner thoughts.

Oh, and wait, there's more! While waiting for our food, the waitress was sitting on the floor working on some type of project, then took the mop, moved it around, and never washed her hands between that and serving us food. My fiance noticed that one and didn't let me know until after, so I hope we don't get sick from food poisoning...

The food actually tasted good (not great, but good). Such a shame, as we might have come back if it weren't...

I have to give this place a one star due to the couple times I was served food that tasted like it’s been sitting out for days. It seems as if your taking your chances whenever you walk into this restaurant because some days you might get lucky and be served fresh food and other days you could very well be served something that could have you sitting on your toilet for days. I just don’t understand why they think they can get away with this. I’m not sure if it’s to save money, but they need to understand that customers can very well taste the difference between something that’s been freshly made vs something that’s been sitting out. I ordered their green Gomen (cooked spinach) the other day and it tasted like I was eating someone’s leftover. It was overcooked and it tasted like something that had been left out for some days. Similar thing happened when I picked up Gored, Gored (marinated med-rare beef) for my friend last night and when I tasted it, I have to say it was horrible. Quality of the meat was poor as it was very chewy and rubbery. Again, I’m not sure if this is their way of making money/profiting, but they need to understand they are losing customers as they continue to do this. This is...