Enatye Ethiopian Restaurant — Restaurant in Herndon

I had been ordering take outs at least twice a month from this restaurant for the last two years. And most of the time especially one of the servers had been so impolite towards me and not even considering me as a customer. And what really did it for me is yesterday. As I usually do, I called and placed an order for a take away and right after that I called back and asked the server if we can dine there instead and he immediately said he can't because he doesn't have any available table and as surprised as I was with his response I said okay and when I got there after 10 minutes to pick up the food, I saw two seats empty and I asked him immediately about the two open seats and he said in a very defensive manner that they just got the seats open and I asked politely if it is okay for us to take one of the seats and dine there and he said in a disrespectful way "wait what?" and very disrespectfully, he said go right there on the corner and sit, treating me as if I am dining there for free. Since my little boy insisted on dining there I went ahead and took the seat. And not even five minutes later, very disrespectfully and with raised voice the server said, move, move from that table now since I have customers here. Am I not a customer? I am paying to eat there! Again I couldn't believe what I was hearing. To make matters worse, the other server rushed towards my table and very disrespectfully asked me to leave the table. So we moved over to a table with two seats. But after that I didn't want to stay there because I knew we were not welcomed. So before I left I asked the first server why we were treated that way and he again very defensively said that they were trying to make money and I occupied their four seat table by the way he was the one that told me to sit on that four seat table and no apology rather being more disrespectful. He wasn't giving me anything for free and I was very surprised and one thing is I am also originally from Ethiopia and for him to treat me this way is a shame. I will never ever step my foot in that...

I’ve been coming here over 6 plus years and my wife has been coming here for nearly 3+ years. We moved from Arlington to southern Maryland but still came down to the restaurant do to the service, but not anymore. About a week ago we drove down here to eat good food and support the owner and the restaurant. It was my wife, my 13 month old baby girl and myself. It was on a weeknight so it wasn’t that busy. When we entered we saw 4 guys eating and enjoying themselves on one table without masks but my wife little girl and I were refused service. We were told that no children under 10 were allowed due to covid. I asked the guy working there why and he was extremely rude and said that’s the rule. I said we can easily socially distant and had driven nearly an hour and he said no I could lose my job, no children under 10 allowed. I told him to contact the owner and he refused, we asked him to show us the policy and he refused. So we left and contracted the owner Eskinder and asked him why no children under that age were not allowed, he said the policy is to protect the children.

I’m a bit confused, there no city, state or federal policy on this so why is this place making policies of its own and doesn’t the owner know children are the least vulnerable to this. With covid raging there’s no child care readily available and parents can’t or won’t leave their children home. Wherever my child isn’t welcomed is not a place I want to support. For over the years I’ve been supporting this place and recommending it but not no more. The owner of this place does not welcome children. I don’t need him telling me what is or isn’t good for my children, it’s tough enough as is raising a child during covid we don’t need businesses making it harder...

We had an exceptional time at Enatye. The food was excellent but the customer service was better! The restaurant was selected by my 83 year old mother in law to celebrate her birthday dinner with her family, including grandchildren and a new fiance for one grandson and some close friends. There were 10 of us. This was the birthday girl's first time with Ethiopian food. Although they do not take reservations I called ahead during the week and we were told when a good time to come would be to be seated. Our area had suffered a terrific storm just before we left for Enatye and we lost power at home. Fearing the restaurant also had no power we tried to call but no answer. So we decided to drive over. They were open but, a sign on the door indicated they were out of injera, the special bread that serves as both plates and silverware for Ethiopian food. Disappointed I went to ask and the owner said, 'come in, for your party of 10 I saved enough!'. Not only did they have enough for us but they tailored a beautiful selection of food, some spicy, some not and even made one special gluten and dairy free meal for one in our group. After we were stuffed they brought a gorgeous baklava with a candle and music for the birthday girl. And, we all ended up dancing in the now closed restaurant (except for us) until it was time to leave. Many great pictures and videos of this grand celebration! Many thanks to the owner and his one helper. This little gem of a place has been enjoyed by my family before but never quite like this. ...