Kibrom's Ethiopean & Eritrean Food — Restaurant in Idaho

Kibroms Ethiopian & Eritrean Restaurant 3506 W State St. Boise, ID

We were invited by a co worker to sample his native cuisine. We waited for a Thursday so Nathan would have the night off and we wouldn't have to rush through dinner.

The restaurant was not hard to find, although it has limited parking. The aroma has your mouth watering already between your car door and the restaurant door.

Once inside, Nathan and I started with an appetizer of 1beef samosa each, followed by ordering a medium (5 item) family dinner platter. Our choices were: Red Lamb Ribs - A spicy saute of lamb, onion, & exotic spices White Lamb Ribs - A mild saute of lamb, onion, & chili's Defen Mesie - Black lentils, onions, & Alicia spice Kik Alicia - Split yellow peas, a little spice, onion, & garlic -AND- Tikel Gomen - A combination of cabbage, potatoes, carrots, & onions This all came served on a bed of injera (a naan-like bread) with a salad and choice of coffee or tea, and more injera on the side.

The meal is served in a traditional style. There are no utensils, one is expected to tear off a piece of the injera and use it as a spoon to dip and eat the other items. It took us a few tries to do this without making a mess, but we got the hang of it fairly quickly.

The food was amazing! The restaurant was clean and homy, with nice decor. The staff was friendly and polite, going out of their way to make our first visit here a good one.

All in all, a little outside of our "normal" budget range, but Nathan and I have decided this is a place we will come when we want celebrate...

Update to prior review:

Not sure if it was in response to the review but heard from a friend that they started checking on people throughout their dining. And she ask me to go again, every concern I had was addressed. In fact they even dropped off a pitcher of ice water. And when they saw how fast I was going through food and brought more injera. Thus the service was great, and the response from my prior feedback is truly impressive. A friend that goes there alot and I mean alot comment about the sudden change in their service less than a week after I posted my last review, not claiming it was directly from my review but if so that outstanding responsiveness.

The food is very tasty, and has a flavors there you won't find many places. And the atmosphere there is good. Plus you feel you're helping a small immigrant group to find and live the American dream. And I expect it one of the most environment friendly places in the area since you eat with your hands so cleanup should be fast and easy. Even the plates stay fairly clean do to the bread they are covered with (very different and good bread). Also they have a lot of vegetarian compatible food.

So all in all I would go again and I would strongly recommend...

First time there. I have wanted to go here for years. Come with patience and not be in a hurry. The food was good and what I expected. I had eaten Ethiopian food years ago in Seattle, WA, and had wanted to find a restaurant serving the same thing here.

Now patience comes into play with how long it took to be noticed that we had entered the restaurant and seated ourselves. The person who brought our menus seemed to be detached from her reason for being there as she was not friendly and was slow to move around the tables of other diners. I went to the counter to ask for menus from an older woman who interacted with the cook. She brought them to us and was patient with our questions about certain dishes. The food came to us shortly and was good. When our bill came, there was no clarity that we needed to pay at the counter. We waited a bit and watched other diners get up and go stand in line to pay. We did the same.

The dining area people are not friendly or attentive, sad to say. I will go back there for the food, and knowing what to expect, I will immediately ask for menus and know to get their attention sooner when...