Mesob — Restaurant in Montclair

I know it's covid times so couldn't expect more but the least I could ask is proper Information. I ordered the vegetarian sampler since it was my brother's first time at an Ethiopian food joint. The food was good but I would say I have had better Ethiopian at other places.

I veggie sampler for two was not enough. The portions were kind of small from what I have had at other places. The brown lentil and red lentil was very good and others were average.

They don't serve tap water. The staff said they have bottled water and got me two bottles of 'Smart Water'. I was quite impressed. They could have just served regular Walmart or Costco water and save a buck rather than this. But here comes the twist. They charged 3.5$ for each bottle. It was not even the bigger bottle. Just the smaller pint sized one. And I ended up paying extra 7$ for water alone. Had they mentioned earlier that they are going to charge a bomb for water I would rather order just a drink. Atleast Alcohol to pay for.

Also, I like spicy food and asked if they could prepare my lentils extra spicy. The staff said it's all premade and they can give me a spicy powder or the spicy sauce at the table if I needed it. I was okay with that. They bring a small bowl of the spicy powder(kit-kit I think that's what it's called). They added 3.5$ for the spicy powder onto my bill. When I asked, the guy said usually they just give it out but the manager insisted on charging for it. I was like what seriously.

I don't mind paying extra for stuff when I am informed previously that that's the extra charge for it. I ended up with an extra $10 on my bill which is like really a lot.

Honestly, I am not sure If I would be going back again.

I am not sure about the meat options since I don't do meat. But I guess those might taste better.

I would just recommend asking the staff what's chargeable and what comes with the meal prior to ordering their food so that they don't get disappointed with the final bill.

I expressed my concerns with the staff hoping he would take the charges off but I guess they...

Very good food, but I was annoyed at the insistence on the "traditional" experience to the point of forcing you to eat that way. Ethiopian food is eaten by tearing pieces of the pancake and using it to grab the food that is lain on top.

It doesn't really work in a modern American dining context, with a chest-high table with tons of glasses and bottles in the way. Plus I don't want to a gazillion pounds of carbs for every bit of meat or vegetable. Pretty sure this method of eating was invented by farmers who worked all day and presented the food on the floor and kneeled over it as they ate (i.e. they didn't need to worry about calories and they had the reach over the food)

This would have been fine except that the staff was very reluctant to give us any serving utensils. I asked for some and they gave us forks. At the end of the meal, when we were already done and we asked to take-home the leftovers, THEN they revealed they had large serving spoons the whole time and gave us a couple to scoop the food and pancake-bread.

It's be like if a Japanese restaurant insisted that you use chopsticks and refused to give you forks. Ooh, wonderful, that's your traditional way of eating, I get it. But honestly I don't want to have to struggle over my meal. It's just insanely annoying.

It's the only restaurant where you'll have to make a trip to a dollar store before-hand just to get some of those disposable serving spoons. I mean, that's worth it, since Ethiopian food is so rare in the area and it's such a rare treat, but god damned they could easily just make the whole thing easier instead of being sticklers for their particular custom.

And that's why 4 stars instead of 5. Like I said, the food is very good, I just really didn't like being bothered about how I...

This was equivalant to an Olive Garden of Ethiopian food.. and that's being gracious. I have had authentic Ethiopian food many times in my life from all over.. I have had Ethiopian roommates that would cook at home for us and we would go to the all the community festivals and great restaurants. it's one of my favorite go to foods. And I have to say this was by far the worst I have ever had. Parts of it didn't even taste anywhere close to some of the dishes. The flavors were so watered down that the impactful seasoning and spices that are suppose to come thru in these dishes failed miserably here. I ordered a basic doro tibs (which you can't mess up that dish) and it barely had any of the Ethiopian flavors. tasted like a western lemon chicken dish with tomatoes and onions with a dash of adobo seasoning and maybe a hint of berbere. even the color of the dish didn't look like doro tibs. I had no idea what that was. My favorite dish Kitfo (steak tar tar) which is mixed with seasoning and the seasoned oil is so flavorful.. well this looked like some red paste that barely had any flavor to it. the most bland kitfo i have ever eaten that we coudn't even finish eating it. I have no idea how this place gets 4.6 star. People who think this was is outstanding have never had the pleasure of really knowing what real Ethiopian food tastes like. My friend and iwere starving waited all day for this meal.. and we ended up not finishing it all. I would compare this to the Olive Garden of Ethiopian...