Horn of Africa Restaurant

I have been coming here for years, and the food was great. But recently (last year or two) the quality and the quantity of the food have been decreasing. Today I called and ordered chicken soukar with saltato (spaghetti), beef soukar with rice, and two sombusa (meat filled triangular pastry).

When I arrived to the store, they had a table blocking people from entering the store. It had a sign up asking customers to call and order for covid precaution, which I already did. There were several customers inside the store waiting for their order to get ready. One of the guys asked me if I already ordered. As I already did, he directed me to the front to pick up my order and pay. The guy confirmed my order and brought it out. Assuming my order was correct, I gave my credit card to pay. He just swiped and handed my card back, without telling me how much it was. I asked him for green sauce, and he went to the back to get some. I used this time to check my order in the bag, and told him he didn’t add the sombusa. He went back and brought out the sombusa. Then he told me he didn’t charge me for it, so I gave him my credit card again.

At that point, the elderly lady came out and said something inaudibly about it’s a minimum of $5 and that they charge tax. I left the store and my app prompted me on how much they charged. There were two separate transactions of $28.02 and $5.39! Two entrees and two sombusas for that much, that doesn’t make sense. I recall looking over the menu in the store, and the chicken entree was about $11, $12 for the beef, and the max item on the menu was the lamb at $13. Even the sombusa was expensive at $2 each. But it seems like they charged me $13 for both entrees plus tax. Also the separate transaction of the sombusas, that they forgot to initially include was somehow $5.39.

I’m not complaining about the increased prices, as everything goes up due to inflation. But you have to understand that this is a hole in the wall place, that had entrees for $10 flat, and the sombusa was $1. The place wasn’t remodeled, and the quality and quantity of the food decreased. They don’t even have an updated menu. It’s the same menu I’ve seen for years now. Just the old price crossed out with a permanent marker, and a new increased price on top. It’s misleading because you can see the old price and not know what’s the current price. Their meat isn’t that great, the only thing that masks the flavor is their green sauce. They decreased their portion, by barely adding meat, and filling the tray with salad (which is basically lettuce, two slices of cucumber, and a dried up piece of lime).

Nevertheless, they’re not what they used to be. This used to be the place to go for the best bang for your buck. But with their new unscrupulous business practices, I won’t be returning here.