Beteseb Restaurant — Restaurant in Silver Spring

This one ⭐ review is solely for the service.

We had a dinner with my wife and kids. We just recently moved from California and wanted to taste what Maryland has to offer and choose Beteseb based on locals recommendation. Food was great but had the worst service ever in Ethiopian restaurant all over US states I visited.. We were welcomed with a smiley girl with a mask light skin and another dark skin tall girl came to take order with visible ego on her face and asked us if we were ready to order . First here in the food and beverage industry, server first need to ask or offer for drinks before asking for a meal. Still that ego was flying at higher altitude on her face but I tried to make our first night out in Maryland smooth and I didn't want to create a scene while other dinners enjoying their time. Drink took more than 15 minutes and no water is being offered.

We had finished the food but this girl never checked on us but the girl who first hosted us did. Me and my wife agreed not to tip but I realized they may pool the tip that I changed my mind for the sake of the other short light skin girl and tipped 20% which led me and my wife for an argument. I guess the server may have forgotten or doesn't have clue that customer pays her salary. Additional I saw a group of individuals behind the dining room, I guess manager or owner but no one was able to come and check on guests for recovery or courtesy except one guy probably floor manager checking on a group who seems to know each other.

This girl who served us needs to leave her ego in her trash basket. She may have masters or PhD or she may have been Neuro surgeon or an architect in Ethiopia but here this doesn't work. This ego won't take her a step. It felt like when you took something from your teen that she was mad 😡 on us.

As a manager or owner, you may need to find a spot for her at back of the house for helping the cooks that she is definitely not ready for front of the house to interact with diners.

I am afraid to comeback again or bring my Californian friends and families who will be visiting us...

The restaurant is clean, spacious and welcoming. The background music is so calming and relaxing. To the right of the entrance, we saw a low table with low chairs meant for drinking coffee.

We wanted to try a different cuisine today and decided to go for Ethiopian. We ordered the Kitfo (Ethiopian beef tartar) and firfir combo, vegetable combo and an Ethiopian coffee. It was very delicious, but way too much food for 2 adults and 1 kid.

We’ve had Ethiopian food at two other places before that had very good reviews, but this place is the best so far. The injera was perfectly flavored. It was too sour for my taste at the previous Ethiopian restaurants I’ve eaten at. I would highly recommend coming here.

The firfir was quite spicy for my husband, who is less tolerant of heat. I thought it was nicely spiced. The kitfo comes with the option to be prepared raw, medium or fully cooked. We chose raw, just to try something new. We were surprised that it didn’t taste raw at all. The veggie combo had cabbage, salad, lentils, collard greens, a bean paste, and a couple more beans (I couldn’t tell what it was) my daughter liked the cabbage and collard greens. I liked the cabbage. It had a curry flavor.

By the way, we noticed that people used their hands to rip a small piece of the injera to grab onto the veggies and sides. It is like making mini bite sized wraps with variety of fillings. I personally used my coffee spoon to scoop the fillings onto the injera instead. 😂

It was so cool how the staff roasted the coffee beans on a pan, and I could see the smoke sizzling from the pan. The coffee had a unique taste and I’m guessing it was cardamon.

I was able to pack the leftover food in a large to-go box they provided me, which I plan to eat for my lunch tomorrow. :)

Parking: We parked at the public parking garage that free on weekends. It was just several blocks from...

TLDR: Solid Ethiopian restaurant with an extensive menu. Come for the crispy tibs and special kitfo.

Vibe: 4/5. Located near downtown Silver Spring, Beteseb is a quaint Ethiopian restaurant serving up some serious eats. They are located in a heavily populated Ethiopian neighborhood, which is evident by all the neighboring Ethiopian restaurants and marketplaces nearby. Taking up a somewhat large corner location, Beteseb is easily found and has ample metered street parking nearby. Inside, the restaurant has numerous tables that can easily be pushed together to accommodate larger parties. During our visit, we made a reservation for 8 for dinner on a Wednesday, however it was not necessary. Interior decor is simple, yet clean and uncluttered which works perfectly fine.

Service: 5/5. The staff at Beteseb was great in accommodating our large group from start to finish. We ordered over a half dozen dishes for the table as well as several rounds of beer and the staff did a great job at getting everything out in record time. When it was time to settle the check, they were punctual at closing us out as well.

Food: 5/5. Every dish was well executed. We ordered a wide range of dishes, including special kitfo, crispy beef ribs, lamb tibs, beef pasta, firfir, beef wot, lentils, collard greens and salad. Best in show goes to the crispy tibs which was a creative take on the traditional beef tibs. The meat was seared extra hard to a crunchy texture yet not dry when you bite in. The special kitfo was also memorable, as it included greens and cheese along with the fiery seasoned raw beef tartar. Beteseb manages to separate itself from the sea of Ethiopian restaurants nearby with unconventional takes on Ethiopian classics as seen above. If you are in the mood for Ethiopian, I...