Walia Ethiopian Restaurant — Restaurant in South Orange

We have been to this restaurant several times in the past and was always good to have some good authentic Ethiopian food. However, last night not sure what happened but the service was ultra slow (when there were only 2 tables occupied). Took forever for them to bring in injera, or soda or anything for that matter. Didn’t even give us 5 glasses for 5 patrons dining on a table to serve water. Same with small plates. They even messed up our order and forgot the different entrees ordered on our two separate samplers. Yellow lentil was too sweet and so was shiro. We used to be regulars here but probably not anymore.

We have been to this restaurant several times in the past and have always enjoyed the authentic Ethiopian food and the overall dining experience. However, last night was a bit different.

Firstly, the service was notably slow, even though there were only two tables occupied, including ours. It took quite a while for the injera, soda, and other items to be served. Additionally, we were not provided with enough glasses for the five people at our table, nor were we given sufficient small plates.

Moreover, our order was not handled correctly. The entrees we ordered for our two separate samplers were mixed up, and some items were forgotten. The yellow lentil dish was unexpectedly sweet, as was the shiro, which was not in line with our previous experiences.

We have always been regular patrons at this restaurant, but this recent experience has left us feeling disappointed. We understand that occasional mishaps can occur, and we hope this feedback helps in improving the service and food quality for...

Edit: Changed review from 3 stars to 1 star because the next day my sister and I both were not feeling good after eating there. It wasn't full-on food poisoning, but stomachs were definitely feeling off and that was the only thing we ate in common that day because we wanted to try each other's food.

Original Review: The food isn't bad, but it isn't good, especially for the price. It's very expensive for the amount of food that you get.

The vegetarian meals are basically just sides and yet cost as much as the meat ones, which I thought was odd. And for all meals only two sides are included. Not a good value and the food is just alright.

Takes a long time as well. When I called in my order they said it would be 45 minutes, which was already an unexpectedly long time but whatever. I arrived maybe 50 minutes later and it wasn't ready for me.

Injera is included with every order, I called before I placed my order to see if they had rice as an option as well. They said that they could substitute the injera for rice. Perfect. When I got there, they charged me FOUR DOLLARS for PLAIN WHITE RICE. Come on now. They shouldn't be charging for rice anyway but you should at least tell people that it costs more when they specifically ask about it.

I wouldn't be mad if the food had been reasonably priced, but I ended up paying $30 for one small mediocre meal,...

Wednesday night my friend and I went to have dinner and upon seating down we were given menus which was the end of the courtesy. We had to flag down the waiter who looked like he couldn’t be bothered and said “ok I’m coming”. After the food eventually arrived we noticed how he catered specifically to the white guests which was painfully obvious! He failed to check on us didn’t provide extra napkins or water and when I flagged him down again I told him I didn’t like my tofu in which he said “too bad I’m sorry” surprised I then asked for the owner in hopes I could replace the dish with mushrooms he huffed and walked away. Shocked I said to my friend what’s his problem??? Long story short the owner did accommodate me. Shortly after I asked for the check and wrote on the receipt “have better customer service” under tip and left him NOTHING! He looked at the check right away and was like “really? DON’T COME BACK YOU HEAR ME DON’T COME BACK! Embarrassed we continued walking. The following day I called and told the owner what happened and he didn’t seem bothered or the slightest upset that this happened he just told me “I’ll talk to him on his next shift “ smh 🤦🏽‍♀️ I’ll never return to this place especially when a waiter with poor customer service expects a tip in spite of NOT...