Shewa Ethiopian Restaurant — Restaurant in Washington

The food was gone too fast to take pics!

I wish I was including photos in this because everything was absolutely incredible! I came here with an old work buddy who was passing through town and had never had Ethiopian food before. I'm no aficionado either but looking at reviews I was sure we couldn't go wrong here.

I am so glad I trusted my instinct, the food was spectacular, the service was absolutely incredible.

THE FOOD: Vegetarian Sambusa These were nice, crispy, STUFFED with delicious veggies, and served with a delicious sauce.

Shewa Special Veggie Combo OMG, order this, you will not be disappointed! Everything is so good and is a great sharing platter as well!

Shewa Lamb Tibs We both ordered this and the lamb was spectacular. The injera it was served with was awesome as well!

Tej (honey win)(bottle) I've never had tej but I"ve had mead - which I've always wanted to like but never have. Tej is what I want mead to be. It is delicious! Light, crisp, and just sweet enough. Highly recommend getting some.

Coffee I love Ethiopian coffee! I'm a bit of a coffee snob and love the flavor that high-altitude coffee beans offer. The coffee served here was exceeding standards!

Tea I don't actually know what kind of tea we had - it was offered to us to try on the house! It tasted like a nice herbal tea. I would happily order it again!

THE SERVICE: The last time I had service as good as we experienced here was at a place that cost a whole lot more and didn't taste anywhere near as good. 5-stars.

ATMOSPHERE: The inside of this place is quaint, nice, nothing crazy but very relaxed and pleasant. If you're from out of town and used to more suburban life, the area it's in might deter you a bit but truly, I can't recommend this place enough!

PRICE: We ordered a lot of food and beverages and had plenty left over. We came out about $35 per person, but that was very well spent! You could eat here for less and still leave entirely satisfied but you'd be hard pressed to have any reason to spend much more and not be walking out with bags and bags of...

I'm not usually into Ethiopian food as much as others but I saw the reviews and had to check it out. Tldr it was worth the visit.

We got the veggie sampler which is already big points in my book. Sampler platters are such a great way to try a bit of everything and I wish more restraunts did it. We came in hungry and we couldn't finish the entire dish even with everything being pretty good. Each option was unique enough that they didn't blend together too much. The bread they give you felt fresh and tangy. The parts that were under the meals got soggy but that's the nature of the dish. I found myself wanting the vegetables to be a little less cooked and pickeled but that's probably not the way they do it in etheopia so I can't complain to much. Each was cooked well with a good amount of spices and the act of eating anything with bread makes it instantly better.

They also started us out with a free starter of samosas with a slightly spicy and tangy sauce that paired well with it. Honestly it was my favorite part of the meal. The samosas we very fresh and had a great crispy bite. The lentals paired well with the sauce too.

The service was super friendly and quick as well with her checking on us whenever we needed and giving great recommendations.

The atmosphere was nothing special but also didn't take away from it either. The only other small thing was that when we asked for water, they only had bottles, which is a let down.

Overall a good Ethiopian restraunt and if you like Ethiopian it is a...

This place is incredible. I think it's my favorite restaurant experience I've had living in DC.

My husband and I have tried Ethiopian food once before, and we weren't enamored. But I really wanted to try again, and I'm so glad we found this spot.

We had the three meat Shewa combo plate that came with chicken, lamb, and beef ribs and the waiter suggested the split pea and lentil veggie sides.

First, we were served lentil sambusas on the house, and when I tell you the sauce was incredible, I need you to understand that we kept the sauce for the entire meal and kept on dipping everything in it. The waiter said he'd never seen that before, but he was glad we liked it, haha.

The server's dad was the one cooking in the back, and he had told him it was our second time and he added some roasted potatoes and carrots just to be nice. Our platter came out hot and fresh, and I loved everything on it. Each meat dish was unique, everything had the perfect amount of savory and spicy flavors. My husband didn't love the lamb, but I thought it was great--the seasoning was reminiscent of Cincinnati chili in the best way possible.

The three meat platter left us, two pretty big eaters, quite full. We will absolutely be back, and we will bring friends.

Also, they have an adorable black cat. Extra star for...