Addis Ababa

Dinner at Addis Ababa this evening was just «different.» It was my first visit and first time eating Ethiopian food. I had high expectations after reading some rave reviews on Unilocal and elsewhere but the actual experience fell short.
The food was just okay. It was unique but not compelling. In our party, we had orders of zilzil (beef) tibs, lamb tibs, doro (chicken) tibs, and doro wat. The meat was all highly seasoned. The sides were mostly plain, unseasoned vegetables. (We had to ask for salt and pepper just to give them a little flavor.) The doro wat was medium spicy. The best part of the meal was the appetizer, which resembled a spring roll, and the dessert from JJ’s, a petit four with toasted coconut. Food rated 3 stars.
The service was really lacking and incredibly slow despite the restaurant not being all that busy. It took almost three hours to get through dinner, and we had to ask for everything… refills, condiments, napkins, the next course, the bill, it was terrible. The two young men who were serving were friendly when called upon to do something but were totally clueless about waiting tables. The couple running the restaurant were present the whole time but were caught up in their own private conversations with friends, failing to notice the inadequate service – a missed opportunity. Service rated one star.
Addis Ababa offers a $ 25 prix fixe menu as its only option. Water is served with dinner and coffee with dessert; BYOB with no corkage fee. They are open Thursdays only from 5:30 — 9:30pm and reservations are suggested.
This pop-​up restaurant is currently being hosted by J2 Fusion, at the corner of 9^th Ave & Waialae (the sign on the door says The Cacao Café). Parking is available behind the building by turning on 9^th Ave. However, they are preparing to move out with August 11 as their last service at J2. They are scouting new locations in the downtown or Chinatown area. Check their Twitter or Facebook accounts for future announcements or call 628‑8461.
Unilocal 365 Challenge #4/​365

Being a foodie + Ethipion food virgin = first Thursday I was free I made a reservation for this place.
For service, the servers were nice and attentive, but food took a very long time to come out and my food came out cold. I am not sure if this was how the doro wot was supposed to be served, but I wish it had been warm :(Luckily it is BYOB and we had brought wine… which made the time pass a little quicker.
The food itself was an experience. It was still a pre fixe menu. The appetizer was delicious, the highlight being the cilantro dip, which everyone at our table kept for the main course. Note that the 2 apps which are like egg rolls are not the same, one has chicken, the other lentils? It sort of tasted like mashed black beans which is tasty, but a sorta awkward texture to have in your mouth. I would suggest starting with the lentils roll and ending right with the chicken.
For the main course I had the doro wot (chicken stew) and also got to try the beef wot and lamb tibs from my friends. As a lamb lover, lamb tibs were the best I had that night. For the wot, it was very good, but have to be able to take some heat as it was a lot spicier than the waiter had described. It is served on a thin bread that reminded me of a crêpe. On top of the bread are a variety of veggies that reminded me of Korean banchan. To be honest, I did not know half of the stuff I was eating, but I was just mixing and matching, shoving food in my mouth with my hands, hoping it would taste alright. But some friends that were self-​proclaimed Ethipioan food experts said the injera bread could have been much better, but overall they were satisfied.
We ended with a coffee cake type of dessert and a cup of Ethiopian coffee. The cake was underwhelming, sorta bland and typical… but the coffee was a pleasant surprise. Had a very interesting flavor. similar to a Thai coffee… but not.
I’m sure they are still adjusting to J2’s space as a popup restaurant so it will continue to improve. When it comes down to it, I am glad I went for the experience, but I do not see myself becoming a regular. I am very glad that Hawaii finally has an Ehtiopian restaurant and probably randomly I will get the craving and find myself here again.

Okay… my actual experience was not a good one. However, I am giving them 3 stars instead of ONE under the condition that they were not in the restaurant that they normally hold their dinner event in. The usual place was under renovation and I happened to go with some family on a night when they were moved to a different location. The service of this restaurant they were temporarily using was freakishly bad. The two boy servers were relatively friendly but didn’t seem to know what they were doing. We waited for about 20 min for the servers to take our orders. Then we got the appetizers. Deep fried Ethiopian rolls. Both yummy with pretty good dipping sauces. Then we got our entrees. I ordered the lamb, my bf the chicken. The injera (flat spongy sour dough bread) was thinner than I’m used to but still quite tasty. My lamb was yummmy and the veggie sides were good too. After dinner the service became even worse, it was almost comical! I had to go find someone to ask about coffee and tea, again to get our check, and yet again to give them the check. They gave us a dessert from JJ’s…wow. I don’t know what the pastry chef was on when he/​she created this. It tasted like old cheese and it had some corn on top. The dessert was not made by the Ethiopian chef, to my relief. It was from the bakery of the restaurant they were using. Luckily! The owner was in the room with us and noticed how bad the service was and that we were getting frustrated. He apologized and was explaining that this is not where they usually hold their dinners, and not the usual servers… etc. He was very nice. The fact that the Ethiopian food was good and that the owner was nice saved the experience. I would love to go back when they are at their usual location.

Once a week, Chef JJ Luangkhot (JJ’s French Pastry) opens his kitchen at J2 Fusion to the pop-​up restaurant sensation Addis Ababa, a family with roots in Ethiopia to cook what they know best.
Addis Ababa in Ethiopian means new flower and is also the name of the country’s capital. With the track they’re on, Addis Ababa is well on its way to blossom into the capital restaurant for those of us hungry for something different.
Justin U. of Epicrew Foodies created an Unofficial Unilocal Event (UYE) for us yeeps and some of his peeps to indulge in a cuisine that is fairly new to the islands. For about $ 32 bucks a head, Riana S. and I RSVP’d because we knew it was the best price to get to Addis Ababa.
At $ 2800 a plane ticket, Ethiopia isn’t an easy place to get to… unless it’s on Waialae Avenue, then I think I may have found a short cut.
The pre-​fixe meal starts with a pair of sambussas, aka Ethiopian Lumpia. The darker one is filled with lentils while the lighter one has chicken and are served with two sauces: a sweet-​cinnaminy tomato purée and a creamy cilantro-​dotted dip that reminded me of Greek Tzatziki yogurt sauce.
Although the lentils were an acquired texture, I liked how it tasted with the sauces. In the end, the chicken sambussa unanimously won hands down. I wanted more though… They were such a tease!
For my main course, I chose to have the Lamb Tibs because (1) that’s what I wanted when I RSVP’d; (2) was recommended by our waiter; and (3) because I love lamb.
The menu also lists different protein options like chicken, beef or fish if lamb is a little too fresh for you. Doro wot (chicken) and beef wot – spicy stews that are staples in Ethiopia – are also on there.
As a table, we determined the different levels of spicy and realized that Ethiopian spicy slides right between Korean/​Thai and Indian. It sure has a kick as experienced by Riana. I liked that the beef wot was laced with saffron.
I kept saying how expensive saffron is. I guess my bargain bell was ringing once again. Bargain tickets to Addis Ababa and tons of saffron in the entrees? Keep them wheelin’ them deals baby.
And vegans, fear not because you too can join in the fun by eating a plate of lentils with your hands.
Using your hands and a piece of injera bread, you’re supposed to scoop or grab different parts of the plate to eat. Taking a bit of practice (unless you hail from the pacific), you can master the five spoons method of chowing down.
Assorted marinated and steamed vegetables and starches like beets, carrots, beans, potatoes, and collard greens surround the entrée in a Korean-​banchan sort of way which for me was the best part.
I love love love lamb. It was tender and being cut into tibs, it allowed me to pinch a piece and grab a some potato and collard greens while I was at it. The injera bread has a spongy crêpe-​like texture and doesn’t have much flavor on its own but rather binds everything together.
Note: I only wish I saved the appetizer sauces to dip my lamb with.
Riana and I were quite elated that Emi H. and Michael S. joined in on the Ethiopian adventure. Baby Isabel also made a dashing appearance… She is so damn cute, no other words can express it.
The meal took quite a while to wrap up but finished on a nice note with some coffee which, you guessed it, originates from Kaffa, Ethiopia.
Riana remarked that it tasted like our favorite Kona coffee served at Liliha bakery. One sip and I confirmed that it was well good.
I’m glad I didn’t order one though because I would have been up all night seeing as they roasted the beans and pressed it right infront of us. That buggah was strong.
Being at JJ’s, our meal came with a petite chocolat mousse for dessert. It wasn’t spectacular but gave the meal closure. It was rich and light enough to balance with the freshness of Addis Ababa’s offerings.
I am so ready to go again… I could eat it everyday! The next morning I felt as if I had lost weight. Looking in a mirror confirmed the contrary but nothing beats the feeling of a skinny day!
Don’t forget, BYOB!

There’s a food group here called epicrewfoodies that meet every Thursday to go eat. This event was hosted by them and was featured on Unilocal so ThomasOhhh and I decided to check it out (who the f#@k would miss out on trying Ethiopian food?!)
Be patient with me because most of the time I did not know what the french toast I was eating.
By the way, BYOB!
The appetizers reminded me a lot of lumpia haha. They gave you two rolls, one was lentils (chalky texture) and the other one was chicken with some kind of vegetable in it (this was a lot better tasting) and the sauces was apparently tomato sauce (but it tasted like apple sauce with cinnamon) and the other one was like the Greek tzatziki sauce they give with gyros. Really yummy and cripsy!
ThomasOhhh ordered lamb tibs and I didn’t want to get the same thing as him so I decided to just go all out and try their beef wot, which was hella spicy. It wasn’t so spicy to the point where I couldn’t taste the flavors and I did manage to eat it all but the whole time I was breathing in and out like I was pregnant and kept drinking water. ThomasOhhh’s food was really yummy, I should’ve ordered that!
The flavors were pungent, probably cause of the saffron. Served on injera, there’s a ton of vegetables on it, Unilocal’s Emi Hart and I decided that our favorite was the potatoes with bits of parsley on it. There’s also beets and a nice little salad.
We waited like an hour for our food and by the time the food came, I was starving.
Now with Ethiopian food, you are not given any utensils. The whole point is to eat with your hands. One of the nice people who was a part of our group ate Ethiopian food before so she showed us the ropes.
She said the best way to eat it is to pick it up with injera, which was the spongey-​pancake-​crêpe like bread they give you. Don’t touch the food, just touch it with the injera.
This itself was a challenge but nonetheless, challenge accepted.
To finish off our Ethiopian meal we were graced with JJ’s Special Cake, which was a small… very small piece of chocolate cake. I honestly don’t care for JJ’s and the cake tasted like refrigerator but it went nicely with the Ethiopian coffee they gave us.
Oh my god this coffee is amazing. Surprisingly it tastes very similar to Liliha Bakery’s coffee and I thought it was going to be a very dark roast but it was delicious. She kind of coffeepressed it where she put the beans in the kettle and put some hot water and let it boil. I tried asking the lady if she sold the beans but she said maybe in the future.
Overall it was great learning experience and now I can cross off my bucket list that I ate Ethiopian food. In the end the meal was about $ 32 (plus tip & tax) I think it was because we were in a group. I don’t think it was worth it but because there was 10+ of us, the price made sense. I wasn’t a big fan of staying in the restaurant for 4 hours but it was nice catching up and talking with Emi H.
I would definitely like to come back and see what else is on the menu. Three stars for now!

Make reservations.
I emailed and asked for the Kitfo as an entrée versus their standard offerings.
Kitfo is raw meat — this dish was similar to eating raw hamburger meat that is smooth with flavored oil and spices. I actually liked my food. The (I can only guess) Ethiopian ladies seemed lovely and always had a smile. One of them came around and let us smell the freshly roasted Ethiopian coffee.
The included dessert is tiny. The waiters were excellent. It was easy to catch their attention and they were very prompt with service.
Here’s what irked me:
I came in with my friend and immediately caught the eye of the host, who I can only guess is Jim. He was at the first table, he caught my eye and I waited to be seated. There was only one table left and I figured that’s my seat so I’ll wait as is customary. Instead of telling the table he was talking with «one moment» so he could seat me, I had to wait until the point where I decided to seat myself at which time he decided he was done and asked me if I’d like to be seated.
First and foremost, tend to your customers then go back to talking story.
Dinner was $ 60 for both.
OVERALL
A bit pricy but understandable considering I’m surprised how any restaurant can afford Hawaii’s high rent, fixed costs, operational costs, etc. I know the game and it’s very stressful.
For a new operation, I’m interested to see how they handle after the initial allure of exotic food wears off and they can be a staple. I will give this place another try.

What a great experience at Honolulu’s 1^st pop-​up restaurant. I was really stoked to try this Ethopian fare, set inside the J2 fusion restaurant on Thursday evenings from 5:30 — 9:30. I’m a huge fan of pop-​ups, and I hadn’t had Ethiopian food for many years. I wasn’t disappointed. For $ 25.00 a very filling appetizer was served, kind of like a spring roll filled with lentils and served with two delicious sauces. I ordered the fish tibs for my entrée and that came with ono veggies like collard greens, cabbage, beets, served atop traditional Ethiopian bread which you pinch off with your hands and scoop up to eat. No utensils needed here which was really fun. My buddies had the lamb, and beef wot respectively. They really enjoyed the lamb but sent the beef wot back as the texture wasn’t too hot. They were out of Ethiopian Coffee which was a bummer but we got the pleasure of sharing some wine with the owners, husband and wife Jim and Meron who are excited to share Ethiopian culture and cuisine with the Oahu community. These two are just great and the conversation lasted well past closing! I am wishing this business all good things and hope they stick around for a long time to come.

X = Me, Chad, AA, Unilocaler in love with the sound of his own voice.
O = You, nameless, faceless Unilocalie, invisible person I’m writing to.
_|_|_
_|_|_
X| |
Sometimes even the best restaurants with the best crew that have been here awhile can get caught in the rat race and dip into a slump from which they never full recover… It’s hard to keep that «edge» to a place that keeps it interesting and spicy cool.
_|_|_
_|O|_
X| |
Or ever get excited about trying a popular place with a lot of hype only to show up to hype? What did they care about some stranger who had turned up to eat out of the blue? Especially since all of them had urgent business to attend to, some playing with smart phones, some turning on their facial screen savers and having staring contests with her imaginary friends in the ceiling and one who had decided to practice fitting his thumb up his ass.
_|_|X
_|O|_
X| |
That’s why I love the Pop-​Up Restaurant concept! What’s a Pop-​Up you say?
O|_|X
_|O|_
X| |
Pop-​Ups (or AKA Supper Clubs) are temp restaurants that literally «PopUp» at a certain location for a short while, and then move on to another location gathering a following, OR like this one, pops up at one location once a week, this one on Thursdays. The lower financial commitment allows for more expression of creativity and lets younger and/​or less experienced entrepreneurs an opportunity without the need of a lot of capital for a permanent location.
O|_|X
_|O|_
X| |X
Ethiopian cuisine in eaten with your hands. That’s right boys and girls, no utensils. You break off piece of ingrea and make wraps with the different foods and combine to your liking. Although I did get a spoon, but that was to scoop the lamb that was kept warm on a hot mini stove with a single piece of charcoal in it (nice touch). All meals come with «Ingera», it’s their main starch, kind of like Indian cuisine with naan but totally different taste and texture, they are only similar in that they are used to compliment the dishes they are served with. The menu is three-​course prix fixe for $ 25 and you can choose from a number of main dishes. I got the lamb, it’s was phenomenal, (like spiritual orgasm bossanova phenomenal where 40 years from now you’ll be on your rocking chair and thinking back to that lamb, chewing on your gums and tasting it going, «MMMMHHHHHHMMMM… BITCH!») and went so well together with the ingera and mix of vegetables that came with it. Some girl sitting across from me got the Beef Wot, it’s an Ethiopian version of Beef stew that was a spicy torrent of flavor as I sat savoring the moment constellations exploded behind my eyes. Shaking my head, some of the stars went out, «Hot Damn!» and at that moment some dude came offering to refill my water, I wanted to hug the waterwaiter, he lacked that minimum-​wage-​aint-​enough-​to-​put-​up-​with-​this-​shit vibe and I liked him instantly. Thankfully for both of us, the feeling passed. Dessert was a small and simple type of green tea cake that was sweet and delicious if a little incomplete, I felt a little more could have been added to a $ 25 three course dessert.
O|_|X
_|O|_
X|O|X
The only problem is yeah, only opens on Thursday nights. Ouch! Double trap… But this place should be up there on priority bucket lists of things to do before you lose all your teeth and tell mad food coma stories from a rocking chair to grandchildren who could care less. So if you are a gym rat, and usually found in a TurboKick class on a Thursday night, don’t fret, just haul ass out of there quick, never mind wiping up your gym slug sweat trail and check this place out. And even if you’re teaching a damn class and have to wipe up gym slug sweat trails (pity the fool) and can’t eat gluten, if you email them ahead of time to let them know, even you can have Ethiopian food party in your mouth gluten-​free as the chick sitting across from me did.
O|_|X
_|O|X
X|O|X
Go to this restaurant, no really GO TO THIS RESTAURANT!!!

We went to this Ethiopian weekly restaurant this past week and it was super tasty and the only place you can get Ethiopian and the addictive injera bread on the island unless you make it yourself. definitely worth a trip! It’s BYOB and a bit slow as they’re starting out, so bring a few beers and sit back a relax before you get your Doro wat and tibs!