Saba Ethiopian

Reviews for Saba Ethiopian

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  53 reviews4 helpful votes

  4.5

  17 Jan 2015

  A friend of mine told me about this place earlier this year and it has always been in the back of my mind to go. I love to try foods from other cultures, (usually when I’m traveling) so when the opportunity came, I jumped at it. When my friend and I arrived at Maitama Amusement Park, we couldn’t find the restaurant among the ones there and had to ask someone who said it was inside the park past the carousels. The walk was a bit long and at first we thought we were going the wrong way even though that was really the only way to go. We finally found the restaurant on the left, in a small building that looked a bit unkempt from the outside, but had a huge sign in front that said Saba Ethiopian Restaurant.

  Upon entering inside, it looked so much better from the outside. It almost seemed like one was in a local Ethiopian restaurant (not that I would know, but according to my friend). The inside was small, but comfortable and our waiter quickly seated us. There was Ethiopian music videos playing on the TV which added to the ambiance. I had no idea what to order from the menu; they had a lot of meat options. The waiter came to explain that we could order the meats/sauces, which would come with injera (some type of Ethiopian flat bread). They also had a buffet option, but it wasn’t available till 7pm and at that time it was 5ish.

  The first thing my friend ordered for himself was coffee. He’s a coffee fiend. The waiter tried to tell him, coffee comes after the meal, but he didn’t care. I had water to drink. To eat, I finally decided on a lamb dish (N2500). Sorry I should have gotten the name, but I really wasn’t thinking…it was number 18 though). My friend ordered a beef dish (N2800) that looked like beef stir-fry. As we waited for our food, my friend’s coffee came in a tiny cup with a small basket for sugar and also some aromatic coal. The waiter also brought a bowl of popcorn for us. I really liked how authentic the place seemed. Our food finally came and I must say, mine looked very interesting. Well the lamb sauce was sizzling in a small pot and I was told to pour it over the injera. Most dishes don’t come with utensils and you use your hands to eat. The interesting part was the way the injera looked…like a towel. It tasted even worse in my opinion. It was a cold sourdough flat bread. Luckily the lamb sauce was good and I could use the sauce to take away from the taste of the bread as I dipped into it. It didn’t seem like that much food, but I was stuffed after and once the lamb was finished, I stopped eating the bread. Minus the injera, I enjoyed my meal.

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