The Ethiopian Restaurant
1582 York Avenue between 83rd and 84th Streets (Upper East Side)
NY, NY 10028
(212) 717 7311
4/5/6 trains to 86th Street, Bus M15 to 86th Street

Would you like to hear a sentence that sounds more like a contradiction? The Ethiopian Restaurant serves good ethnic food on the Upper East Side.

Finding good food on the Upper East Side has been a challenge. Food is more likely to be described as overpriced, just okay, or reliable (when an expletive is not used, that is). Finding good ethnic food has been a challenge squared. So, when I found The Ethiopian Restaurant, an unpretentious gem in Yorkville, imagine my glee.

A group of friends and I went on a recent Friday night. We made a reservation ahead of time which was unnecessary. At around 8:00pm, the restaurant was about half full – young couples occupied most of the tables. The dining room upon entering is about 8 tables and there is an additional room in the back which wasn’t being used that night. The service is laid back but not in a bad way – just don’t expect a waitress doting on you because it will not happen. The décor is minimalist.

We ordered Tibs Wot (strips of beef cooked in a brown sauce in traditional spices), Yebeg Alecha (chunky lamb stew seasoned with garlic, turmeric, and ginger), and the Ethiopian vegetarian combo. The combo consisted of Shiro (chick peas in a spicy sauce), Misr Wot (lentils stewed in red pepper sauce), Yater Kik Alecha (split peas mildly flavored with garlic, ginger, and turmeric), Yabesh Gomen (collard greens cooked with green pepper and garlic), and Fossolia (string beans and carrots cooked with onion and garlic). All was presented atop injera bread (unleavened sourdough bread that is communally shared with the table).

Both meat dishes were great. If you like a seasoned, stewed meat, you will love the lamb and beef. The lentils were awesome – spicy and delicious. Although the Shiro is sold as Ethiopian hummus gone spicy, it really takes nothing like hummus. It is much more ground up and much spicier. The restaurant’s version was very good. The string beans were good but not nearly as good as the string beans at Meskerem (I’ve been to both Bleecker Street and W. 47th Street Meskerems and the food is quite good). Injera is always delicious although this time it was flimsier than I am used to. But, if you love Injera like I do (and crave it like I do), you will settle for the semi-translucent type that the restaurant was serving.

We ordered a bottle of Shiraz off the minimal wine list. It was $30 and a decent bottle.

As a huge fan of Meskerem, I will say that the food at The Ethiopian Restaurant is not as delicious, but a very deserving option on a night where you are on the Upper East Side and just don’t feel like trekking to one of Meskerem’s three Manhattan locations (the third one is on W. 67th and Amsterdam) or on a night you just want to try someone else’s take on Ethiopian.

I am very excited I found this place. You can bet I’ll be back there soon. Like I said, I have cravings for injera...