Addis Ethiopian Restaurant

Made a reservation but didn’t need one. We were seated promptly and service all night was great. We had injera with 3 vegetable dishes and 3 meat dishes. Flavor was on point and portions were great. We could have had another meal but leftover injera is never as good. Tried the sweet honey wine which was as described, but not my personal preference. It became spicier as I ate the entrée. Sambussa appetizer was perfectly done and quite delicious. Atmosphere was nothing too cozy, but I would return :)

Nothing too special!

It’s a nice restaurant that has a great ambience. The food is good but definitely needs a better customer service.

The food was very flavorful and delicious. Bottles of wine are decent prices. The only complaint I have is that the service is very slow and not competent. Our server Didnt know what the Ethiopian bread was called she didn’t know what draft beers meant. When she brought the food out she couldnt identify the dishes a part when we asked what was what. We had to keep flagging her down and it wasn’t even busy
4 stars for the food
.5 for service

Absolutely loved the food — great variety of fully developed, distinct flavors. Very clean and lean ingredients, and the quantity of food you get for the price is over the top.
We ordered three dishes that plentifully fed a party of six. We will be back!

I adore Addis!
Aside from a really fun location in the bottom, Addis is spacious and open inside. Staff are a million different kinds of friendly and attentive without ever being annoying. They’re knowledgable about the menu and can help guide you towards what you might like most. I’ll guide you here– anything. Literally, anything you order will be über tasty! Doro Wat, Tibs, Kitfo. My mouth is watering evening thinking about these. Ethiopian cuisine is so flavorful and complexly spiced, completely different from what we get in every day life, it’s a treat for your palate. The injera is soft and spongy and just the right amount of sour.
The bar is super. Well stocked, generously poured and reasonably priced. While eating, ownership offered a traditional Honey Wine, which was an exceptional complement to the dinner.
Top notch and a place you should try!

A lot of people commit about how Addis isn’t packed when you go in. Fair enough. BUT Ethiopian food appears to a very niche market. Richmond seems to be a chicken wing and hamburger town, although I’d love to see that change. For now, I can’t see any Ethiopian restaurant being packaged in any city, let alone Richmond.
As far as Ethopean restaurants go, the food here is the BEST of any I’ve been to. I’ve been fortunate to travel a bit to bigger cities like Chicago and have eaten at a few Ethopean restaurants, and Addis is BY FAR the best. As far Chicago, they were all empty too.
I can’t put my finger on what Addis does best. There is something about the quality, the freshness of what they use, something about it but it’s by far my favorite. I’d tried to support Nile too because I love that we have options in this city, but I find Nile very bland. Sorry Nile.
As far as the atmosphere, it is dark, and sometimes the music they blast and videos of people dancing in fields can get a bit annoying but at the end of the day, the food is absolutely outstanding. I also wish they had better beer selection and more craft beers on tap, but again, focusing on the food they got that right!
I can’t convince people to try Ethopean food but if you like Ethopean food and want to try a great Ethopean restaurant in Richmond, make sure you stop by Addis. It’s well worth it.

Gr8 food a little long on wait and food
was not as hot in temperature as I would have liked. We came early in evening around 6ish and not many customers in place but soon realized the later the crowdier. Our waiter was very nice and overall I would visit again. Also we had left overs for later

The food is four, maybe five star but the service is just awful. Our meal and appetizers were great, exceptional really but the servers really don’t seem to be in any kind of a hurry and i spent a good portion of our meal trying to get their attention. Train your servers and the rating will go up immediately… Great good though and that’s what counts…

Oh my goodness, so delicious! I’ve been to several Ethiopian restaurants, and this is by far the best one in the area. An Ethiopian friend of mine says this place is close to how his mother makes it. I’ve had many of their meat dishes, including kitfo, chicken kitfo, goden tibs, awaze tibs. Veggie-​wise and in layman’s terms I’ve had their cabbage, collard greens, and others. All very, very delicious! I also order extra mitmita (a spicy yellow powder) on the side, which is free of charge. For something different, try the honey wine. As the name suggests, it is quite sweet, but worth a try.
The employees are always very nice. Be prepared to wait, though, as the service is very slow. However, it is definitely worth it! I have ordered about 15 minutes ahead and had dinner closer to ready when I arrived. Definitely recommend this place!

I don’t eat Ethiopian food often, but I enjoy it when I do, and Addis is pretty standard. Had shrimp and green beans yesterday.
Really communal dining experience. Eat with your hands. Share your «plate.» Friendly service.

Well prepared authentic Ethiopian fare. Good for groups because you can order different things and get to try them all. Beware: authentic Ethiopian food is served on one big platter for the whole party. If this isn’t for you, don’t go here.

I went with my parents; we chose the location partly based on its proximity to the bus depot. We arrived just at opening for dinner. The waitress, Solomi, was extremely helpful and friendly. The menu was very beautifully designed, and with Solomi’s help we selected the sambusas, the ye-​beg alicha wot (lamb), and the chicken tibs.
The sambusa arrived first, still pleasantly hot, with a flaky crust and soft, delicious lentil filling. There was a side salad that added some lightness to the dish. I thought about ordering another, but then our main course arrived and it was certainly more than enough food. Served on a platter of injera (spongy bread), we had yellow lentils, green beans with carrots, and the two main dishes we ordered, the lamb and the chicken. Everything was excellent, and we had a side of a spicy paste, I’m not sure what it was called.
The food was delicious and reasonably prompt, and the service was excellent. Would definitely go back and definitely recommend.

(3.5 stars)
Ethiopian food is yummy and a haven for vegetarians and vegans. Addis is no exception; good Ethiopian platters at a standard price. Addis is close to the local farmers market, and we came here after perusing some booths there. I like their three big booths close to the window. Very few customers were here, one other group ate while we were there. The furniture inside is dark and a bit drab.
We got their vegetarian platter. 3 sides for $ 13 or 6 sides for $ 18. I shared the 6 sides with a friend and it was more than enough food. The tastes were familiar, the same vegetarian dishes I usually see at Ethiopian restaurants. It’s a good choice if you’re in the area, but nothing too special with the food.

The food — undeniably delicious — is the one thing that they have going for them. But is it worth the price tag? Debatable. I’ve had tastier food in greater amounts at cheaper prices at other Ethiopian restaurants (albeit in Atlanta).
Considering only a few tables were seated, the service was poor. Ten minutes after ordering, we were told a dish we had ordered wasn’t available. I had to flag down the waitress to ask for water often. The food took a good 30 – 40 minutes, which came out lukewarm. One disgruntled party who arrived before us received their dishes after we did.

i love going to Addis for Ethiopian food. The service is always very friendly and the food is absolutely delicious. I love that they have symbols on the menu indicating the level of spice for many of the dishes. This makes it easy to try new things based on the level you enjoy.
Everything I have tried here so far has been excellent.

I went there with my wife for lunch supported by Groupon. Not a great choice to buy a Groupon. Tried chicken kittifo which was a minced Ethiopian dish but not worth it.
I have tried many Ethiopian places right from Boston, NYC and WDC which is heart of African food but this place in Richmond is certainly not worth your time, money and passion to be a foodie.

First time here never had Ethiopian food before taste amazing to me Easter Sunday & they have a good crowd we was able to get a booth right next to the window look the open space feeling menu have good number of selection to pick from got the number 22 & 15 lamb and the meat sampler smells so good in here now this has to be one of our regular places to visit

This place is so cool. No silverware? No problem! I admit my first time dining here I was a little bit apprehensive. I’ve never (in public) grabbed food with my paws that isn’t actually finger food. Don’t go here with anyone who has questionable hygiene ;)
Everything is served on the spongy, slightly-​sour wonder that is injera. There is a lot of it. The vegetarian combo is the way to go. It allows you to sample either 3 for $ 13 or all 6 for $ 18. You’ll quickly discover those dishes you like more than others… although it’s all pretty good. All other food is served the same way but a larger portion for an entrée price. How it works is that you tear off some injera, and scoop up what you want with your hands. I got a little creative and gently tossed my injera Spiderman-​style on the food I wanted and picked it up that way. It feels child-​like and a little naughty to eat with your hands, and I wholly enjoyed it.
Service was good but not memorable.
Atmosphere is beautiful and provides fun people watching if you can snag a window booth.
Unique dining experience for a date or close friends or family… might be weird for blind dates or work acquaintances. ;)

Alright guys — I gotta be honest, this was my first time eating Ethiopian food. That being said, let me tell you, I loved it.
The food was great, but on the expensive side (nothing less than $ 14-​$ 15 on the menu). The portions were large, but not quite big enough to share. The food did take a long time to come out, but when it did — oh man, it was good.
If you come here, don’t be the weird guy that asks for a fork. Eat it the traditional way, with your hands and the awesome sponge bread. When you step into this place, you can really tell you’re in someone’s personal restaurant — like you’re eating what they make for dinner nightly. The owner came around and talked to almost every table as well. Not stopped by, talked, had a conversation with everyone. That’s the symbol that your food was made with love and care, just like in his own kitchen.
I’ve heard the food does well to go, so next time I’ll likely do that to avoid the wait.