Lucy Ethiopian Restaurant & Lounge

This location is closed and per all the eviction notices and notices from the Sheriff’s office I don’t think they are opening anytime soon.

Desire for Ethiopian struck this evening and we ventured out to Lucy’s only to be met by an eviction notice enforced by authorities. It’s gone!

Given that this was my first experience with Ethiopian food, I was a little nervous. What do you mean no forks? Scary, right? It turns out eating with the injera bread is a snap. And it’s fun. Our server was super nice and patient with us uncultured bumpkins. The chef even came out to ask how we liked everything. We ordered the veggie combo and a full order of the Yetimatim Firfir, a spicy tomato-​y dish that has the bread sautéed in it. Delicious. The variety of things you get to try in the combo is fun, but the cabbage, greens, and potatoes were probably the best. Extremely filling too. One combo is enough for two people, especially because it is served with a generous amount of the spongy, utensil-​replacing bread.
I will be back.

I had the green chicken and my friend ordered the veggie combo… SO SO good! This place has the most delicious, healthy and organic Ethiopian food! You must check this place out.

I’ve been here a few more times and they are beginning to be one of my favorite restaurants in the north end. No more driving to downtown when I’m craving Ethiopian!
They cater to big groups and there food is tasteful and flavorful. The beef dish was smoked like and was unique in flavor but my favorite is the vegetable combo.

Good taste most of the time, sometimes not as good as other days. I like their lunch special, where you can pick a few things for a great price. They do have a meat and veggie combo when it’s not lunch time, you just have to insist. Okay service and good for kids as dine-​in.

I get INTENSE cravings for Ethiopian probably once a month, and this is the boyfriend and my go-​to spot!
We typically share the meat sampler but have also gotten the veggie combo in the past (though we prefer the meat combo because, you know, we’re quite the carnivores) and both are yummy and generously sized. The injera is warm and the dough is soft and spongy and whenever you are running low, they bring you more (and more and more).This place is very wallet friendly too, we’ve been coming here since 2010 — back when we were broke college students (meat sampler is about $ 13, split among 2 ppl and you still have a lot of leftovers). The booths are comfy and can fit up to 6; the interior is clean; the ambience is relaxing and they always have the lights dimmed. The staff is very courteous and cordial; by the 3^rd visit, they remembered our faces and our orders. I don’t have a problem with the service as some of the other reviewers, because honestly, I hate when servers hover. The staff is always on the floor near the bar, you just have to look in their general direction and they will come immediately and bring you what you want.

I have tried numerous Ethiopian restaurants. Lucy definitely has hearty food and good portions for the price. Very friendly staff that treat customers like guest in their home. Overall, an authentic experience.

A GREAT place!
We were always on the lookout for a better place to eat near the movie theaters and this is it.
First impressions? The place is sparsely decorated and looks a little odd – like it’s ready to be broken down and made into a dance floor at a moments notice. I think the layout makes that late-​night intention pretty clear.
The staff? Friendly and attentive. The food? GOOD! Served family-​style and ready to be eaten by hand, they offer both meat and vegetarian plate options, which usually means we get one of each. One plate will pretty easily feed two; we tried getting two plates for three people and couldn’t finish.
And the best part was that it was not that expensive! If you’re looking for something different before a movie or just some fun, inexpensive eats, look no further!

Wow… just wow. I haven’t left a review in years, but I felt the need to leave one after my bad experience today.
I was excited to go to Lucy for the first time, based on the reviews on Unilocal/​the recommendation from a friend.
I wish I’d decided on nearby phở instead.
Our waitress seemed much more keen on chatting it up with her friends in the booth next to us than paying attention to my boyfriend and I. We were largely ignored for our entire visit, but I didn’t really care. I just wanted to have some good Ethiopian food. I was having a craving.
We ordered the meat combo. It was cold, bland, and completely unappetizing. I also was just violently sick in my bathroom. You couldn’t pay me to go back.

The only bad thing about this place is the lack of ventilation. We came while they were doing the traditional coffee brewing and the smoke and incense overwhelmed the place and gave me a huge headache.
The food, however, is good. We had the veggie combo and the meat combo, served with plenty of spongy injera. Everything was very savory and saucy. I liked the spicy chucks of beef the best.

So it’s definitely a little dark and mysterious when you walk in but everything’s pretty clean. In fact, I really liked their booth seating (slightly raised from the floor and can easily fit 6 people).
We got the meat combo and the first lamb entrée (#15 I think). The lamb came in its own dish and she poured half of it on our injera when she brought out the big platter. It was really kinda greasy but all the grease and juice got mostly soaked by the injera so it was okay. The lamb was pretty tender and tasted great. There were a couple meat items that I really liked from the combo (the spicier ones) but I don’t know what they were… Sorry, not helpful! I didn’t like the sweeter flavored meats and thought the collard greens could have been more flavorful. I guess I just missed my veggie stuff. beans and lentils and cabbage and spinach.
Aside from the slow service towards the end – getting our check took forever – it was a pretty good experience. Just be prepared to wait… The ladies were socializing at the bar, talking to each other, talking on the phone, and eating their dinner while we were dining. Friendly enough but not attentive enough.

So many different reviews. I had good hopes for this place. I saw some 5 stars, 4 stars, and 3 stars review. It made me think that some people can be a little harsh. But after coming here, I know that they weren’t being harsh.
The reason I say that is, because they are highly understaff on a Friday night. There is only on waitress and one bartender. The food took a long time to come out, which made me think that there was only one cook too. The food came out in different intervals, which is ok with me. Because making good food can take time and love. But our third dish came out when we were getting ready to leave. We were already full when it came out. But I do have to say that the third dish was the best dish even though it came out so late.
The food was delicious. If they were better staffe this place would be worthy of a 4 or even a 5. Because the little staffing that they did have were very friendly. And the food was good. Not the best Ehtiopian food I’ve had, but still worthy of having it again. I wish they were better staff, so I can come back and have a decent time. All the waiting for food when I am hungry can make me grouchy.

The two of us ordered a meat combo and a veggie combo, which is probably enough food for four people (but I like having Ethiopian leftovers!). Both drinks and food came out really quickly. I was pleasantly surprised because oftentimes Ethiopian food takes awhile. Service and atmosphere at Lucy rate high in my books. The booths are really comfy!
The food was solid, but I didn’t encounter anything that was absolutely amazing. Half of the meat dishes were good, but two were kind of bland. The green beans were great, lentils were pretty good, didn’t love the collards. Everything was pretty mild on the spice level. The samplers were a great way of trying lots of things, and there’s plenty to like on the platter.
I’ll definitely be back if I’m in the area.

This place was pretty tasty.
It’s only my second time trying Ethiopian food, so I can’t say I have much to judge it by, but it was definitely better than the first place I went to.
We had the meat combo, veggie combo, and a lamb dish. The lamb (first lamb dish listed) was extremely tasty, chunks of meat mixed with onion and green peppers.
I also enjoyed the veggies in the combo which had greens, lentils, beans, and mixed veg. The meat combo was also good, but I wasn’t a big fan of the ground meat ones which were a bit too oily for my tastes.
I was most wary about the spongy bread provided, my last experience wasn’t so great. However, the bread here was tasty, a good consistency and muted in it’s sourness.
Service wise, it was a bit slow. We used a $ 25
coupon and the total after the coupon was about $ 22 which included the tip that they add to the original bill. However, when we used a credit card to pay the remaining balance, the charge on the credit card had an added charge for a bit over $ 1. Not sure what it was for (credit card charge), but we didn’t care to spend time refuting it.

I have to agree with the more recent reviews. I’ve been back a few times and the food and service has been really hit or miss. I did notice the portions getting smaller and my favorite dish, the green chicken, didn’t taste as good as I remember.
But, the real downer is the service can be really great one day and lousy the next time. On one of my bad days, I had gone there with a few friends and it seems the further away you are from the kitchen, the slower it is to a) get your food and b) get any replenishing of water. I didn’t get it because with the exception of the folks around the bar, we were the ONLY group sitting at a table that day for lunch. Also, when we had asked for plates (since we were sharing), it was like we had asked for a huge favor.
I should really downgrade to 3 stars, but will give them the benefit of the doubt for now. I will update my review accordingly since I go there quite frequently.

We went back for dinner and noted the same changes as Marissa S. Definitely smaller portions. The injera in the entrée was cold and stiff where there was no food piled on top, while the injera on the side was slightly better (but still mostly cold). What’s up with that?
I don’t recall any price changes though.
We’ll be moving on from this place. Bummer because they are close!

Lucy is in the Oaktree Cinema complex, on the opposite side of the IHOP. Ethiopian is one of my favorites to go out for. There’s now a really good restaurant that people in the north end of Seattle don’t have to drive to the CD for. My mom and I got the meat/​veggie combo, with a beef sambusa to start. Some may not like that the service is a little slower, but this is something I have experienced at all Ethiopian restaurants I’ve been to– the emphasis is on talking with your dining partner (s), from what I’ve noticed. I’m not sure if the injera here is 100% teff, but my mom, who reacts to gluten, didn’t notice any after effects. Lucy, as well as Habesha close to REI, has much more of an upscale feel.
The food was awesome, and varied: two types of lamb, ground and stewed beef, lentils, split peas, and a stewed carrot/​sweat potato dish I had never had– there was a little spice to cut through what could have been otherwise a very sweet dish. We were also given a caraffe of water– I hate having to flag down someone for water, so this was a bonus for me.
Sambusa, coffee, and the two combination were just under 30 dollars. Between the two of us, we ate what three or four normal people would have tucked away (don’t judge… we were hungry!), and there were still leftovers.

I missed the UYE on 1÷23÷2011. But, I’ve been craving for Ethiopian food since they posted the event. In addition, I really wanted to try this place since it was a few blocks away from where I live. Therefore, I went there with my sister.
It looks like that Monday is a slow night. We walked in with only one table full of crews. The interior of the restaurant is very modern and the seating is very comfortable.
We didn’t know what to order. I was happy with the meat and veggie combo. The meat combo has I believe both beef and lamb. We pretty much ate everything in the meat combo. It was very yummy! We didn’t finish the veggie combo. However, we really like the cabbage in the combo.
Eating with fingers is always fun! I washed my hand a few time, but I can still smell the spices on my hands :-)
Comparing with the one place I’ve always gone to, Lucy has more selections of food on the menu.

Raw, raw, raw.
Yes, back for the kitfo as promised. Not cooked. Raw. I’ve repeated it about as many times as I had to in order to reassure the waitress that yes, I wanted it raw. As in uncooked. I suspect that not many non-​Ethiopian patrons go for this option, based on her persistent clarification…
Rrrawrrr! A lovely chile-​red, warmly spiced mound of meaty goodness. The kitfo arrives heaped in a serving dish, accompanied by a smaller dish of Ethiopian cheese (think very mild, with a chevre-​like consistency) mixed with herbs. What beautiful alternating mouthfuls: injera and cheese, injera and kitfo, with spices and smoothness and sweetness and sponginess all melding into a truly simple yet irresistible food experience.
Since this was my kitfo-​cherry-​poppin’ dinner, I haven’t much to compare it to. So I’ll be excited to try it again… since we all know the first time is never the best.