Awash Ethiopian Restaurant

While neighborhood hunting this afternoon we stumbled upon Awash.
Ethiopian food was recommended to me by a friend of mine who raved about the cuisine.
The restaurant itself it very comfortable and at around 3 PM was fairly busy but I suppose not so much for a Saturday afternoon.
I had the Awash Chicken which included beets and red lentils. Having never eaten this type of food before I was very excited and pleasantly surprised. The chicken was amazing, I think even my husband (who got beef was jealous of it).
My husband has the Special (Beef) Tibs which was also delicious and came with a side of sauce and collard greens, which I wished came in place of my beets since I’m not a huge fan of these.
The menu itself does not indicate what sides come with what dish, all that you know that you are getting is the entrée and injera.
The injera itself it very good, springy and best when served warm.
The only complaint is that the injera that my chicken dish was served on soaked up a lot of oil, which sort of rendered it inedible to me.
Definitely excites me to continue to expand my experiences with Ethiopian food.

Food was very good and fresh as I expected from visiting the other awash locations. What sets this restaurant apart is the nice bar and modern open décor I really liked it.

We’ve been at this location of Awash a number of times in the past but not since the remodeling. The décor is beautiful and the paintings on the wall only add to its beauty. It does seem to be under new management. They now bring you packaged wipes to clean your hands when you are seated, which is very nice!
And while the food was tasty, it was cold. The injera was also different. It was cold, hard, and did not have that sour taste (probably because it was cold). Also, our food was served on a smaller piece of injera than in the past, with a small portion served on a small plate. Still the ambiance was very nice and the service was excellent.

The only thing that used to keep me from going in here was the fluorescent lighting, but the recent remodel has brought a sense of cozy calm.
The food is uniformly excellent in my experience and extremely fairly priced. As I remember, the combo with lamb and chicken for one was $ 16 or $ 17 — really reasonable for the quality and amount, which could easily feed two. Will definitely be going back more often. Love the new direction this place has taken.

Loved the food and the ambiance. And the service was great too. I now have a go-​to Ethiopian spot in Brooklyn and in the city.

After craving Ethiopian food for a few months, I am in a position a lot of 1^st generation Habesha (Ethiopian/​Eritrean) people find themselves in. Our parents make the authentic thing at home but we were not taught how to make it for ourselves, so there you have it. I have been in NY for half a year and away from the home cooked meals (insert sad face with tears here… and a tiny violin).
So I ventured on Unilocal to find a place with good food, good portions and good service, especially from trustworthy Unilocalers (a lot of reviews, friends and pictures). This is where my dear search left me. Auto correct insisted I call it a «dear search» go figure.
The place looks just like it does on the photos, very beautiful. Great location because it is right across the street from Cobble Cinemas and looks like a lot of nice places to explore in this area.
My waiter was the best! He was Indian… his name sounded something like Query or Keeri (sorry for botching it up). I came with my daughter who just turned 5 and LOoooOoves attention. He was excellent in keeping her happy that I had to grab her from following him to the other tables lol.
I was very impressed with how quickly he took my order and how quickly the food came out. I ordered the veggie combo so I was able to try five veggies!
The food tasted great! Veggies were properly seasoned with the right textured injera to complement each flavor. I ate until I was stuffed and was looking forward to eating the rest for lunch the next day. I asked for the bill and a to go box but he didn’t hear me ask for the box and it was already tossed. I was super sad so he offered to recreate what I had and I felt super relieved and happy. The epitome of excellent customer service. The busboy was awesome, joking with the little one about her obsession with the wet napkins and cleaning the chairs with them for her entertainment lol. Every interaction with everyone was positive.
To sum it up, I highly recommend you give it a try. And yes, you can trust my review ( Unilocal Elite stamp).

Just had dinner at Awash. Such a pleasurable experience. My wife and I were headed somewhere else, but stopped in here. Laid back, friendly, delicious, affordable. Will be back.

Definitely one of my favorite restaurants! My husband and I have been coming to this restaurant for several years now and we both love it. The flavors are amazing, I can’t get enough of this place! We usually order the combo for two which is more than enough. We get the red lentils, beets, collard greens, Awash chicken and Yebeg Alicha (lamb), all of which are delicious! I highly recommend this restaurant to all my friends living in BK.

This place is a GEM! Absolutely love it. They recently renovated so it has a hip modern feel. I’m a huge fan of the art work — most are for sale, and all are imported from Ethiopia. Food is delicious as always, love their avocado salad! The service was warm and inviting, and the huge bar is very welcoming :) you should def check out their new signature cocktails, soooo unique. Will for sure come back here.

Great food? Check.
Friendly service? Check.
Happy to have this in my neighborhood? Check.
I’ll be back a bunch.

After a recent remodeling of the restaurant (same owner/​management) I decided to see how it was going. I have to say I like the new look! Awash has finally made the old Quercy space their own. A modern, upbeat Brooklyn twist on the traditional Ethiopian restaurant décor. Very nice! Hosting live music and dance is a great touch. The food is fantastic as always. Fresh fresh fresh! I recommend Awash for those looking for something new and exciting for a night out.

Awash recently renovated their space and are now under new management. That can be the death knell for a restaurant, but I’m thrilled to say they’re just as tasty and authentic as ever. The former owner’s son is now running the place and serving up delicious vegetables, grains and meat dishes on generous platters.
Have dined here a dozen times or more and will continue to do so. Highly recommended!

What a gem in Brooklyn! The place has been renovated and seems to be under new management. I think they did a superb job in creating a cozy restaurant ambience; one can dine while appreciating the beautiful paintings, My wife loved the bar… We have tried both vege and meat platter and it was authentic. To top it off, service was impeccable and i only hope they will keep up to their standard
We look fwd to coming back on our next trip to NYC

Brought my kids here for dinner, I have had Ethiopian before and they have been wanting to try it. We had a platter of 2 different meats and three vegetables. The service was amazing and the meat perfectly cooked and plentiful. The vegetables were spiced perfectly. We were so full but couldn’t stop eating.
On top of it being so yummy, this is a really affordable place to eat. I see a lot of visits here in the future!

1 star overall
3 stars for the food
0 stars for the service
This review is based on multiple visits. Such a same that there service is terrible because the food is actually pretty good. Not the best Ethiopian food but, this is cobble him, so I will take it. More on the food later.
The service is bad in so many ways, and I keep suffering their terrible service because I love Ethiopian. I’ve been to Awash about 10 times and nearly every time there has been poor service.
On one visit, after waiting for 75 minutes for our food to come out, we sent a dish back for being spoiled. The fish used was clearly old. They said they would remake it but we absolutely did not want more of the same bad fish and we were all ready to just eat and leave. The bill came and they charged us for the dish. Honest mistake? No. I asked the waitress to remove the charge and she just stared at us. Completely unapologetic. She said we ordered it and it was not her fault that we sent it back. After a lot of back and forth we ended up paying for the dish but left no tip to account for it.
On a another trip we brought a groupon. We presented the groupon before ordering and the waitress accepted it. But … she clearly huffed at as for using a groupon. We ordered and the food came. The portions were all halved from the normal amount. This being my 4^th or 5^th trip, it was obvious that they just gave less food.
The most recent trip, we went at noon on a Sunday and ordered about $ 70 worth of food for 3 people plus one child. First, the waitress asked why we did not order food for the child and we told her that she would just share with us. (I’m sorry but a 5 year old does not need a $ 20 lunch). She scowled at us and then asked if we wanted wine or beer. «No thank you», we replied and then she said that we could not have our bottle of green tea in the restaurant. I asked her if they had iced green tea and she said no but they have wine and beer. I told her that I absolutely was going to drink my tea. We’re spending a lot of money here for lunch and I am rather in the mood for green tea. She persisted that we cannot have the green tea in the restaurant. We got up and left. We will NEVER go back and I will now be telling as many people as I can that they should not go.
I wish this place would learn that people come for the food but return for the service. I know I said that I would get back to the food but why bother.

I wanted my family (there were four of us at dinner) to try a different cuisine so, I decided to take them to Awash. It was their first time eating Ethiopian food, but not mine. I live in the DC area where there are an abundance of Ethiopian restaurants. I found a groupon deal where you pay $ 30 for $ 50 worth of food (this is for the Brooklyn location). I’ll discuss the food first, and then I’ll discuss the service:
Food – before I start, I’ll state that I’m not an Ethiopian food connoisseur, aficionado or expert – I had it just enough times to make a decent comparison. We got the meat sambusas and the yater kik fitfit for appetizers along with a round of St. George beer. The sambusas were delicious as was the yater kik fitfit. My mom and cousin order honey wine – my cousin loved it. Next, we ordered our entrée which was the vegetarian combo platter because my step-​father is pescatarian and I didn’t want to cross-​contaminate the platter with meat. The veggie platter was disappointing. The key sir alicha (red beets) was salty, which made me sad because I love beets (my mom thought it was salty too). I was not feeling the gomen (collard greens)…I can’t really put my finger on it, all I know is that it wasn’t good. The yatakilt alicha (cabbage) and yemissir kik wat were okay, just okay – nothing memorable. The best thing on the platter was the shiro (chickpeas). I didn’t like the injera – it was thicker than I care for, and after a while, I noticed that I had this grittiness on my fingers (I later talked to an Habesha friend of mine and he told me that they probably didn’t let the injera air out long enough).
Now, let’s discuss the service. The waitress greeted us and seemed pleasant. The waitress offered us forks – my step-​father and I declined but my mom and cousin took them. Every so often, she would ask us how we were doing. She asked us if we wanted more beer, which we did. Here is where things go wrong: we asked for the check and I told her that I have a groupon. She said «you have to present it at the beginning» and I replied «well, I’m showing it now.» She repeated herself like five times as if I didn’t hear her the first time. I told her that I don’t live here so I need to redeem it now. At this point my mom just wants to leave and is like forget the groupon – my cousin and I refused to back down and the waitress said that she’ll call her boss but that she can’t promise anything (that old chestnut). She called her boss and then told us that she will accept it. I tried to give her the printed copy (the app on my phone isn’t working) but she insisted that I use my phone. I had to find the email, log in via the mobile website and pull it up from there (as she was hovering over me). I couldn’t understand why she was griping over the fact that I didn’t give it to her at the beginning. I know, I know, the voucher says to pull up groupon, present groupon and enjoy but all vouchers say the same damn thing. Furthermore, I’ve been several places where I presented the groupon at the end and it wasn’t a problem. Also, I read the fine print – I made sure we went on Thursday (it was only valid Sunday thru Thursday), we spent way more than $ 50 worth of food (try $ 161 before groupon discount) and it was before the expiration date. She made a big deal for essentially $ 20. She never gave a reason as to why the groupon had to be presented at the beginning – I can only deduce that the service would not have been the same. In fact, everyone I told pretty much said the same thing. I actually thought that my mom would never try Ethiopian food again but she said she would – just not Awash.

Great choice in Brooklyn for Ethiopian cuisine. I’ve lived near DC, so I was spoiled by the great Ethiopian spots in the capital. This one is very good. Simple and tasty. The injera bread is done well and the sambusa filled with beef was on point. Crust was flaky and the filling spicy but not overwhelming. I enjoyed the beef tibs and the Awash chicken, and all the sides that accompanied them. I LOVE the beer that they serve from their home country. Its called Meta and it goes down so smooth.

Pretty good Ethiopian food in the Cobble Hill neighborhood — yay! We came in on a Saturday evening, and it was pretty packed. Seems to be a popular spot here.
Injera was pretty un-​americanized, aka was super tangy/​sour (as it should be) and not made of wheat. I like that, but others might not — my boyfriend had trouble with the sourness of it, but it’s authentic!

We really wanted to love this place. I mean, Michelin rated? C’mon, even our AP Human Geography teacher from high school taught us how valuable that award /​recommendation is. But we were severely disappointed and we left full.
Firstly, we didn’t know we were supposed to eat with our hands. No, we’re not ignorant (Filipinos and Indians eat with their hands all the time), but I’d never seen a restaurant in NYC actually instill it. Also, the texture of the food is different from what we’re used to (like rice). When I asked for utensils, she assumed Tristan was African HAHA. I couldn’t stop laughing because he’s actually Jamaican and Indian.
Anywho, we got a meat platter for two. For two, buddy, and we still were not full. The vegetable mixes lacked veggies and had 2 spectrums– either tasteless or spicy flavoring. IT did resemble baby food, and the meat was disappointing and sparse. I thought it was tolerable and stayed positive, but Tristan wanted out ASAP.
Needless to say, the customer base was lacking that evening and so was its food.

First time here, definitely will return. As other reviews state, you will leave full.
Staff was friendly, helpful, and the food came out pretty quickly.
Everything was tasty. Shared the combo for two and we didn’t even finish it due to being too full. Considering it was under $ 30 for two people, you really can’t go wrong.
If you try it and aren’t sure what things are, they’ll be more than willing to explain /​recommend options.