Elsabet Cafe

I have had great Ethiopian food, but NOT HERE! The injera wasn’t very good at all. The beef watt dish I had was okay.
I saw a sign that said, «All Ethiopian dishes $ 10,» but of course the Ethiopian dish I ordered wasn’t part of that deal. Even I didn’t feel so screwed over by that, I wouldn’t go back because the food isn’t good enough especially for the cost. IT’S NOT WORTH TRYING.

I lived in Ethiopia for two years and this place is by far one of the best Ethiopian places in NYC.

My boyfriend and I were craving some dessert and saw that this place had dessert crepes. They delivered pretty quick and the dessert tasted like they delivered it right after it was made, and not en route through other deliveries. The fillings didn’t taste as fresh, but not bad.
All-​in-​all it was a lot more expensive then I’m used to paying for a dessert crêpe, it was very small — but it was pretty good … *shrugs*
… I have yet to try anything else from here, so I’ll report back once I do ;).

When I saw the low ratings and read the reviews, I assumed that it was because everyone was ordering American fare and had not had the Ethiopian food. Well I ordered the Ethiopian food and I was equally disappointed. First of all, the food is pretty pricey, but that’s to be expected for this side of town. I’ve been to every Ethiopian restaurant in Manhattan and I’ve also eaten at Ethiopian restaurants in other cities such as DC in Atlanta so I think it’s fair to say I have a keen taste for good Ethiopian food. Unfortunately, this restaurant does not have good Ethiopian food. Their injera is spongy and has a good consistency, however the taste is as bland as it gets. Something is missing. Injera is not supposed to have much flavor, but at least a little something. I ordered the veggie combo. The collard greens were missing the flavor typically used in Ethiopian restaurants. The misir wot was not good at all. They need to do some tweeking because it’s similar to what other versions of the dish taste like but they went overboard with one flavor and made it horrible. I couldn’t even eat the whole thing and I typically eat til I am stuffed. I think the owners need to take a trip to Meskerem Ethiopian restaurant on 47^th or on the one on Macdougal and figure out what they are doing so they can make some changes. However, I wouldn’t come back here unless I wanted to punish myself. Oh yeah, they also messed up my order too.

Wish I could say 3.5 stars… If you don’t stray from basic omelets and burgers, it’s actually a good place. Coffee is also good. I’ve only had the BEST service, really sweet guys who are attentive without hovering (which is hard b/​c the place usually is pretty empty).
Good place to bring family if they’re white Midwesterners used to places like Applebee’s; they’ll feel safe here.

I walked in to this café on my way home today because I wanted to try a new place. As I waited for my food I read the other reviews on Unilocal.They left me with low expectations…
However, the takeout service was speedy and friendly. After walking 10 blocks home, including a stop to pick up a soda, I was also impressed that my sandwich and fries were still warm and quite edible. The sandwich (turkey, tomato, mozarella) was better than sandwiches I’ve had from other places in the area. And the fries were quite good! even after their long journey in a styrofoam box. I would go back– especially for the fries.

I lived nearby for a year and i ate at elsabets at least 10 times. You have to be bold to get in since its the only empty restaurant in the area. I tried the burger and i was amazed. For 10 $ its one ofthe best burger i had in new york superior to shake shack or pauls. The homemade fries are great. I tried something else once and i was disappointed a bit. But anytime you want a good burger, go to elsabets.

It’s just awful.
While I’m in this area for grad school, I’m trying all the restaurants I can to get a good sense of where I’d like to hang out. Elsabet gets a «no, never.»
I tried their Eggs Benedict which ended up being served to me cold on a sad little muffin (probably Thomas’s English muffin out of the box) with a poorly poached egg. They forgot the hollandaise sauce entirely and by the time I managed to let them know and they brought it out to me, my food was even colder and the sauce itself was a congealed mess.
The potatoes aren’t even worth mentioning.
It’s completely overpriced, terrible quality, and management has adopted a «you don’t like it? eat somewhere else!» mentality. So, that’s what I’m doing and I suggest you do the same.

I was sort of afraid to order from this place, but I gave it a shot anyway.
Ready or not, all in, feet first. cliches abound. I was bold enough to order MEXICAN food off the menu. Yeah, from a place that had about 5 «Mexican» dishes on the menu. I was super surprised at how awesome the chicken chimichanga was! Also. I was craving a chimichanga and pretty much nowhere delivers them. Came with a side of sour cream and on a bed of mixed greens. not sure if they were counting that as food or garnish, but I didn’t eat it.
I also had the sambucas (lentil). They tasted a little doughy, even though the doughy was thin. Decent. also resting on a lot of mixed greens.
My friend had the Mac N Cheese, which was ok, but not great. It tasted homemade, but not a good way. in a «I could have made this» way. But it was decent… but, our food arrived half on its side, so most of the sauce spilled out. The Mac N Cheese was served with a nice portion of squash, carrots and zucchini… my friend was turned off by the presence of veggies, I loved them.
We shared brownie ala mode for desert. It was two small brownies, warm. Ice cream packaged in a separate container (points for that!). Good, but not sure it worth a whole 6.50.

Unusual. Seriously, they have ethiopian food on the menu… and when you ask about ordering it they say «eh… maybe you should get something else». Then the rest of the menu is kind of standard american food… brunch type options, burgers… oh and then a long list of crepes… but don’t forget the quesadillas?
I just went for a burger and it was fine. But that is really the best I can say about this place… its fine. The prices? They are alright I guess. The food quality, its fine I suppose. The service? Sure, its alright.
…
man this is Manhattan, why the hell would I go somewhere so average. I don’t think Unilocal’s description of 2 stars has ever been more accurate:
Meh. I’ve experienced better
Chalk up another fail to morningside heights

So disappointed. I ordered mashed potatoes, spinach, and meat lasagna because I am sick and wanted some soft but yummy foods. I paid 6 bucks for a side of spinach! I thought, what the heck i’ll get it, i’m sick, it will be good. It was SOAKED in butter and there was MAYBE a half a cup of spinach. For six bucks, I expected much more. The mashed potatoes were not fresh and pretty weird consistency. However, the meat lasagna was a decent portion, but pretty sloppy. Noodles were cooked right but it kind of looked like they had put the meat sauce and the tomatoe sauce (watery) on by throwing it across the room… pretty hard to eat. The delivery man delivered the food on its side, leaking meat grease and water all over everything, so the salad that came with the lasagna was worthless.

Went here twice, first time I had the apple, brie, chicken crêpe, was okay. Second time I went was today– I went and ordered blueberry pancakes. The blueberries in the pancakes they gave me were ROTTEN!!! It was disgusting. I told the waiter, then they gave me new pancakes, this time the strawberry. The pancake wasn’t rotten this time, but it still didn’t taste very good. Then, I went home and got sick and had a lovely time in the bathroom. Thank you Elsabet Café. And yes, they still charged me even though the first time they gave me rotten pancakes. I would have looked beyond that if maybe the strawberry pancakes actually tasted good and if I didn’t have a horrific stomache ache right now.

The range of the menu made me uneasy when checking it through
for their Wednesday special. Weak/​slim Ethiopian (and there’s an ethiopian spot on the next corner) for vegetarians, kinda overpriced, boring alternatives/​standard dishes, but good enough service over the phone and in the restaurant to warrant an OK review.
Takeout was an interesting experience… arrived and the only guy working (and in the place, as it was completely empty and creepily dark) asked if he had my order right (? A bit late, IMO). I was there 5 minutes after the ETA I received and the food had apparently been sitting lonelily on the counter, as it was tepid already. Apparently their special (not a discounted item) voided the (10%) student discount, but life goes on.
Giving an extra star because they mean well, the food was surprisingly spectacular (lentil sambusas & orange caramel crêpe), and we don’t need any more turnover in the area.