Meskerem Ethiopian Cuisine

The food was alright but the service and health standards is what really makes me give them 1 star.
First the waitress saw us walk in and didn’t attempt to seat us so we had to ask if we can sit at a table, then she went to serve other people and then sat back down to text. She never gave us a menu and we had to stare her down to get it. Later when we wanted to order she was on her phone and my sister had to walk up to her to get her attention to order. Then as we were eating some guy took the trash out through the dining area 3 times which is pretty disgusting and I’m pretty sure goes against the health code
The final straw was the «service charge». We got the bill of about $ 86 and they wrote at the bottom of the receipt a service charge of $ 17 and then at the top hand wrote the total as $ 103.
How dare you try to charge a service charge when the waitress barely did her job?! Also when we confronted them they said «it’s only a suggestion» if it’s a suggestion why did you rewrite the total?

The injera is a little too sour for my taste, almost tasted like they added extra vinegar or something, but all the toppings were super good. I ordered the veggie combo and boyfriend ordered the meat combo, and each were very good. The combos are definitely enough for two girls to share if you get an appetizer. And then if it’s not enough, you can go three doors down to Café Marie for some amazing Louisiana beignets for dessert.

As the temperature tumbled, i craved for Ethiopian food, for it really fills you up and the chilly rocks your blood to stream, i guess and warm you some. I love this cozy joint in the village. Last nite, I ordered a tibs. It came with the usual entourage of ethiopian main dishes, little bit of shiro, some wat and lentils. All were delicious. The injera has improved a bit since my last visit. Dont forget to order the honey wine for it is complementary to the spicy meal. l

We were in the City and the Ethiopian craving struck us so google pointed us to this rather small eatery. First impressions of the ambience were not great but then this was a family outing with two hungry kids in tow, so getting a table promptly served as a consolation. Now for the main part — the food — oh the vegetarian combo is absolutely delicious. Each of the items were supremely well cooked with a right balance of spice and could very possibly be the most authentic tasting Ethiopian food we have tasted in the last 12 years.
Definitely will try again the next time we are back in town.

My friend and I walked by the restaurant and thought the restaurant looked interesting. We started off with the avocado appetizer. It was delicious but there wasn’t much of avocado. It mostly consisted of onions and peppers. For the entrée, I ordered the doro alecha and my friend ordered the chicken tibs. To be honest, I wasn’t crazy with my order. There were 2 pieces of chicken and a lot of sauce which was a bit overwhelming. I did enjoy my friends dish. I would def recommend that.

We are addicted to this place. The staff is always pleasant and go out of their way to make this a beautiful experience. The food cannot be matched. It is always spot on delicious. Their honey wine pairs so well with everything I’ve tried.

Meskerem is a rather low-​key Ethiopian restaurant in the traditional basement style that is a hallmark of the Village. It’s tight surroundings, narrow downstairs entryway, rather thrifty furniture and unimpressive menu doesn’t inspire confidence. But besides the ambiance, the place has good food. We had the vegetarian platter, which was well seasoned, good portions and price was very reasonable. We didn’t have any complaints on the service, wasn’t particularly grand nor particularly bad, so all in all a comfortable place.
It is not someplace I’d go with my grandmother nor for an anniversary, but for a decent and economical Ethiopian meal, it suits perfectly

This place is NOT OPEN TO MIDNIGHT. They close early, often, when business is slow. If Macdougal St is not hoping then forget it. When you do get a seat, it’s rude service. Food is good, but better going to a more established place that has regular hours and service and doesn’t cater to the drunk crowd. On the other hand, if you do get served and are drunk it’s awesome!

Let me start with service!!! Three women served us and everyone was so amazingly pre occupied in themselves that they give a damn about you (customers) on top of that they are so racist !!!
If you r white u get royal treatment and if r brown please take care of yourself buse they won’t !!!
Let me share about food. We ordered two vegetarian combo and we got food for one person. Every item was so little u r forced to order again.
Totally shit food and rude customer service !!!
Good luck if you are brown !!!

I am always in the West Village area, especially on Macdougall Street, and glance at the restaurants nearby in passing. Having been introduced to Ethiopian cuisine a few years back, the sign for Meskerem caught my eye. It had been about a year since my last dinner at an Ethiopian place, so I suggested it to my gf. The entrance is squeezed between two bigger stores and is awkward to walk into (it’s at a basement level with two doors that have barely enough space to open and walk into). Inside, it was dark and there was one smaller table and one bigger group having lunch.
We had just enjoyed ice cream across the street, so we weren’t too hungry. We ordered the Meskerem combo (about $ 17) for the two of us to share. In about 15ish minutes, our food came out with an extra injera bread on the side. The bread itself has a vinegary taste, almost like sourdough. Don’t worry, that’s perfectly normal. The combo that we ordered came with 5 different sides. I can’t recall all of them, but there was a yellow paste that had a mild flavor, collard greens with meat, ground lamb, lentils, and lamb chunks.
I liked all of them, with maybe the lentils being my least favorite. You rip off pieces of the injera bread and scoop the dishes into the bread with your hands (no utensils!). At the end, I rolled up the injera bread that had all the toppings and ate it like a burrito, much to my gf’s embarrassment. But hey, I’m not in the business of wasting food, so too bad. I enjoyed the lunch! Very cheap, quick, and hearty!

I like the food of the place. But their service not so much.
The servers always seem to be lost in their own world. About 15 minutes after we were seated on our table, they realized they forgot to give us menus. I don’t mind waiting for food to arrive (which also takes a while), but it was a little weird waiting for the menu.
My friend (who’s a vegetarian) and I wanted to take our remaining food to go. The lady took our two different plates, and put all the food in one box!!! There was no point in asking them to separate out the food at that point, because the veggies were already in contact with the chicken. So my friend didn’t get to take her food home.
Lastly we asked them for separate cheques, which they approved of, but were later given one check. Also, make sure to double check how much they charge you, another time we went there they over charged each of us by $ 6, which we realized afterwards.

The staff are sooo lovely and friendly. The Ethiopian honey wine is flavorful, as it would be.
Yes, it is small and laid back.
Which brings me to the food: these are not the best injera dishes out of Africa that we have had — but if you need an Ethiopian food fix and you are close by, it is acceptable. The restaurant has an «A» grade from the Health Dept. (as do all my reviewed restos at the time of review).
This rating reviews the service and the food/​drink.

I came here for dinner with my girlfriend and it was fantastic. The service was a little distant and slow, but the atmosphere and food were both fantastic. You walk downstairs and enter a dimly lit brick room, with minimalist adornment. It’s romantic and candles are on every table and around the room. The food is also great. This was the first time I had Ethiopian and I would definitely go back.

What a delightful little restaurant. It didn’t come up in the Unilocal search of restaurants in my area but luckily I stumbled across it.
I had sambosa’s for starter and lamb for main. I quickly realised it’s no cutlery style, just dig in. The sambosa’s were yummy, served with a cooling and tasty salsa.
The lamb was served on a large crêpe style of bread with delicious red lentils and a yellow dahl. You get an extra crêpe to rip off pieces and scoop up the food. All absolutely yummy.
Service was relaxed, I felt like I was in someone’s home, in a good way!

This place is located on a famous block of the village. The comedy cellar & mamouns are nearby — and this spot is located below street level — so I am unsure how much foot traffic they get. The space itself is pretty small — low ceilings & the tables are a little cramped but all in all not too terrible. When we arrived for lunch they were not too busy & the service was great. Prices are reasonable.
The food was a mix of highs and lows — I got the veg combo lunch special which turned out to be a lot of food — which I appreciate for the price — but not all of it was all that great sadly. The lentils were good — collard greens great. But the weird eggs and cheese thing, at least that’s what I thought it was — honestly unsure, terrible! The beans mixture also not flavored well and the cabbage was rather unremarkable.
Overall I’d be willing to try it again, but would stick to the lentils.

This place is so chill. It is tucked into the explosion of restaurants behind NYU and Washington Sq park.
My friend and I are on a vegan spree. We must hit up all the veggie head friendly spots of NYC.
Can I say that the servers are smoking hot here? I mean their absolutely beautiful male and female. Africans are beautiful.
We ordered off the Vegetarian Options menu. Appetizers of fried dough filled with spiced lentils. Main dishes of lentils and mushrooms.
You will be super full. Prepare to be super full. I underestimated the power plant based food has to make you feel stuffed.
We both tipped very well because they were so patient with us as we took literally 45 minutes to catch up before we ordered anything. Then we also stayed behind to eat our cake.
We shared a rainbow cake from Red Bamboo then parted looking like miniature Buddhas with the same jolly glow.
My friend returned the next day. She was so happy with it. I will return again as well.

Very good Ethiopian in the West Village very close to Washington Square Park. This is where I first tried this cuisine while in college and been coming here since. Luckily, it hadn’t changed since. Delicious doro wett and tibs served with delicious lentils on the side on top of tangy injera bread. Inside is a bit cramped and could use a face lift. Service is friendly and prices are reasonable. It’s a great place to come.

It’s really hard to rate because I’ve never actually had Ethiopian food before my stop here.
This place could definitely use a facelift. Looking around I thought «why wouldn’t they?» It’s not like there is an Ethiopian restaurant on every corner… so a decently renovated and decorated place would serve them well. Not only does it need to be re-​done but also cleaned.
The food was an interesting experience. Again really difficult to explain because it’s hard to compare it to anything else. I’ll try others so I can compare. Four star for the unique experience but more like a 3 ½.

Was in the area and the bf suggested coming to this place. I walked in not knowing what to expect being that it was my first time at an Ethiopian restaurant. I went in with an open mind and knowing him I knew that I had nothing to worry about.
The bf was familiar with the cuisine so he did the picking … we went with the Special Tibs and Shro Wat. Eating by hands and no utensils had caught me off guard, but it was an experience (good experience). The food was interesting, so many flavors … Lived in many countries and tasted food from all over, but nothing quite like this.
Service was minimal and the restaurant was a little cramped, but we were there quite early for dinner so it wasn’t really an issue.
Worth a try if you are in the area.

I think Ethiopian cuisine is one of the tastiest in the world! I love the depth of flavours, the usage of injera as a utensil and even the intimacy of sharing food from a single plate. Being from India, eating with hands was no big deal for me but doing that while sharing a plate took some getting used to,(especially for the hubs).Remember that «Joey doesnt share food» episode from Friends?! He is like that!
All that being said, Meskerem was definitely not the best Ethiopian I have had. Usually, I am in love with the lentil dishes, the creamy butteriness hits it right on the spot but Meskerem’s miser wat and shiro wat were tasty but not life-changing.The poultry dish, the Doro Wat served with a boiled egg was just the right balance of butter and berbere spice and it was melt-​in-​your-​mouth fabulous. The injera bread was soft and served well in mopping up the gravy. The portion sizes seemed pretty small for the price and overall, the meal will leave you satisfied but not full.
They do have a decent wine list (not extensive) and I tried their honey wine which was a lil too sweet for me. The service was courteous and the place itself was a little cramped,(but hey I will have Ethiopian in someone’s basement if it comes to that!)Overall, I am gonna be partial here (just coz its Ethiopian) and give it 4 stars even though its more like 3.5 stars (barely).

First of all, food was great! It’s just the service that was awful!
It took the waitress about 20 minutes to come and see us, it wasn’t even busy! She just wasn’t there, her mind might have been somewhere else! As an example, she can by our table, we were 3 + my 8 weeks baby, she brung 4 glasses of water and when she brung the wine, je asked me if I wanted a fourth glass for the wine. My son is 8 weeks old, wtf!?!
Well, food was great, be I really didn’t like the attitude of the staff, not caring if you had water, if you needed anything.