Fana’s Cuisine

This place is horrible. I live near here and made the mistake if eating here. I ordered sambussa they had it had already been cooked. They re fried it and sold it to me.
By the time I got home, the bag in which they placed it was so Greasy it had seeped into the interior of my car seat. I’ve talked with people that live in the building where they are camped out, they will Not Eat here! I’ve witnessed these people carry numerous bags of garbage out of this place, no way the amount of garbage I saw brought out of here and put into s car, is 1 days worth. They are known to sleep in his place! The big girl that works the counter needs a hair net and clean her nails and new shoes! The older lady is the cook I’m just glad i didn’t get a chance to see her God only knows what she looked like.
I would not recommend this pit to anyone yuck!!!””!!

How I heard of this place: The Asress family opened their restaurant a few years ago and it wasn’t long before their loving demeanor and welcome embrace attracted numbers of us!
Type of cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean, Ethiopian
Ambiance: Bright and modern with rich, warm colors in deep browns, reds and yellows welcome you as you enter the spacious restaurant which includes an espresso bar! Perfect for casual dining with friends, dinner out with the family, and a relaxed, easy atmosphere for a date with your sweetie! Plenty of indoor seating and one outdoor option give you flexibility in your seating preferences.
What I ordered: Fana is such an amazing cook that I often leave my dining choice up to her very capable selection! Vahid, the son of Fana and Captain Asress, greeted us with a large smile as we approached the restaurant and welcomed us in. Sabrina, his sister, brought us ice water as we selected our seats near the large floor to ceiling windows that line the front of the restaurant. Fana prepared a large vegetarian platter for the two of us, beautifully presented on a large, white plate fully covered with injera. Each mound of vegetarian delicacies (including timatim fifit, lentils, collard geens, salad, and cabbage) lined the perimeter of the ingera, with the lentils carefully poured in the middle.
What I loved: My dining companion most loved the lentils and then the potato & carrot dish, followed by the injera salad and the cabbage & carrot dish. I have a very hard time deciding my favorite of the options on the vegetarian platter! Each bite of the various dishes lead me to believe that that one was the best! And as I would sample another dish or return to one of the previous dishes, I found that each bite continued to get better and more satisfying! I do admit, that I’m most happy to have saved room to eat the flat injera on the plate, saturated with the sauces of each dish!
Why I loved it: I love that the Asress family is so present, hospitable and warm. They welcome you with open arms, a loving smile and a delicious, home-​cooked meal. Being at Fana’s cuisine feels like being with family.
Cost: Low to average ($ 6-​$ 15 for dinner entrees)

Funky ordering process, and the place is in a permanent culinary identity crisis (not necessarily a bad thing) between American and Eritrean, but the food and the nice family who run it are FOR REAL! Fresh, made with care and very reasonable. I like the fried chicken better than Ezell’s. it’s flavorful but much lighter breading. More of a dusting of flour and spices. Try it! The sambusas are really good too.

I haven’t eaten anything from here except the chicken wings, which are oustanding and quite a bargain. The wings are lightly dusted with what tastes like flour, generous salt and pepper, and maybe garlic powder. It takes a few minutes to get your food, but that’s because they cook it when you order it.
I will try some of their East African food one of these days but I love to grab an order of 7 wings to go.

Really great food! The wot (sp?) is one of my favorite foods in the world. I would highly recommend this place.

I’ve eaten here every couple month since the place opened. Usually I go in for the Ethiopian food, but last night I finally tried out their fried chicken «Seattle Chicken Express». As usual, the place looks like it’s fallout chic. Signs in weird places, shelves half filled with random stuff, not really sure if you should sit or order.
Just to help you out… walk in, just say hi to the staff (who is usually the woman) and sit where you like. She’ll come by to drop off water or tea and take your order. Generally it’s a good idea to ask… «what do you have today» cause they never have everything on the menu. If you ever see the cute little mom in back cooking away you’ll know why. When you’re done, you pay at the counter. If you want fast service… order ahead, otherwise everything is made when you order.
I really like the doro wot and the beef tibbs. There’s also beef in a dark red sauce that comes with extra dry chili powder that’s really good also but I don’t think it’s on the menu… just kind of a dish of the day. Last night my wife got chicken tibbs (came with some type of beans, salad, and collard greens) and I ordered the 7 wing plate with a side of red beans and rice and collard greens all for $ 24 bucks ($ 7 dollars for 7 large wings!!!). The chicken was very good. Kind of a classic thin crust shell on the chicken, not the flaky kind that’s on Ezell’s or KFC. Wasn’t very oily at all and was perfect with Louisiana hot sauce. And the collard greens here are my favorite… I think i like them more than my home made greens. It’s the same as what comes on the Ethiopian plate but it has a very different taste when you’re eating it with the injera. As we left she gave us a cup of tea for the road.
Set your expectations to a disorderly family dining experience complete with a grandfather sipping tea and watch the big screen tv sometimes. It’s not a typical restaurant. I only gave it 4 stars because you can’t always order what you’re craving and I would like a more complete feel, but it’s always in transition. I really do love it here though. The food and service is great and it’s not very expensive. I would love to see this place run out of a home instead, I think the atmosphere would be much more fitting.

I just had lunch at Fana’s and was so impressed with the delicious food. They are a little slow, but the food was definately worth it! The folks that own the place are as sweet as they can be.
Please frequent this place.

I was walking down Rainier in Columbia City a while back and a fellow carrying a stack of fliers stopped me to hand me one. It was announcing a special at Fana’s Ethiopian Cuisine for a Saturday I was going to be out of town. He was very friendly, we had a quick discussion about Fana’s, the food, and its location, and I got the distinct impression that this wasn’t just some flier jockey out handing out fliers, this was someone linked to the restaurant itself. After reading the reviews I have a feeling he was either the son or husband of the owner, Fana.
I was running some errands today in Columbia City, and figured I’d give this place a try. It’s located in the first floor of the brand new Rainier Court condos and apartments. There is parking within the strip, or on the street surrounding. I got rockstar parking (well duh!) right outside, and headed in.
The room was completely empty of people, except for the bus-​boy… er… girl. She looked up at me surprised, greeted me, then headed into the back calling someone else out. A nice Ethiopian gal came walking out, greeted me in a very friendly, informal fashion, and asked whether I was eating in or taking out. I had just grabbed a South Seattle Beacon paper, eating in it was. She said they had several lunch specials, consisting basically of salad, rice, and a choice of either curry chicken, spicy chicken, or jerked chicken. I love curry chicken, told her I’d take take it. At about $ 8 for a plate of food, hey sounds good to me!
I had a look around as I scanned for which of many empty tables I’d like to sit at. The décor feels «home-​y» and… well… amateur. According to another reviewer, this is a family owned business, and they designed and decorated themselves. Without having anyone out front to greet me (besides the almost panicked bus-​girl), I wasn’t sure if I should wait to sit down, grab a menu from the top of a baked goods counter next to me, or just hang out and wait. They could use a little sign that says either «seat yourself» or «wait to be seated» just to give mental midgets like me some cue of what we should do with ourselves.
I sat down, and realized I wanted something to drink. I got a bit confused… was I supposed to wait for her to come to the table? The service here is… a little confusing – is there actual table service?– though on the other hand since it was just me it was pretty easy for me to just tell her I’d like a cup of coffee.
«Sure, sure! I can make any kind of coffee you’d like.» As if on cue, another patron walked in, declaring loudly she’d love «whatever you made for me yesterday, it was GOOOOOOOOD!» The gal behind the counter informed the newcomer she had had a latte with a little bit of mocha flavoring in it, and her order was placed as well.
She brought me my coffee, with powdered creamer. That’s fine by me, I prefer that, so I didn’t inquire whether they had liquid cream or milk or soy or any of that other stuff people like to plop in their coffee.
I read a bit, listened to the new mocha-​latte-​fan and the gal behind the counter chit-​chat about visiting Texas vs Florida. A few minutes passed, and she showed up with my plate of curry chicken, white rice, and salad.
The chicken was tasty, though a bit oily. Not too much curry, not too little. It was still on the bone, and the presentation and style of it reminded me of meals the grandmother of a Cuban friend of mine would serve when I ate over at his house as a child. Not necessarily presented with any culinary design, but still tasty.
I didn’t bother adding any salt or pepper to the rice, just mixed it with the chicken and the oil, which actually turned out pretty good. The salad was fresh, chopped lettuce with a tangy dressing.
The gal behind the counter (I really should have gotten her name this is ridiculous) and I talked about traveling internationally, the value of the dollar, music and being a musician, good Somali food places, and the best ways for maintaining a good relationship between a husband and wife. Before I knew it I was done eating, satisfied, and had had a pleasant conversation to boot.
I plan on coming back to try more of the Ethiopian food, maybe for dinner. I’m curious how the service is when there are more people here. I’m kind of torn on my rating right now, as I really don’t know how to review for any of the other things people will find important (like service).

Although we know the owners, we have suspended our great love of them to write a review that is mostly fair. The nice, homey décor — that Mr. A and family did themselves — is very comforting, but not upscale. (They even chose the colors — then painted themselves.)
But it really has everything to do with Fana’s cooking itself. While we are avowed Meskel fanatics, Fana’s version of the vegetable platter seems to be fresher and definitely hand-​selected. The same is true for the meat. The spices are also specially tailored for each customer, so can be tame or fiery — or anything else in between. We tried the pita platter and the homemade hummus was absolutely wonderful — and with the salad with dressing, those warm pita triangles were positively snatched up! Best pita platter I’ve ever had!
Besides Ethiopian/​Eritrean food on the main menu, there is also Mediterranean. Unfortunately, after eating the veggie platter with some meat, the two of us were just too full to try anything else. We can only imagine how tantalizing the Mediterranean chicken is. There are also daily specials which depend on what is fresh that day and what Fana feels like making.
Another fact: this Ethiopian/​Eritrean family also has devotional meetings on Sunday mornings starting at 9:30 am. The restaurant is otherwise closed on Sundays.
While one could get away with $ 10/​person, you are more likely to spend about $ 25, including beverages (non-​alcoholic ones) for two.
Since it was not crowded at all, service was impeccable. It is such a shame that it isn’t crowded as the food is delicious, fresh, and made with love. (Fana used to do catering. Everything she made was absolutely divine.)
I’ve revised my rating because I had mistakenly thought it was like the Michelin ratings. (Like I could do that.) So this really is a more accurate rating, after all. [This is my attempt to give Michelin Guide type ratings: I am notoriously stingy with stars (the only time someplace would receive 5 is if they’re very upscale and extremely delicious both), so it should be no surprise that Fana’s is a two star venue.]

Ethiopian/​Eritrean, Italian and Mediterranean
We held our Rainier Rotary meeting here last Friday for lunch because the space we normally use wasn’t available.
It is in a new building just off Rainier Ave. If you are driving too fast, then you will miss it.
We had the meal already planned so I don’t know what dishes I had.
We had a basic green salad with some tomatoes, onions and cheese… The main dish was chicken with a lot of vegetables on rice.
I have never eaten Ethiopian or Eritrean so I was a little bit nervous but it was good.
I will definitely go back to try some other dishes.