Safari DC

I live two blocks from this wonderful place. As I walk home at times I stop in and pick up my favorite Fitfit. The staff is very nice and I enjoy having coffee and speaking with them. Their prices are the same as most places which such cuisines and the place is very clean. The first time I went, I could not remember the name of the dish I named above and with some navigating through the menu I was able to find what I wanted. Another thing that was nice was the environment. The music and just the atmosphere as a whole. Very chilled and did I mention it is a very hidden location. If I would of never walked past it I would of never known. The best things to get is the honey wine, lamb combination and Fitfit.

Five stars for food, minus one star for service/​ambiance/​etc. = a solid four star experience!
Honestly? If you’re looking for the best Ethiopian food in the DMV, look no further than Safari DC!!!
I recently went with my family to eat lunch at this establishment. We got there around 2 pm on a Sunday. What was weird was the door was locked when we tried to enter. The waitress indoors saw us and quickly opened the door for us to enter.
The restaurant occupies a beautiful space with a great patio. I loved it! When we were there though, there were no other patrons, which I thought was odd for a Sunday afternoon. We decided to still stay, though, and ordered the veggie plate and two different kind of tibs (beef and lamb).
When the food came out, it was DELICIOUS! I’d had Safari’s food before because I went to an event where they had catered, but this time the food was better (if that’s even possible). Dare I say it!!! Safari DC has the best Ethiopian food in the DMV area! (YES I HAD TO SAY IT AGAIN! IT’S THAT GOOD!) Seriously.
If you can deal with the touch and go service and a bit of a wait time, the FOOD is definitely something worth experiencing. I would recommend it to anyone.

Safari is a hidden spot in the Petworth neighborhood that can almost look closed if you don’t stop and pause to check it out. And pausing is definitely worth it. Between my friend and I, we had the beef samosas (SO damn good; I think they are freshly made in house, they came out piping hot, and I still have cravings for them), the fried potato omelette (this was average. the potatos were more like french fries, and not on my must have list), and the whole fish with curry sauce (amazing! the curry stew really penetrated the fish and was absorbed in the meat, and the spinach side was the perfect light accompaniment to the heavier curry sauce).
Safari has a lot of potential. We went on a Sunday afternoon and were the only customers in the establishment. They definitely need help coming up with a better marketing plan, but they definitely have the right food, the space (two floors plus an outdoor patio), and great service. The cook/​owner? was on site the day of our visit, and was generally lovely and gracious. Will definitely go back to try out other items when I’m in the area.

Really delicious Ethiopian food, good portions, and decent prices. I had no issues with service, but then again it was quite slow when I went. Maybe they’re slower at busier times, but my waitress was quite doting.
Will most certainly be back.

Nunu our server was so great. Food was excellent with the vegetarian combo and spring roll .
We loved Nunu.

Let’s just face it, the customer service here is awful. The Ethiopian dude that served me food had me waiting for 20 minutes and when I stood up to go inquire, the answer was, «if you can’t wait, get out.» Well, I decided to wait and was served a whole fried tilapia, Ugali and sukuma wiki. The food wasn’t bad, but it was not close to what I have tasted before.

My friend wanted to try this place out because her friend had recommended her this place. I’m not a fan of Ethiopian food so I was very skeptical about this restaurant too but I have to confess that Safari DC pleasantly surprised me during my visit two weeks ago.
It was Sunday evening around 7 pm and it was starting to drizzle. Even though the lack of customers spooked me out a little bit, I was able to rationalize the situation because of the day and weather condition.
We weren’t very hungry so we ordered a fish entrée with two complimentary sides for the two of us to share. The entrée was delicious (the fried spinach was extra special for me) and the portion was large enough that both of us were very satisfied.
The price is not the cheapest around the neighborhood but given the portion size and quality of the food, I’d definitely go back again!

I wanted to try something different for a change. When I saw Safari DC I knew I had to get some friends together for dinner and dancing over the weekend.
We got here around 8pm we were seated right away on the back patio. However, the service was BEYOND SLOW.
Bottom line– GREAT FOOD-​NOT SO GREAT MANAGEMENT
It took us 2 hours to get food (including appetizers), only reason we stayed is because we had a few drinks and we were waiting for the lounge area with DJ up top to start at 11. I was not terribly hungry, but I could not say this for the rest of the 3 people with me. After going back and forth about 3 times (which should have never been the case) we ended up getting our drinks taken off and 20% or so off the bill. But this took a lot of negotiation on our part, seems there were 2 night managers and one could not make a clear decision, so she brought in another one who just said ‘fine’. I’m glad he did not try and argue us down, because they had a party of 35 come in and they apparently wiped them out of all the food.
Well guess what? The large party had a reservation, so they should have prepared for this! Total lack of planning and communication on their part.
When the food FINALLY came it was good. I had beef samosas (come in 2’s) for my appetizer, tandoori chicken; tender and flavorfully roasted 3 pieces, coconut milk rice cooked to perfection, and stewed cabbage. EXCELLENT all the way around!
The waiter manager mentioned that they did not have a drink list, but could make anything. Not an issue for me, but I think a printed wine list is always good, people want to know the type of wine they are drinking. The cost was inexpensive; regular price for a glass is $ 6.
My friends were so irritated by the time 11 rolled around we didn’t even stay to go upstairs and dance. The managers did apologize, but excuses to customers never carry over well. We should have been offered discounts and a cut on the bill immediately, instead of having to specifically ask for what we thought was fair.
Kind of took the fun out of the night to be honest. Too bad for them, because this place has a lot of potential. I just wish Safari DC would stop running their small business like a JUNGLE!

I love, love, love the food and am yet to be disappointed. My hands down favorite meal is the biriyani rice, fish kebab and spinach (under the Chefs Specials). I am also a big fan of their coconut rice.
The other big plus for me is their extremely comfortable patio. It gets hard to remember that I am not at home. There is always a gentle breeze and a nice view to tree-​lined streets.

Went there last night. My wife, who is from Kenya, ordered food for everyone and the food was great! It pays to go with someone that actually knows the food!

East African food in the district? Safi sana! No more schlepping out to Swahili Village in Beltsville to fulfill chapatti cravings? Well, yes and no.
The samosas were delicious. The pilau was pretty good. The nyama choma was tasty, though not exactly nyama choma as you know it. The chapatti was OK. The sukuma and cabbage was bland. I have to knock off a couple of stars for the fact that they weren’t showing the World Cup, and they don’t have Tusker. The waitress was lovely and said the TZ owners still have some kinks to iron out, so will try it again one day, but think it’s still worth it to trek out to Beltsville.