Abyssinia

Front Entrance - no date Ethiopian Wine (made in Watkins Glenn, NY!) - January 2008 Injera rolled bread - January 2008 Combo #1

Former Location

80 University Avenue, Rochester NY, 14605

Abyssinia is an Ethiopian restaurant in Rochester. They opened in October 2000.

It appears to be closed as of March 2012. The owners said that the rent went up and they had to relocate, but that when they find a new location they will be REOPENING! This is great news.

Notes and References


• D&C Review (February 1st, 2001)
  

• EthiopianRestaurant.com review — Basic facts; left sidebar has an excellent glossary and guide to Ethiopian dining.
  

• City News Fall Dining Guide (No year given, may be 2005?)

Comments:

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See Archive Page for comments prior to 2008.

2008-01-06 07:41:07   Restaurant is very plain inside, service was slow but friendly, and the food was good although this was our first experience with Ethiopian dishes so we can't say how authentic. Good variety (both meat and veg) and fairly decent explanations of the dishes on the menu. Very different from any other ethnicity, can't easily be compared to Indian, Asian, etc. There's no silverware, you eat using the bread which tastes like sourdough and has the consistency of a pancake. This one might not end up on our favorites list but we'd certainly go back when in the mood for something different. —DottieHoffmann

2008-01-21 15:51:29   Best Ethiopian in town. The portions are large and if you finish everything they will happily bring you more. I've brought a bunch of different people here and everyone has loved it! As others said it can be slow but it's worth the wait! —StephChows

2008-01-22 21:24:35   I concur with the above positive comments. Restaurants like Abyssinia make the Rochester winters survivable. —ThomasPawlik

2008-01-26 14:48:06   Its a unique experience to have food there. The people are very nice and the food is GREAT !! Do try the Tomato-onion Salad (I think its called Timatim Salata). —TanushreeArdis

2008-04-09 20:41:30   Good food. I especially liked the lentils, although I hated the raw beef. I'm very open to experimenting, but it just tasted like cold, bland hamburger.

However, terrible service! The place wasn't remotely crowded, but things took forever—literally! We never got our drinks, even after asking twice. Pretty pathetic. I'd go again sometime, but only if I had two hours to spare. —OwenThompson

2008-04-18 17:18:59   Interesting, tasty vegetarian options, but the service was nonexistent. I have been a restaurant server, and I had the urge to get up and start waiting on people myself! Maybe I would have been more patient if I had gotten the drink I ordered. This restaurant might be unusual for Rochester, but that doesn't mean it's really good. —OxfordWriter

2008-09-19 16:04:14   This is my favorite restaurant in Rochester, and my all-time favorite kind of food in the universe. Abyssinia never fails to make me extremely happy! The veggie combo and special tibs are my token order, when I'm with one other person. Everything is delicious, though! I have actually had dreams about the shiro vegetarian dish - it is THAT good. *swoons* —HilarieLloyd

2008-11-01 22:28:24   Thank goodness for a true Ethiopian restaurant in Rochester, NY!!!

The owners didn't seem to treat us like family as I've experienced at the Ethiopian restaurants/lounges in DC, but considering this is Rochester where the Ethiopian population is much less, they were still very friendly and hospitable at this restaurant! DEFINITELY coming back here again and again. —JenFromDC

2008-11-06 11:32:39   A very unique dining experience. Good food. Be prepared to wait on busy nights. A good chance to sit and take your time...but do not go if you are in a hurry. Service can be slow. —ChampsElysses

2008-12-10 12:35:38   I went there for lunch with a couple of friends (it was my first Ethiopian cuisine experience) and I walked away impressed and one more delicious pancake away from exploding. I'll be going back. —BatGuano

2009-01-03 19:04:28   Tasty, tasty food — VERY long wait for service. It doesn't matter whether the place is packed or you're the only customer there. Last time I went, it took 30 minutes for them to bring us water. But the food is SO good! —LaraC

2009-02-08 19:45:21   My girlfriends and I went out last night and chose to try Ethiopian cuisine from Abyssinia. It was a perfect choice for me because it served both vegetarian and meat options and because the bread is gluten-free. Very, very tasty dishes, and although the portion look small, because you're literally taking every bite of food with the spongy, unleavened bread, it fills you up quicker than you might expect! I loved this place so much, I begged my husband to give it a try— so we went there this afternoon for lunch. The service is only a bit slow— it was slower more last night, when crowded. Also, the ceiling fell on my friend at dinner last night, but it was quickly cleaned and taken care of. Mood music would be greatly appreciated. In all, though, it was an awesome experience and I can't wait to try it again!!! —jramey

2009-06-01 18:29:40   Overall excellent experience. I loved everything I had..unfortunately I don't really know the names of what I had. My friends and I ordered a combo for 4 and we got chicken, beef, lamb and 4 vegetarian side dishes (included automatically for the combos). Everything was fresh, delicious and flavourful. Eating together with 3 other people off one giant plate was quite the bonding experience. I think you can opt to have separate serving plates. The server was patient and attentive. The interior was kind of dark and outdated but the food outweighs that. I will definitely be back..and probably soon. —OneLove

2009-07-04 18:33:04   Went with a friend last night and the entire experience was terrific. We were waited on promptly and our food came quickly. Everything we had was delicious (chicken, beef and lentils). The prices are reasonable and the decor, while nothing to write home about, was comfortable and cozy. It wasn't terribly busy so that could account for not having to wait as others mentioned above. We are already talking about when we can go back! —ShawnaLusk

2010-01-11 09:48:20   Went to Abyssinia for dinner last night for the second time. Much like the first time, the food was very good and VERY filling. I ordered the vegetarian lentil dish and was impressed with it. The first time that I went the service was very good and attentive. Last night unfortunately was not a repeat performance. The waitress brought out the side dishes five minutes before the entrees so by the time the entrees were out, the sides were starting to get a little cold. She also didn't check on us once during the entire meal. I had to flag her down for more drinks and extra bread. There was only one other table seated in the entire place so I guess I expected the service to be a bit better. Oh well, the food was worth it!

—dmarie

2010-01-12 15:47:32   Service is always a little slow, as the other comments have pointed out. It is worth the wait though for the food which is really excellent. I like the lentils, and actually really like the kitfo (raw meat-they will cook it if you ask them) —MattHenshaw

2010-01-31 11:15:16   Food here is great! This is one of my favourite restaurants in Rochester. Everything is perfectly spiced, the injera is delicious. The Tej honey wine is a must try for anyone that likes their wines on the sweet side. Though it is made from honey it's distinctly different for mead. Often there is so much food I split one of the Combos for one person with my husband. Portions are very generous! Yes yes service is not the fastest and there's usually only one person (max 2) working tables, but once you get the food all is forgiven! Definitely go! —mkmclaughlin

2010-06-27 19:09:36   I love this place. The combo plates are great and everyone is always very friendly. I'm so grateful for having this restaurant in Rochester! The two other Ethiopian restaurants I've been to are in NYC and Vegas. This one is very good in comparison. The only down side for this restaurant is that it's never crowded. Come on people! What are you guys waiting for? Give it a try already! —Liren

2011-01-28 14:58:25   The portion is very generous...and reasonable priced...tasted very good too...I would love to go again. —lil.lyn

2011-03-24 21:05:42   The service was SLOW! No one asked how the food was. I guess my wife and I are just not fans of injera, she got a fork but I stuck it out eating with the bread.
I got a beef dish and the beef was very tough and chewy and not in a good way. Maybe it's me but I didn't like the collard greens either.
My wife had the 'pick any five' combo plate and said it was different and nice but..
We liked Natural Oasis Cafe and will stick with them when we get the Ethiopian jones. —HenriettaRob

2011-03-25 17:53:08   Not terrible, but not particularly good. You can tell that half of our food was microwaved by how much heat it gave off and how chewy the meat was. —jberna

2011-07-30 10:01:13   I visited Abyssinia last night with a few friends. It was a first time for Ethiopian cuisine for 3 of us out of the four. We trusted our selections to the friend who had been there before. He recommended mostly vegetarian dishes, so we got a varied selection of chicken, lentils, yellow beans, cabbage and tomato salad. I believe they also included the greens. The chicken was a little lackluster compared to everything else, but ALL the vegetarian dishes were fantastic with such different flavors. My particular favorites were the tomato salad and the lentils. The injera bread was very good, and a new experience eating with our hands. The injera left at the bottom of the platter with all of the juices that had soaked in was a great end to the meal. My boyfriend and I can't wait to return for more! —MerCDotes

2012-04-24 13:52:24   NEWS FOR THOSE SAD ABOUT IT CLOSING: I talked to the owners, and they are relocating, not permanently closing. The landlord raised the rent by a LOT and they had to close. They will reopen once they find a new location!! Stay tuned for more info on the REOPENING!!! <3 <3 <3 (This is my favorite restaurant in the entire universe) <3 <3 <3 <3 —HilarieLloyd