Wendy S.
Yelp
So, it's been a minute since I've had Ethiopian food and I've really missed it. One of my favorites was Massawa in San Francisco and the Blue NIle in Berkeley. Last night we just had to have some yummy Ethiopian and chose this Blue Nile based on the reviews. I had high hopes, but it didn't quite pan out.
First off it was a Saturday night and it was nearly empty, never a good sign, and when our party of 6 sat down there were large (cigarette or cigar?) burn marks on the table, the bench I sat in had me at chest height with the table-like a child at a restaurant..LOL Anyway, the menu seemed like there were a lot of options and we forged ahead.
For our appetizer we chose the buticha, which I have had a cafe Romnat (and it was DELICIOUS), but here it wasjust sour and not good.
For our entrees we at family style and had: the Ethiopian vegetarian combo, the Siga beef tibs, Doro chicken tibs and the Shira vegan combo. First off let me say that the beef had a really nice flavor, but the actual chunks of beef were full of cartilidge and connective tissue-they were not chunks of beef, more like off cuts containing thick gristle that cannot be chewed and cartiledge. Again the beef had a nice flavor to the sauce, but the beef itself was gross. The vegetarian dishes really didn't distinguish themselves from one another at all, everything was kind of one note and not very flavorful. The enjera was tasteless, not that it is the supposed to be a flavorful bread, but it was just lacking and overly sour.
Lastly the Doro chicken tibs were really good, everyone at the table liked it and was happy with that choice.
All in all, I don't think that I would go back. The service was fine, the dining accommodations could be better, but if the food is good I can overlook that...unfortunately the food was not good enough to have to eat at a table that is at my chest and pull chunks of thick connective tissue out of my mouth when taking a bite of the beef dish...Sorry Blue Nile, I really wanted to like your spot, but it just didn't work out.