Fasika Restaurant

Dined in today at this cozy spot on Snelling at the first block north of University. Today was a blessing! The neighbor to the north was not open, so we defaulted to here. I ordered the vegetarian plate and the vegetable sambusa. My friend had the chicken. Everything was wonderful. Polite service, friendly and attentive enough to make sure we were covered and yet not too intrusive. Happy and delicious food. We allowed for about an hour and had plenty of time to catch up and enjoy our dining experience. Decor is homey and also bright.

I brought a friend to try the chicken and rice I had last time and I was a bit disappointed. The chicken was dry and it didn’t have all the ingredients that it had last time I was there some days ago. I showed the photo of the last chicken and rice to the server and asked, “Is this the same thing?” She responded, “Yes, except this one is not fully made.” Long story short, ensure your know who is in the kitchen as it is made by different people. My friend wasn’t impressed with the dried chicken and plain rice and I wasn’t either. There needs to be consistency of how the food is made as I brought my friend specifically because of my last great experience. I ordered the beef tibs and that was felt and flavorful. I just wish the rice and chicken was the same as last time. Customer service was not horrible, it was just the food quality that was a little disappointing.

Incredible food. The veggie combo and lamb combo were so flavorful. The lamb was tender, and every veggie dish had a different flavor profile. Definitely my favorite Ethiopian place!

The entrance is a bit low key and the place ain't much to look at, but the food is just amazing. Dishes are served with salad atop a generous portion of injera (pancake like soft bread), meant to be shared family style. You tear off a piece of injera and use it to pick up bite-size portions of the meat and veggies, be sure that your injera soaks up plenty sauce, then place in your mouth. If you're new to this, ask for extra napkins. The restaurant will provide forks and knives if you ask.

The food looks great but is served ice cold. We were hungry and was disappointed with the service. Definitely not going to come back here for sure. The red curry in the dish is so dried out a dry layer is formed on top of it. Totally not fare for the price you pay

Ethiopian food is so good. I've been coming here for you years. Oh fellow vegetarians, you are welcome here. Some food is spicy. Some of it is not. The flavor is always so good. Oh also before I was vegetarian. I loved the meat. It is so good. Definitely check out this place. The vegetarian and meat combo was $50. I don't know if it was worth $50 but yeah and it was just me and my brother that ate it. Prices are stupidly expensive but it's really good flavorful food

Some of the best ethiopian food in the cities. Lamb tibs and their fresh tibs are to die for. Beef sambosa is also something you don't want to pass up if you get a chance. Their veg (lentil) sambosas don't have quite the same flavor but definitely are filling by themselves. Not to mention, for the price the serving sizes are massive so make sure to come hungry!

Wow wow wow!! Amazing service and super friendly staff! Can we talk about this dish right here??!! I got the beef combination and it was fantastic!! First time eating Ethiopian food and trust! I will be back! 🔥💕

If you're looking for some of the best delicious ethnic restaurants in town then you got to explore Snelling / University Ave in St. Paul. There are so many good restaurants and Fasika is a good example. This was our first time trying Ethiopian restaurant so we were super excited. The menu was overwhelming especially for newbies. Not having pictures made it harder but luckily our server took the time to introduce the menu and share some of her favorites. Ordered - Lamb Tibs (3.5/5). The lamb was juicy and marinated well. The injera bread is new and a bit sour for my tasting (also, pro tip - try to finish most of it since take-out injera bread is really soggy and not good). Another bread like naan would have been tastier or just basmati rice but happy to try something new - Veggie Sampler (4/5). Tasty and fun to have an assortment of the curries. The fried fish was on-point, crisp, and went well with the variety of flavors. This was our favorite Fasika is unique, tasty, and worth trying at least once to appreciate Ethiopian/African cuisine. Hope to visit again and try other dishes :)

If you want half the items you ordered to be missing and the food delivered an hour late, try this place. We ordered 8 vegetable dishes, and four of them were missing: the tekil gomen, the gomen, the azifa, and the timatim fit fit. They replaced these dishes with extra very dry and flavorless lentils, and some random kale and eggplant. If we wanted extra lentils, or kale and eggplant, we would have ordered those things. We spent a lot of money on this dinner, it was all messed up, it arrived an hour late and cold, and we live about half a mile from the restaurant, so there's no reason for cold food. Did they think we wouldn't notice we didn't get what we ordered? If they didn't want to fill the order or cook the items we ordered, they could have just cancelled the order or declined it, and we'd have ordered from another restaurant and been happy. Terrible food, terrible service, and we spent way too much money, only not to get what we paid for. If you want food delivered, do yourself a favor and order from someplace else.

Veggie Sampler is typically good and the veggie sambussas are great. The food taste and quality is just inconsistent, which is unfortunate. I'm assuming it depends on who's in the kitchen on any given day.

Perfect spot for amazing Ethiopian food! Went with a St. Paul local who knew exactly what to order- the Ultimate Combination Platter. I shared the dish with two other people and it was the perfect amount of food with a wide range of different tastes- very important for a group who ranges from spicy enthusiast to hater of any heat! The Combination Platter is an amazing first dish to order if you are just checking out this restaurant or Ethiopian food. It showcases all of Fasika's best flavors and different types of meats- with a sustenance of delicious veggie options as well. Ended up ordering extra injera for the table, recommend if sharing with others! Can't wait to come back with visitors to the Twin Cities- gem!

I had maybe been here once many years ago, but for some reason it had been a while even though I have friends that come here routinely. Some say this is the best Ethiopian restaurant in a metro area where there is significant competition in that area. I really love this food. On this visit, our table split a Zilzil Tibs and a Vegetarian Combo. These dishes are generous enough that it can make sense to order two dishes for three people, as we did. And if you get one of the combos, you can still experience their variety! The food here is outstanding. Our server, Kiko, is someone we've seen before and she's very friendly and attentive; we were able to flag her down quickly every time we needed something. I will caution anyone that the pace here is similar to that of just about any Ethiopian restaurant you'll try, by which I mean that it's slower than normal. You should consider Fasika for a more casual, unhurried dining experience, much like if you go to a fondue place. As long as that expectation is set, you'll probably really love Fasika.

Fasika definitely has a hole in the wall feel. The interior is definitely simplistic and a bit dated. I wasn't sure what to order, but decided on the Chicken Tibs with rice and salad. I wasn't sure what to expect, but after my first bite, I was sold. The dish was SO good. The chicken was seasoned perfectly, and had a crisp to it. The rice was light and full of flavor, as was the salad. The portion was large, and could almost be shared between two people with an app. Overall, I was so happy we went with Fasika. I'll definitely stop in agaIn soon!

My favorite things about this place is the HUGE portions and ofcourse eating with my hands! I've been coming to Fasika for years and I'm surprised I haven't wrote a review! I discovered this place in college and I'm super glad I did- saved some money in college ( I like to think haha) by coming here because my friends and I would share! My go to is the veggie plate, it has the injera and all the delicious different styles veggie curries to sample which is always fun. The chicken doro wot is also great- but I wish it was spicer and usually add more salt/seasoning on the side. From my experience most people either LOVE OR HATE injera- the spongey bread that you eat with the curry. Personally I love it because I love all things sour. As for service- yes there isn't much as sometimes I had friendly waiters but for the most part most of the waiters are quiet and don't check on you much but as in introvert I don't mind lol Side notes- Parking is limited but it's worth parking a block or so away.

How do I even explain this place?! It's authentic and wayyy too good to be so close to my house. I love this place. Great service and it's usually pretty busy. It's one of those hidden gems. It for sure has some odd dishes but that's the joy of authentic food :) I love any of the tib dishes and the platters. Injera (the bread) is like a weird soft flat bread that is a little sour. You eat with your hands too when you get most dishes. Great place to bring kids too get the chicken dish :) otherwise they sell chicken fingers and fries for your little kiddos Worth a try if you're down for something new and sooo good!

The veggie platter will not disappoint and is a great way to try a bunch of different flavor profiles. Staff is attentive and street parking is easy as long as there isn't a Loons game.

Absolutely amazing. I've never had any open food but I've always been curious and there are a few places in New York City but they're not located in an ethnic enclave like in Minneapolis. Happen to be in the Twin Cities for a business trip and was taken to this location for lunch and I was very excited. We were the only non Ethiopian folks in the restaurant and that's usually a good sign. We ordered the vegetarian platter and the combo or just basically all the different beef curries. I never had injera bread before and it kind of reminded me of a flatbread prepared in the Tamil style back home in Sri Lanka. Light fluffy yet a faint sourdough taste; the ideal vessel to scoop up plenty of veggies and Curry. We did order samosas as an appetizer and they were beefy and flavorful. My overall food experience was two thumbs up I would definitely go back when I had town. As a benchmark for Ethiopian food this set the bar pretty high.

Waited 2 hours for a meal just for it to taste flavorless and salty. I've been craving this for months, but I was left disappointed at the end

Fasika is located 1 block away from the light rail on Snelling and University. This Ethiopian restaurant is a gem to the community, and has been voted on, rewarded and have had raving reviews from a lot of newspapers, magazines, and food critics in and around the Twin cities. I order the Veggie Platter with rice and fish EVERY TIME! With mango juice of course lol I never change my order, though sometimes I May add to it. I LOVE the food here, I have never been disappointed. If you are interested in experiencing authentic food, listen to amazing music and catching a vibe with friends, this is a great place to go.

I was really disappointed in the food here. The vegetable combo was dry and the beef combo just wasn't very good. The lamb tibs were OK but I wouldn't go back.

TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!! The young Ethiopian lady with glasses at the front, with bleached hair, was SUPER DISRESPECTFUL and had a HUGE ATTITUDE. Kept blaming me for their WRONG DOINGS! Over a take out order! She claimed I didn't call and made me PROVE TO THEM THAT I CALLED and I'm LYING ABOUT THE TIME they said it would take for the order to be ready. How ABSURD! Some words of advice, take names and numbers with each take out order and maybe this wouldn't have happened! The lack of management, lack of professionalism and THE ignorance was mind blowing! I asked for a manager and they sent out a waitress that was at the bottom of the totem pole with this establishment because the blonde lady didn't want to talk to me. And here we go! ANOTHER ESTABLISHMENT THAT NEEDS A LESSON ON CUSTOMER SERVICE!!! STOP HAVING KIDS RUN THE FRONT OF YOUR ESTABLISHMENT, makes the business look HORRIBLE when issues arise!! When I come back to Minnesota, I will stay clear from the Ethiopian restaurants because what I went through today I don't wish it on my WORSE ENEMY!!!

We stopped in for dinner on a Monday evening around 8pm. The place started to fill up around 8:30pm. We started with a couple bottles of beers. The atmosphere and staff culture are both laid back, so if you're in a rush, probably not the best place to eat at. If you traveled abroad to Europe, just equate it to that speed on the service. We ordered the lamb variety plate and a veggie plate. Both platters were very tasty, fresh, and full of flavors as one would expect from Ethiopian dishes. Everything about the food was on point including the injera. The dining area was a little unkempt. The carpet could have used a vacuum in between the lunch and dinner hour, but nothing alarming and certainly no red flags. There are about half a dozen bar stools at the bar. The dining area had roughly a dozen tables of various sizes. The parking lot is small but plenty of nearby street parking. I've been to cities known for their Ethiopian cuisines and in my opinion, Fasika can rival with any of them. I would definitely come back here if i'm ever in the area again.

Good food and a relaxed vibe this is a great option for a casual sit down restaurant. I went with two other people and split a big combo platter with them. It worked out really well and was plenty for the three of us. Sadly no tomato salad (a side at many Ethiopian restaurants) but still very good!

One of the best places to eat in the Twin Cities for a long time, now conveniently located off the green line close to Allianz; service can be slow, mainly because it is so popular. Doro (chicken) wot is typically the best dish at any Ethiopian restaurant, and Fasika serves the best in town.

On a Sunday, around 2pm I ventured in to dine at Fasika. I had the Rib eye tibs with a side of rice and salad, which was delicious. The portion was definitely large enough to share for two people. I dined alone so I took the rest of that goodness home with me for seconds and thirds!!! They need to work on their organization here. If you want to sit versus take-out, for either option, there is no method to the madness. I am not sure if this was attributable to the after lunch/brunch rush or what, but I was unclear of their operating system so I was very confused to say the least. It took me a while to figure out who was the hostess and if they were just at the bar also waiting on tables. I finally settled on sitting at the bar. Besides that mess, the food definitely made up for it. My rib eye tibs were delicious. The aroma of the seasoning and the flavors was just delightful. I love gravy and I love rice and there was enough of both to go around. The mixed medley veggies in the rice were ok. The salad, you know was just salad but good and fresh. However, my rib eye tibs were succulent and done well, not over done. I had gravy for days and I have to say the gravy takes the cake. I definitely look forward to another visit but will not expect to try to figure out their ordering system I'll just start to order from wherever I am ...lol.

Food is OK but they really need to do something about the air conditioner or else become a take-out only operation.

Terrible service. I only writing this review as I rely on them often to select the best place to go. After placing our order we waited nearly an hour and a half and still no food. After seeing literally everyone else in the restaurant come and go we decided to leave. On the way out it was if we were at fault some how...! Such poor attitude even if the food reviews looked decent I recommend anywhere else. Tried the competition, was served in a timely manner, and great customer service!

Good food but the last time I went there I was served burned lentil. It was really bad. I did not complain and did not ask them to make me a new one. I was shocked they did not realize it themselves. I will probably be back because I ate there three time and this only happened to me once.

There aren't many places open at 10 p.m. on a Wednesday evening which is exactly why I ended up here. My coworker and I were in town for business, we spent too much time at Ikea and ended up grouchy and starved and running out of options. I've had Ethiopian many times before, she hadn't, and I was more than ready to sit down to a big pile of injera and tibs! The meal didn't disappoint. It tasted just as good as the Ethiopian food I've had in Nebraska and Georgia, it's literally comfort food to me, and my friend loved it. I ordered some hot tea but it wasn't quite what I wanted it to be. It was good though just not sweet and spicy like I've had before. We wanted a big mix of food so we ordered two entrees and shared, including the chicken tibs and the vegetarian platter. There was SO much food. Enough for likely 4 people, not two. The chunks of meat were also pretty big. I've only had tibs in small bits before this. The tibs had a bit too many jalapenos, I could have done without those, but overall it was quite tasty. My biggest complaint is that it took a really long time to get our food. Like over 30 minutes, not quite an hour. It was late, about an hour or so to closing, busy but not too busy so I wasn't sure why it took forever! Great eatery though. And the prices were great! I don't remember what we spent but it was probably one of the cheapest meals we had that week. And again, open late! Fasika is a great spot!

Good food but very slow service. We went in around 7:30 pm ,which I believe was prime time, with 4 tables occupied. So we thought we could get a quick meal here, but the service was very slow. We came here on a sunday evening after the minnesota united game. We were 5 of us, and got seated right away. We did order Veggie Sampler and Chicken sampler, which came after what felt ages. The food was tasty though, cannot complain about it. We were all down and busy to finish the same. The place did get crowded right after. There is hardly any parking around, street parking is best bet. The servers were helpful but very slow. May be its the good food which took time to cook or may be its just the incompetency, but in the end we took off with a smile on our face and a full stomach.

Love this place... great atmosphere.... Great food.... Come here if you want to have Ethiopian experience!

This was my first time trying Ethiopian food, it was delicious! Service was fast and attentive. Their COVID precautions included contact tracing, plastic protectors over tables (maybe for easy cleaning, not sure these are new), hand sanitizer stations and the servers wear masks. I got the Ultimate Feast, it'll be perfect for at least 3 people.

Absolutely wonderful food and delightful people. Fast take out. The staff fired on my granddaughter about as much as I do!

The Yelp rating brought me in and the food didn't disappoint. I came in and enjoyed the rest of election night coverage and though there was a language barrier, they did a good job of checking in to ensure a positive experience.

Food of Fasika is really a flavor bomb .It was my first experience with Ethiopian cuisine and I am glad that it went well.We ordered Lamb ,beef and chicken key wot and chicken door wat. Meat were cooked to perfection and it was so moist and juicy .The injera was so tangy .I have never tasted injera before so I am not really sure whether it is supposed to be like that.But it went really good with the spice flavor of the curry( there is a lot of flavor - cumin ,cloves ,cardamom ,cinnamon and lot more) .Only disappointing things was the salad they served as side .It was so greasy.The portions are really huge and one dish can easily be shared between 2 . It is a small restaurant with limited seats .Also the parking space in the back side of the restaurant exactly fits 5 cars to the max.Also there is no much street parking to the area.

I was happy to get a chance to have Ethiopian food again. You can't always find it in every city. We ordered the sample feast which fed us more than enough food for 4 people, we were all stuffed and there were leftovers! It came with all sorts of options. I really like the food and they gave us lots of extra injera bread to scoop up our yummy food. I thought the flavors were good, though I have had some Ethiopian food that was a little bit more flavorful. I think my favorite was the cabbage. What was nice was they had multiple meat items and then all of the vegetarian samples on this tray. They also serve beer. The clientele was quite diverse. The booths were a nice size, but the seats a little sticky since I was wearing shorts. We had to fold up the plastic tablecloths because they were kind of gross on our legs and intrusive. Overall, a very enjoyable experience.

This is a wonderful place with excellent food and friendly staff. We are fortunate to have this business in Saint Paul. The Tibs are fantastic and the salad is perfect.

I went to this restaurant for dinner with a former high school classmate who was in town. I had heard great things about it and was eager to try it and to catch up with my former classmate. The service was terrible! I walked in shortly after my classmate. She was standing at a table near the front. She was told to sit at the table, but it didn't have any chairs around it. It took a few minutes but two chairs were brought over and we had a seat. We figured out what we wanted and ordered rather quickly. It took a bit longer to get our food but we were so busy catching up that we didn't really notice at first. A a little bit into the meal, my classmate decided that she wanted an Ethiopian tea. Since the waitress never came back to the table, she approached the bar to order the tea. After 10 minutes or she went back to inquire about the Tea. I'm not sure what she was told at that point if I wasn't present. When the waitress walked past the table and was asked about the tea again for the third time she said in a frustrated tone, "the hot machine is down and takes long time to get back up" This explanation should have been given from the beginning. Ethiopian food is traditionally eaten with your hands. But we wanted to eat our salad with a fork. We requested a fork and that took about 5 minutes to get. As we're sitting and finishing up our food and waiting for boxes we had requested awhile before, I hear a frustrated customer state "we've been waiting for an hour and a half for our food. This is ridiculous!" She went on to say she has never written a Yelp review in her life, but she was tempted to do so. I wanted to get up and encourage her to do so. Lol. The food was delicious, good size portions as well ( I got the veggie sampler) but the service was so bad that I'm not sure that I can eat here again. Maybe take out?

Was it that it was a Monday? Or, is it like this all of the time. There is a female waitress/bartender who services and checks in (and out) all customers...and apparently nobody else to help her. So, on a busy night, like tonight, service was very slow. So slow that persons were lined up in the middle of the room waiting to be seated and others, after being seated, just left after 15 minutes of no service. I don't fault the service--the woman did have a very full restaurant, and she was wearing many hats (it really didn't help that she was fairly laidback in her approach to hostessing/waitressing/etc.). Many times persons who had been either waiting for food or waiting to pay the bill simply went up to the bar and caught her attention there to help speed things up. When I entered, there were four tables with no food or water, and patrons looking around for service. I knew immediately service was slow, and I prepared myself for it--it was a Monday night and I was alone, so no biggie. The tables of 3, 4, and 5 didn't share the same sunny optimism. What made it so painful is that the obvious father of the woman who was servicing the entire restaurant only wandered about observing, not bussing tables, taking orders, delivering food, or refilling water. He literally wasn't doing anything while she very slowly fulfilled her many roles. I just wanted to approach the guy and tell him, "This is your restaurant, help out!" But, as nearly everyone in the restaurant was 50% white American, we all held our lips thinking it was a patriarchal or familial cultural thing. I just went with the flow and ordered a vegan curry "stew"...well, it came as three vegetable dishes with a lot of African "bread." It was my first time eating Injera, so was unsure how to go about it--but thanks to YouTube, I figured it out without too much fuss. (Eventually, I would abandon the traditional way to eat Atkilt and just use a spoon. So, sue me.) Unfortunately, for me, the dish only had one potato wedge and was 2/3 cabbage, either curry or doused in Italian dressing. The other 1/3 was blanched olive leaves...way too much for one person to eat. I ate the cabbage but left the olive leaf. I also somehow consumed half of one Injera and that's what basically filled my stomach. So...I left most of the vegan dish on the plate. The place is a little claustrophobic, the service...well, just plan to spend some time there, especially if you're a group of 3 or more. And don't expect service to be timely with the bill. Since it was my first time, I didn't know if it was a cultural thing, or if it was an off-night. Food was cooked, spices were right, the Injera a soft, pillowy sponginess...but I would err on the side of a protein dish, instead.

So, so good. I went with a group and enjoyed a fantastic meal. Perfect place for vegetarians and carnivores alike. So many choices. I came specifically to have injera soaked in tasty veggie juices. Reminiscent of my days in Kampala eating Ethiopian. This was a delight!

I was here last year, but was able to find a picture. The food is very good, and it's authentic, but service was slow, and we were trying to get on our way to a show at the Turf Club. The injera's texture is amazing, and the lamb was so good and perfectly spiced: I remember being sad that I couldn't take leftovers with me. My friend's boyfriend helped polish off the rest.

Came here last night with a friend for dinner, and the place was packed. Right away I noticed most of the customers were Ethiopian, which is a great sign for an ethic restaurant. The general rule is that if the native people don't eat there, usually it's not that good. It can be difficult for me sometimes to critic an other culture food since I don't have a vast knowledge on it. With that in mind, I can only base my rating on the consistency of the foods compared to other Ethiopian restaurants that I've tried. The main concern with Fasika is consistency in term of costumer service and depth of seasoning on the foods. Customer service: I've been here before where there were 5-6 customers and service was horrendous. A lack of warm greeting, attention to cleaning the table properly, and water refills. Furthermore, it took the food over 20 minutes to be serve. Last night, the service was good despite the restaurant being at max capacity. The waitress was attentive, answered our questions, and made her round to check up on us. Depth of flavors: we ordered the combination platter: Lamb, chicken, beef and an assortment of veggies. The food came out within 5 minutes after we placed the order. I was amazed and concerned simultaneously. Amazed because I was intoxicated by the plethora smell of different spices (Coriander cumin turmeric, all spices, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, various peppers, and a few that I couldn't identify). Concern: since the food came out quickly, the food was made before and has been sitting there for a while. This can be good and bad. The overall meal was inconsistent, the beef/chicken were dried, some of the veggies were either salty or lack of seasoning. The lamb and one of stew beef were good; tender and the spices permeated into the meat.

Fasika is probably the most acclaimed Ethiopian restaurant in the midway neighborhood. The titles are well deserved. The food at Fasika is filled with flavor and aromas that capture the room. They serve traditional Ethiopian food and it's some of the best around. The sambusa sold here is the best in St. Paul in my opinion. The sambusa bursts with flavor and is golden and crunchy. If you haven't already been here you are missing out. Try the Awaze Tibs if you can't decide what to try first!

Fasika restaurant one of the worse place to eat out and horrible customer services,the waiter was very disrespectful, and had a nasty attitudes, I order food for take out and waitress didn't event want to talk to me or take my order after asking her why she yelled at me and said I don't have time for you and she told me shut up wow, please don't go this place the food is bad and the place is dirty.

1st time in an Ethiopian restaurant. Tried their lamb with bread, lamb was awesome, not so much fan of the bread though. Its an special kind of spongy bread called Injera, to dip in meat sauce. Tasted pretty good. Small restaurant with few tables and 2 booths, just by the intersection. Will try again? Yes

Another Saint Paul staple and favorite of mine. Fasika has been on Snelling for as long as I can remember. I've taken friends here, and eaten a variety of dishes more times than I can count. It's a cozy place with a variety of Ethiopian art and collections on the walls. They usually have some fútbol playing by the bar but it's never too loud. I ordered the lamb combination along with the veggie platter and it was huge. The portions are family style so I always like going with four ppl, not because I can't eat that much food (cause I can), but because they seat you at a bigger table. Bigger table=more space for food. The spice ranges depending on what you order and likely if you're a regular or coming with other brown folk. Everything is delicious and if you're not a fan of injera, you can always substitute rice. I highly suggest the Ethiopian tea which has great flavors of clove, five spice and cinnamon. It can be a little sweet but you always have the option of not adding additional sugar to your cup. This has become one of my favorite places to eat and once you visit it will be yours too! No pictures were taken because the food is too delicious to wait.

So here's the problem: I love Ethiopian food so much that even when it's not that great; I'm happy. But when I compare this place with other Ethiopian restaurants, it's just average. Food: Good, but not the best. I had the veggie sampler, which everyone does slightly different. The cabbage and potato dishes are supposed to be mild, but there was little flavor to them at all. Location/Service: We went at 8:30pm on a Saturday night and the place was packed. We had a 10 minute wait and lucked up on parking. Service is the same as with other Ethiopian restaurants, so you can't be in a rush. Ambience: There is none, which isn't a big deal. It's a hole-in-the-wall (which I usually like). I will say it was ridiculously hot and stuffy. Like I thought I was going to need to step outside for air. The temp outside was in the low 80's and I'm not sure the air conditioner was working that night. It hit the spot, but I don't know that I would be loyal to this place. Minneapolis is so diverse, there are lots of other options.

Ok so, I don't usually give out 1 stars. This place though, man, it just was not up to par in the slightest. The waiter told us he was perfectly aware of what Vegan was and assured us that everything we ordered was Vegan. Then the Chef came out and asked us how the food was and we commented on being happy that there were so many Vegan options only for the Chef to tell us that NOTHING we ordered was Vegan! Food was slightly below average at best and obvious the service wasn't great. When we told the Chef that we needed Vegan options and that we weren't going to eat the food that was brought to us, the Chef told us we should've been more specific with the server. Needless to say, we will NOT be back here.

If I were going to die tomorrow I would eat here first. Vegetarian platter is #1 recommendation. Then the chicken tibs. My man partner loves the beef tibs. This spot is amazing don't pass it up. Make reservations on weekend busy times to get priority seating. You may have to wait a bit but suck it up and wait. It's a small place and worth every minute of waiting.

I think it's time to upgrade Fasika to five stars! Three of us had a Valentine's Day lunch. We timed it perfectly for lunch, before all of the dinner reservations started. Three of us shared the Fasika Ultimate Combination, salad & rice, extra Injera Bread, Baklava, extra spicy beef (to go), and various beverages. We also got a bag of Ethiopian Coffee to go. As always, the food was awesome. And the service was great...despite being busy as hell and gearing up for a busy Valentine's Day. Thanks for another great experience! -Daddy Maxx Retro

This place just hit the trifecta of "stay away" - terrible service, average tasting food, and FLIES in the restaurant. On the service, in short, we were ignored. We probably tried this restaurant at a bad time since this place seems to get good reviews (frankly that's what motivated us to try it in the first place). We ate there yesterday, Aug 31st and arrived at 7:36 PM. After seating us and taking our orders, fast forward 50 minutes after, no drinks, no food, and no one checked on us. Granted the place was full and we tried to get the attention of the other wait staff with no success but our own server didn't even bring us our drinks. I was ready to walk out when my wife tapped the woman cleaning the table behind us to check if we can get our drinks and to give us an idea on when our food would come. It wasn't until then that we got our drinks and I think that may have been the time they put in the order since it came 15 minutes after we spoke to that person. Regarding the taste, I've tasted Ethiopian food in my business travels both in Dubai and in South Africa and this was at best average. The injera was disappointing, maybe we got a bad batch but it did not taste good at all so we focused on the meat and veggies which were good but not great. What made us leave were the two flies that hit my daughter's steak. That was just terrible and unappetizing. So I stood up, when to the counter and paid our bill. It was truly disappointing. I had to wait 24 hrs to write this review to make sure it was objective and not just an emotional outburst. Unfortunately, after much reflection, it is still a 1 star for me and my family. My family even insisted that we give this place a one star. We have never given a one star but definitely this one deserves it.

Various people I've spoken to have suggested that Fasika serves the best Ethiopian food in the Twin Cities. Those people are correct. Fasika is easily the best Ethiopian restaurant in the Twin Cities. While they don't have too many veg. dishes, what they do have is delicious, and prepared with grace and quality. The menu states that all the vegetarian dishes are "100% vegan" which was a nice touch; kudos to the owners or to some previous vegans who managed to get that labeling added and understood. My friend and I split a "miser wot" ($8.50; lentils with berbere sauce) and another lentil dish with unlisted spices (also $8.50). Both were excellent. The miser wot was spicy without being overpowering and tasted fresh and light. Similarly, the other lentil dish we had was served hot (temperature-wise) and had a perfect, delicate balance of garlic, onions, jalapenos and other spices; it's rare that one finds such a perfectly executed dish. More over, other Ethiopian restaurants I've been to have a hard time maintaining the freshness, texture and temperature of the food they served---dishes come out lukewarm, mushy or with an aura of day-old leftovers. Not so at Fasika, where everything was popping, bright and flavorful. The injera that came with the dish was ample and tasty, without being overly sour. This was the first time I've been to an Ethiopian restaurant where I actually ate all of the injera that they gave me. The service was warm, friendly and unobtrusive. They also gave out free small cups of coffee to every table. My only gripes are that the ambience was lacking (it seemed kind of bleak and bland like every other Ethiopian place I've been to), and at least for the beginning of our meal, there was some super-strong incense burning right in the middle of the restaurant that made it difficult to breathe. Regardless, I will definitely be coming back to Fasika in short order.

I had two previous experiences with Ethiopian food at a place on Franklin Ave in Mpls and another place on Riverside Ave about 15 years ago. Both were so bad I lost interest to try it again anywhere. Until now. Reviews for Fasika were so overwhelmingly positive, and the menu items were written up to sound appetizing, so I figured it just had to be better food and cultural experience. It was not. The lackadaisical pace of service provided plenty of opportunity to scrutinize the dining room and wonder when is was last cleaned beyond a lick and a promise. I should have stopped at the tea and left. One star for that. I ordered a sampler plate thinking it would provide an opportunity to try a few different things and maybe hit on something that would bring me back as it does legions of enthusiastic patrons. The presentation, little piles of mush that brought to mind my boulevard in springtime on a bread, injera bread, which had the appearance and rubbery texture of a bath mitt, did not appeal to me. Nevertheless I tried a bit from each pile with the sour tasting injera, one pile was good and I finished that, then, regretting my visit here, went to Homi for empanadas.

The lady that answered the phone was very disrespectful. She was very impatient with my order and would not even assist me or correct me if I needed help. I also asked for drinks when I arrived and she said no because it would take more of her time. Basically she doesn't know how to do her job and when it comes to the food I had much better authentic Ethiopian dishes before and can make this on my own . It ain't shit but you should go here if you just need food to fill you up that's about it

Absolutely delicious food! I have worked for several Ethiopian organizations and had many Ethiopian dishes and I can definitely say this is some of the best I've had! Their service was also amazing and so kind! Can't wait to go back!

One of my favorite restaurants. I've tried most of their menu items but I always go back to #12 (lamb key wot). I LOVE the spicy berbere sauce that the lamb is cooked in. The injera is perfect for dipping in that sauce (or wiping up the last of it on the plate)--there is something about injera that my tongue loves. Also, the salad is delicious, not sure what kind of dressing they use. There have been small (but noticeable to me) changes in the last few months: at my most recent visit this month, the injera was more of a brown color instead of the usual gray and not as pungent, but there was a lot more lamb meat in the stew (yay!) and a lot more salad (yay!). I always walk away from this place happy and full (and smelling like delicious exotic spices). It's a small place with about 5 booths and 1-2 small tables plus a bar area, waitresses are attentive when need be and they have a rather diverse customer base--I feel very comfortable here.

This is my favorite Ethiopian restaurant. The food is delicious!! The sampler plates have great variety.