Mesob Ethiopian Restaurant

This place is damn good. We were blown away by different dishes that we ordered one after the other. Tried Chicken tibs, Doro wot, the four vegan lentils and a lamb dish. All of them were fantastic. The waitress lady went above and beyond to help us decide what to order. Would highly recommend for fabulous Ethiopian food!

Alright, this place absolutely rocks! The staff was so friendly and the food was absolutely fantastic! This was my first time trying Ethiopian food and boy did I chose the right place. The staff helped me pick out the best options for a first timer and it didn’t disappoint! I highly recommend this restaurant and I will certainly be coming back!

Love the food every time I come here. It's a little spot, but they're always ready for customers. Meals are large portions meant to be shared, and extra injera is available if you want, but shouldn't need it - they give plenty with the meal. I prefer meals with chicken, but the lamb and beef are very good. Don't miss out on the curried lentils or yellow peas. Everything is always delicious, I can't really say I have a favorite.

Amazing Ethiopian food! I’ve yet to find better in the Twin Cities on quality. Highly recommend the veggie sampler. It’s huge and could easily be shared. There are tons of vegetarian and vegan options on the menu outside of the sampler as well. 5 stars for the food, the service, not so much. Expect to be here for a while. The restaurant is laidback, and while it’s always appreciated when staff aren’t rushing you out the door, getting the attention of staff here can be tricky. We waited almost an hour for our food to come out, and had a tough time getting water.

I had the lentils and pea and ingira and it was DELICOUS!! Ask for extra egg on the side delicous protein packed combo. Vegetarian friendly

We loved each item, and then liked some even more! I was expecting more "hole-in-the-wall" from the exterior, but it was fun sitting inside with some of the decorative features. Our server was sweet and helpful. Thanks for an amazing lunch!

Very relaxed family style dining. The Lamb is delicious! I am eating Lamb awaze tibs and veggies. It was a dish for one, and it would easily feed two. They serve wine, beer, and soft drinks domestic and imported. My bill was $23.50. I only had water and lemon to drink. What a DEAL. This will become one of my weekly meals for sure!!! Will definitely come back often.

I have chosen to give this establishment a 5 star because the food is tasty and it attracts a lot of locals as a small business, serving Ethiopian folks within the Twin Cities, especially in South Minneapolis, at a relatively "hole in the wall" location. I do not want to use superficial criteria to rate this establishment lower, knowing that factors such as cleanliness, service, etc. can easily perpetuate elitist perspectives, especially when it comes to small POC-owned businesses. Its service to the community is what I value the most as it serves tasty food with very modest decorations and nothing flashy. Frequent Ethiopian visitors do not typically engage in reviews for this place but they visit very often. If you are not Ethiopian, you will find yourself the only non-Ethiopian (or just non-East African) in the restaurant more often than not. However, even if I have chosen to give a 5, I do have a few points to make that can serve as genuine expectations for others: 1) They seem to be very understaffed, so please expect slower to at times nonexistent service and be proactive about asking for an update on food or ordering. The times I was there, they only had one server who had to handle all of the to-go orders and serve the diners. Please do not make matters worse by exhibiting behaviors that suggest your privilege or how spoiled you can be. 2) Their cleanliness is not always the best. I have had one case where someone threw up in the woman's bathroom and because they were understaffed, they could not attend to cleaning it, subsequently deterring other female customers away from the bathroom. As a Chinese person, I don't mind it, since I have seen enough. But you may care about it because of your background, so just beware. 3) Their food amount given has decreased over the years. The lamb / beg tibs used to contain a full container of lamb with no visible liquid while in June 2023 it looks like there are more areas that one can't see lamb meat. If I want to give Mesob a 4, then that would be the primary reason. With all that said, the food is solid! It is all exactly as described on their menus, with abundant injera and free refill if one doesn't have enough. The doro special chicken is heavily seasoned with spices so having the cheese and injera will be helpful, but it is extremely tasty! The lamb tibs are slightly underseasoned and the lamb can be more tender, but I think it might be just because the lamb is not marinated. The awaze beef tibs are extremely well-seasoned and tasty as well! Both the chicken and the beef can be a bit spicy. As for the veggies, having yellow lentil, red lentil, and root veggies is perfect because they are more plain in flavor and therefore strike a great balance with the meat's potentially overpowering flavor. It's hard to go wrong with Ethiopian food because the spices are so specific, so there's going to be flavor. If there is anything that needs improvement with their food, then I thinn it will just be more consistent with the food portion given. I have been there 3 times and have been given various portions each time. Once again, taste-wise, totally all good!