11/25/2022
This is my (facebook.com/rothdan) review of Amsale Cafe which was originally posted to Google Maps. Because I created this page, I can't enter it as a normal review.
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Five stars - but I wish I could give 10!
First, let me just give praise to the owners of the restaurant. We had reservations for Thanksgiving Day. We came to the restaurant to discover that they had decided to close for the day, but because we had reservations, they opened the restaurant and served just our party of four! If they had called us a few days prior and told us, "You are the only reservation for the day, so we would like to have the day off and spend it with our family" we would have gladly said, "Go ahead!" It shows great character and integrity on behalf of the couple who own Amsale Cafe that they chose to honor the reservation. For that alone, I wish I could give them extra stars!
The service was pleasant and joyful. We couldn't have asked for better service - attentive but not pushy. Just the perfect balance.
But let's get to the main feature - the food. Let's put it simply this way - I now have a new favorite Ethiopian restaurant in Philadelphia. This is, hands down, the best Ethiopian food I have had in the city. We started with the Ethiopian tea. For those who have not had it before, it is a mild black tea that is spiced. It was perfect! Both refreshing and flavorful.
We chose to eat off a common platter, but note that was our choice. For those who prefer otherwise, they will serve individual plates.
We shared Doro Qey Wat, Yebeg Awaze Tibs, Yetibs Fitfit, and the Regular Veggie Combo (7 Items). I'll start by saying this was quite possibly the best injera I've ever had. The level of fermented tanginess was perfect! All four of us agreed that every one of the 7 vegetables from the Veggie Combo tasted great. They were every bit as tasty as the meat dishes - and this is coming from an omnivore with strong carnivorous leaning.
All of the dishes were perfectly spiced - both in the sense of being flavorful and in having an appropriate level of heat. The dishes that were suppose to be spicy hot were unmistakably so, but not to a level where it distracted in any way from the wonderful blend of flavors in the various dishes.
This was the best Doro Wat I have ever had. I'm not exactly a food critic who can pull out specific flavors, but the sauce was a perfectly tasty blend of spices and the chicken was tender and had an actual chicken taste to it unlike so much bland chicken that's out there these days. It's the next day and my wife is still raving about how good the hard-boiled egg in the sauce was.
The Yetibs Fitfit was exactly what you would hope for - tasty, tender bits of beef in a wonderful sauce with just the perfect ratio of beef, injera, and sauce. The Yebeg Awaze Tibs was also some of the best flavor I've ever had. If I had anything to say was not 100% with the meal, it was that the lamb was just a little bit chewier than I like it - although, to be frank, no more so than at probably 2/3rds of the other Ethiopian restaurants I've eaten at.
So, there you have it - outstanding people, outstanding service, and outstanding food. And did I mention the prices? Excellent! The four of us had dinner and drinks (non-alcoholic, but they welcome BYOB) for $86 including tax. You can bet we tipped generously on top of that.
As I said above, this is our new favorite Ethiopian restaurant in Philadelphia and we look forward to returning soon. I highly recommend Amsale Cafe!
(The photo is from when we are well into the meal.)
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Dinner
Price per person
$20–30
Vegetarian options
I'm an omnivore, but I found the vegetarian options just as tasty as the rest of the food.
Kid-friendliness
The owners were extremely welcoming, and I'm sure they would be gracious to anyone who came with children. However, I didn't see any special accommodations for children. It is up to you to decide how well your child would like the food and the leisurely pace.
Parking
We had no trouble with on-street parking nearby on Thanksgiving Day.
