Abyssinia Ethiopian Restaurant

Ordered takeout for a work event, great communication and attentiveness. Recommend!!

Food: 5

Service: 5

Upmost delightful, excellent food and service. 🙏🏿

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Five star dining experience. Highly recommend!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

It’s little wonder no reservation is needed at Abyssinian Ethiopian Restaurant on Main Street in Middletown and unlikely anyone who eats there would ever return.
As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat - or the unsuspecting consumer who is brave enough to venture into uncharted restaurant territory.
The small, chicken coop sized space is over lit, probably to ensure that patrons don’t linger, but there’s no worries here.
Being the only customers in the establishment, the isolation, and suspicions began to settle in: why is the place empty?
It didn’t take long to figure that out, beginning with the before dinner aperitif, a standard glass of what is called white wine, that has a decidedly amber color, raising fears of “what is it?” Tasting the suspect liquid confirmed all fears, once again begging the question, “what is it?”
Moving on to dinner, the small portion of a poultry menu item didn’t matter because no one would want to eat much - if any - of it anyway. The cubed chicken in a nondescript sauce had a decidedly gamey taste, otherwise known as yesterday’s, or the day before yesterday’s leftover bird.
My dining companion’s dish was no better, with the beef being notably chewy, accompanied by a tablespoon or two of a lentil concoction that was the “side.” Both dishes came with a rolled up, peculiar looking and surprisingly tasteless item that resembled a dirty sock. It’s called Injera. Again, the small portion is no problem here.
For sure, no doggie bags will be needed.
Though there are a couple losers along the Main Street stretch, by and large Abyssinian Ethiopia is an anomy among the many fine restaurants in downtown Middletown.
In all fairness, maybe the vegetarian entrees are a better choice on the menu, but with price tags of around $30, that’s a gamble. It could also be that other Ethiopian restaurants do a better than this one, or maybe they were just having a bad day.
But in a country whose sustenance comes from whatever they can get from the UN, Red Cross, and similar donors, it’s no surprise that Ethiopia doesn’t excel in the culinary area.
It’s a shame they occupy that prime real estate and mystifying how they have managed to stay open for this long.
Hopefully they will find the sense to move over and allow someone else to take the reins to provide high quality cuisine that local patrons expect and deserve.

Service: 1

Good food, service and ambiance

Delicious 😋

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Got food to go, it was great, good gluten free options. A cute spot right in downtown Middletown.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Excellent food. Highly recommend.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

AMAZING Ethiopian food. The food came out so quickly and was so flavorful! The service was amazing too; they were so sweet. You have to come here!!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Amazing spot in Middletown! We got the platter Sambusa appetizer with chicken, and the #15 Abyssinian Platter. It was so much food for two people! I loved the spices and the flavors. The woman was very friendly. GREAT date spot. Can’t wait to visit again!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The food is so good, and they are so friendly. All delicious, and all gluten free. (Except perhaps for the baklava, which we didn’t eat). I’ve never had Ethiopian food before, and I will definitely go back. I had chicken. My friend had salmon. Everything is cooked fresh, so they can adjust the spice levels to your preference.
The injera was delicious!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I've been meaning to check this place out for a while now and I finally went. I've been to a few Ethiopian restaurants around the world and this one did not disappoint. The food tasted amazing! A must try dish is the Key Sega Wot! Talk about flavor!!! It was loaded with flavor and out of this world. I already can't wait to go back and get more. It's a small little restaurant located right on Main Street in Middletown. If it wasn't a rainy night tonight, I would have loved sitting outside on their outdoor patio. They currently don't serve alcohol, but there was a sign outside stating that they were in the process of getting a liquor license. So, Ethiopian beer and honey wine is on its way! It's really hard to describe what Ethiopian cuisine is like if you've never had it before. Not a curry and cumin like Indian. Not a tomatoey basil and oregano like Italian. Not even dilly like Polish. It's very unique. Earthy and tangy using unheard of spice combinations. Sides are usually lentils and different vegetables. Cabbage is the best in my opinion. Honestly, I can't even think of one cuisine to compare it to. All I can tell you is to try it. You'll probably love it!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Excellent!!!!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

This place is top star! We came for our 23rd anniversary. The food is excellent! The prices are extremely reasonable! Proprietors were very friendly. We will be back!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Never had this cuisine before and was excited to try. The service was slow but it was one guy more or less running the show, so it was fine. The food was good. It was a combo of middle eastern and Indian. It was very flavorful, and well presented. The portions were ginormous. Recommend almost all of the apps, but can’t remember the main dish I got. It was a chicken very reminiscent of tandoori. Fun place highly recommend

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 3