Mesob Ethiopian Restaurant
“My friend had a lamb type platter with the injera & of course as a newbie I had the meat sampler.”
“Come here hungry & BYOB- leftovers are tough to wrap if anything happens to not be devoured.”
“Everything was so delicious – the mushroom and chickpea appetizers were especially memorable and warm injera was always on deck.”
Mesob Ethiopian Restaurant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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A solid 3.5 but ambience bumps it to a 4. Great date environment but in terms how the meal is served…might not be the best first date choice. We got the meat sampler for four, which was plenty of food. Good, but aesthetically not too pleasing (looks somewhat like baby food). They do come around to refill the bread, which is nice. It is overpriced for what it is though. All we got was the sampler and still came out to over $30 a person after tax and tip. Service is nice and accommodating but sometimes inattentive.
For great tasting and authentic Ethiopian food, look no further than Mesob in Montclair. The decor and staff are warm and inviting and the food is unlike anything you'll get anywhere else. They are BYOB, so grab some wine or beer at the nearby liquor store. The food tends to be meats and veggies served on fluffy spongy bread which you eat with your hands, using the bread to pick up the food. For first timers, the samplers, particularly the meat is a great way to try a big portion of the menu. The food is almost like Indian curries, but not very spicy. The meat was all very well cooked and flavorful, and the chickpea batter was superb. It was fun to work around the giant plate like a clock, moving from one dish to the next, mixing and complimenting each flavor. You can also get a super strong cup of genuine Ethiopian coffee here.
Always a good experience eating Ethiopian food
did not disappoint
needed some music playing to fill the dead air space but all in all nice experience
if I am in the area again will drop by
Great ambiance . The hosts are awesome but there was too much of waiting. We got the table but it took around 10 – 15 mins without being served water or having a server for the table.
The food is good. Love their spicy lamb and chicken curry. The sides were Ok. The portions were OK (I would have liked some more) .
Overall a great place for Ethiopian food !
Ethiopian food.. Never knew it existed until recently. So why not, let me try something different and unique. I never doubted the food, especially with the great reviews and impeccable aromas coming out of that kitchen.
So when we checked in on Yelp, we received a free appetizer, which was huge fresh mushrooms with a perfect spicy and garlic taste. Too bad we got it with dinner since they forgot to put it in on time. Maybe because it was free they didn't care? Who knows.
Food is served on a large spongy cold bread that looked like tripe, absolutely horrible!! Served on top are your choice of meats or vegetarian options. You then rip a piece of bread and dunk in your meal..hands only so prepare to get messy! I didn't mind that, but the fact that I couldn't remotely enjoy the bread, made it really hard to enjoy the meal overall. The vegetarian options we choose were ok, for $38 for 2 people, nothing was remotely memorable. Everything was just alright with balanced spices definitely not enough for 2 hungry folks to share.
Service was lacking in every way. Servers had way too many tables to take care of and no one ever checked on us. The tables are small compared to the large plate the bread is served on, making it a tight uncomfortable space to eat. I couldn't wait to leave, and with so many restaurants in the area, hate to say it but I won't be back…
Came back here after several years, no longer a vegetarian. Enjoyed it much more this time. Awesome flavors – the lamb and beef were great. Everything is served on top of bread which soaks in all the juice. Really good. FYI – some of the items are spicier than others but you can ask them to adjust.
I love that the menu has several sampler options – a meat sampler, a vegetarian sampler and an overall menu sampler.
FYI – they don't give you utensils here. You are supposed to eat with pieces of bread. Try it. I later asked for utensils because I didn't want to fill up on bread too much. So it's an option.
Very friendly service.
BYOB.
This is the first Ethiopian restaurant that Heather has liked. It had a romantic ambience and plenty of seating. It would be a great date place.
We got the vegetarian appetizer sampler platter–it was enough for two for a light dinner. It consisted mostly of cold dishes, most vegan, and all very interesting:
– The farmer's cheese was tart and fresh, and really good. The chili powder on top is very spicy, but it's easy to scrape off if you don't want it.
– Timatim was smoother than taboulleh, and more tangy and flavorful. It was a cross between some kind of gazpacho and some kind of salad. You can't see injera, but you can taste it.
– Mushrooms are spicy and very flavorful. This was the one warm appetizer. Tasted very meaty, but it was vegetarian.
– Lentils–these were basically just lentils in a lemon vinaigrette. They were refreshing.
– Buticha–this was grainier than hummus, almost like a sort of fine cous cous. It was slightly sweet, and I swear it had sesame oil (although it's not listed.)
We came in at 5pm on a Friday night, since we were seeing a 6:30 movie across the street. We used the check-in, which was basically to choose any appetizer for free. We got the farmers cheese which came with injera. Then we split the meat sampler meal for 2 which was plenty of food. Things were delicious, but the lamb was the best by far. The collards were also delicious. Everything came out quickly and were out with enough time to walk around before the movie started.