Alem Restaurant

We want to this restaurant on a quiet weekday afternoon. We were the only customers there for the first half of the meal. The cook was also the server, and she said she was new, so things were slower than usual. She graciously apologized for the wait and treated us very well.We ordered a veggie platter and a meat platter.Both were great but the meat was especially good. I'm never completely sure what I am eating at Ethiopian restaurants but that doesn't matter, as it is all delicious.

I stopped by Alem on a Rainy day for a generous late lunch for one. I live South of Seattle, and don't have Ethiopian food readily accessible so I was really looking forward to this meal. There was plenty of seating, and I was able to grab a table right away. The server was very kind and took my order right away (I ordered the #1 meat/veggie). My food came out shortly after, and was beautiful. I had so much food, it was really enough to share but I was in heaven. I ate as much as I could but still had about half of the meal left. It was all perfect. ALL PERFECT. The okra is especially amazing. The chef also came to introduce themself and asked if I'd like a coffee. Y'all. They brought me a beautiful cup of coffee. It was sooooo delicious. I want another cup right now. 10/10

The food and service was amazing! The food was very traditional and had great flavor. We got the meat and veggie combo and could not finish.

Holy yes. This place it amazing.. holy delicious it was a late night like sporadic moment we were like let's check it out. It was spontaneous. We couldn't see it in the beginning. Don't let the discourage you.. I think it might be closed outside but no. look go ahead and open that door, once you go in there it's super warm the waitress was super cool, the owner I think was there so he kicked it with us by the table, a must the food I mean the flavors were amazing women chefs it was just really good. Heaven sent will be a favorite spot for sure.

We decided to stop for lunch while driving down Ranier Ave. I found this restaurant on Yelp and decided to give it a try. We were able to park in front of the restaurant. Only street parking is available. We arrived at the restaurant at 12:30 pm with 3 people, but there were no customers, probably because it was a weekday.A woman in the store greeted us with a smile. We looked menu and chosen #1 meat combo and 3 of ginger tea. We always eat one plate of Ethiopian food for two people. This time, the meat combo was large, so we ordered one for 3 people. A meat platter with a mix of meat entries are perfect to try. Ginger tea tastes different depending on the restaurant. I usually like sweet ginger tea with honey. But there is no sweetness here, and sugar comes. So adjust sweetness by yourselves. Meat combo comes with 8 kinds of ingredients on the injera. The taste was good and made us full.I would like to try other menus next time.

The service was so kind, the food was so flavorful and perfect, and the ambiance was great!! Loved the special combos it was delicious, thank you!! It was also accommodating to my friends vegan and gluten free restrictions which was great!

Great Hidden FindDelicious homemade Ethiopian food at a great price! Under new management and run by two lovely sisters. We went there for lunch and shared an order of veggie Shiro Wat. One order was enough to feed the both of us, which made it a great value. The homemade injera is 100% Teff, which is delicious and naturally gluten free. As they are just getting established they are currently offering free coffee with meals at lunchtime. Absolutely worth a visit and another welcome addition to our neighborhood

Very good Ethiopian Cuisine. I would come back. The lady who helped me was very friendly and helpful. I had the vegetable sampler and a side of shiro. The hot greens dish was super good in the sampler and everything else was enjoyable as well. If the shiro had more flavor it would be an easy 5 stars. I reviewed 3 Ethiopian restaurants in Seattle in last week, I would rank this one the best. They are all above average! I've had Ethiopian food at numerous spots in NYC, DC, and Baltimore so my standards are extremely high. Most people would rank 2-3 of these spots I reviewed at 5 stars which I do understand.

I came in never having heard or seen this restaurant but it was on the Intentionalist Small Business Week promotion. I was greeted warmly by the staff and I was only of two diners in the restaurant at lunch time on a weekday. The restaurant itself was dark and I wasn't even sure it was open when I entered. However, the food was amazing. I ordered the vegetarian combo platter and everything on the plate was deliciously seasoned, fresh and plentiful. The injera was well done and I have zero complaints on the food or prices. I would certainly come back to dine and recommend it to others.

Just ate at Alem. Had the veggie combo and the meat combo. There were three of us and were stuffed! Excellent Ethiopian/Eritrean food. Friendly and hospitable. I'll be back!