Asmara Restaurant

I can't believe I've worked in Central/Kendall for two years and only recently tried Asmara!We ordered the Vegetarian combo and a super delicious lamb dish. It's communal style and you eat with your hands, as pointed out by our hilarious server who was absolutely not here for anyone to eat using a spoon. The homemade honey wine was delicious and so unique! The simplest was to summarize the meal is excellent. Fantastic. Delicious. And it sort of felt like we were in someone's living room. It was quite busy in there for dinner, and I'm glad we got in when we did. There was a line going outside the door for most of our meal (which was slightly a struggle because the folks in line wouldn't close the door and it was cold!). I'll definitely be back here!

I rarely feel like I truly love a meal out in Boston, but this really hit the spot. I've only had Ethiopian a handful of times before, but never anywhere near this good. If you like your food flavorful, if you need a good veggie option, if you want a good hearty meal, or if you just want to try a new cuisine, I'd highly recommend. Besides the food, the presentation for the combos is also unique--shared platters for the table, sized and priced by the number of diners, creating a communal dining experience. This also allows you to try many dishes even with a small number of diners, which I personally really enjoy. They also serve up extra injera on the side, so you'll certainly be quite full. If you haven't eaten this cuisine before, it's eaten with your hands, so be ready for that. Note, despite the "spicy" designation on the menu, our food didn't seem it at all, so if you really want that fire I'd recommend requesting extra spicy.

Amazing as always! The honey wine was stronger, more dry, and less sweet this time but still delicious. The Begeeh Mloukhiya was seasoned well and very spicy and flavorful. The Zighny Fitfit was pretty unique with sauce soaked injera and beef pieces. The timtimo went perfectly with the meals and salad.

This is probably the best Ethiopian I've had in Cambridge. If you're dining in, it's not a family friendly spot as the restaurant is intimate and is best suited for groups of 2-4 (also no high chair available). Nevertheless, our waitress was polite, friendly, and attentive which was much appreciated. The injera was generously portioned, fresh, and perfectly tangy. We ordered 2 veggie combos and 2 mixed combos for 4 people, which was way too much food and we ended up with enough leftovers for 2 more meals (would order 3 combos amongst 4 people next time). The house salad in the middle was surprisingly tasty and refreshing against the heavier combo options set at the edges of the platters. The meats were all fairly tender and well spiced. The lentil dishes were quite delicious, too. There's a mix of spicy and non-spicy in each of the combos and things cannot be made non-spicy. Overall, I thought it was a decent deal for the quantity and quality of food received for the price paid and would return.

Excellent choice for groups! Good choice for when you're craving flavor, spices, and something different from your norm. The veggie and meat combos provide a little something for everyone and is very communal. Note - if you order the meat or veggie combos they serve it on one platter and proportion it to the number of people at your table. Got the chicken wings and stuffed tomatos for appetizers, which were also good. Their injera had fewer holes (and tinier holes) than injera I've had before and was also more on the sour side.One particularly annoying thing was despite there being many empty tables during Tuesday dinner at 6pm, the server would not let our table sit until all of our party was here. We were on a time crunch so it would have been nice to get our table started and put in our order. There also seemed to be only one server, which somewhat slowed service down but not too much. Street parking on Mass Ave which can be annoying to find with traffic.

I'm not super familiar with Ethiopian food but I enjoyed Asmara! Lots of stuff I had never tried before but it was incredibly filling and satisfying. What's not to love with heavily spiced meat wrapped in bread? Be warned that it gets messy! Very intimate ambiance. Service was pretty slow. We got the combo to try lots of things and there was pretty big variance--the veggies actually ended up our favorites!

Been 2yrs+ since my last review, and Asmara remains one of my FAV spots in Cambridge, let alone the greater Boston area. The meat & veggie platter would be my death row meal. Literally perfect combo of carbs & protein & fats & veggies.

Overall its a nice place to go. Very competitive and small restaurant since we waited for like an hr (tbf it was a weekend evening). The spinach dish was really good, and so were the meat combos. I dont think the veggie combos were outstanding by themselves but they taste good with the meat. The bread that comes with is a nice texture and soft, but it is notably sour. Our server was very nice.

Love Ethiopian/Eritrean food in general, but the food and service and environment at Asmara make the experience even more homey and comfortable than the food already is. We loved everything in the veggie sampler, and things were portioned generously for two people. There's always a line, so come in early! My favorite was the cabbage and the timtimo, but honestly we devoured all of them and even took home our extra injera. Staff were super nice and happy to explain how to eat the food to newcomers.

Asmara has been our go-to place as long as we have lived in the area, over ten years.The food and drink are delightful and the experience at the Eritrean restaurant in Central Square is warm and welcoming.Sara always greets us like we are old friends. She handles the flow of customers, acknowledging everyone's' wishes.The tables and chairs and decor are cheerful and fun.we choose the combos, particularly the vegetarian ones.Central Square is lucky to host Asmara.