Lucy Ethiopian Restaurant

I recently visited Lucy's and had a great dining experience. We tried both the meat and vegetarian platters, and the food was delicious and affordable, especially considering the generous portions. The waitress was friendly and attentive, which added to the positive experience.One downside was that the white wine was served warm, so I had to ask for ice to cool it down. Also, the parking situation isn't the best, but if you look down the side streets, you can usually find a spot.Overall, I highly recommend Lucy's for its tasty and reasonably priced food, and I look forward to returning.

I have a long history as a chef with Ethiopian food... When i was in college I ate at the spots in Hollywood on Olympic and Fairfax so often that i began to gather ingredients and recipes from the web (when the web just came out) and make it myself. Anyway when I say this is the best Ethiopian food I've ever had there is meaning behind my words. I ordered the vegan special and the kitfo.The lentils were cooked perfectly. Not a single bit of undercooked texture. What struck me was the aromatic flavors were unusually bright. Alex, one of the owners (who approached us for friendly conversation showing gratitude at the end) explained that they source the spices from the best places. That would partially explain it, the rest i attribute to the chef. Injera was perfect and sour. The kitfo was indulgent. Eating a giant serving of tartar is glorious with a massive veggie platter. The beets were unique and flavorful and i believe mixed with perfectly cooked potatoes. The coffee was wonderful. Helped us to digest and settle after this lovely meal, and the waitress gave us a to go cup to pour some of it in (it's a generous pot). We will be back! Left us both smiling.

Service is sort of odd and the communication is a little difficult but many would say it adds to the cultural experience so I am fine with it as long as the food is good. But for the record, cultural experience or not, they didn't offer water, or even visit my table after I ordered until my order was ready. Owner has a noisy baby which is annoying the heck out of me but I suppose that's on me. Breathe Nick, breathe. I will order ahead and pickup next time but don't think it's a great place to bring people for dine in.Took a long time to get my food. Vegan combo was not to my taste

10/10Everything is so good. I got the vegan special and loved every bit of it! Service is great as well. Spacious location and clean. I'll be back!

Very delicious restaurants that have vegan options. We ordered vegan platter plus a beef stew. They are so yummy! I enjoyed the all the flavors. The injera bread is amazing as well. The space is open and clean. The service is fast and friendly. I would recommend this place for sure.

I was recommended this restaurant as the best Ethiopian food in San Diego so of course I had to check it out. Four of us had lunch here. There is a small parking lot behind the restaurant and lots of 2 hr street parking spaces. We ordered the potato and lentil Sambusas. So tasty and had a kick to them. For lunch we ordered the big vegan platter and the meat combo. It was a lot of food but so nice to be able to try all the different dishes. My favorite was the beef with berbere dish. The injera was so spongey and light. We also tried the honey wine too. It wasn't as sweet as other honey wines so I actually like theirs more.Service was excellent. We were the only ones there when they opened at noon. This was on a weekday. Another party came later. Hope more people will come because food was excellent and service was great too.

Ate here for the first time tonight. So good. I lived in East Africa for a few years and this place hits the spot. Very chill, super clean and comfortable. Excellent and friendly service. We will definitely be back. The only thing I missed was popcorn and an Ethiopian coffee.

I have always loved Ethiopian food and coming from the LA and OC areas am soo happy there are many options within a 10-15 minute drive. I came here twice and ordered the vegan platter both times because it was that delicious. I ate alone so they brought out the modified size for one :) which was great because then I didn't feel so gluttonous or have to worry about finishing it all in one sitting. Each time one of the items becomes my favorite, the first time it was the cabbage which seemed plain but was SO delicious, I don't know what spices they used but I wished I had a whole plate full of it. The shiro and mesir wot were my favorites the next time as they were a little spicier than before. The injera was light and fluffy and deliciously sour. The salad adds a fresh bite to the meal and has a light vinegar dressing. The service was amazing as well, they were very attentive and when bringing out the food will dish the items onto the injera for you. I don't drink while I eat and they seemed concerned for me that I didn't order a drink and brought me a bottled water as a courtesy, which was really nice of them. They play Ethiopian music and usually have something on the TV to watch. The smell inside is a wonderful mix of incense and spices. The last time I went an unwanted visitor came in and began to harass some of the customers and the manager got him to leave in a very diplomatic and civil way, I didn't feel unsafe or worried at any point. There is a lot of street parking at the end of the block if there isn't anything right up front.

Arrived on Friday night at 6:20pm. When we arrived it was pretty quiet, with only us and 2 other tables. More parties started coming in and it eventually became a full house. It was our second time trying Ethiopian food. Although we arrived before it was busy, our order took awhile; waited 25 mins to receive our food upon placing our order. We ordered the Vegan Special and Awaze Tibs after looking at the popular dish recommendations. Food was alright... I can see why Vegetarians or Vegans would like it. But it's not for me. Our server was a younger gentleman who appeared nice, timid, quiet and was one of very few words. At the end when we were ready for the check and a to go box, it took awhile to flag someone down. Yelp's Top 10 List was what brought us here... but Yelp done played me on this one...

Clean atmosphere yummy food and fair price Especial gratitude and respect to the managers Woldu and Hana.