Alem Ethiopian Village

One of my absolute favorite Ethiopian restaurants. The food is top tier in terms of quality, authenticity, and overall taste. My family and I have frequented this restaurant for many years for different occasions. The owner and his family are great people and generally make dining here such a great experience.

Alem Ethiopian Village finally opened for dine-in. I'm not sure when this happened but I finally had time to come in. When I first moved to the area, COVID restrictions were still in place. The ambiance was everything. Ethiopian music (Zema) was playing in the background. The food is always amazing. I'm a huge fan of the doro wot. It's a nice mix of spicy and sweet. I had the spinach (quosta) and lentils (yemiser wot) as my sides. Everything came out plated on injera. Their injera is my favorite. They give you enough to eat with unlike some restaurants I've been to. Before my entree came, I started off with the sambusas. I highly recommend using the sauce that comes with the sambusas.

We ordered the vegetable combo which included a collard greens, beans, corn, and onion/carrots. The bean dish was are favorite, it had a great savory/acidic flavor. Additionally we ordered the Doro Wat Chicken dish which included a chicken leg and a hard-boiled egg covered in what was described as a "pepper sauce". This dish was savory and delicious. Lastly, eating the food with the injera bread was a fun experience the bread had the texture of a spongy crepe and tasted sour like sour dough bread.

4.75/5The energy of Alem Ethiopian Village is vibrant; I mean, as soon as you enter, it's the engaging colors, the lovely couple that runs the business, and the smells of authentic Ethiopian dishes. We catered from here for an event, and we're so grateful that we could support a local business like Alem's.FOOD: We ordered trays of zilzil, doro wat, yemsir wat (spicy lentils), gomen (collared greens), and injera, all of which had felt like a home-cooked meal when served together. The chicken was the 9.9/10 from individuals that attended the event and the yemsir wat, or lentils were a huge hit. Yemsir wat was pretty close to what a bowl of dal, or lentil soup would taste like in Indian cuisine.VIBES: Cozy. Comfy. Sincerely, felt like food from the heart. SERVICE: The couple cheffing up the food and serving it were extremely passionate about their work and only speaks highly of their service as well. They ensured that our catering order was processed smoothly and quickly.

Stopped by for dinner on a Tuesday night. It didn't look like they were doing dine-in but they let us come in. We ordered the chicken and lamb which was very tasty. The owners were very welcoming and nice. They checked in on us and talked with us about our first time having Ethiopian food. Will definitely be back!

I was delighted to find out that Alem finally reopened their doors for dine in. It wasn't widely advertised for some reason which explains why they were half empty on a Friday evening. Waiter was very knowledgeable and pleasant and prevented us from over ordering which is rare. This was my first Ethiopian food experience and I loved that no utensils were provided as you are expected to eat with your hands. Very authentic. And the food was out of this world delicious! Bold flavors, aggressive seasoning, meat falling off the bone! I did enjoy Ethiopian steak tartar but I prefer the European version more as it was a bit too acidic for me. Otherwise, top notch experience and I see myself becoming a regular!

I wasn't impressed. I'm guessing things may have been "off" due to COVID. I really wanted fasolia but the worker said it's only available for dine in (which is ridiculous, for one. It's literally just string beans and carrots). The restaurant was carryout only, so... just say fasolia isn't available? Plus, she had an attitude about me even asking. The vegetable plate only came with gomen, tikil gomen (cabbage, carrots and potatoes. Which means you might as well make the fasolia too.), misir wot, and alitcha. The food was good, but nothing memorable. There was more injera than there was food, which is a far cry from the hefty portions you get at many Ethiopian restaurants. Also, most other Ethiopian restaurants include fasolia with the veg plate, so... I do like that they didn't charge extra for gluten-free injera though. So overall it was an ok experience. However, I wouldn't go out of my way to return.

I would have written this review earlier but I was so full ana pleased with this meal I just wanted to bask in the moment. This food was so good! When I visited they were only doing take out only, so I ordered take out. When I picked up the bag it was so heavy, they were not stingy with the food. The food was well seasoned, not too spicy, just enough to give it a kick. I may have to do one more visit before leaving town, they are a great vegetarian option.

Got one chicken leg with a egg for 19.00 The greens or cabbage were not good.Very disappointed. Doro Wot was so disappointing from what I've eaten so many times at other restaurants.

food came out so quickly! everything was really good and the injera was perfect. Only wish they gave us more napkins