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| - This was probably the most awkward dining experience I have had in Vegas. A coworker suggested it for lunch, and I should have done my research (Merkato across the street has 18 reviews; Axum had 1)...
We get there, the open sign is off. Someone let us in anyway. A few patrons smoking at the bar. Even weirder, the lights in the restaurant were off. I am convinced they were not really open and just had friends in smoking....seriously. The tables were not really ready for meal service.
The nice lady behind the bar is also the waitress, and she hands us menus. They do not serve tap water here, so we got bottles. The menu only has maybe 8 things on it, I am not sure if it was just lunch or not. I decide on a chicken dish - she says they are out. So I order 1 beef and my coworker orders 1 lamb. She asked if we want 2? She did not really understand or speak English except for "thank you." I was not sure if she meant 2 each or what, but when the food came, I realized she meant we could have split one.
Each plate was massive, and had the flat, soft bread on the bottom. Mine had a salad, a paste, and then she poured my meat dish on it and provided a side of bread. My friend had the lamb in the same set up but with some mashed yellow lentils.
The meat and sauce itself was good and had a nice spice, and the salad was fresh with chillies too, but the paste is what killed me. I dipped some bread (this is all eat-by-hand, no utensils here), and it tasted like toxic ground coffee....I thought I was poisoned. It was horrible. I covered it with some extra bread and just ate a little more beef, but then a giant flying bug landed on the table and I lost my appetite. Plus I was still eating in the dark and dipping my hands in an oily beef dish.
Honestly I think I am turned off from trying any Ethiopian restaurant now, and I would never go here again. My friend felt bad and paid for me and took my leftovers. I am fairly adventurous but I prefer to eat in restaurants that are open for business, have the lights on, and have someone who can explain in my language what the food is about so I can order correctly and know what I am eating.
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