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| - After living in NYC for several years and being spoiled by the abundance of ethnic cuisines there, I thought I would NEVER find decent Ethiopian food here in Cleveland. But then Zoma - sweet, sweet Zoma - entered my life, sweeping me off my feet and proving me wrong!
The restaurant is conveniently located in the Cedar Lee District of Cleveland Heights - just a three-minute walk away from the Cedar Lee movie theater.
Do not be dissuaded by Zoma's storefront. Yes, it's pretty plain from the outside... it even has a small, plain interior. But to hell with the ambiance! You have to experience the food!
If you've never had Ethiopian before, the waitstaff was extremely friendly and seemed eager to explain the menu and culture. When we first sat down, our waiter immediately asked if this was our "first time" ... Understandable, since it might be jarring for first-timers to use their hands and fingers as their only utensils.
We ordered the sambusas as a starter - which are basically lentils and jalapenos wrapped up in a triangular dumpling. These were absolutely delicious! Just a warning, though - the menu is a bit deceiving. The image next to the sambusa appetizer looks like a bowl filled with dozens of small bite-sized dumplings. When the dish came out, it was actually only two, palm-sized sambusas.
For dinner, we split the Meat + Veggie Platter which was definitely enough to split between two people. For the under $20 price-point, this entree was incredibly satisfying to both our wallets and tastebuds. It comes with injera bread, spicy beef stew, mild beef stew, and two veggies (we chose chickpeas + red lentils). The chickpeas and spicy beef stew were my favorites - spiced to perfection! The food was quite-literally finger-licking good. We wiped our plate clean! I can't wait to go back!
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