Enat Ethiopian, Behind Landmark Plaza on N. Chambliss St, Alexandria

[catharine]

Having eaten here twice, I am surprised that there isn't an existing thread on this place. It is located in the small strip mall where N. Chambliss meets Lincolnia Rd - very near Total Wine/Landmark Plaza. Here is the website.

I visited Enat about a month ago on a Saturday night (using a Living Social voucher) and then again last week on a weeknight. I love Ethiopian food, but DH is not as big a fan. I really enjoy a big vegetarian platter with lots of colorful, delicious veggies and legumes. However, our arrangement is that DH will agree to Ethiopian if we order a meat dish in addition to the veggies. Sounds fair, right?

Ambiance: The atmosphere is mostly what you would expect from a hole-in-the-wall ethnic joint. It is pretty small. The tables are close together. There are flat screen TVs on the walls and it is definitely on the loud side (especially when there are sports games on). On the plus side, there are tablecloths and cloth napkins and the place is very clean with decent restrooms.

Service: Both times we dined here we were impressed with the attentiveness of the servers. Our dinners were at peak times and while they could have benefitted from additional help, we were generally very pleased with the service.

Food: Now, for the important part. The food here is very good/excellent. Admittedly, the first time we were here I wasn't blown away by the veggies. They were fine, but just a tad undercooked for my taste. The second time the veggies were far better and were perhaps the best I've had in the area. (My usual favorite place is Etete.) The real standout here is the meat dish we had both times. DH liked it so much that *he* actually suggested our second trip. I'm happy! The dish is the Shennt Tibs, which is rib eye sauteed with onions, jalapenos and Ethiopian butter. It is the best quality meat I've had at an Ethiopian joint (but admittedly, as mentioned above, I favor the vegetarian platters).

Definitely check it out. I really like this place and am thrilled that the DH likes it, too. I hope they stick around.

[astrid]

Just want to second Catherine's opinion of Enat. We really like this place and don't go as often as we like because the traffic in the neighborhood is awful. The food is consistently tasty and generously portioned, and we've never had the kitchen run out of dishes on us (which seems to happen a lot elsewhere). The service is really outstanding for an Ethiopian restaurant - all the waitresses are friendly and attentive. I really like the atmosphere too - it feels really well run and authenic, no frills, no fake ethnic facade, just the sort of place frequented by local ethiopian cabbies.