While the Ethiopian food scene is not one of Houston's strengths (#1) but if the ones here were as…read moreimpressive as Bahel, it would be an embarrassment of injera riches. They've managed to distinguish themselves as an outstanding dining option in the Gulfton area, and somehow maintains cultural authenticity with its unique integration of a restaurant and mini-mart all under one roof. While they've only been open a handful of years, they've managed to become Houston's highest rated Ethiopian spot. They've managed to do so with a combination of adapting to the area, making the cuisine approachable to novices, providing excellent service, and above all, keeping the food fresh and tasty. The interior does a good job of showcasing their roots, through traditional attire in display and cultural pieces throughout the dining area. There is indoor and outdoor seating, which includes a large private room for group fun. The mart itself is expectedly small, but functional with a limited number of imported goods for purchase.There are also TVs playing international games while locals come in and chow down, communal style. I ordered the #2 combination from their "all time favorite" section, which includes chikina tibs, doro, and two vegetarian dishes (whole lentil stew, and dinich wot potato stew). I was warned by the server that the portions would be overwhelming, but I was not the least bit intimidated. Then the platter arrived and indeed, the portions were stacked. This meal would have been doable for 3 people, but I still managed to take out a majority of it after many furious scoops from their incredibly fluffy injera, which was tangy and full balanced with nice elasticity. The spices were strong, but the flavor was addicting. Overall, everything was exceptionally prepared and despite being incredibly full, I still managed to continually shovel most everything into my mouth. Service was busy, but was kind and considerate. I'm already planning a return visit, but with hungry reinforcements to help me conquer a much larger platter. From top to bottom, this is my kind of establishment and one that I am looking forward to eating at over and over again. __________ (#1) Just trying to be like you, D.C.

Still one of our favorites. The servers are super kind. We were going to order too much food and…read moreour server let us know it was too much so we paired it down and still had food leftover. Injera is delicious. The lentils are great. The doro wat was spicy and savory. The one thing I don't like is that they charge for water. I would rather just be served tap but being charged 1.75 or so for each bottle of water when they don't serve tap is annoying especially when there's such an upcharge on it. Definitely will keep coming back for more delicious Ethiopian food.

Good service excellent food. Give yourself some love with a…read moreplate from Lucy. Not better than home but close to it

I visited to listen to poetry. I was surprised to see they have vegetarian food as well as well as…read moreEthiopian dishes. The server was energetic . I loved the menu has a legend on the left side explaining the uncommon words. I will have to visit again to try the vegetarian dishes! I tried the Sambusa and the shrimp. While the waitress was energetic it took longer than expected to get my food. But when it came it was all in a single plate nicely arranged. The atmosphere was nice if you are here for poetry do not sit at the bar. The noise level was not high but poets use voice inflection and volume changes to emphasize points. They have a buffet that is only $20.00 it includes beef stew with boiled egg ( key wot); chicken curry; cabbage; collard greens; chicken wings; Sambusa; chicken spring; brown rice; salad; Ethiopian bread a flat bread like naan). If you follow chef Maurice Samuelson, these dishes will be familiar.

I had this for at a catered event. The jollof rice was delicious as was the stew. The beef was…read morestill fairly tender and the severs were kind.

Nastiest egusi i every had !! Bewaree i tasted like goat shit and the plantain where dry the meat…read morewas dry also i threw everything away

I had a pretty good experience at blue Nile. The food was pretty delicious & the ambiance was nice…read more It was a little expensive & I thought the service could've been a little better We got the family platter - the Ethiopian traditional family size special. It was a lot of food! We had a group of 7 people & it +appetizers was the perfect size for everyone. It was really fun to sample everything too - there were definitly some standouts like the door wot and the beef kibbe. The sambusas were also delicious! Definitly a standout. The honey wine was good too. Ambiance was very nice. It felt intimate and small. I do think service was a little slow. It took little bit for the food & towards the end of the meal we had to flag down the waitress a few times. Overall a good experience though. Definitly worth a try

Ah man... where do I even begin?…read more We arrived around 8:05 PM, and our order was taken right away. We ordered 4 beef sambusas and 1 vegetable sambusa as appetizers. After 10 minutes, nothing. Another 10 minutes passed, still nothing. The restaurant wasn't even busy, just one family there before us. We finally got our appetizers at 8:28 PM, and at that point we still hadn't received our entrees. Another 10 minutes went by with no food. We tried to be patient, but we were really hungry and had driven all the way from Katy for this. My mom was fasting, and we were expecting a nice dinner, but the experience was honestly disappointing. Our entrees didn't arrive until 8:48 PM. We ordered the lamb injera, and it was honestly terrible. It had no seasoning, no salt, and just looked like it had some yellow coloring. The injera itself was cold, almost icy in some spots. On top of that, there were barely any meat pieces, maybe 4-5 small pieces, which is ridiculous for a dish that costs around $27-28. We also ordered a chicken dish, which was actually the only decent part of the meal. But it's definitely not worth coming here just for that. The prices here are high, and we were fine paying for good food. The problem was the long wait time and the poor quality. Overall, a very disappointing experience.

If a con escaped from prison and vanished into thin air, we'd all ask... where did the Congo?…read more However you look at it it's pretty awesome to have a Congolese Restaurant in Houston. It's pretty crazy that it's not on Yelp, yet here it is with cheap prices and friendly service hidden away in a corner mall right across from Red Wok. I need to try more dishes before I do a thorough review but this is definitely a five-star place that everybody should check out.

Despite the only other review, this is not a restaurant. It's a sparsely stocked market that only…read moretangentially focuses on African food. If you're looking for Top Ramen, you've come to the right place.

Delicious. I ordered the sampler platter and I truly enjoyed each bite. It was spicy and packed…read morewith flavor. Food took about 20 minutes which wasn't bad. I would definitely come back here!

I ordered yesterday from this restaurant in Houston that was close to my hotel yesterday and we…read morespent about $95 for the food. It tasted horrible and the efo rero was nasty, they need to know how to cook well before opening a restaurant and overcharging people. The jollyof rice was nasty, I feel like I wasted my money. I don't mind paying for expensive food but it needs to taste good and not horrible. I wish I could give 0* this restaurant doesn't know how to cook the efo rero was soggy no taste I almost threw up. Aria suyan kitchen you need to go and learn how to cook before continuing wasting peoples money. I have a video from what I ordered none of them taste good

I think this is a classic! It has such good food…read more It had one of the best garlic naan I've tried in Houston. It was delicious. The veggie and chicken samosas were also sooo good! I highly recommend. There's around 50 people worth of seating. It is a homey interior with wooden seats and tables. They had so many options and it was very tasty, but although I liked how the chicken karahi tasted, something inside it didn't sit will with my stomach. I'm sure it might just be that my body wasn't used to something side this dish. Worth going for another try though! My party really liked the Paneer, butter chicken and tiki masala.

The decor was dimly lit and very cozy and the service was nice, we came on a Saturday night so a…read morebit packed. My friends and I wanted to try this place because we were craving authentic Indian food; the concept of British Indian cuisine was interesting! I ordered the Chicken Vindaloo, the Chicken Samosas and the Garlic Bread Naan. The Garlic Naan was delicious and so were the Chicken Samosas, the sauces (chutney) they provided were nice as well, the green one was spicy and the brown one was on the sweeter side. While this place is known for their sizzlers, I wanted something that would fill me up but wasn't heavy; thus, I ordered the Chicken Vindaloo. While it wasn't bad, and I definitely tasted the spice, the bowl that it was served in made the portions look a lot more than it actually was. I ended up paying $19 for this dish but I felt that there was more sauce than chicken/potato. In general, the food was satisfying, but nothing mind-blowing, and quite expensive. Truthfully, I don't think this place was worth the drive, especially since I can find other Indian restaurants locally that taste just as good if not better. It's worth mentioning that they'll add a 20% tip if you come with a party of 5 or larger!

For me, the debate is settled. Avesta is the Top Dog, but Reza did come strong with a silver…read more Beef Koobideh. 5/5. Succulent juicy skewers of beef kabob. Tender. Enjoyed it with salad. Combo platter 3. 4.5/5 Beef skewer with Cornish hen. Served with FF and salad. Very good. Couple pieces of chicken in the end were burnt Hummus. 4.5/5. Also delicious. Smooth creamy texture. Kashke B. Eggplant. 5/5 Rich creamy texture. It was pretty good. Mint lemonade. 5/5. I actually ordered 2. Since the first was so refreshing and thirst quenching. I had to go for seconds. Their Naan was actually better than Avesta. It just had a better flavor and texture to it. Service was excellent. Our server was attentive and friendly. There was plenty of seating inside. I had a nice peaceful lunch.

We came here with our friend who recommended this Persian restaurant. We enjoyed the complimentary…read moreflatbread and feta. The bread paired well with the hummus we ordered as the bread was dry on its own. For my entree, I got the Zereshk polo & chicken. Unfortunately, I really did not like the berries as they had an unusual odour and taste to them. I tried to remove them from the rice, but the rice still had the unpleasant taste of the berries. I liked the chicken in the tomato-based sauce as it was fragrant and very tender. My vegetarian friends weren't impressed with their entree either. They had a lot left over but only took the plain rice home. The service wasn't very attentive as they didn't fill our empty water jug of unfiltered tap water until we asked after we were done eating. Our group was five people, and they charged a mandatory 20% tip. The server didn't inform me when paying, which felt sneaky. I also didn't see it on the menu. Tipping is supposed to be for service, and the service was subpar. After mandatory tip, my meal was $20.