This place is one of my favorites to get food from however it's hit or miss with the calling in to place and order. Every time I call to place an order literally they end up hanging up on me which is weird. I have never had any issues going to the building to order food and sit down though and again the food is very very good. I mostly get Sambusa, Veggie Combo, and Doro Wot and literally it's so good. I had to slow down eating there so much. read more

It was my first time eating Ethiopian and wasn't sure what to expect. I was with my daughter and she had been there before. She ordered different dishes and they were all wonderful. read more

The place has a nice bar vibe. Stopping by for a drink, listening to music, meeting friends, that's fine. As far as food...hmm. Went to Silver Spring to visit a friend. Was passing by Lucy restaurant and thought it was awhile since i had Ethiopian food. Came in, looked at menu and ordered Balageru to go described as "tender beef ribeye". 40 minutes later the food arrived. Another 10 minutes passed to get the bill which included beer charge that i never ordered. Was refunded the cost of beer in cash, but it took additional time. All in all wasted an hour waiting. Came home looking forward to enjoy the food. Meat was tough and chewy. Certainly no ribeye, but inferior much cheaper cut of meat Was tired of chewing it. It came with onions and injera. Some spices on the side. Could not finish and dumped half of it in garbage. As a bar this place is ok, but avoid ordering food there. read more

Let me be clear I am well versed in Ethiopian cuisine and this is by far one of the very worst restaurants I have EVER been to in a very competitive heavy populated Ethiopian area. Even with purchasing a Groupon still ended up paying upwards to $50 with a crappy bottle of wine. The customer service is NON-existent and the food was decent but I definitely had better. The customer service and lack of knowledge was the driver for this 1 star rating along with the food being in grand mediocre for my 1908545 previous experiences. The waitress eventually dismissed us and stopped returning which was disappointing because I came with someone who wanted to be educated on the cuisine because they were a newbie and I didn't feel like explaining (SUE ME I was hungry...) - Not enough tibs to share - Also all these 'GLOWING' reviews seem to be from first timers, non responsive patrons (Oh everything is fine person no matter what is happening..) and people having a multi party experience 4+ people. - Samosas were on point - If using Groupon be aware the whole menu does not apply to what you may or may not have in mind. They may need to consult with themselves and figure this out or make a Groupon menu. read more

Food is always great great! The servers know exactly what to choose for you especially when you're confused LOL Portion sizes we're big enough for my friend and I not only to split it for dinner but also bring some home as well. This platter was only $40 for 2 people and definitely worth it. read more

I love it, I had some fish that was so good that I went back another time and got it again it's very good cube fry fish in a tomatoes and onion sauce really good. Thank you for good food. read more

The dirtiest bathroom ever seen. There were flies and gnats. Someone need to report to State food Safety to inspect the restaurant properly.

The food is okay not like before the salad was very small look like a side. The worst thing is the bathrooms are filthy have mold and flies every where. I am wondering how they pass the restaurant inspection. read more

Usually I wait to write reviews after enjoying--or in this case, attempting to enjoy--the entire dining experience, and also after allowing some time for reflection and proper incubation... but I'm writing this review while I'm still sitting at my table diligently waiting for my inattentive server to give a damn about waiting her customers. The food? Fairly good, but nothing amazing. I'm not an Ethiopian food expert, but the presentation is solid and the taste parallel. Trust when I say that the only reason why I'm able to remain relatively patient while waiting for my check is partly due to my gratified tummy. I'm literally typing these words as I'm glaring at the back of my servers head as she is fully immersed in a conversation with a couple other employees behind the bar. And this is coming from a relatively patient Yelper when it comes to service--which is indicative in my other reviews. read more

Lucy Ethiopian Restaurant - Ethiopian Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

Filthy restaurant with mice droppings everywhere. Used toothpicks on the floor. Used dirty napkins and empty bottles next to the dining tables. Food is terrible too plus overpriced. I wouldn't go back again. read more

The food by far is amazing !!!!! There is absolutely no customer service. We sat, waited for 20 minutes for us to order. I had to leave my table to look for the lady to come and take our order. Food came out in 15-20 min. Perfect timing. Yet, no water, not napkin, There is 4 of us, waters was given to 2 people. Lol I'm confused ..... but don't expect to get water without asking more than 3 times anyways. Unfortunately for this restaurant I will not come back. The food is pretty good. I couldn't enjoy it due to no customer service. If you eat ingera, you know water is a must. Lol Advice? Greet people when they walk in. Assist and be personable. Don't disappear and have the guest looking for you. I don't like l leaving my table to find my server. Come on man. . read more

I will not recommend this place. My food was handled very poorly as well as undercooked. NOT CLEAN!! Staff was very rude, including the manager. read more

I had attended the Biz Markie (yes, the "youuu, you got what I need, but you say he's just a friend" artist from the 90s) concert nearby at The Fillmore and was utterly famished. At midnight, not much was still open in downtown Silver Spring, unfortunately. Luckily, Lucy Ethiopian Restaurant was. It was a Friday night and this place was poppin'! Dim lights with a live Ethiopian country singer. I think my party may have been the only non-Ethiopian one there, but it was quite alright because we got dancing tips -- basically bounce them shoulders super fast and side to side. I'm not exactly an Ethiopian food connoisseur, but I do know that I like awaze tibs...like, a lot. I prefer lamb for the protein and Lucy's version did not disappoint. We also got the vegetarian platter, which came with two sauces (one tangy, one spicy). I have a love/hate relationship with injera bread. Why hate? I have trypophobia: fear of holes and pores. I don't think I need to explain further. So, to eat injera, I just don't stare at it for too long. I realize this may be comical to you, but it's actually rather tragic. Food took a while to get to the table and considering no other parties were eating (most drinking and people-watching), I wasn't sure why it had taken so long. Aside from that, the service was good and friendly. Music can get extremely loud on weekend evenings, so if you're trying to have a first date, maybe look elsewhere? If you know your partner well and don't care to talk to them while eating, this is the perfect place. The patrons here are very entertaining as they partake in dance battles -- definitely great entertainment. read more

Lucy Ethiopian Restaurant - Late night (hence lighting) awaze tibs and vegetarian platter. - Ethiopian Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

Don't come to this place. The worst customer service ever! They're extremely rude and act like they're giving out charity for something you're paying for. They threatened to hit me with a bottle when I asked for my money back after being charged for something without my knowledge. Too many Ethiopian restaurants in the area to choose from that actually show Ethiopian hospitality, this is place is not it! Don't waste your time here unless you're looking to be embarrassed. read more

I will echo the masses. If you're coming here for a great dining experience, customer service included, you are going to the wrong spot. The customer service leaves much to be desired. The waitresses were friendly, yes, but the amount of time it took the two ladies who were working to come check on our table or even refill our waters was absurd. I went to Lucy's with my mom for a late lunch on Saturday. There were two other tables with patrons when we got there. We thought - PERFECT! We will be in and out... Not so much. We ordered the vegan platter with fish (with bones) and the awaze tibs. Although the fish was a bit dry, the food overall was AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS! My advice is, if you have time to spare, check out Lucy's. The cuisine is top notch. But if you're a stickler for good service, this is not the place for you. read more

Lack of Cleanliness, Bland food, extremely small portions for the price. Floor dirty, bathroom wasn't clean, food may not be prepared in a healthy manner either.. read more

I had a surprise birthday party over here! The service was awesome. I really appreciated how nice, patient, and helpful the staff was. Our table was not huge, but we were a pretty decent size party. They sat us down as soon as we got there. They even had the band and restaurant sing happy birthday. They were so great! We did like most of our entrees. The price of the food was great. We were really happy with our experience over here. I would come back here again. read more

Wow. Our original was not available for carry out, so the staff helped us choose a new order. It was amazing! WOW, WOW, WOW good food!

Waiting for over an hour and half for food to get served is absolutely unacceptable! We ordered our first choice, which was tire siga, keep in mind we have called them ahead of time to confirm availability. 15 minutes into our order, they came back saying they don't have it; we said okay and decided to order something else. Food, came an hour and half later. By which time, the appetite and crave is gone. Overall, I don't ever want to eat at a place where it takes almost 2 hours before I get to eat the food. On the flip side, the food was not bad when it finally came. They need to better estimate time it takes from order to table and let customers know. read more

This has been my absolute #1 spot for eating out during COVID! I'm vegetarian and always get the Veggie Combo. I would recommend it to vegetarians (I believe it's vegan as well!) and meat-eaters alike -- it offers so much variety, color, and flavor. It includes gomen, tomato salad, lentil, cabbage, split peas, yatekilt wot, beets and azifa. It's also big enough to split with another person! I'm not sure what the restaurant atmosphere itself is like (never dined in) but I will enthusiastically vouch for the Veggie Combo any day. read more

I really don't recommend this place I've been in tons Ethiopian restaurants but this place is trash the servers don't even know the manu if you're calling to carry out they sound rude and manner less it's a no no place read more

I've lived in Silver Spring quite a few years now but overlooked Lucy since it has some other competitors within a block radius. Overall the food left a great impression on my tummy and the staff was respectful. Specifics about my veggie platter: - Shiro is among best I've had - One or two of the other veg sides seemed to be a little extra something to their flavor - A sweetness I think? I liked it! - All the veggie sides were very well prepared and spiced: Cabbage was well flavored. Potato chunks baked to a nice dense texture. Downside: Had to order shiro separately (they wouldn't just put it as an additional side on my platter order) and so I did, and portion was pretty small costed a lot for an $11 entree. Ordering it as an entree you do get a small side of something else though. Finally, food was a tad oily. Overall, because the food was so yummy, Id give this place a 4.6. read more

Amazing service... This is my third time having Ethiopian food and I'm still warming up to everything Lucy has to offer. I wish I could have appreciated the entire experience better but aside from their delicious salad (sliced tomato with jalapeño) and BBQ/grilled lamb, everything else was okay. I had the raw beef cube and it was quite an experience. I didn't like it all that much but it was fresh! I highly recommend this place if you love Ethiopian food!! read more

Lucy Ethiopian Restaurant - Ethiopian Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

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Just left our dinner at Lucy, and it was delicious! Walked right in, greeted warmly, seated immediately. We didn't order much because one in our party was feeling sick, and the other two just don't tend to eat much. This is frequently the case for us, and we always tip as if we'd ordered a full table of food. I mention all this because I suspect that's why our server's mood switched quickly from friendly to curt and inattentive. (I won't mention her name here.) We found this odd as she continued to be very friendly with tables around us. It made the experience very unpleasant - leaving us wondering what we'd done to upset her, and resulted in our water never being refilled, and waiting a long time for our bill, eventually having to go to the bar to ask to pay. All in all, I'll be back because the food was very good and the prices were great, just a bit of an unpleasant experience this time around. read more

This is the worst restaurant I ever been to they don't have no customer service whatsoever the case may be I went to this restaurant back in January 4, 2021 the worst of all of them in Silver Spring I would never recommend no one to go to this restaurant they only deal with their own kind of people real nice and they deal with everybody else like we don't really care for you guys read more

First, your food is way too good to not have a drink menu. We, as consumers, deserve it and you deserve it as well. Don't leave space for people to think they're being "cheated out" of drinks. The food is so good. I am here on a Friday and the live music is fitting. This is respected amongst those whom enjoy Ethiopian/Entriyaan food. I now understand why AND you can order food up until 2:45 am. I believe this is another gem in Silver Spring..let me know if you agree or if I am trippin. I'm sure I am not trippin read more

Let's just say I won't be back! The experience started off bad when the hostess wasn't exactly hospitable when we entered the restaurant. When we told her we wanted to sit outside she proceeds to go to tend to another situation (not even a patron) inside the restaurant without even acknowledging our request. I should have followed my gut and left at that moment. Our server had a very "I have better places I could be" attitude. I ordered lamb tibs and my friend got beef tibs. When the food came out the food runner (not our server) serves it to us and because the dishes looked so much alike we asked which was which. She couldn't tell is because she didn't know and honestly didn't care. Once we tasted it we realized they'd been switched and traded plates. The server's response to the mix up was "I don't bring the food out so I don't know". Well isn't it your job to inform the runner who gets what dish at the table? Even if there's a mix up, because mistakes do happen, shouldn't staff be knowledgeable enough on the dishes to know which is which? The food was mediocre which added to the awful dining experience. I've had much better Ethiopian in the Washington Metropolitan area. Spend your dollars elsewhere! BTW my friend and I are doing a tour of the Ethiopian restaurants in the area. I will be posting honest reviews of each of them so follow me if you're interested in knowing where to go and where not to go. read more

I was sooooo amazed to how fresh and tasty. It was a bit of a wait but so worth it there was even entertainment.

Amazing quality Ethiopian food (coming from someone who is half-Ethiopian and has been eating Ethiopian food their entire life)! Fresh injera, great watt. Definitely get the awaze tibs, they're amazing! read more

This place has the worst service ever. I have been eating here regularly for many years... it never gets any better. Wait staff is always rude and act as if you are bothering them. Went in for lunch today, was seated at a table and was ignored for more than 20-minutes. Not even offered water. The food has been good, but not worth the overpriced menu and terrible customer service anymore. I have decided today that I will never go back. read more

Over the past couple years I've eaten a lot of Ethiopian. This place in Silver Spring impressed me so much. We got the Vegan combo - this is a good option for everyone, not just vegans, btw. And we got a meat option called Dullet, which is made of stuff like tripe and liver and it was insanely delicious. We also got a the meat sambusa - they are large and could be a meal on their own on the right day. My friend and I are both big eaters but this food defeated us. There was a ton of leftovers! Service is a bit lackadaisical at times but I do not care. There's no on-site parking but there are numerous parking lots and garages around the area. read more

If I can give it zero I would. I placed an order for takeout on Wednesday around 12 pm. The order was for Samosa. The first question the girl ask me was if I am going to be there to pick it up? I answer back to her yes! I will be there to pick it up. She ask me the same question again smh. I answer back telling her I am looking for parking, I will be there. She told me it will be ready in 10 minutes. I know for sure it wasn't going to be ready in 10 minutes so I went in 20 minutes. The girl had nerve to say I took too long to get there like it was ready??? When still wasn't ready, and had to wait another 15 minutes. very poor communication as well as very poor customer services. I will never come back there. There are so many Ethiopian restaurant I don't need to ever come back here. Thank you for worst customer service. One other thing I didn't like was the girl making comment about me, because I wasn't speaking Amharic. Also if some one place on order over the phone . why would some one ask if I will be there to pick it up??? That is not a question it should be asked. I wouldn't order if I wasn't coming to pick up food. Pls train your stuff to have better customer service and better communication skills. read more

This is a story about two food adventurers who had never eaten Ethiopian before. So if you're new to it like we were, you'll get a little education here; if you are a veteran of Ethiopian cuisine, you'll probably just have a good laugh. Just passing through, we hit the Yelp map looking for dinner on our first night in Silver Spring. We had not even considered Ethiopian until the map came up and there were TEN (not an exaggeration) Ethiopian restaurants within a three-square-block area in the northern half of downtown Silver Spring. We chose Lucy because it was the highest rated sit-down place of the ten. Kind of like you know you're in a good sushi restaurant when you see and hear Japanese-speaking people enjoying their meals, we walked into Lucy at about 6:30 pm on a Sunday and the place was 90% full of East Africans. We were shown to a table and within a half hour the remaining seats were filled. Lucy is a popular place with what must be a huge Ethiopian conclave in the neighborhood, and it appeared that many people go there just for drinks and socializing, instead of a full dinner. Newbies, before you go Ethiopian, you might want to visit Wikipedia for a quick primer on Ethiopian food and eating habits. Here are a few notes: First, you'll see everywhere in the literature that "Ethiopians eat with their right hands." That is probably true back home where, outside of urban areas, both running water and toilet paper are in short supply. People in that region do sanitary things with their right hands, and unsanitary things with their left. Since I'm left handed, the first thing I did upon walking into Lucy was to see if the natives were using their left hand as well as their right, and happily, they were. So forget the crap about eating with only your right hand, unless you're traveling to Ethiopia. Second, there is no silverware. Prepare to eat with your hands by tearing off a piece of crepe/pancake-like "injera" flatbread and wrapping your meat and veggies in it (again, without the aid of silverware to scoop the food into the bread). If you're comfortable eating boneless baby-back ribs with your hands, it's about the same sort of mess. Third -- and this is where we really got taken by surprise -- the portions are huge. Check the pics here on Yelp or Lucy's web site. See what looks like a medium-sized plate of tapas-style small portions of 6 or 8 types of meat and veggies in neat little piles on top of the flatbread? That platter is 18 inches across and would easily feed 2-4 people. See the Girgiro (spiced beef or lamb cubes) in the cute little cup that looks like a wine goblet? That cup is about eight inches across its top, and comes with even more injera rolled up on the plate below the cup. Again, food for 2 to 4. Ignorant of the size of the portions, my wife ordered one of the platters and I ordered the Girgiro. The platter covered so much of our table for two that the waitress had to pull up a second table for the Girgiro. Needless to say we ended up leaving about two-thirds of the food on the plates, a complete waste which made us very uncomfortable. The food itself was good, lots of interesting taste combinations, and most were very spicy. But, after trying a bit of it all, we concluded that Ethiopian isn't high on our list of favorite foods. Like much of the cuisine from India, the spices overpowered what they seasoned, so that even with the lamb Girgiro, it was difficult to taste the meat for the spices. We also got to witness the coffee ceremony, where the beans are fire roasted right there in the eating area, with no extra ventilation. As the place filled with a gray haze, the manager came out to see if the only Caucasians in the place were enjoying their meal, and he politely asked if the smoke bothered us. We were given the last cup of ceremonially-brewed coffee and it was fantastic, a very unique nutty taste that we both enjoyed. Despite discovering that we are not big fans of Ethiopian cuisine in general, we still give Lucy 4 stars because it is clearly favored by so many people who go there for a taste of their homeland. We just wish someone -- like maybe our waitress, although her English seemed limited -- would have clued us in to the fact that the two of us were ordering enough food for four to eight people. read more

We love this place there is a lot of Ethiopian food in Silver Spring but this place has the best food. They make every dish well from they Tibs to The vegetarian dishes. The atmosphere is chilled and great draft beer prices. You could always watch a good football game on the big screen. read more

I live in downtown Silver Spring, and at this point I have eaten at a fair share of the Ethiopian restaurants here. The Washington Post ran a persuasive review of Lucy, focusing specifically on its offering of kurt. Kurt is raw ribeye beef that one dips into sauces and a single spice rub. Given my desire to try new food, I came here with a group of friends. Not only was the kurt delicious, but all the standard items offered on the vegan platter were also above par. What really impressed us about the kurt was the fact that the spices and sauces were different from those we had been accustomed to from having eaten plenty of other Ethiopian dishes. The servers were so impressed by the fact that we non-Ethiopians were happy with the kurt that they gave us a free order of dulet: minced lamb tripe and liver. That was even better than the kurt! It did not have the gamey and odd notes of beef tripe. The most standout dish to me was the yatakilt wot, featuring carrot, string beans, and potato. I've always liked this dish at other Ethioipian restaurants, but at Lucy it was something else. Whereas at other places the dish features cabbage as the main ingredient, here I recall its being absent. The vegetables were also fresher than is typical. Of the seven Ethiopian places I have tried in Silver Spring, this so far is the best. Gebeta is a close runner up. read more

Guest Reviewer: my 3-year-old son: "It was super-duper yummy!" read more

I went with a group of 7 on a Saturday night at 7:30pm. It was hustling and bustling with a lot of people trying to be seated somewhere (it was a good sign to us). The tables nearby us were pretty close. The fit was pretty tight throughout the side of the room we were at. (There were still people coming in to be seated around 9pm FYI) The food, once it arrived, was DELICIOUS and we ate pretty much everything. However, the service was less than desirable. The main reason for the lack of stars would be the service. (Reasons below) - We were told that we did not order "enough food" for all 7 of us girls - in a degrading way for that matter. This is just bad service, period - to somehow make the customer feel obligated to purchase more dishes than needed. We ordered an extra dish, but no more than that. The waitress left a bit annoyed. - The food took what it felt like was an hour... our water & soda drinks came out really late too. I'm sure the kitchen had a lot of orders (it was a packed house) - but it would be nice for first comers to let their customers know of the long wait. Especially if the wait is over 30-45 minutes (it's etiquette to come swing by and say, "sorry, food will be out shortly," even for a Saturday night). - Water re-fills were not existent. It felt like they were being bothered when we kept asking for water refills. Eventually, I just snatched the pitcher under their speakers, and re-filled for ourselves. The one time they actually came to re-fill was AFTER we got our check (and by that time it becomes a "no thanks" we're leaving-type of time) - The biggest pet peeve after we finally got our check, was that they TOOK OUT THE TIP (20%) from the cash, even after I specified that I "WANT CHANGE." It is never right for waitresses to take their tip until the customer leaves it on the table after receiving the cash change. We kept our mouth shut and let them take their 20% out, even though we were not going to tip that well - due to the pretty meh service that night. Tipping is optional, not a mandatory thing. I hope the waitresses do not do this to other customers; it's simply rude. They're lucky we didn't ask for our "$9 back" that I was owed from the cash. The FOOD WAS DELICIOUS, and that's the only reason I'd come back again. I may not come back on a weekend night, but maybe during lunch or weekday night... I'm sure service can have it's bad days too. But it seems like it gets busy every weekend, which means they should really hire more workers or chefs or something... to help the long waits and poor service. read more

I placed an order for take out from this restaurant on a Saturday around 6pm. We were in the area and normally we stay faithful to Sheba in Rockville but as I said we were close by and had a taste for some Ethiopian food. The place is kind of small but because I did not actually dine in and I ordered to go I will not comment on the wait service or the atmosphere. I will say that the person who took my order was very kind and attentive. Now to the food. I was so very disappointed in the food it was unbelievable. It was pretty pricey and we thew it all in the garbage. It tasted like it came out of the trash. We ordered Tibbs as we always do and it was so damn tasteless , fatty, greasy and tough that we couldn't even try to eat it we just tossed it. $50 bucks down the drain. This was my first time going there so I can not even compare it to a previous visit. I would not recommend this restaurant and I will not be going back. It seems like they may need a new cook. Very disappointed. read more

We are lucky to have Lucy! Bottom line the food is consistently good and their staff is friendly and accommodating to requests.

LOVED the food! Came here with 2 friends last night for dinner and ordered the fried fish with side salad, girgiro beef, and veggie platter. The beef was my favorite, the meat was juicy and spicy; however the service was terrible. We were seated at the booth and the waitress hardly stopped by. It took them like 30 mins to serve the food after we ordered. We did get fried fish, maybe the deep fry can take a while? I didn't even bother asking for water refill... Needless to say, service needs improvement, that's what the minus one star is for. Overall positive experience and worth the bang for the buck if service isn't your priority. read more