Ashenda's Abasha Restaurant

I'm from Chicago and I am used to some fabulous Ethiopian restaurants. But I thought I'd give it a chance. It was so-so. But not as terrible as one reviewer said. If Yelp would let me I'd give it a 2.5 star.

The thing I like about it was that I took my non-adventurous elder father, who lives in Bloomington, to an Ethiopian restaurant in Chicago and he hated it. The flavors were too unusual for him, plus, he wanted a fork. So, when I'm in Bloomington we can go there and he can eat off the other menu and we can both be happy.

The spices were "off" from every place I've eaten at in Chicago. But, who's to say Chicago Ethiopian restaurants are authentic. I've never been to Ethiopia.

I'd go back. It's as good as most of the other places I've eaten at in Bloomington. (I'm a bit spoiled since I live in a big city.)

This is one of the great places in Bloomington. Disregarding the food, the restaurant is located in an old house on restaurant row, or 4th Street. The ambiance is like an old manor, and generally draws a well dressed crowd for dates, dinners with parents, and alumni reunions.

The Ethiopian menu is good, but not great. If you've never had this kind of food before, you might be disappointed. It could be described as little piles of mush on soggy bread. If you can get past that, then it's actually very good. It would be nice if they had more vegetarian options. This is a nice menu option to have at such a nice place.

This place is awful on all accounts. I am usually a gracious, patient diner and I don't like to write anything off after the first impression. But Ashenda's is way too expensive, the service sucks, and the food is the worst Ethiopian cuisine I have ever tasted. Drive 98 miles down the road to Louisville for real Ethiopian food and you will know what I mean. Just because you are the only one in town, Ashenda, doesn't mean you can serve crap. If you are going to eat there, make sure you have nothing to do for the rest of the night. It took 90 minutes for us to receive our entrees.