Like others, I bought the Living Social deal for Queen Sheba which turned out to be no deal at all. Â I paid $26 for the so-called deal, but our bill was only $31 (sans honey wine). Â What?!!! Â I indicated up front that we had purchased the deal and asked what items were covered, so it's not due to improper ordering. Â I just feel as if I've been misled.
Queen Sheba is located in one of the dicier parking lots on Central Avenue. Â When we entered, we almost left because it took so long for them to acknowledge our presence.
The interior is nothing fancy. Â There was one server working the entire dining room, so service was expectedly slow. Â Although, to his credit, our server was helpful and friendly.
We ordered the beef and veggie combos. Â The beef was served two ways - ground and cubed. Â The ground version was decidedly the better of the two, but neither were exceptional.
The veggies were standard Ethiopian fare - lentils, cabbage, collards, and green beans. Â Nothing really stood out as being that flavorful, and I've had better at both Red Sea and Meskerem.
Meskerem is still my favorite Ethiopian restaurant in Charlotte. Â We do not plan to return.
Wow... WHAT a disappointment.  My girlfriend purchased the Living Social deal and like the person who posted a couple days ago,  we had extremely poor service (he seemed immediately annoyed that we were using a coupon)  and we too received less than what was advertised.  We almost got up and left when we waited 12 minutes to have our drink order taken.  There were only two other tables busy on the  Friday night night we went.  That should have told us something right there... that and the fact it turns into a Latino disco at 9pm....complete with laser and smoke show. Â
This was the first Ethiopian restaurant I've been to in Charlotte, Â and I wasn't impressed. She said the other one near Uptown was far better and felt like we got ripped off. Â In a way, she did as we should have received a separate vegetable plate like they have in their menu. Â Instead we received the avocado salad appetizer and the beef tibs plate. Â
We made the best of it but I know we certainly won't recommend others go there. Â Better food out there with less attitude and better service.
Sections of Central Avenue in East Charlotte are fertile grounds for an incredibly rich selection of ethnic restaurants. This area has been changing for years and its development is, for me, one of the things that make Charlotte a more interesting place to be. Queen Sheba is one of these eateries, recommended by a friend. My daughter and "go to" restaurant companion drove out of our way to try what we knew was going to be something different. I used to do business in the Middle East and Northern Africa so past experience with this region's cuisine gave me some idea of what to expect - some kind of flat bread, no utensils, lots of fragrant spice though not too much heat - but I had never eaten Ethiopian food so we were excited.
We got there way early around 5:30 and the place was empty except for a few obvious regulars collecting empty Corona bottles at the bar. I know in Egypt dinner doesn't even begin until well after 10:00 pm so I expect the place livens up later. The décor is pretty plain and simple, with a large screen TV playing whatever soccer game is on, plastic covers on the tables and low lighting. Our server however could not have been more gracious and welcoming and allowed us to pick a booth that suited us.
Injera, as far as I can tell, is some sort of sour dough pancake, very spongy and in this case it was served cold with all of our dishes. As I said, there are no utensils so this flat bread is an important aid to scooping up the various stewed puréed and chopped dishes put before you. The taste of the Injera is slightly sour and provides a terrific counterpoint to the spicy dishes with which it is served. We started with an avocado salad which turned out to be a delicious chunky guacamole in an Injera burrito. The ingredients were fresh and the serving large. Two of us shared it as a really good appetizer. The beef combination was served on a large circle of Injera on an aluminum platter about 2 feet across and consisted of raw chopped beef, sautéed  beef tips, collard greens, green beans, a pumpkin purée, mashed yams and feta cheese crumbles. It was plenty for two but my companion wanted to try the lamb so she ordered Ye-Beg Tibs which were small bits of lamb sautéed with onions and mild peppers along with a small green salad and served on a large round of Injera.
Everything we were served was very good. This was especially true of the avocado salad and the vegetables. Flavors of the main ingredient were allowed to take a front seat and while I am sure that it was pumpkin or winter squash that I was eating and some sort of yam, the flavors were completely new to me. The collard greens served as a clear reminder of the African roots of some Southern US staples.
We would definitely go back. The combination platters are quite enough for two, especially if you split an appetizer and want to leave room for dessert which we did not try. Prices are very reasonable and the family setting is very welcoming.
Found this place via amazon local. $27 coupon for $53.00 value. Ambiance was great, large tv for TV viewing, hookah next door, and a full bar. The menu was reasonably priced. We literally had to find something else to use the total value of the coupon. There was only one wait staff, so service was slow. I ordered a vegetarian entree and it was great. I will return min the future.
Review Source:DO NOT BUY THE LIVING SOCIAL FOR THIS RESTAURANT! Â
The short story. Â Service was AWFUL, the living social that I paid $27 for was valued at $53, but only got us $30 of food and 2 glasses of dubious wine, food was decent but not what I expected for such high ratings (after having had awesome Ethiopian food in other cities). Â Want more details, read below...
I was VERY excited about trying out this restaurant. Â I love Ethiopian food and have been looking for a great experience here in Charlotte. Â After reading all of the rave reviews on Yelp, my husband and I purchased the Living Social deal, expecting a somewhat sketchy environment, but awesome food and service. Â We knew from the reviews that the atmosphere would not be incredible.
Our service was AWFUL (even though it was not crowded):
- our waiter, a middle aged gentleman in glasses, barely spoke to us (I wonder if there was a lack of English)
- we had NO refills on our glasses of water
- despite being OBVIOUSLY pregnant, he still insisted on dropping off 2 glasses of honeywine
- the honeywine came out of plastic bottles and wasn't listed on the menu (homemade without a permit?)
- our waiter NEVER asked us how our food was
- when we needed a pen to fill out info for the Living Social voucher, he proceeded to help out the drunk behind us and two other couples before retreating behind the bar with his back turned to us (my husband had to go up to the bar to retrieve a pen)
- our waiter waited on EVERY other table and the random drunk guy that sat behind us WAY more than he ever bothered to pay attention to us. Â Truthfully, as an Asian minority, it almost felt like racism/discrimination, but it wasn't overt.
As far as our Living Social, our deal read that we could expect 2 glasses of honey wine, an appetizer, one meat or veggie combo, and one veggie combo for $27, valued at $53. Â Our waiter indicated that we could get one appetizer and ONE combo. Â When you look at the menu, there are appetizers around $7, veggie courses around $10, meat courses around $13, and combo courses on the far right listed at $23. Â So based on the waiter, our $27 Living Social could buy us a $7 appetizer + a $23 combo + 2 glasses of wine (that I doubt costed $10 a piece). Â We will be filing a complaint with Living Social momentarily.
So why 2 stars? Â The food was decent. Â Better than the other Ethiopian I've had in Charlotte. Â Decent injera, pretty good doro wot and doro tibbs as well. The beef sambosas were good, nicely spiced, but the beef overcooked and chewy. Â I also wonder if maybe you go on a different day, you get a different waiter with a different experience. Â Yelp has always steered us in a great direction, so I'm surprised at how awful our experience was.
I love Ethiopian & Eritrean food and Queen Sheba did not disappoint. We started with the Avocado salad which was very tasty.The espresso was delicious! I had the veggie plate and it was very tasty. The atmosphere is very nice and there is a separate hookah room. I will definitely be back. Â So much better than those other places in Charlotte on kings and Charlottetowne avenue....you know who you are...step up your game because there is a real Ethiopian joint in town now :-)
Review Source:Positives: Â
1. The food was amazing. Â I tried the Queen Sheba Combo and shared it with my husband and it was enough for the two of us and a very good variety of meat and vegetables. Â Everything was very well spiced and tasty. Â
2. Owner is super nice and explained how to eat Ethiopian food sans utensils (this was my first time).
Negatives: Â
1. The decor isn't the greatest. Â It has potential, but they really need new tables and chairs. Â The coverings on the chairs are a bit gaudy. Also, there could have been some music playing or something - that would have added a nice feel.
2. We were the only two people there the entire time we had dinner (we were there from 7:15 - 8:30pm on a Saturday). Â If you don't mind being alone in a restaurant then it's not an issue, but if you like to have others around for ambiance, this probably isn't the place for you.
Bottom Line: Â You may need to overlook the atmosphere, but the food is delicious!
The food here is some of the best Ethiopian I have tried - compared to other Ethiopian in Charlotte that I know, I much prefer it to Meskerem. I highly recommend the Queen Sheba combo, it easily feeds two people and has lamb, chicken and about three lentil and two veg dishes.
I cannot really recommend the Tej (honey wine). It had a very strong fermenty flavor, and our friends who had had it before elsewhere said it usually tasted better. But I enjoyed trying it just for the experience.
Now as for the service: That was rather an awkward experience. The waitress kept trying to dissuade us from the combo we were trying to order, and in the end said that we should order that combo, a different combo AND another individual dish, so that we could try the most popular dishes. Combos, she said would feed one to two people depending on their appetite. Once again, there were two of us eating one combo and we had another large portion left to take home. The waitress kept being a little pushy about ordering other things throughout the meal and even after we had paid. But apart from that, she was very nice.
EVERYTHING is Made-to Order so you can order each dish as mild or as spicy as you like! Â Mild is NICE medium was about as spicy as I usually want!
Timatim Fit Fit or Timatim Firfir may sound like a great name for someones spiritual son  and it may be, though this one is a Tomatoes, Green, Pepper, Onion, Oil, Vinegar chopped Injera and wrapped in more Injera
We also ordered the Timatim Salad (not on the Menu) without the Injera in nor around it - this is my preference for Timatim and this one has good flavor.
Ethiopian Coffee!!! Â Tastes like Turkish! Â My Girlfriend (who is Turkish) said it has Green Cardamom in it and that is why I LOVE the Flavor!!! Â Cool Coffee Pot and Mugs! Â Great Presentation!!! Â Is Ethiopian Coffee supposed to be this good! Â I asked the guy about it and my girlfriend thought it was funny that he said "first we grind these coffee beans..." Â So far i have only had Coffee in two Ethiopian Restaurants and this was the only one I enjoyed... The other two were not Arabian style like this one!
Avocado Salad wrapped in Injera was very good! I have never had this dish.
Beef Tibs with Rice, spiced with Rosemary and Cabbage... The Rosemary was a different and nice addition to the Rice that I have not experienced in Ethiopian.
The Music on the Music Videos was good and I'm guessing Ethiopian!
The neighborhood makes me want to start a fast song when I'm in the parking lot and this song is only sung during daylight hours, I would not be back there at night! Â We will be sneaking back during the Day!
I've never had ethiopian before, but my man has, and said, "hey! Â you'll like it! Â let's go!"....and so we did. Â i'm all about expanding my cultural horizons and thinking outside of the applebee's box. Â :)
I must say i was impressed. Â We had all 3 of the appetizers, Timatim Firfir, which is a mix of tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, olive oil and lemon juice, and injera diced up and all mixed together....you can also request this without the injera in it, which i liked better!
We had the avocado salad, which comes looking like a giant injera burrito. Â It was excellent, and triangle pastries filled with a spice beef mixture and a side of spice green stuff to dip it in. Â It was a little more spice than i can handle, but i will admit, i am a spice WEENIE! Â However all the food is made to order, so they were very willing to make things more or less spicy for us, upon request, which is SUPER helpful.
For the entree we had the Queen Sheeba Special, which was cubed bits of beef in a very nice, tasty sauce, with jalapenos (which were not overly spicy) tomatoes and onions. Â You have the choice of having it with injera or rice and we opted for rice since we had plenty of injera with our salad burrito looking things.
We ended our meal with ethiopian coffee, which reminded both of us of the flavor of trukish coffee, which we find to be very good.
This place is not only a restaurant but also a bar. Â We were here on a sunday afternoon, but you could tell they had a dance floor and a stage for bands, and a big screen to play videos on. Â i'm sure this place is a jammin' when it's party night.
The guy working was very nice and helpful, and was very accomodating. Â The only "downside" is the location. Â It's not in the best part of town, however i never felt unsafe, but just always be mindful of where you are. Â :)
We tend to go to either Meskerem or Red Sea about once a month, so when we heard that there was a new ethiopian place in town we were excited to go try it out. The restaurant is physically quite large and not particularly attractive, but I've always been more concerned with the food than the decor. Luckily, the food holds is quite good and the service is very good as well.
The menu has 19 items including appetizers, with the bulk of them being beef and lamb dishes. There are still plenty of vegetarian dishes and one chicken option. The food is comparable to both Meskerem and Red Sea in terms of flavors, so if you are a fan of those places you won't be disappointed here, although I'm also not sure yet whether this is better either. Really all three serve very good food easily comparable to what I've had in NYC and DC.
Where the menu stands out is that it includes several dishes that are most definitely geared towards Ethiopian and Eritrean customers. To wit, there are a couple of beef dishes with a 'tartare' option and I had something called Ye-Beg Dilot, which is a delicious mixture of onion, garlic, peppers, beef and lamb organ meats. It was all very well seasoned and cooked. I mention this because unadventurous eaters might be turned off by the idea of some of the dishes (but hey, at that point you should have just gone to the Applebee's or wherever it is people without a taste for good things go). The tej (honey wine) is really nicely balanced and isn't too sweet, and well worth trying. And actually, this is one item that is definitely better here than at the other two restaurants I mentioned above.
One odd thing is that the food came out on a separate large plate for each customer. I have only ever had Ethiopian food served on a single communal plate, but they don't seem to be doing that here. A minor disappointment is that there is no meat combination plate, which sort of locks you into one dish. There is a veggie combo, however.
In summary: new Ethiopian restaurant (potentially with some Eritrean dishes as well); very good food; unusual menu items; well worth a trying. I'm certainly planning on going back in the near future.
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