Mesob Ethiopian Restaurant

How I love Mesob. It’s been more than 18 months since I’ve eaten here and they did not disappoint. My husband has been skeptical about eating here but I reassured him that the experience would be life changing. We ordered the Ingudai Tibs as an appetizer– this is easily one of my favorite dishes. They were a huge hit with the man as well. The meat sampler for two was perfectly prepared with various sides such as Buticha and tikil gomen which I highly recommend. The only reason I am giving four stars is that our server forgot our drinks and was MIA most of the time– in general the wait staff is very friendly and I can’t say enough good things about the food.

The food is good. Just didn’t care too much for the bread and a sauce they gave us.

Loved the experience. It was very ‘hands on’. Good food. We got the meat sampler for 4. Outside of that we ordered a shrimp entrée which was delicious. I will be going back here again to try some other dishes. Service was pleasant. Our server was very accommodative and made our 2 year old feel ‘at home’. Desserts ordered were the chocolate tort and the crème brûlée. Both recommended.

Great food and amazing service! My mom and I went here a few weeks ago since we’ve never tried Ethiopian food before. We ordered ingudai tibs as appetizer and my only complain is I wish the serving sizes were bigger because it was so good! Okay just kidding the serving sizes are actually pretty good for the price. Our waitress was amazing (I wish I remembered her name) and gave us recommendations. As a vegetarian, I had a lot of options! Love that you get two sides with an entrée so you get to try several dishes. I enjoyed the food and atmosphere! Will definitely be back.

Perfect place to eat. Amazing service. Tasty food. Generous portions. Decent prices. Great atmosphere. Nice enough to dress up and go to but also fine for casual attire as well. Definitely check it out!

Easily one of my most favorite restaurants here in Jersey. I’ve been here numerous times & it never disappoints. I always get the Doro Tibs (cubed chicken in a delicious sauce of onions, garlic, & spices) and can’t go wrong with any of the vegetable sides. The mushrooms, potatoes, lentils, and couscous are contributors of my revolving menu options and are all beyond delectable. You have to have an open mind to eat here because you eat with your hands and it could get messy. However I love it because it keeps people off their phones at the dinner table. And sometimes depending on preference, you eat family style… so you’re sharing your plate with your partner. But again, it’s a great way to engage in conversation, & just appreciate the experience. The food may look different when you see it, but keep an open mind. Your tummy will thank you for it! I’ve taken numerous friends there & although hesitant at first, they all left completely satisfied. I also recommend the vegan chocolate chip cherry cookies & coffee. If you still have the room after dinner of course! And this place is BYOB! I recommend a white, like a Sauvignon Blanc as it pairs perfectly with the spices. Also, if you’re not a big fan of heat like myself, I would recommend getting food prepared mild. The medium has a slight kick, & the spice… although it’s to much for me, others may love it. No matter what your preference, just appreciate the experience & embrace the cultural cuisine of this unique find!

My first time trying Ethiopian food and I am definitely not disappointed! Like most places in Montclair it’s a bit on the pricier side, but not bad for the amount of food you get. We also got a free appetizer sampler just for checking into Unilocal!We chose the Timatim Fitfit, and it was excellent. For our entrees, I had the chickpea cakes and he had the beef ribs. We chose red lentils, potatoes, collard greens and cabbage for our sides, and everything came out on a large piece of injera with extra injera on the side. We brought a bottle of Zinfandel to complement the food, and it really accentuated all of the flavored in the food. Overall, a delicious dining experience!

Great ambiance. The hosts are awesome but there was too much of waiting. We got the table but it took around 10 — 15 mins without being served water or having a server for the table.
The food is good. Love their spicy lamb and chicken curry. The sides were Ok. The portions were OK (I would have liked some more) .
Overall a great place for Ethiopian food !

Ethiopian food. Never knew it existed until recently. So why not, let me try something different and unique. I never doubted the food, especially with the great reviews and impeccable aromas coming out of that kitchen.
So when we checked in on Unilocal,we received a free appetizer, which was huge fresh mushrooms with a perfect spicy and garlic taste. Too bad we got it with dinner since they forgot to put it in on time. Maybe because it was free they didn’t care? Who knows.
Food is served on a large spongy cold bread that looked like tripe, absolutely horrible! Served on top are your choice of meats or vegetarian options. You then rip a piece of bread and dunk in your meal. hands only so prepare to get messy! I didn’t mind that, but the fact that I couldn’t remotely enjoy the bread, made it really hard to enjoy the meal overall. The vegetarian options we choose were ok, for $ 38 for 2 people, nothing was remotely memorable. Everything was just alright with balanced spices definitely not enough for 2 hungry folks to share.
Service was lacking in every way. Servers had way too many tables to take care of and no one ever checked on us. The tables are small compared to the large plate the bread is served on, making it a tight uncomfortable space to eat. I couldn’t wait to leave, and with so many restaurants in the area, hate to say it but I won’t be back…

Just a wonderful place in every way. A full page of their menu is vegan, and you won’t be able to resist the veg sampler which comes with 6 choices which they customize in serving size depending on the number of people. Some vegetarian Ethiopian is made with butter, so we were so happy to see how well they understood vegan.
Because you will be eating with your hands (which is romantic and fun), you are given hot wet washcloths at the beginning of your meal, oh how nice on a cold night. At the end, you get wet wipes to clean up. Probably all restaurants should do this.
Don’t miss the chickpea cakes. Our server also suggested a tomato salad appetizer which was fresh tomatoes mixed with dressing and chopped injera.
When our (giant) plate came with our choices scooped onto the bread in front of us, we felt there was no way we could consume all that fluffy blanket-​like injera, but we found ourselves asking for seconds and um, even a bit more after that. Injera is made from fermented lentil flour and is gluten-​free. It seemed way less filling than other kinds of bread.
I am sad that we did not get to try the wonderful geometric chocolates that look like works of art. Those are vegan, by the way. The space is warm and inviting due to exposed brick, pumpkin-​colored walls, and soft light, and they handle your wine quickly. It is BYOB. We got a free Unilocal check-​in appetizer, so our meal was well under $ 50. How I wish we lived closer.

We have been frequenting this restaurant for over five years now. The food quality and service is always really good, except when they get busy. At times, you may have to wait for a server to get helped. The food is consistently tasty. We normally get the chicken and shrimp tibs with four different vegetarian sides. I wish they were a little more generous with the sides. They are a bit on the small side. One negative for this restaurant is that the acoustics of the large open dining area can make for a rather loud dining experience when the place is crowded.

While the food was very good, I had to take away 2 stars because of the service.
1. We ordered apps and entrees. When they bring our food it was the entrée and I said «we never received the appetizer»… Instead of being apologetic waitress was basically like «oh i didn’t enter an appetizer»… She wasn’t remotely apologetic and said «well, I can take your food back if you want»… Uhm, that’s fine.
2. When we finished they automatically brought the check… Didn’t ask if we wanted dessert. So I called a different waiter over and ordered dessert.
3. When the waitress brought the bill, she just dropped it on the table… None of the «thanks so much… Hope you enjoyed everything.»
I don’t think I’ll be back for a while… Other Ethiopian options to choose from.

I must say I am very disappointed in the service here. It is a great restaurant in the food perspective. But this isn’t the first time I’ve had a bad experience with the wait staff. I am one to give people the benefit of the doubt and just deal. However, i usually get the meat sampler and considering I don’t eat beef I ask for more chicken/​lamb. I do wish they would just make an open option of samplers. I mean seriously what is the big deal? If I could, I would do two chicken, two lamb and two seafood. They are also too strict with the sides.
There are just too many restrictions on the menu and it makes the experience unpleasant. I think they need to hire different wait staff, ones that carry patience.

Solid 3.5 to 4! This was my first time trying Ethiopian food. I lived in California for 12 years and wanted to try it and never got it before I moved back to the East Coast. Mesob came highly recommended by friends. This was an amazing cultural experience, I am so glad I finally tried Ethiopian food. The décor and atmosphere were really inviting and stylish.
The reason why I say this was a solid 3.5 to 4 is that they must have had a really bad night because the service was terrible, we waited 30 minutes until I flagged down someone to ask who our server was because NO one came by our table to welcome us, take our drink or food order. After the servers themselves argued who was supposed to be assigned to our table, the Owner finally came by and took our order, herself.
The food made up for the service, we choose «A Taste of Mesob», 2 starters, 2 chicken dishes, 2 beef dishes, 1 lamb dish, shrimp tibs, and any 3 sides from the vegetable entrees (except shiro). As this was my first time eating this cuisine and my friend’s first time at this restaurant we had the owner recommend dishes. What a treat! I really truly like the flavors, I have to admit I was worried about eating with my fingers but I forgot all about it once the food arrived. They provided finger towels to wash your hands from the menu you were touching, nice touch.
For appetizers we chose Timatim Fitfit, and Ye’siga Sambussa, I am not a fan of jalapenos and thought the Timatim Fitfit might be too spicy for me but the flavor turned out to be one of my favorites of the night, a big surprise. We also chose, Tibs Wat, Minchet Abish Aletcha, Ye’beg Aletcha, Doro Aletcha, Doro Tibs, Atkilt Aletcha, Buticha, Ye’shimbra Assa Wat and Dinich Wat. Minchet Abish Aletcha was by far my favorite but I loved it all. We just had to try the dessert so we ordered MESOB VEGAN DARK CHOCOLATES, I can’t believe they are Vegan. I’ll definitely be going back.

This will be the second time I’ve eaten at an Ethiopian resturant and the last did not impress. Sadly neither did this. I don’t care much for the injera which is a big problem because you eat a lot of it. Nothing about the food really grabs me and nothing about it is spicy like indian cuisine, which has similar fare. In fact the food taste to me kinda bland. Also this silly rule of being required to have an entrée per person I didn’t really like. I get that they’re trying ensure they get their money but you don’t have to be rude about it, and tell us no sharing is allowed or we’ll be charged twice.
Which brings me to the service. I think perhaps there may have been a language barrier because for like 5 minutes the waitress is trying explain that in order to redeem our free appetizer we must order something and we cannot order a single entrée. The problem is she was telling us in the most backward way beginning with you can’t get the free app, we ask why, she says you must order entrée… and so on. Also after she actually took our orders another server comes over to begin and we tell him our order has been taken.
What did I have? The Miser wat and dinch wat (since you must have 2). Neither were particularly great to me. The other reviews may be high but I’d say this is just a great place as an cheap alternative to a buffet where you can byob since most of the tables had 4 or more people here, but I fail to see the big deal here.

I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this place yet!
At first, I was very apprehensive to eat at Mesob. I had heard about it from a number of people who raved about it. «What’s Ethiopian food like?», I would ask repeatedly. No one could give me a good description except saying, «You eat with your hands.»
Wait, you eat with your what now?
This was VERY off-​putting to me. Especially because I was told you eat with your hands off the same dish as everyone. All those hands touching the same food… germs everywhere…
Eventually, my curiosity overcame my germophobe-​ness and I gave in. I must say, Ethiopian food is delicious! Especially at Mesob! Basically, for any Ethiopian newbies, the best way I can describe it is there are various stews to choose from that include a main ingredient: veggie, lamb, chicken, beef. You choose a few and they are put on a big platter of injera, which is basically like a spongy pancake. You tear off pieces of the injera and use it to pick up chunks of your stew and soak up the delicious juices.
The food is so flavorful and intoxicating. After eating there the first time, I ended up going back a few days later to eat there again. Also, not only is the food delicious but it’s all reasonably priced and with friendly service. It’s BYOB and is conveniently located near a liquor store.
Definitely come here if you’re looking for something different and delicious to eat.

First of all, this place smells delicious. Whatever spices are circulating through the air here definitely gets you in the mood for Ethiopian.
For apps, my two buddies and I went with the ayib bemitmita (fresh farmer’s cheese mixed with Ethiopian chili powder) and ye-​misir sambussa (hand wrapped shells of thin pastry filled with a blend of brown lentils, onions, scallions, peppers & herbs). The latter reminded me of an Indian samosa. Both very good. And thanks to a Unilocal check-​in, one of these was on the house.
For the main course, we split the meat sampler for two ($ 44). It had:
— a combination of Tibs Wat (beef). Wat’s that? No idea.
— Minchet Abish Kay Wat (beef). Same comment as above.
— Minchet Abish Aletcha (beef).
— Ye’Beg Aletcha (lamb).
— Doro Tibs (chicken).
The sample came with three sides of our choice. We opted for the:
— gomen (fresh collard green simmered in mild sauce seasoned with spice and
herbs)
— misir wat (split lentils simmered in spicy hot sauce
— dinich wat (potatoes simmered in a spicy sauce seasoned with spices & herbs).
The servers (both from Ethiopia) were excellent about explaining everything to us, even though I still didn’t leave entirely certain what I had consumed.
The only disappointment of the night was that nobody wanted to split the Ethiopian coffee with me. (I’m a self-​proclaimed coffee snob and am convinced I will make it to Ethiopia some day just for the coffee).
Remember to check in on Unilocal to get a free app. BYOB.

I love the food, but hate the service.
Since my first time here, the service gets worse and worse. It could be 2 PM or 6 PM and its just not stellar.
Altho, this weekend i did come here for a party of 12 around 7 pm for a birthday — i was slightly immpressed with how quickly the food came out. Thats something ive noticed about this place, the food doesnt always take long to come out BUT the waitors and watiresses take forever giving water, taking orders and being organized.
They also DO NOT take parties over 10 on a weekend (even with reservations)_, my friend had to beg and beg to let them do a party of 12 and let me tell you. this place was packed.
Their lunch specials are totally worth it but honestly, the service when i came here durin a lunch hour was absolutely terrible — and the place wasnt even packed!

I really did not know what to expect with Ethiopian food. I guess I thought it would be like Indian food. Dont get me wrong. It kind of is. However, my main critique (also the reason why I gave only 2 stars) is because I dont like injera («spongy» flatbread). I like the little portions of their meat platter alot. They were delicious! However, I feel like it would taste a lot better with naan. I also used the free appetizer deal by checking in on Unilocal.I ordered Ayib Bemitmita, which is farmer’s cheese. Yet again, I expected it to taste similar to Indian paneer. I think I am just biased with Indian food because it’s so damn good. Sorry, Ethiopia.
The restaurant itself is really nice and quaint. The staff is friendly. The menu is pretty expensive, but its expected in the Montclair area. Everything is all good… EXCEPT injera.
Thus, my review is not that helpful because I personally do not like their flatbread. If you like it, the place is probably more you cup of tea.

It’s not often I get a chance to eat Ethiopian food so I’m not sure how much merit my review has but overall I enjoyed it. The bread even alone was delicious, but warning that in a couple hours it will billow out from time and other liquids you might ingest.
The free appetizer on Unilocal was an awesome bonus. We got the Ingudai Tips-​portobello mushrooms-​spicy and boy were they spicy. and a bit oily. The Doro Aletcha-​mild chicken drumstick-​entrée was delicious and I absolutely recommend!!! The flavor had amazing flavor! As for the sides, the Gomen-​collard greens-​and the kik aletcha were my favorite because of the texture. I felt like the shiro and the others were a little too mushy for me.
You can absolutely ask for more injeb and of course it’s BYOB. Service was laid back giving me and my friend lots of time to catch up with little pressure.