Piassa

First, Id like to advise Unilocal readers to not trust any review on an Ethiopian restaurant by someone who 1) is xenophobic/​ignorant (Review by «Eleanor S.») 2) hates injera. That’s like writing a review of a sandwich spot saying that you hate bread.
That being said, Ill make it short
The restaurant wasn’t busy, service was good/​fast
Food was alright, but I was having a major pregnancy craving. The next day, i noticed the awake tips to be fattier than previously thought.
Veggies lacked flavor.
Atmosphere I loved. But Im a big fan of Ethiopian culture soooo if you’re scared/​a closet racist, go to Meskerem or Desta
We had a scoutmob, so it was only $ 22 (tip included) to feed my pregnant self, my 6’7 husband, a glass of Tej (don’t get it), and still have leftovers.
I’ll agree with some of my peers and say that if you’re craving, go on a weekend night. But if you want the best, look elsewhere.

Truly one of the worst dining experiences ever. Read the other reviews, most people were being kind. I’m no fan of Ethiopian food, but my friend had a Groupon and I agreed to go. If you hate injera, as I do, be forewarned that only one dish has rice.
We started with the beef sambussa (they were out of the lentil sambussa and allegedly the beef also, but then it appeared at our table). Like others have commented, they were nearly burnt to a crisp. The actual flavor wasn’t too bad, if you can ignore the fact that the outside resembles charcaol.
For entrees, I ordered the lamb and rice and my friend had a spicy beef dish. The rice on my dish was greasy (??) and had mystery vegetables, but was otherwise okay. Just sort of there. My lamb was eraser sized pieces of lamb flavored «meat.» Lamb is usually tender. Not here. The meat was fatty and tough. Whatever part of the lamb this meat came from, it was definitely the cheapest.
My friend’s beef dish was equally as deplorable. It was all meat, no vegetables. I’ll admit the sauce was pretty good. Unfortunately, the cut of beef was also cheap, tough, and mostly gristle. The meat at this restaurant must have come from Walmart… in Ethiopia.
The service is nonexistent. Make sure you drink something before you go, because you are never getting a refill.
When we first arrived, they were playing traditional music. Then they switched to Leo Sayer’s More than I can Say, which they played on repeat 7 times!!! before we asked them to change the music. Then we were delighted with various English and African versions of Happy Birthday songs. It was bizarre and hilarious.
If you see this place on Scoutmob or were unfortunate enough to buy a Groupon, take someone you really despise. Friends don’t let friends eat at Piassa.

It’s kind of a 3.5 star place, which is what the rating sits at now.
We appreciated the environment, the fact that they served alcohol, (many Ethiopian restaurants in our state don’t) and the extensive menu.
The quality of the food was pretty good. We had the veggie combo as well as a meat combo.
The service left a lot to be desired. Yes I try to be very generous when it comes to cross cultural concepts of service, but our waitress was rude. She seemed annoyed we weren’t ordering more (Four of us, we ordered for «3» and had tons of leftovers). Never checked on us or offered refills. We waved at her a few times and were obviously ignored. We asked about the coffee ceremony on the menu and she told us it was only available on Thursdays, (doesn’t say that on the menu) and then just walked off before we could order something in its place.
When my friend motioned for the check, she visibly rolled her eyes and sighed.
Towards the end, another waitress started helping us while ours continued to just sit down behind the bar as she had done most of the night. The other waitress was much nicer, and brought us coffee and tea, but we were disappointed that the tea was just a bag of Lipton and the coffee wasn’t the best.
Overall, the place was a great value, and if I lived in the area I might stop by and get something to go, but I’d prefer to visit other Ethiopian places in hopes of finding a warmer welcome.

If you are looking for an American style dining experience, you will be disappointed. The pace is slow, the atmosphere foreign, and the food is excellent. But don’t bring your fussy mother-​in-​law here unless she is Ethiopian. Try the Tej wine. Brace yourself for a very friendly language barrier. Enjoy the good flavors and roll with it.
Groupon was available when we went, but this is a good value without a promotion.

I went with friends Saturday night. We enjoyed the atmosphere and service and the food tasted decent. However upon leaving we observed them receiving a meat delivery in a very unsanitary way. Goat carcasses bumping up against the door frame and from an unrefrigerated truck.
I also had major stomach distress when I got home.
I won’t return and have seriously considered contacting the health department.

Had dinner here yesterday. When you first enter it seems to be a food and meat mart go through the curtain on the right and you walk right into an eclecticly decorated dining room with many Ethiopian pieces of art and an overall mixed yet quirky décor.
My friends and I ordered a variety of dishes the first being fish gulash, the veggie combo and lastly Derek tibs.
The fish gulash is made up of tilapia fish cubes sauteed with onions and tomatoes and cooked in a mild chili and spice blend called berbere and finally topped with some jalapeño peppers. The gulash was good it had a burnt taste at times and some what of a fishy taste. But an OK dish nonetheless.
The veggie combo was comprised of a variety of vegetarian Ethiopian dishes like shiro (chick pea sauce), dinich wot (potato stew), gomen (collard greens), key sir (beets), misir (lentils) and a salad. Warning it is a huge platter and can be shared with 2 if not 3 people. It was just average in comparison to home made Ethiopian food or other restaurants versions like Desta.
The last dish was Derek tibs which is cyber beef cooked with onions and spices served on a sizzling small platter. The presentation was great but I wish they had taken it away after serving cause the meat continued to cook and the smell just permeated through everything. My friends enjoyed it though and doubled up on hot spice mitmita which made it taste even better.
Overall a good experience.

We came here with a large group, and were seated kind of bench-​style around 2 small tables. The combo plate (don’t remember what it was called) was served in generous portions, with a great variety– lamb, beef, goat, along with veggies and unending servings of injera. Enough for 5 people. Btw, don’t get the beef short rib, unless you like it super crisp and overcooked. That’s just how they do it here.
The atmosphere may leave much to be desired, but you don’t expect ethnic places to be like some Buckhead joint, do you? I mean, really?
If you don’t like live music… then come here earlier in the evening– I think the live singing starts at around 9PM, at least on Sunday nights.

It sucks and became a worst restaurant that I never seen. waitress r very rude they r not helpful the bill will be a lot a lot of stealing I hate piassa

This place isn’t bad, especially if you have Scoutmob. Don’t let the location sketch you out, because it’s not as bad as it seems. Although the bird that just sat on the sidewalk as we left with no clue what was going on around him was a bit sketchy…
Anyway, it’s definitely not as good as some of the other nearby Ethiopian places, but it’s not bad. It seems to double as a music club or something, and there is a bar. The lighting is more like a club than a restaurant, at least at night.
I got my usual Ethiopian dish, which is awaze tibs. It wasn’t as spicy as I would have liked and it also just didn’t seem to have as much spice to it in general. It was kind of bland, and there were some fatty pieces in there.
They do give you PLENTY of injera, I had leftovers for the next day and I’m pretty sure I didn’t even use all the injera, and I didn’t even get extra!
So really, if you’re nearby and craving Ethiopian, this isn’t a bad choice. But if you’re actively seeking to go to an Ethiopian place, I would go elsewhere over Piassa.

Any good reviews you read are from relatives or the owners. It took –forever– to get service. (See Kim B’s review from December). My fish was so overcooked, the edges tasted like cardboard. To get to the dining room, you have to first make it past this weird room near the entrance that looks like a small cafeteria.
Their cabbage side is MUCH more potato than cabbage. Their lentils are good, I will say. BUT… for Ethiopian next time, I will stick to Desta.

If you are into trying new things this is the place for you. It’s by all means a traditional ethiopian
restaurant different from desta restaurant which is more modern
The food is great but make sure you read the menu because this place is known for its raw meat and if your not in to raw meat don’t try it. Tibbes and cooked kittfo are good for first timers and also try Ethiopian beer harrar … Tumbs up

This place was certainly an experience. My bf found a great groupon for it, and we decided to go on an adventure. It is super casual and I felt like I had left the US when I sat at our booth. All the signs were in another alphabet, and the English translations were poorly spelled and had bad grammar, which I found really amusing and added to the authenticity of the restaurant.
Truthfully the food we had wasn’t awesome, but it was an interesting place to explore. One warning I would give is not to order the Kurt. The description was something like «finely chopped row meat» with a list of interesting spices. Turns out there is a misspelling, and they meant to say RAW meat. We literally ordered like 2 lbs of raw cold steak. Needless to say we were surprised. But we took it to go and will make fajitas tonight :) We also ordered another dish that involved sautéed beef which was tasty.

My lover and I decided to have a go at Ethiopian cuisine. We saw the scoutmob and we are both adventurous eaters so we thought… why not?
There were many options to choose from that sounded excellent. We started with standard beef samosas. These little bastards took about 20 mins to come out, and were visibly burnt. They were so hard I couldn’t even cut it with my knife! We asked for another batch and after an awkward stare off… I won. Second batch not burnt but they were still weak. I have had much better. (Hint Dekalb Farmer’s Market).
For the real-​deal we ordered a veggie-​combo, which was really flavorful and tasty. Not sure what all of it was. but spiced lentils, sautéed green beans and cabbage were recognizable. We also had the meat combo (goat, beef, and lamb) to share. So disappointing, the meat was tough and exceptionally bland. A triple whammy to say the least.
Ummm ok, so about this traditional bread they have called injera. I seriously loathe it. Its gray, and bubbly looking with the consistency of jello. No thanks I’ll take my bread non-​wobbly…
The silver lining of the meal — The beer called Harar. I found it to be refreshing, sweet and full-​bodied but not too heavy. Alcohol has a way of «fixing» things.
I have not completely thrown in the towel on Ethiopian food, but I will definitely not be going to Piassa again. LAME… its a 4-​letter word.

I enjoyed this place. VERY kitchy atmosphere, but in a good way. Sort of tiki-​bar style.
I have eaten a lot of Eithiopian over the years and so I know what I like. Ever since the Cottage closed its doors a couple of years ago, I’ve been missing really tasty Eithiopian, so I was excited to give this place a try when we saw it on Scoutmob. It’s not quite at the level of Cottage but definitely worth a try.
We went on a Sunday and did not find the service to be slow although it was a bit awkward/​confused because they didn’t seem to understand English very well.
First off they DO have appetizers — just the typical samosas, which were pretty nice. We had the lentil and beef samosas, the beef were tasty, lentil were a bit bland but I asked for hot sauce on the side which really helped. You get two in an order and they are small. The lentil appetizer had some cold spots so it obviously came from frozen, which is not unusual but I hate biting into a cold spot.
I love a place with Eithiopian beer, however one of ours came out lukewarm and they did not have frosty mugs, so be sure to see if the beer is cold if you like cold beer.
The portions are huge and although tasty they seem to use a ton of clarified butter on everything. We ordered a side of red lentils and it was served as a soup, swimming in clarified butter. It was ok flavor-​wise but too buttery for me.
My favorite dish in Eithiopian restaurants is yebeg (lamb) tibs and there’s was generally how I like it, with jalapeño and rosemary. The lamb was fattier than I’m used to but not bad. I enjoyed it.
My boyfriend ordered the special kitfo raw. I normally like kitfo but this was ‘special’ and had some mild red sauce and ghee on it. I was not into it at all but my boyfriend enjoyed it, although not the best kitfo he’s had.
I’m only giving it 3 stars this time around but I am willing to give it another try, maybe try the veggie platter or doro wat the next time around.

The atmosphere was pretty cool. The tables were nice and the décor was traditional. Our service was also good. Our server didn’t understand much English but she very pleasant to talk to about the menu. The meat is butchered in house and if you look at the cooler in front of you across the counter you might catch a glimpse of what your about to eat in the pre-​butchered form. The reason why i give four stars instead of five is because the meat was a bit fatty. I got a 3 meat dish with I believe Goat, Veal, and Beef. The bread is incredible and the sauce was delicious too. I will go back and try something else off the menu. You should at least give this place a try, it’s an exotic atmosphere with a traditional Ethiopian menu.

This is an excellent find. Thank you, Scoutmob. Some of the BEST Kitfo I’ve had, hands down. The abundance of Mitmita to spice the meal yourself was a welcome find. The portion was FANTASTIC, easily enough for two people (I had leftovers).
The most interesting thing about this place is the FRESHNESS of the beef. Wonder why? Because they are also a BUTCHER SHOP. That’s just awesome, in my book.
I found the store to be a little off of my beaten path, but well worth the journey.

I’ve always thought that if I went to Ethiopia I would probably be a little fearful. Therefore, this place is really authentic because I was fairly nervous the whole time. Perhaps it was the cow meat hanging by the entrance, or the dark, just-​empty-​enough dining room behind beaded curtains.
That being said, the manager was very nice and the food was pretty good. The menu is a little overwhelming, so the waitress recomended the beef tibs, which were great and the perfect portion. Without scoutmob it would have been a little pricey for what it is.
My boyfriend got the 30-​inch cow ribs which were… GIANT. Don’t expect normal, saucy ribs; they were burnt to a crisp and scored with a knife so that the knobs of meat could be severed more easily. Not my thing, but definately different.
My only complaint was that the injera was cold… I don’t know what the custom is but at other places it’s been warm, and I like that.

A friend and I went here recently and ordered the meat combo (which is goat, steak, and beef) and a «whole fish alone.» The steak and beef were good but the goat was too chewy to eat easily. I usually like goat because of it’s distinct and strong flavor but would recommend skipping it when you come here. Overall they overcooked the meat.
The «whole fish alone» was ok. As promised it was a whole fish fried with vertical slices made in both sides so you can pull the meat off. It was tasty but not spiced or seasoned in any appreciable way.
The menu is hard to decipher and as mentioned by others pretty unorganized. There are 6 or so fish choices with no explanations. The waitress didn’t speak English very well either which would have been helpful. I pointed to the first fish choice and asked her how the dish was made and after thinking for 20 seconds or so… said «that’s fish and sauce.»
I would recommend this restaurant with hesitation… not as good as some of the other Ethiopian restaurants in Atlanta but still worth going to for variety if you’ve been to the others and are looking for something different/​not quite as good.

This place feels authentic. Walk through the funky storefront covered in cool photos of Addis Ababa past the meat chopping table into a dark, incense filled dining room. Gotta love the black-​lit thatched-​roof bar and cave man painted on a piece of fur art. Bathroom hallway décor features beautiful native portraits, a selection of license plates and a large map of GA.
Veg plate has great variety and fresh ingredients, but they only give a small spoonful of each dish over a giant injera circle. They asked if we wanted any more, so I wonder if they bring more of what you enjoy if you ask. The fish was delicious, but also a smaller portion than other places I’ve been.
Tej tasted a bit vinegary, and didn’t pack the punch that it usually does.
Service is very relaxed (meaning SLoooow), but I believe it is because they assume you came to a restaurant to hang out, not just eat. That’s what many other clients seemed to be doing. Hangin’, chillin’, sippin’ bubbly water (aka ambo).
Will be back soon, didn’t realize it is spitting distance from us. Thanks, Smob!
Cheers~

A hidden treat unearthed thanks to Scoutmob and Unilocal… I’d probably never find this place otherwise as it’s tucked into an unassuming strip mall.
When we first walked into Piassa (you have to enter through the mart), I was a touch skeptical since a heavy cloud of incense permeated the place, and strong smells aren’t okay in my book. However, I decided to give Piassa a chance, and luckily for me, the intense incense subsided.
The waitresses were just so warm and friendly. From my seat in our booth, I could read the words «Feel Like Home» above the private table. Very homey indeed.
Like it’s been mentioned, the menu doesn’t have any appetizers listed and basically is just mains and drinks. We ended up ordering three entrees which was too much for two people, but or does it mean that the portions are just that big? Hmm, something to ponder.
We ended up sharing the veggie combo, yebeg tibs (lamb), and kitfo normal which they kindly cooked completely for us. The veggies reminded me of a clock, as there were practically twelve treats to try, laid out on a huge circle of injera. Everything was delicious. Lamb was a tad dry but the taste made up for that. And they kept the injera coming as needed.
You can tell that the restaurant and adjoining mart cater to an Ethiopian clientele. In the mart, the spices and lentils were not labeled, and the butcher sign had nary a word of English.
It’s not too far from the Dekalb Farmers Market, so you could swing by Piassa either before of after your food shopping needs.