Ethiopian Queen Of Sheba Restaurant, Tampa, Florida Restaurant Details

Food:

What an absolutely fabulous place and great eating experience. A different cuisine to experience and nothing else like it in Tampa, at least that I am aware of.

We started off with two appetizers (very reasonably priced at $3.50 each). Our first, Veggie Sambussa – a thin flat bread wrapped and stuffed with a combination of whole lentils, garlic, onions, peppers and herbs. It reminded me of a somosa, very tasty and well-seasoned. Our second was the Buticha, crushed chickpeas with garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. Once again, seasoned to perfection.

My entrée was the Ye Beg Wot - Cubes of lamb in a stew seasoned with berbere and I ordered it spicy and it was pretty spicy. The only miss is the description of cubed meat as it is more diced than cubed but not a big deal at all. I really enjoyed the flavor of all the spices and the lamb meat was delicious. It was served with vegetables (a carrot and potato stew-like side that was savory)
My wife ordered the Doro Wot - chicken and hard boiled farm raised egg stew seasoned with Ethiopian spices and berbere. I had a taste and it was very good and she absolutely loved it.
All the entrees are served with “injera”, best described as a large pancake-like bread that has the a slight gummy stretchy texture.

The bread is served alongside the meal. You basically tear small pieces off and use it to pick up bites of your food instead of using a fork or knife. No utensils are used. Your entrée is also served on top of a sheet of the injera and it soaks up the sauces and juices from the meal. Very delicious.

NOTE: 1-No forks and Knives here unless you request it:
2- There soft drinks are terrible. There is no carbonation, my diet coke was awful.

Food:

Visited restaurant after seeing it on groupon. Its a part of strip mall with hardly much lighting around the building. They have tried to do better the interior decor with some lighting but looks dismal at best. We didnt know who was our server from beginning to end. Didnt know who to ask for stuff. Wife order Honey Tea and server informed us .. it has NO alcohol. Our 6 yr old tried it and it only after few sips, another server (owner may be) came by and informed us that its fermented and could have alcohol. They kinda kept going back and forth with that, once she realized that another server had already said "no alcohol". The whole joint is way overpriced for the ambiance, location, and service. Beers are $6. We ordered the appetizer tray and the Queens Tray for 2 ($30) for entree. Barely enough. Food was mostly boiled lentils. No taste. Even with groupon discount, didnt think this was worth the trip. Our first and last visit.

Food:

*I am Full Vegan. Wow literally just left and my taste buds and stomach are thanking me! When I entered I felt like I almost got a hug from the staff hahaha if you want some authentic amazing ethnic food go here. I got all 8 veg dishes on a platter and was taken on a flavor adventure . Enjoi

Food:

Extremely overpriced. 3 normal sized (not jumbo) shrimp costed me $10. Beer $6 a bottle where as similar kind is $3 ot $4 in places like Pho Quyen. Don't get deceived with the picture of Queen's 8 on their website or groupon website. Food neither look that nice nor that tasteful. Quantity is no where near what they show. Each of the 8 items were 1oz or 2oz. Lastly, I don't know what payment processor they use, but I got a call from my bank saying there were 3 incorrect login attemps on my account whose debit card I used there. I did not use that card anywhere else in last few days.

Food:

Just at the new Sarasota Queen of Sheba Ethiopian Restaurant. The food was outstanding! It was my first time eating Ethiopian food and it's very good and spicy the way I like it! The first Thursday in Oct. (Oct. 2nd) they will be serving Persian and have entertainment! We will definitely go back before then, but will also be there for the Persian celebration!

We had the Appetizer Sampler for two and the Queen's Eight Platter for two. Next time I’ll venture further, but it was a great start on a wonderful new food for me!

Carla Ardinger, Sarasota