Went here after seeing all the positive reviews. The restaurant is located in a hip area of town. Many young couples walking around. The front of the restaurant is a bar and you would walk past it to reach the restaurant portion. Service is good, food does take a bit of time to arrive which is no problem. The portions are a bit small for the price but the food is very tasty. The Injeras are not as flavorful as the nearby Ethiopian places. Parking is a bit tough.

We come here for lunch, first table in the restaurant. they have bar on the first floor and upstair. i imagine they get busier at night time. The service is not good. i had to go look for waitress for ordering and found she is sitting there on her phone. However, the food is good. you can't go wrong with fry food. the fish is fresh and fish bone is crispy to eat. the bread is liitle bit sour for my taste, but when you eat with the meat, it is good.

West Philly is chock full of Ethiopian spots, and as far as dinner spots, Abyssinia is the best I've had. I liked it so much I returned literally two days later after my first experience there. The ambiance is kind of ok, and the service is honestly kind of ok too - but the food is excellent. I recommend the veggie combo platter, which is a good sharing portion for two. The injera here is wonderful. Additionally, the bar upstairs is super fun. They have great craft beers, unique canned ones, fun cocktails, & great bartenders. I think it's technically a different business but it's nice that you can get a drink upstairs and bring it downstairs when you're dining. Will definitely keep going! Surprised the ratings aren't higher but then again I did knock off a star because while the food is a standout, the restaurant ambiance and service aren't.

I have only ever ordered takeout from Abyssinia, but every time it has been a fantastic experience. Takeout from Abyssinia comes piled up in a styrofoam box. Every box is hefty, filled with food and injera. Each box is lined with injera, topped with food, then covered with another piece of injera so there is plenty to eat. It's enough for two to three meals for me and tastes even better the next day. I've never been to the restaurant itself so have no clue what the service is like and the atmosphere is like.

The rules for the restaurant side are pretty wack and strict but the food itself is good Ethiopian. It's worth trying in the area but there is better around. The real gold star of this place is the multifaceted establishment; bar, house, restaurant, hosting venue.

Yes, we are back at abyssinia! I've tried other spots before but I always come home to where the best Ethiopian food in West Philly is! Yes the prices have gone up but that is life these days but the quality of the food has not wavered. Actually it used to take down there an hour to get food but the last couple of times it's only been a half hour which is a win lol I ordered my usual combo special number two with the beef tibs, the greens, the lentils, and salad. Everything taste as good as usual and I have no complaints. The portions are a tad bit smaller than I remember but nothing too crazy. You can still share one platter amongst two people, but you already know my greedy behind. made sure I got myself a full platter to myself lol

LOVED Abyssinia! I will be back for another late night visit but I also would like to try their breakfast! I was wandering around the neighborhood and came across this place and glad I walked in when I did! This was divine timing! When I went in and shared that it was my first time I was given a tour immediately. During the tour and overview of the restaurant, I fell in love. I like the idea of weekly/daily events, live music and the two separate bars. I enjoyed the Samosas! The menu has a wide-variety of options and I just had a snack but eager to try more items. The bartender, host and upstairs bartender were great during my whole visit. Recommend!

tl;dr the delicious and unpretentious Ethiopian fare is paired with friendly but painfully inefficient service Abyssinia is a family-run West Philadelphia stalwart, frequented by locals and University City students alike since the 1990s. The all-day Ethiopian cafe is complemented by the trendy speakeasy Fiume upstairs. Between its affordability and its uniqueness, Abyssinia has remained a solid option throughout my near-decade in Philly. And, although a number of Ethiopian spots were forced to shutter during the pandemic, here they continue to churn out homestyle plates until midnight daily. Enter on the corner of 45th and Locust into a long bar with magenta LED backlighting and a single flatscreen. The mezzanine-level dining room (actually part of the adjacent townhouse) is in the far back, up the stairs and past the wood laminate check-in counter. Mismatched lighting fixtures shine down upon the red-carpeted room and the snug, white-clothed tables. The taupe shiplap walls are painted incompletely and sparsely filled with Ethiopian decorations. Despite the numerous hanging speakers, the room echoes only with the conversation of patrons. During my most recent visit, our party of 4 arrived for an early weekend dinner. We were seated immediately as the only party in the back dining room, and the waitstaff seemingly forgot about us for half an hour before we even got water. The packed menu can feel overwhelming at first glance, but there is an Ethiopian culinary glossary along the left side. And, when in doubt, just go for the Combo Platters. We planned to dine family-style and split the Abyssinia 1, Abyssinia 2, Meat Combo, and Veggie Combo to maximize our variety. Twenty-ish minutes later, our vibrant spread was brought out on an enormous plastic dish, alongside several side plates of folded injera flatbread. All of the stews were spiced and well-cooked. My favorites were the spicy beef Kitfo and the tender lamb Alichia Wot, but even the vegetable wots were no pushover. I even enjoyed the tart house salad. The pancake-like injera was spongy and mildly tangy, but not the most flavorful that I've had. As is the case with most traditional Ethiopian restaurants, the injera effectively served as the silverware for the meal. The restaurant was filled to capacity by the end of our meal, but the servers didn't rush our party out. The combo plates nowadays run a hair under $20, and each is plenty of food for even a hungry appetite. For a unique, delicious, and affordable dining experience, Abyssinia is a good bet -- just make sure you aren't in any rush.

I've been on the hunt for the best Ethiopian food in Philly, and of the places I've tried so far, this one takes the cake. Food tastes fresh and flavorful without being too oily. Injera was thin and not too sour. Everything was well balanced. Loved the variety and the fact that they also serve alcohol! Service is good but slow and the prices are a bit high. I'm used to Bay Area Ethiopian food, where you pay the same amount and have plenty of leftovers the next day. Still, I'm glad to have found a place that tastes this good! But I'm holding out for a better number one spot in Philly (fingers crossed). Also, parking was a bit hard to find in this area and the exterior/interior was a bit dingy. But I don't care about those things as much. The food is what matters most, and if you love Ethiopian like I do, this is definitely worth eating.

My friend and I had a great first time at Abyssinia. This was my first time trying Ethiopian food. While I can't speak to the authenticity of Abyssinia, I can speak to the deliciousness of their food! I ordered the Abyssinia 1 Combo and my friend ordered the Veggie Combo. Next time I will just order 1 combo to share because it is a pretty big portion (they also give you more injera on the side). Nevertheless, the food was so flavorful and each tasted unique. We were the first ones there, but a few other groups trickled in after us. The food was definitely worthy of 5 stars, but the service leave much to be desired. The food took less time than expected (after reading the other reviews, I was prepared to wait an hour), but our waitress didn't seem to want to be there. Regardless, the food was delicious and I definitely would return for the food!