Queen of Sheba

“Here all you have to do is ask for gluten-free injera and you are set to eat your way into a pleasant torpor.”

“I was impressed with the doro wot, which is my favorite Ethiopian food, and the rest of the food was brought warm.”

“Great ambiance, amazingly good food – a large number of types of Tibs, good berbere sauce, good Azifa and Sambusas, they have good Tej (Mead wine).”

Queen of Sheba

Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes

Price range.

$$ Price range $11-30

8 reviews

  1. This is a perfect first date spot to observe some key behavioral traits in the ability to adapt quickly and with poise. Why? Because you eat with your hands and unless specifically requested, you have to ask for utensils. The servers are highly inconsistent in their level of service which can set some people off easily. Firstly, the inside is intimate, clean, with soft lighting, seemingly romantic. Secondly, since I've been here about 10+ times, I know that if I want an amazing food experience and great service-go to Injera on Abdingon square. However, if I want equally phenomenal food, and just want to make sure everything gets to me relatively quickly without putting a huge dent in your pocket- then this is a great place. You can choose where you'd like to be seated relatively easily. This is the best tip I can offer you- Ask for everything you will need for your entire meal in the first interaction with the waitress so she has to bring everything all at once and then if she forgets about you, you won't get irritated. For example, I order the same thing every time and tell her up front, two glasses of honey wine for my friend and two glasses of tamarind jalepeno tequila drink for me, the taste of sheba meat sampler which is more than enough food for two people and comes out on one plate to share, as well as A LOT of paper napkins to deal with your nose running from the spiciness of the platter and your hands being covered in meat. It comes with collard greens, smashed chic peas, you can order to taste with spiciness. Sometimes they come back to check on you, sometimes they don't unless you blatantly flag them down to ask for something additional. I love this place despite the caveat and I will continue to keep coming here and bringing friends because the cocktails are strong and the food is excellent. Sidenote: Sangria can be inconsistent each times it's poured because its premixed in the big container. 5 stars for food, 4 stars for ambience and cleanliness, and 1 star for service so in total 3.

  2. I came here with some colleagues for dinner on a Monday night. It was VERY full, which we were a bit surprised by considering it was a Monday. We were seated immediately, and were waited on shortly after being seated. The menu itself is very informative, giving definitions of many of the common terms regarding Ethiopian food (helpful to non-experienced folks!)

    I can't say much about the actual food other than it was good. I have not had much in the way of Ethiopian food to know whether this was a good example or not. I ordered the Doro Alecha, since I was little scared of how spicy some of the other dishes would be. The yellow lentils and green beans that came with my chicken were very tasty as well.

    I will say that it did take quite some time to get our food, but we chalked that up to the restaurant being very full, and the food all being made to order. As it was, we had time to chat among ourselves before our food arrived, and we had a lovely time. And you can't beat the price! I was full about halfway through my meal, and if I wasn't staying in a hotel, I would have potentially taken some home.

  3. This is one of my favorite Ethiopian spots in the city. The food is always good and the service is friendly, if sometimes a bit slow.
    We usually get the Taste of Sheba that gives you a sampler of many of the different items they have on the menu. They have been a bit reluctant to substitute some of the items, however! Make sure to ask the server what they can and cannot substitute. We sometimes get a chicken dish too to go with the red meat heavy Taste of Sheba. I've tried the vegetarian options here and they are pretty solid as well. The injera they give here is really good, not overly sour like some other places.
    The drinks here are good and they do have a pretty decent selection of beer and wine. Ambiance is warm and cozy and the restaurant is decorated in a traditional African style.

  4. This place is cute and cosy and has friendly if slightly inattentive staff. I wish the meat sampler platter was a bit more diverse in its meat/veggie selection (lots of beef). The veggie sampler has 2 or 3 great items and some others that are a bit bland.

  5. Been here a couple times.  The food is high quality, but the service was fairly poor both times.  Loved the sampler.  4 star food and 2 star service.

  6. I came here with my friend on a Tuesday evening (7 pm) and there were plenty of tables available, though not empty. No reservations needed. This was my second time having Ethiopian food and the food experience was much the same. There were only 2 staff on the floor and they weren't very attentive but adequate; it was also difficult to understand one of them when we had questions on the menu. I had the sinking feeling that the service was going to take a long time, but it was OK. We had the vegetarian sheba sampler and a dish with chicken drumsticks and an egg. All of the vegetarian options were tasty – cabbage, lentils and other things that I don't remember! Some of the sample flavors blended together. The drumstick sauce was melt in your mouth. The injera was also nice and soft and you can easily scoop up the food with it. I only missed the convenience of a fork a few times. All in all, the bill came to about $40 for two entrees and an alcoholic drink. The entree prices ranged from $13-20ish.

    The atmosphere of the place wasn't that great or comfortable. While the food was good, I think you can also get similar in other places in the city.

  7. Frequent visitors for their Ethiopian eats especially the veggie sampler/plate.  Sometimes we get two but usually we share. They plate size got smaller in the years we've been going but the variety and taste is on point. We bring many friends here (locals and visiting alike).

    Now offers gluten free injira

  8. My first time experiencing real Ethiopian food and I had a wonderful experience, but perhaps the cuisine is just not for me. Friends and I split two appetizers and a platter with many different sauces and it really just wasn't doing it for us. Not sure if pricing was favorable either, but the staff was really friendly and CBS or some channel came to film there that night because apparently this place is a very authentic and very good. Not my cup of tea but check it out, I've heard others rave about it.

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10th Avenue 650
New York 10036 NY US
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Monday, 11:30 am - 11:30 pm
Tuesday, 11:30 am - 11:30 pm
Wednesday, 11:30 am - 11:30 pm
Thursday, 11:30 am - 11:30 pm
Friday, 11:30 am - 12:00 am
Saturday, 11:30 am - 12:00 am
Sunday, 11:30 am - 11:30 pm