Fasika
$$ - average
Ethiopian/Eritrean
Ethiopian on Snelling
Ethiopian food with many vegetarian selections, most of which are vegan.
Added by starfive on Jun 1 04 (updated Jun 27)
Reviews
The service was good, though it was crowded. I had the Misir Key Wot (the lentil dish that mentions spices in berbere sauce) and it was the spiciest Ethiopian food I'd ever had, but it was good. The Atkilt (potatoes, carrots, onions, etc.) was great, too. I was a bit put off by the smell at first - it seemed very "meaty" to me. During our meal, a few dishes came out for other tables that were sizzling with hot meat, which I found unsettling, but I will still go back because the food was really good.
everyone i know who is Ethiopian says this is their favorite restaurant and i really enjoy this place. if you are in rush don't come here on weekend during peak hours. the food is lovely and the wait staff has been helpful with my friends who bring here, answering questions and being helpful. the veggie sampler gets mad props.
The food was quite good, the portions big, and the prices were excellent. I was here on a Saturday afternoon at 2pm, and the service was incredibly slow. Also, my friend's dish was hot (spicy), and it wasn't indicated on the menu. She was looking for something that isn't hot.
Excellent tasty food.
I go to Fasika with my fiance quite a bit, and we always get the veggie sampler platter to share because we can't decide between all the great dishes. The last time we ordered the veggie sampler, we were delightfully surprised to get some different items than usual.
The food has always been tasty, the staff is friendly and best of all, the veggie sampler is only $12 and it's plenty big enough for two people!
This is one of the better Ethiopian restaurants I've been to (Cafe Lalibela in Tempe, AZ and Merkato in Little Ethiopia (L.A.) may be the only exceptions). And it was very busy at 7pm on Tuesday night.
The injera bread here is different than most I've had, with large "pores," but it's still quite good. As are the vegetarian treats.
I ordered the vegetarian sampler, which comes with their 5 vegetarian menu items: lentils, red lentils pureed, beans, collard greens, and cabbage. All were quite good, esp. the lentils and the beans. And there was plenty of bread, i.e., completely underlining the watts of food, as well as a full-sized hunk of bread on the side. Only the biggest of appetites could eat all this in one sitting. (Which I voraciously and rapaciously managed quite well on my own.)
The service was a different story (something I noticed in other reviews). I might have gotten one word out of the server, but if I did, it was inaudible. Though the food did arrive in record time (any restaurant would be proud), and my bill came to $12, which is pretty darn reasonable for that much food, that good, and served that quickly.
Fasika is a really fantastic restaurant- I recommend the veggie sampler, which I was told is all vegan. The injera (the bread- which is fabulous) is also vegan. With the sampler, you get a great assortment of flavorful and spicy dishes laid out on a large piece of injera and you get as much of the stuff as you want on the side, so it's really fun to eat (if you've never eaten Ethiopian food before, you pick up the food with small pieces of injera). I recommend sharing the sampler with one or two other people because it is so big.
This place was really weird. The food tasted really weird and was served in piles on a cold, rubbery pancake type thing. If you are planning on coming here, I wouldn't bring anyone you may want to impress. The atmosphere is questionable. For the service, I don't think our waitress said anything to us, at all. She also forgot to mention that they don't have utensils there, you have to eat with your hands. Come here at your own risk!!!!
Fasika serves great food for really reasonable prices, usually in quite a short time. One of St. Paul's best restaurants.
Fasika has some of the better ethiopian food in the twin cities, and some of the friendliest service. I am only a marginal fan of the cuisine, but I do think this is the best of the local offerings.
This is one of my favorite restaurants in the twin cities. I always get the veggie sampler & I practically devour it. I know it is large enough for 2 but I get such pleasure cramming this exotic comfort food down my throat. I usually have to beg my friends to go w/ me b/c they find the food a bit too exotic. But if you like Ethiopian food this is the place to go. Really some of the best Ethiopian food I have had.