At Desta, serving authentic quality Ethiopian food with promptness and courtesy is our profession, but you don’t have to take our word for it. Read the reviews from a number of our diverse and satisfied visitors!

“Desta I have to say had some amazing food!!! I went with my Ethopian friend to make sure I get the true taste of Ethopian food!! Well trust me Desta did not disappoint!! We got the fish Tidbit and the lamb tidbit…omg I have to say the Fish was reallyy good!! It just melts in ur mouth and is soo yummy that it leaves you wanting more! The injera was something totaly new to me…and to get the total Ethopian experience, I had to eat it all with my hands, something about eating food with ur hands…just makes the food taste even better!!! I was soo impressed. To finish it off we got some Ethopian ginge tea….add a tiny bit of sugar, and trust me…the tea was just perfect!!!” – Anisha

“Wanting out of the same old, same old lunch offerings, my daughter and I went for lunch at Desta. What a GREAT choice! Nice atmosphere, good jazz, kind and considerate waitstaff. And the food was perfect! We shared a vegetarian combo platter and a platter of fish tibs. It was more than we could eat, and inexpensive, too! What a nice find. Thanks, Yelp!” – Joe

“The fish tibbs are excellent as are the rib eye tibbs. The greens that come with the dishes are also very tasty. Everything is seasoned very well and the servers are really cool. This is definitely my favorite ethiopian resturaunt…” – Justin

“A colleague recommended Desta to me as one of the more authentic places to try his national cuisine. We got one order of lamb tibs and one order of kitfo (the Boy was feeling full on, raw meat-consuming carnivore), and enjoyed both… Also, I’m completely fascinated by the breakfast menu here. Props to Desta for keeping things authentic…” – Laura

“The ambiance is coolly laid-back and elegant and the food, namely the kitfo with collards, is excellent. My mouth waters just thinking of that dish. My waitress was pleasantly surprised when I requested it raw and very pleased when she discovered that I ate the whole thing. The dish had the right amount of spice, which paired nicely with the smooth, rich honey wine. It is definitely worth the trip…” – Alison

“The service was impeccable, always at the ready, often offering to get things we didn’t even realize we needed. I had the lamb, which was pretty solid, but my lady had the vegetarian plate, which was both delicious and ample. If you’re into Ethiopian or looking for something new to shake up your bland dining experiences of late, give Desta a shot.” – Herman

“It’s been about 10 years since the last time I had Ethiopian. Let me just say, Desta was an awesome place for a reintroduction. I remember really enjoying eating ethiopian — a very visceral experience — and I’m back in a city where I won’t have to wait 10 more years for my next Ethiopian mean. Desta was really terrific. Service was terrific, the staff was very welcoming, and the food was delicious.” – Jesse

“Desta is my top Ethiopian restaurant in town – I love it. Desta isn’t like your traditional Ethiopian restaurant. It is a modern take where dishes are served per individual and not in one communal plate. Since Desta started out as a takeout restaurant and they have always had to prep their food, the food comes out much faster than a traditional Ethiopian restaurant.” – Molly

Desta Ethiopian Kitchen is in a collection of shops on the corner of Briarcliff and Clairmont Road. It’s a block south of the I-85 – Clairmont Intersection, and on the right as you’re heading south. It’s not easy to see, more on the Briarcliff side of things. When you see what looks like parking, pull off the road and look for it.

There are at least three other Ethiopian restaurants in the area as well. Desta is in a separate building, and you may see the drive through before you see the rest of the restaurant. There is outdoor and indoor seating, and a decent amount of parking by the restaurant. Inside, it’s quite an attractive restaurant, if small, and there are both tables and booths to sit in.

I came here on a Father’s Day, after having argued the merits of 2-3 other places. I had eaten Ethiopian food about 22 years ago, in a restaurant in Philadelphia. On that day, the food was laid on a huge chunk of the Ethiopian bread (called injera, and made with the grain teff) and the food placed over the bread. Injera is spongy, and it is intended to be used as a utensil. We tore up bits of our plate of bread, scooped up the food, and ate it. From what I could see in the newspaper, the arrangement in Desta was going to be a little different.

We ordered chicken, fish, and lamb tibs, and my wife was also curious about their lentil stew. So we ordered a side of that. When the food came, the dishes were served on long rectangular trays, maybe 3 inches wide and perhaps 12-14 inches long. All the meats and fish were cut into small chunks, to be easy to handle. Each dish came with a house salad on the side. And in shallow grey pans came the pale brown injera, rolls of it, as long as the palm of your hand and the roll perhaps an inch to an inch and a half thick.

My wife ended up asking for a fork.

My daughter and I took to the bread easily, and tore off chunks of it to eat the food. The stew came with a spoon, and I’d pour some of the stew into a chunk of the bread and eat that as well. My daughter loved her fish, which was mild and a little crunchy. My wife liked the chicken quite a bit (it had a yellow color to it and seems to have been nicely spiced) and I liked the lamb dish I chose. We had differences of opinion about the lentil stew. My daughter and I liked it, my wife wasn’t as happy with it.

One thing that is easy to do at Desta is underestimate how much food you’re really eating. The injera ends up being a lot of your meal, and so what seems like a small serving can end up quite a large one. As a consequence, we took home food from every plate that was served to us, along with about six rolls of the bread.

Given the quantity of leftovers, the meal was shockingly inexpensive. Service was generally excellent.

Verdict: Delicious ethnic food served in a way that doesn’t shock as many first time Americans. Highly recommended for those looking for something new.

By BOB TOWNSEND
For the Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Desta Ethiopian Kitchen is a wonderful little restaurant. Located in a small plaza near the intersection of Briarcliff and Clairmont — in what’s become a burgeoning area for Ethiopian businesses — it’s at once worldly and homey, with attentive service and, best of all, delicious, bargain-priced vegetable, meat and fish dishes.

Of course, knowing that Ethiopian cuisine is centered around injera — the spongy bread that also serves as an eating utensil — may be a bit off-putting, even to some otherwise adventurous eaters. But the kitchen’s elegant and easygoing approach to presenting its food, and the friendly staff’s willingness to provide tableware for the timid, makes it a snap for almost anyone to enjoy a meal here.

Happy place

Desta is the Ethiopian word for happiness. Fittingly, on a recent evening the place exuded a lively sense of communal joy, echoed by a relaxing jazz soundtrack and scattered signs proclaiming positive aphorisms such as “Live, Laugh, Love.” Blithe servers, dressed in black with jaunty red jabots, danced between the two intimate dining areas, where tables and booths were filled with convivial groups eating and drinking together. At the tiny nook of a bar, a small group of men engaged in lighthearted banter while sharing a bottle of wine.

Don’t fear the injera

Injera is made with teff flour, which is gluten-free and packed with protein, calcium and iron. Traditionally, the flour is mixed with water and left to naturally ferment for several days. Then it’s cooked, crepe-style, until bubbles appear on the top side. The grayish-tan variety, served up in neat rolls at Desta, has a mild, nutty flavor without much of a sourdough tinge. It’s perfect for scooping and sopping up almost everything on the menu.

A good starting place is the vegetarian combo, beautifully presented on an oblong platter, with each dish arranged on a square of injera. Among the well-spiced offerings are bright sautéed collards with garlic and ginger, savory split pea stew, red lentils with chiles, green lentil salad, and a sort of Ethiopian-style panzanella consisting of torn bits of injera mixed with chopped tomatoes, peppers and onions.

While vegetables are the star of the show at Desta, meat eaters will find lots to like. Kifto — minced steak seasoned with chili powder and spiced butter — can be ordered raw, medium rare or well-done, or mixed with Ethiopian-style cottage cheese. Tibs are cubed meat and fish sautéed with spices, onions, tomatoes, peppers, and butter. The lamb tibs are tangy, salty and super tender. If you like heat, order this dish with awaze, a spicy red pepper paste. A simple chopped salad with romaine and olive oil and lemon dressing makes a palate-cleansing side.

Bar and breakfast

Desta has a full bar, with a small wine list and several Ethiopian beers, including Meta and St. George lager. For something different, try the Ethiopian honey wine, called tej, which comes in sweet or dry versions and is essentially a flavored mead.

If you’re in need of early morning or late-night sustenance, there’s also an anytime breakfast menu with the likes of foul (crushed beans and spices) and toast or steak and eggs.
AT A GLANCE
• Where: 3086 Briarcliff Road N.E., Atlanta
• Signature dish: Vegetarian combo
• Entree prices: $9-$23
• Hours: 9 a.m.-midnight Mondays-Thursdays; 9 a.m.-1 a.m. Fridays- Sundays.
• Reservations: No
• Credit cards: Yes
• Online: www.destaethiopiankitchen.com

Desta may be serving the most palatable Ethiopian food I’ve ever tasted. Its chef, Titi, who visited our table, calls her cooking “modern.” That means the spices are cut back somewhat, not especially to please the American palate, but to let the flavors of the prime ingredients dominate.

“I only buy the highest-quality meats,” she said. “I can season the food with the usual spices if people ask, but I’m more interested in letting the taste of the meats come through.”

I’m guessing that’s why there are no wat (stewed) dishes on the menu. Instead, the meats are all cooked tibs-style – sautéed, usually with onions and other seasonings.

Or, if you really want to test the quality of the meat, you can order kitfo, basically Ethiopian steak tartare. The kitchen minces rib-eye and, as is traditional, combines it with clarified butter and a red chili spice. In my two meals at Desta, this was my favorite dish. The flavor of the meat is totally complemented by the piquant seasoning, a balance that’s unusual in my experience with this dish. It was served with a small mound of aiyb, similar to cottage cheese and capable of cooling the spices for the overly sensitive.

Kitfo, like all other Ethiopian food, is eaten with the right hand, using the sourdough bread, injera, to pick up each mouthful. As I’ve written many times, I’m not crazy about injera. It has always seemed too heavy to me for its use. Apparently, it’s unique to my gastrointestinal system, but a few pieces of the stuff quickly fills me up.

My next favorite dish was one the server insisted we try – fish tibs. Tilapia is not my favorite fish, to say the least, but the treatment here is masterful. The fish is cubed and grilled, almost blackened, served over a uniquely savory blend of onions and peppers. Salad is also on the plate.

We tried two other tibs plates: lamb with gomen (collards) on the side and rib-eye with shiro, a hummuslike concoction made with ground chickpeas.

The most picturesque dish we sampled was the vegetarian combo. All the food here is beautifully presented, but this dish’s colors, from bright yellow to green and red, made it especially attractive. The large dish, lined like all others with injera, included three varieties of pureed peas, collards, salad and shredded injera with hot peppers.

Desta, which means “happiness” in Amharic, is located in the Williamsburg Shopping Center in the space formerly occupied by Madras Café. It’s surely a sign of our times that a shopping center modeled after the early American architecture of a town in Virginia is now completely occupied by ethnic businesses, including two other Ethiopian restaurants.

Desta’s interior is a huge improvement over the earlier tenant’s. It’s cozy, with booths, comfortable chairs and sleek wall decorations. There’s a patio and a market selling Ethiopian specialties, too. The staff of beautiful Ethiopians is friendly and helpful, although we encountered language problems a few times.

Another pleasing aspect of the café is its clientele, a worldly blend, from Ethiopians to Latinos. During our second visit, there was a large table of European students. Go. It’s a cool place.

Published Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Thanks to http://disposable-income.blogspot.com/

Desta isn’t like a traditional Ethiopian cafe; it puts a modern spin on Ethiopion food by serving each order on individual plates. Another thing that makes Desta different is that since it started out as take-out only, the prep their food in advance. So, you eat fairly quickly after you place the order. (Unlike a traditional Ethiopian restaurant, where food isn’t prepped and a meal can take 30 minutes to be served.)

But the most important thing that makes Desta stand out is the food – it is awesome. It is so yummy, I was addicted to it for a while. My favorite dish is the veggie combo. It usually comes with miser wot (lentil stew), aterkik wot (split bean stew), gomen wat (collard greens), and a salad.

Mmm…veggie combo!
(From the upper lefthand side going clockwise: gomen, shiro, salad, aterkik wot, and firfir)

C-Dub’s favorite dish at Desta is their fish tibs, which is some sort of white fish (maybe talapia?) that is sauteed and served with a salad on the side.

C-Dub’s precious fish tibs

One of the coolest things about Desta is that they actually serve 100% teff grain enjera. (If you’re not familiar with enjera; it is the kind of Ethiopian bread you use as a utensil.) Suprisingly, many Atlanta Ethiopian restaurants serve enjera that is a mix of teff grain and wheat flour. For people who have wheat allergies, this is a great place to go and enjoy a meal in it’s entirety. (Be sure to call ahead and make sure they have 100% teff enjera before you go, as they only make a certain amount each week.)

A platter of enjera

It seems like every time we eat at Desta, they have made some sort of improvement to the dining room or decor. For example, this past time we went, the dining room was spruced up a little, additional seating was added, and an outdoor patio built on to the side. Our favorite waiter even informed us that we could bring our dog and eat outside on the patio with her!

You can see the dining room and bar over C-Dub’s shoulder.

The loverly, dog-friendly patio.