Red Sea Restaurant

When I moved to Portland I was a bit worried I would not find spicy, home-​style ethnic food like I was used to in Miami. Who knew I’d learn about African cuisine in Portland! Red Sea will be a weekly thing for me I’m sure. The family was so sweet and the food is out of this world (*caution: only for those that truly can handle some deep spice– be sure to ask for some extra spicy sauce, they gave me this amazing spicy paste that was smokey & hot but complex rather than kill-​your-​tongue-​hot)

I liked this place the first time I went earlier this year. I thought the food was superior to Asmara in downtown Portland. I made a special effort to stop there again yesterday when traveling from near Bangor to my home in New Hampshire. But my second experience was unsatisfactory and I won’t go back.
When I first went I got a vegetarian sampler even though there was no such item on the menu. I appreciated the flexibility and loved the food. I prefer to get samplers when I eat Ethiopian/​Eritrean food because I like to try a variety of dishes (that always seems possible, except in Portland!). Since I went the first time a few months ago, Red Sea’s menu has changed. It now includes a sampler for two people for $ 26, but the man who waited on me (the owner?) said they could not do a sampler for one person. I explained to him that they did previously, only a few months previous, but he didn’t seem to believe me and was completely inflexible about it. How hard would it be to take the larger vegetarian sampler and simply cut the portion sizes in half?
After going out of my way to stop at Red Sea at the end of long and tiring day, I was disappointed and annoyed, so I left and ate elsewhere. There was nobody else in the restaurant at the time even though other restaurants on the street were full of people. Me thinks that if Red Sea doesn’t develop better customer service, it won’t last.

Fantastic experience and food! Great people and great authentic East African cuisine. I’ll be back a LOT!

My girlfriend and I went to Red Sea at the recommendation of… Literally nobody. That’s a goddamn shame. We walked in early. Five or six. We ordered some sambusas. Who couldn’t?
They were amazing. I had a traditional coffee, at the owners request. It was great. We split a meat platter and a chickpea dish. We ordered too much. They were great hosts, and we’ll be back for more soon. Ignore the off-​putting façade. Come here for dinner!
Who can beat $ 30 for too much great food? 5 stars

This is a great little place. I went here with my fiancée a few days ago and we were not disappointed. The place is a bit of a hole in the wall but it’s very clean and the walls are painted a cheery yellow. The owner/​waiter was very friendly and talkative. He definitely made us feel at home. The menu is pretty basic, but the food was quite enjoyable and affordable. We started out having the sambusas which were crispy and hot. They were good, but I think including a dipping sauce with them would’ve made them even better. For our entrée, we had the shiro and the carrot, potato, cabbage combo (I can’t remember the actual name of this dish). They were both quite tasty. I definitely recommend this place if you want a bit of a change of pace and an inviting atmosphere. We look forward to coming back again and again.

Came in Christmas Eve for lunch with my parents (who have never had African food). The owners were extremely warm and helpful. My mom and I don’t eat any meat so the owner kindly offered us a mixed vegetarian plate with all the vegetarian offerings. Dad got a spicy lamb stew. Everything was beyond excellent! Definitely coming back.

Just had the spicy lamb entrée from the Red Sea, and can’t believe how good it is! Definitely recommend trying this place out!

My girlfriend and I have been going to Red Sea just about every week since we discovered it. Delicious food, generous portions, great price, friendly owners. What’s not to love?

some friends and i ate at Red Sea last night and we had a wonderful time. it’s a family-​run business and these folks are very friendly — they will chat for as long as you like. the group of us wanted to try basically a little of everything on the menu, so we asked the owner what to do and they put together a family style meal for us! everything was seriously delicious. get meat, get veggies or beans, whatever you like, it’s all good. i will be coming back for more!
tip ~~ know going in that you will be eating with your hands. no flatware, just in case you care for reasons such as you’re going on a first date. maybe leave your fancy rings at home? they could get covered in amazing food…
bonus: everything seems to be dairy free.
bonus bonus: they will adjust the level of spicy if you need, be sure to ask!
less of a bonus for me but maybe more for you: there is a large and sometimes distracting television in the dining area.

I went to Red Sea with my friend for lunch. We were the only people eating. The ambience is bizarrely lovely. Plastic table coatings everywhere, a couple pieces of African art and a small technical drawing of an owl adorned the walls. The waiter was friendly, sat down with us and explained some of the offerings on the menu. We ended up getting «Traditional Coffee» Which was very spicy and served in what appeared to be a dollhouse style tea set covered in hand painted Amharic words and the Eritrean flag.
We also had lamb and «greens», which came with injera and lentils and some other vegetables. The meat was tender, very spicy and cooked well with onions and spices. The vegetables were all delicious, the Injera was great as well.
The host also brought us a bowl of popcorn for some reason near the beginning of the meal. I do not know why this happened.
Also, the menu is four pages long but all the information is conveniently placed on the first page, leaving the other three blank. This was funny and unexpected.
¹⁰⁄₁₀ dining experience, I’ll surely return soon.

Delicious! Very good-​sized portions and nice owners. We are lucky to have this spot on the east end– we’ve already gone 3 times. Try it out!

This is a nice little restaurant. They are just getting started and have limited offerings. Pretty close in style and offerings to Asmara which has been around for quite a while. I love the spicy stew and Injara bread. Note to the squeamish: you eat with your hands (no utensils)