Assab Eritrean Restaurant

Eating with your hands never tasted so good. Get the vegetable combo dish, maybe a chicken dish, lots of injira (bread) and prepare to leave stuffed.

This family owned restaurant is definitely a awesome find. The food is fresh and amazing, if you like curry you will love this place. Depending on what you order it might take some time, I don’t mind waiting because the food is really good.

Try everything!
Went with a vegetarian and a group of non vegetarians. Having one vegetarian platter separate from the other platter was no problem at all. Beautiful plate of food! The food was also nicely spaced out so everyone could reach the smaller side dishes. I can’t really remember what we had. Just go and order things. The raw beef was ok, but not that flavorful, I’d rather have raw beef at a Korean restaurant.
If you haven’t been before then do eat with the bread. If I go back I’ll probably use a fork. That bread is filling!

I absolutely love this place! Yes, if you come on a Friday or Saturday it is extremely crowded but the rest of the week the wait is minimal if any. The food here is amazing. I always get the Kitfo and Veggie Sampler. Both are so tasty. I live in Novato now and constantly crave the food from Assab. I have to come into town at least once a month just for dinner here. Believe me, you won’t be disappointed!

Happens to be one of my favorite cuisines. Best i ve had and my benchmark was set by another eritrean place i ve loved and frequented in Boston (asmara in central square). Asaab can be a bit on the spicier side. Highly recommend their honey wine! Sweet and smooth.

I definitely recommend reservations. If you get here and the tables are full, there is no sitting area or bar to pass the time while you wait and you will be stuck standing awkwardly in the doorway. The wait however is worth it.
All the food we had was full of diverse flavors and plentiful (you will most likely have leftovers) but mild enough even for those not a fan of spice. If you prefer spicier food, you may want to have them turn up the heat a bit. The meat sampler and honey wine combination was a winner, but the Kifto came out a little dry. Slightly more expensive than the average Ethiopian place in the city but dramatically better.

I’ve changed my eating habits to a vegan diet. I used to gorge on their meat sampler, now I gorge on the veggie sampler (without yogurt) still one of my favorite placed to eat. Eat with your hands peopel, its half the fun!

This place is amazing. The food was excellent but the best part for me was that:
1. It’s a local family run establishment.
2. The host and hostess (are also co-​owners) are so nice. They treated us like family and were super welcoming.
I will definitely go to Assab again. The hot tea (any kind) is really good, because they give you spiced warm water instead of just regular hot water.

Fantastic! I have to admit, I love Ethiopian food. And this place is one of the best. The food is delicious and they have a good variety of vegetarian options. Their okra was great! The service was good and the dining room has a nice, open layout. But, come for the food!

It’s pricey, but everything is good. Service, beverages (get the tea; it’s amazing), the food, the waiters, the timeliness… the fact you never have to make reservations or wait…
This place is local to me and it’s one of my favorite local places. Get one of the combos and you can try a bunch of different dishes. You’ll leave stuffed or with leftovers. Get extra Injera to make full use of all the food they bring, and /​/​/​make sure to order it served family style/​/​/​for the full, food-​on-​injera experience.
If I had to describe it, the flavors are just a bit more influenced by Indian/​middle eastern than your average Ethiopian. Makes sense to me… Eritrea borders Ethiopia and the red sea… where they’d have more contact with India and the middle east? Just a guess.
Anyway, super good food, a bit pricey, but I love to go there as much as I can.

Food was ok.
The guy in waiting staff was rude. When I asked a question on the menu, he didnt say anything. He just pointed his finger on the menu and looked back at me without saying a word.
I will not go there again.

I am only giving this place two stars because I feel it is a bit unfair to rate them without trying the food. However, the horrible atmosphere and service was terrible enough to make me write a review (and I hardly ever write reviews). We came in as a party of nine and was told all the large tables were reserved, so they would have to split us up. Now, this was not what annoyed me, the man’s attitude was what annoyed me. We asked if we could move tables together and received nothing but bad attitude and all the reasons this would not be possible. So what did we do? We found another place that was willing to move their tables for us and had a great dinner in a hospitable environment.

This restaurant is delicious and a great place to go with friends. They are very accommodating of groups. If you are coming with a large group it is nice to make a reservation but I have always been able to get a seat with or without one. The food and service keep me coming back.

Great little spot! I love Ethiopian /​Eritrean food but don’t know enough to tell the difference. Everything we had here was delicious, especially the bread but I cant remember any of the names. Not much for drinks or cocktails but there are bars nearby.
This place is in a nice part of the city. Low key neighborhood that feels safe. We went to the Ethiopian spot in the Loin but decided that the area was way too scary to get out of the car. So glad we found this spot.
Parking can be tough but that’s the city for you. Its near my fav movie theater that doesn’t have screaming kids so Ill need to remember to eat here when we do movie night in the city.

So I am a bit of a novice to Eritrean food. One of my friends mentioned this place was near his house, so I decided hey why not try something new. We ordered the Zigni (beef) and the Kelwa Derho (chicken) to share. The servings are big and it just makes sense to eat family style. Both dishes were well seasoned (I asked for spicy, but you can choose your spice level). Having to eat with your hands and the dish being fairly saucy, it was a mess, luckily they are generous with the napkins! But the food was delicious, and the server (I suspect he may be the owner as well) was awesome and attentive. Gave us recommendations, which turned out to be great. I also tried the honey wine which I highly recommend. It was a very different taste for a wine, but I enjoyed it and am now on the hunt for a bottle (go figure).
All in all food was really good, service was great, and bonus easy to find parking in the neighborhood. I will definitely be back!

Assab Eritrean Restaurant was our first try at African cuisine and it was great!
First of all the portions are huge!!! like ridiculously huge! We ordered one vegetarian and one meat combo (not family style) and the plate was so big! Everything tastes really good. I love their pita, it’s sour and super tasty!
We also one vegetable and one meat sambusa! crunchy and tasty they were the perfect start to a delicious meal.
It’s messy food, and the best way to eat it is the ditch the utensils and just use pita to scoop the food!
The service is kinda slow during rush hour but it’s well worth it!

I didn’t eat hear so review isn’t about their food, am African so when I saw the place while driving by I got so excited yucky found parking then ran inside the lady who welcomed me was unfriendly so I thought May be she is having a bad day she wasn’t into answering any questions about the food or when I asked if they were still open she looked at me like” duh you fool” but I was thinking whatever so I sat and a gentleman came to take my order I asked him about beans lol am African I love beans with a smile and at the same time coming off cold he said did you look at the menu that’s what we have to be fair I hadn’t looked at the menu I just wanted to talk to them, have a convo with other Africans
Bottom line other positive reviews on this page tell me they treated me different cause am African, weird right !

Came here on a whim with my roommate after grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s. There was no wait and we were quickly seated upon arrival. We shared two entrees– VEGETARIAN ALICHA and SHIRO, which was served on a huge platter. Everything was delicious, and we were inhaling the plate with the injera, before the waiter came by and recommended we eat the injera beneath veggies, versus the one on the side first. I’m guessing because the injera in the platter will have the juices of the entrees?
Overall, delicious food, reasonable prices, and friendly service!

Ethiopian food is one of those love it or hate it food genre due to the spongy bread called injera. It’s semi sour taste and lukewarm temperature doesn’t contribute much to everyone’s sensitive taste buds. For me, I’m a big fan of it either but I’m a big fan of the social experience eating with our hands with our trusted friends. To be honest, you’ll more likely to remember the experience and the spicy (or non-​spicy) items on top of the injera than the actual taste of injera unless you’re eating the injera straight up without any toppings.
To plan your next visit, bring only your cleanest friends or coworkers. You wouldn’t want to bring a coworker that doesn’t wash their hands when they use the bathroom. Second, decide on the toppings. The meat and veggie platters are a great way to taste the various different toppings. I’ll also recommend the mushroom one on the veggie section since it really complements all of the meats and lentils you will eat. Third, order either the Ethiopian beer or the sweet honey wine to complete the experience.

Passing by this restaurant many times and smelling that wonderful aroma of delicous food, i knew i definitely had to try this place!
Went on a friday night, the place was not busy. the instant you walk in, you are greeted with the smell of spices and herbs that have been slowly cooking in their kitchen. The place feels like you’re in the middle of the African Plains with their décor and wall paintings. Hehe.
We ordered the Meat sampler and the Vegetable combo. Waiter asked if we wanted «Family Style» and we said YES! Basically, family style they combine all the food in one BIG ROUND PLATE! Yes i said BIG! It was only 2 of us and we couldnt finish the whole plate. Along with your order of entrees they give you soft spongy bread to eat with the food. The food was AMAZING~~~~!! The beef was so tender, the chicken too and they were all delicately seasoned with spice and herbs and not tooo salty or too spicy. everything was right as i have imagined it to be. nothing felt over greasy.
Will definitely come here again soon, anytime i am craving for some good ethnic food! Come here hungry, you leave satisfied!!!