Little Ethiopia Food Tour Reviews

Christian was our tour guide and he was a good ambassador regarding Zerve. He spent time talking to everyone in the group while on tour, made everyone feel like a part of the group.

The food was good, and I'm now comfortable with Ethiopian cuisine.

The thing that was a let down was the tour around the neighborhood between the three stops/locations., and the time we spent at each location was long and uneventful. I say this based off the two Chicago food tours I had been on. The difference- Chicago 6-7 stops to try food or visits to market/shops/brewpubs concentrating on smaller samples of food or drink. While walking through the neighborhood the tour guide would stop and discuss history of a certain house or park or time period within the history of that area. We definitely walked more, learned more, and experienced the area to understand those areas. The time length of those tours were the same as this one but less idle time. We spent at least an hour and half at the last location Etete. I will try other DC tours to see if it is only this tour where it's basically three meals to eat back to back and nothing else or if it's a food tour tasting, seeing, learning about Washington's many neighborhoods and cuisines. Maybe the tour guides at Serve need to take a trip to Chicago and see what a food tour really is all about. Take the bucktown/ Wickerpark or old town tours- they were a blast. I know Christain and The format Zerve has set up can be much better than what is currently in place for little Ethiopia.

The food was excellent and Chris was extremely knowledgeable and gracious. Fantastic tour.

We all felt that our tour guide (Chris) was a wealth of information not only of the Ethiopian people group and food types and customs, but of other DC cultural information as well. We enjoyed the casual yet professional manner in which the tour was conducted.

We had a great time on our food tour. Chris, our guide was excellent! The food was really good and we were stuffed by the end of it.

I've been on many tasting tours, and this was by far the LEAST impressive. A couple of reasons for that. First, there is usually some type of narrative history/cultural references by the tour guide, but Christopher offered very little. Secondly, there were only three stops (typically, the tours have 4-6), and although there was plenty of food provided. what we had at stops #2 + #3 was basically the same thing - a big pancake bread and different things on it. Finally, there is absolutely no diversity in the food chosen. I figured the little ethiopia would be a world of ethnic delights, not just 4 of the same place. I DO recommend DC Metro Food Tours, and other tours around the country, but NOT the 'Little Ethiopia' version.

We were a group of 9 family members some local, some visiting. Our tour guide, Chris, was very informative, describing not only the food but also the Ethiopian community in DC and why they came to DC. He also gave us a brief description of the neighborhood's history. It was both an inspiring and relaxing experience. Relaxing because we did not feel rushed and had time to ask questions.

There was little walking required as all the locations were near each other.

It was a wonderful tour! Our tour guide seemed to not only know everything about the neighborhood, but also seemed to genuinely enjoy sharing the information. All four restaurants were terrific and filled with a local crowd. I especially enjoyed the coffee ceremony at the third place we went. I look forward to doing more tours with DC Metro Food Tours!

Chris was a really great guide. He offered really great insight about Ethiopia, Ethiopians, and lots of DC history as well. The food was all really good as well. We were so full and needed a nap after the tour!

The food was delicious; our guide was great - personable, knowledgeable, and great service. The locale is an interesting and lovely area and the walk between restaurants was just right. We had some very nice companions on our tour. All in all....a wonderful experience. I look forward to another food tour when we are back in town.

Our group was small so that an individualized experience was enjoyed by everyone.

The tour guide was the key! (and a great pair of sneakers . . . . although it is a very easy walking tour do not be afraid) Chris was knowledgeable and entertaining he kept the group interested and answered the numerous questions the group had! He even added information on getting around DC easier by knowing the background on street addresses so you never get lost while visiting! It was a great way to experiment with new foods & spices by small tastings at each restaurant we visited! It is very leisurely . . . never felt rushed during any part of the tour! It was a unique way to experience the little Ethiopia area of DC. By yourself or with a group it is a great way to learn something new about an area/culture . . . . interesting . . . . . very interesting!

It rained for most of the tour, but the food was worth it. Christian was an excellent tour guide and he guided us well through each restaurant and through each meal. I highly recommend this tour.

My husband and I were the only couple signed up for the tour of Little Ethiopia. We were both very pleased with our tour guide Christopher and how accommodating he was to our unique diets. Despite being the only two on the tour, we felt comfortable and had many fun conversations; there was never once an "awkward" pause. Should we find ourselves back in the area, we will definitely go again.

I had the pleasure of taking the Little Ethiopia Food Tour on Saturday, August 10. It was fabulous! The food was delicious, the restaurant owners/workers were welcoming, and I just can't say enough about the tour guide, Christian. He was extremely knowledgeable about the dishes as well as the history behind them. He answered all of our questions, and made the group feel comfortable by getting to know a little something about all of us, and allowing us to get to know a little about him. Combine all of that with decent weather, and it made for a wonderful outing! Well done, DC Metro Food Tours!

Learned a lot, especially that Ethiopian food is not my new favorite cuisine. The tour was worth the price.

This tour was one of the highlights of our trip to DC. Lynn is an amazing, knowledgeable guide who has travelled and lived in many countries as well as Ethiopia, and really instilled an interest in learning more about Ethiopia and its people, customs, and cuisine. All of the restaurant hosts were friendly and gracious, and the food without exception was outstanding. We thoroughly enjoyed talking with the other members of our little group. We would recommend this tour to anyone who enjoys learning about other cultures (and their food). We will definitely be going on other DC Food tours, and probably will do this one again!

Knowledgeable and positive tour guide, nice openminded and turistfriendly restaurants. Loads of intersting and various foods.

My wife and I both love Ethiopian food and it was nice to be surprised by dishes and locales we weren't familiar with. It was also fun getting to know the others taking the tour. The tour guide, Chris, was also superb. He not only briefed us on Ethiopian culture but D.C. history as well.

Great tour with the enthusiastic guide Christopher who was knowledgeable and fun. We ate so much food and learnt interesting facts about city and the Ethiopian culture! If you decide on the tour you may want to cancel your dinner reservations:)

This food tour far exceeded my expectations. The tour guide Christian was well informed and knowledgeable of the delicacies from Ethiopia. He was very patient with my group and we were traveling with a newborn. He kept the group very engaged with provided details about the area in which the food tour took place. I highly recommend Christian and hope to do another food tour soon.

This was a great culinary experience that allowed for the tastes and culture of Ethiopia to shine through

My mom came to visit from out of town and we thought this would be a fun thing to do with her. We had an excellent time! I would highly recommend this tour to others. Our guide was Andy and he was great! He made excellent food picks for us. He was very knowledgeable, friendly and fun. I would do this tour with friends again and am looking forward to trying others.

We had a great time on the Ethiopian food tour! All of the food was delicious and the information was really cool to learn. Our guide, Adam, was incredibly interesting and made our experience enjoyable. My favorite part was the breakfast and the hand roasted coffee

My friend and I both loved the tour. Great food, and the guide was very entertaining and knowledgeable. My friend and I both went away very, very full. Thank you for the tour!

We (2 parents and 17 yr old daughter) really enjoyed this tour. The guide was great and the group size was just right. There was a very manageable amount of walking. The food was great. There is no way I would have ever found these places on my own, or had the context that the guide provided. We were happy to have had the opportunity to learn about a culture so different from ours, especially through its food. I would strongly recommend this tour to anyone except kids age 2-5, and people who cannot walk 6-8 blocks.

I would highly recommend this tour to anyone who deems themself an adventurous eater. It was neat to learn about the Ethiopian culture and its influences on Washington, DC. The restaurants were genuine Ethiopian places and each one had a different atmosphere. The tour is casual and provides you with enough food to stay full all day. Worth every penny!

You will learn alot about Ethiopia effortlessly on this expertly guided tour. The food is FABULOUS! Our son 11 and our daughter 13 really enjoyed it too.

This food tour is a winner and recommended for those who would like to learn more about Ethiopian culture and cuisine as well as the Little Ethiopia neighbourhood in Washington. Tour guide Lynn was extremely knowledgeable and passionate about all things Ethiopian. Her work elevated my score from 4 stars to 5.

The quality and quantity of the food surpassed my expectations. This is no "standing and noshing" tour like some others I've been on. All meals are taken at table side with small walks between the stops. Each course was a new experience for me.

Anyone will leave full of food and facts and quite satisfied with the value.

My wife and I enjoyed the tour very much. She's more of a foodie so she probably enjoyed it even more than I did. We went to four locations, where we had Ethiopian breakfast, a coffee ceremony with a small appetizer, a main meal, and a dessert. The guide was personable and knowledgeable. The food was great and the places were sort of "mom and pop" places, i.e., not places we would have easily found ourselves. My wife particularly enjoyed chatting with the other guests (there were about 8 of us in all) about their favorite restaurants. It was a nice outing.

The Little Ethiopia food tour was absolutely amazing and was most definitely the highlight of our 5 day trip. We ended up with five people in our group (I was told the maximum is 12). Our tour leader Lynn was great - passionate, funny, engaging and you could tell she really enjoyed her job.

There isn't a lot of walking on the tour, and you visit some truly unique and small family owned restaurants. There is plenty of food to go around (you will NOT be hungry at the end of the tour). You experience breakfast, lunch, appetizers (which includes a traditional coffee ceremony) and dessert.

Thumbs Up! A must do!

our guide, christian mirosol, was outstanding and highly informative....the tour was a total blast and the foods were new and exciting....not only did he give us an extensive backgound on the foods, he was also very knowledgable about the history of the area which made for an extremely interesting experience....will take other tours and request him as our guide....jerry nelson....texas

Good spicy dishes. Really enjoyed the coffee ceremony.

Had gotten the Little Ethiopia tour as a birthday gift for my husband, we were both pleased with the tour. Our tour guide Lynn was excellent, having been to Ethiopia herself, she was able to talk about her personal experience on the tour. She was very well schooled in all of the restaurants we visited and was able to give a detailed description of each dish we tasted. Since we took the 11am tour on a Sunday there was hardly anyone in the restaurants or walking around and we had most places to ourselves. It was a nice way to spend an afternoon learning about another culture and discovering new restaurants to try out. The coffee ceremony was especially rewarding, the fresh roasted beans made for a special treat. Each dish was enough to share and we felt pretty full at the end of the tour. We would recommend this tour for anyone looking to expand their knowledge of Ethiopian cuisine or for anyone looking to try something new.

I had a wonderful experience on the Little Ethiopia Food tour. My guide was cheerful and loaded with tons of information about the Ethiopian culture. My tour group was filled with enthusiastic foodies who were a joy to chat with while we consumed yummy food. By the end of the tour I had a full tummy and a greater knowledge of a a country and it's people that I knew little about before the tour.

This was my first experience with DC Tours, and I had a fantastic time. The tour guide was very educational and friendly. Each of the locations had great food and wonderful settings.

Thank you!!

The tour of Little Ethiopia in DC was a great experience - both regarding the food and the information provided by the tour guide. Without this tour, I doubt I would have found the wonderful restaurants, or had a chance to try Ethiopian breakfast. The tour guide was friendly, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and the tour was just the right length of time. The food was wonderful. I have been recommending this tour to almost everyone I know.

This was my first experience with a food tour, so now the bar is set very high for the next one. Our guide, Sarah was knowledgeable and entertaining. The places we visited treated us with graciousness and hospitality. I would definitely recommend this tour to locals and tourists alike.

Great tour in a neighborhood of DC full of history. Food was great, area was beautiful. Not somewhere you would just wonder around on your own.

The tour giude was very friendly and knowledgeable. We went to 4 restaurants (breakfast, coffee ceremony, lunch, dessert) as well as ethiopian gift shop and music store. I was definitely full after the tour!

Highly recommended for those who are looking for new ethnic foods to try. There are variety of tastes offered: some spicy, some cool, all full of flavor. The vegetarian will be very happy on this tour.

Fabulous tour guide: she was knowledgeable about the food, the area, the history plus you can tell she really enjoys meeting new people. There were no awkward silences!

The mix of food (eating and education) and ethiopian culture was perfectly balanced for our 3 hour tour. We had a group of 4 adults plus guide; small group that allowed for lots of Q/A and conversation which is something adults love to have. Loved having the tour finish early afternoon as it left the rest of the day for other activities (would also be valuable if the parents wanted a few hours off from the kids).

Folks who should give this tour a try:

* Those who are concerned about hot spiced food. All of the dishes were favorful, many were not hot spiced and the ones that were mild were very tasty.

* Older kids who have some experience with ethnic food (they will love eating with hands)

* Folks worried about walking in the neighborhood - this is a safe, clean urban area, especially quiet on Sunday morning.

Folks who might be disappointed with Ethiopia tour:

* Those looking for dining ambiance. Most of the stops are very simple store fronts.

* Folks with limited experience in ethnic food.

* Clean freaks (you eat with your hands on this tour - no utensils provided. If this makes you nervous, bring your own hand gel.)

* Folks uncomfortable doing family style dining with strangers.

* Picky eaters -- no chicken fingers on this tour.

This was my first DCFoodTour. I will defnitely try another next time I'm in town.

We had Barbara as our tour guide. She was very personable and knowledgeable about the neighborhood and cuisine. However, for the price, the tour was definitely lacking. With the exception of the restaurant where the coffee ceremony was performed, none of the other restaurants were prepared for our arrival (tables not set, not enough chairs). Our tour had 13 people - there was definitely not enough food for everyone. Plan on having an early lunch after the tour. The tour would have been better served by including one of the better known Ethiopian restaurants on the tour as well.

This was a highly unique tour, well suited for adventurous travelers, or locals searching for a hidden gastronomical gem. The guide was very knowledgable, and the food was delicious. I would highly recommend this tour for anyone looking for something different from the mass produced tours generally offered in D.C.

This is definitely a unique way to see a neighborhood, learn about it, & enjoy its food. The problem is that the neighborhood was so small that you would eat at one place, walk a few step, & already be at the next eating location.

In 3 hours, the knowledgeable and friendly tour guide took us re-experience and discover an array of delicious Ethiopian food and treats within the context of Ethiopian culture and history. Walking was just enough to help digestion but minimal and the non-food stops helped to make the tour seems very comprehensive. My sister and I were very satisfied with the experience and I would definitely recommend this tour.

The tour stops were good - some better than others, but I am a little more finicky, so that is a personal preference. The tour guide was nice and genuine, but could have given us a LOT more information on Ethiopian food, cooking techniques, ingredients, etc. It was a pretty basic introduction to the cuisine - and a guide with deeper knowledge, or even an Ethiopian, would have been nice. I think he said he was Philapina. However it was an entertaining couple of hours and the food was very good. I now know 2 new restaurants that I would return to on 7th street.

To sum it up: something fun and a little different on a Saturday afternoon if you can afford the price tag. If $50 is a splurge, I would pass.

This was a great way to explore the local ethiopian culture. The resturants were all very good. However, the tour was spoiled by some local people who felt the tour was only for them and over powered the tour guide at every opportunity which spoiled the experience for myself and my out of town guest. They preferred to talk over the guide and the beautiful hostess of the coffee ceremony which she was taking such great care in explaining and serving us. I would do this tour again if I knew the tour guide would control the experience and alow those of us wanting to dive into the experience and enjoy it rather than to hear about someone elses resturant picks and outings. This tour is a wonderful way to experience something you might not normally get the chance to do. It's fun and the tastes of ethiopia are very interesting and a culture that is as old as man itself.

I had tried Ethiopian before, but wasn't too familiar with the cuisine. This seemed like a great way to get to know non-tourist DC and learn more about the food, and it really was! Our guide was knowledgeable and friendly (even though the tour was running during a snowstorm!) and the food was outstanding. Be prepared to share food plates with other guests (like Ethiopias do) and come hungry. It's a good mix of breakfast and lunch, and you won't be hungry again until late in the day.

Our tour was great. My husband and I signed up because we wanted to try Etheopian food in DC but did not know which restaurants were good. There was just enough information about the community here in DC to be interesting, not overwhelming. The tour really did focus mostly on the food which was very delicious. The tour guide was knowledgeable, relaxed and friendly. A visit to an Ethiopian record store was a bonus. Now I know where to take friends when they visit.

Guide was very knowledgable, enthusiastic and a foodie, too! The other participants (all younger than our party of 4) seemed to be well traveled, unassuming surprises. The mix of restaurants, music store, guide and companions made for a memorable day. I will be on another of your tours, soon.

Having gone on other food tours, I had high hopes for this one. I'm a pretty adventurous eater and was very excited to try out these restaurants. However, the tour didn't get off to a great start. Our tickets told us to meet at a certain spot, which we did. We were a few minutes late (it read 10:42) but I would think they could wait for us. We were confused when no one else was around. The tour guide did call our cell phone to inform us that they had already departed and were at the first destination. When we finally made it to the first place, there was no explanation or apology on why the tour departed without us, which I found slightly annoying. At the end of the tour another participant said that she was glad left on time, but was sorry to hear it „was before we showed up„.

The food at the first place was good. It was a standard ethiopian breakfast and very filling. After we left that place, we went across the street for a traditional coffee ceremony. This restaurant was nice and had been decorated like an ethiopian home. The coffee ceremony is a lengthy process which was interested to watch. However, I found that while we were waiting for everything to be set up there was a serious lull in conversation and information giving from the tour guides. There were moments that we sat in complete silence which I found incredibly awkward. I expect a guide to be a host, and really do not like to start a conversation myself (I am very interesting though!!) The coffee was good and the appetizer we had was also tasty.

Next we stopped at an ethiopi music store. It was interesting to see both traditional and contemporary music videos. It was nice to also get a glimpse into that part of their culture and not just the food. I did not care for the music or the cd they gave to us for free. They can keep it

We walked to another restaurant for more food. I also found this place to be quite enjoyable. Plenty of different things were served and it was all very good.

We ended the tour eating dessert. I learned that any of their sweet desserts are all italian in origin. I was surprised to be eating tiramisu and biscotti, but they were delicious, and the chef and owner of the place was of course ethiopi as well.

Overall, I thought the food was pretty good, but I feel like we just paid $100 for us to eat three ethiopian meals. Why would I want three of them. I liked that the tour guides were pretty laid back and easy to talk to/with, but sometimes the lack of conversation lead me to believe that they were inexperienced and extremely unprofessional. I can't say that I would tell someone to go on this tour, however I would recommend some of the restaurants to someone looking for ethiopian in DC.