Rater Comments
These comments express the opinions of individual Restaurant Raters, not those of Washington City Paper.
Review by jeanlucsgirl on April 22, 2009
Let me say that dining in is a nice experience. The food is delicious. I love the Special Dukem Lamb Tibs and the Vegetable Combo. It's what I always get. I think the Sambusas are expensive at $2.50 each. I've been to other places that sell them for half the price. I would give them five stars, but....
Carry out is not so great. I called in on a Saturday night and was told it would be 20-25 minutes. I got there in 25 minutes and waited another 20. I realize it was a busy night, but it was not helped by the carry-out guy who seemed to care less. I'm not big on poor customer service.
Review by hagrid on March 8, 2008
one of the best Ethiopian restaurants that I have gone to. just come for a beer, a sampler of all their food and you will be happy for the rest of the day.
Review by techfoodie on November 20, 2007
Dukem has a well-deserved reputation for good Ethiopian food, The choices are rather typical of Ethiopian restaurants, although I confess I tend to order the sampler so I can taste many different things. The spicing was good: we asked for hot, which it was without being sear-the-top-of-your-head hot. Service as very prompt and efficient, although the server seemed at a loss to distinguish between two types of Ethiopian beers. The atmosphere is ordinary: small Formica tables (that barely accommodate a tray, a platter of injera, and a couple of glasses). But you shouldn't come here for the ambience, you should come here for good Ethiopian food you can enjoy on the way to the rest of your evening.
Review by fsuboy81 on June 5, 2006
Dukem is by far the best Ethiopian food in DC. It also happens to be such a bargain! One can feast on delicious meat and/or vegetarian delights for much less than what other similar restaurants charge. It may not resemble the more typical Ethiopian restaurant- uncomfortable seats and bowls instead of tables, but I, for one, did not miss that at all. My only complaint is that they burn incense for live performances that can suffocate the entire dining room.
Review by magpie1112 on April 14, 2006
I'd been to Meskerem before, and though the place was nice, the food was just okay. Here, the situation is reversed; the food was very tasty but the restaurant itself is kinda nondescript. Don't let the looks of the place throw you though, because the food is worth trying out. I got the Dukem Special Lamb Tibs, which I couldn't distinguish from the Regular Lamb Tibs, but they were both tasty, and not really all that spicy (though I stayed away from eating the large chunks of fresh jalapeno peppers, so maybe that had something to do with it.) Dukem has a special menu for fasting times (which I think have something to do with their Orthodox religion, but I'm not sure on that), and those dishes look really good. They're vegetarian, so meat eaters may not be interested. For everyone else, the chickpea dishes were very good, and so was the cabbage and the kale. The lentils are said to be soupy, but we didn't have that problem at our meal. The injera, their bread *and* eating utensil, is nice and light compared to some other places whose bread sits in your stomach then expands uncomfortably later. Entrees are poured into a dish lined with injera, with more bread on the side if you need or want it. I liked the idea of the entree being served on bread; it sops up almost all of the oil used in cooking the food. I avoided the bread "liner" on my plate and used the extra for my meal -- and avoided a whole lot of extra oil. The portion sizes are decent but not so big that you're stuffed later. The wait staff was courteous and helpful, but service can be a little slow. However, when we told our waitress we needed to go, she brought our check promptly. They've got a breakfast menu that sounds really interesting, but they're veggie items are so good I may just stick with those.
Review by mcandrea on August 15, 2005
Everyone talks about Dukem being the best Ethiopian resturant in DC but the service is horrible. The food is yummy but there are better Ethiopian resturants out there. For me this resturant is more hype than anything else.
Review by ashleyrosen on September 28, 2004
My sambusa was cold but the waiter was very friendly to us and helped us figure out what to order according to our taste preferences since many of us had not eaten Ethiopian before.
Review by mbs29 on July 21, 2004
Dukem, located in the heart of the U Street corridor, is an exceptional value and a stand-out in the Ethiopian restaurant crowd. The restaurant features a nice patio for dining outside when the weather permits. Our group dined on beef tibs, lamb and the Special Dukem Veggie Combo II featuring Spicy split lentil, yellow peas, greens, cabbage, shiro, salad, potato in spicy sauces. There was nary a dud in the group. Anywho, dont leave without trying the Ethoipian Beer, it's a nice mild lager.
Review by thuand on July 19, 2004
Review by mcandrea on July 2, 2004
THIS WAS NOT MY FIRST TIME AT DUKEM, I REMEMBER HORRIBLY SLOW SERVICE AND Meskerem BEING COMPARABLY BETTER- YET WHEN MY CURIOUS BOYFRIEND TOOK ME THERE FOR HIS FIRST TIME WE BOTH MADE IT #1 FOR ETHIOPIAN. WE ATE AT THE BAR SERVICE WAS FAST AND PERSONAL!
Review by basso on June 9, 2004
The atmosphere might not be as ethnic as Meskerem (ie., you don't sit on low chairs eating off low tables), but the food is by far better. Overall there are more selections with a great quantity for vegetarians. While you eat sit back and enjoy the live entertainment - it's well worth it.
Review by cjmindc on June 3, 2004
Of DC's many Ethopian restaurant options, Dukem has become my favorite. The food is great, the service is very pleasant, and all for a great price. As a long-time resident of the neighborhood it has been interesting to see how the clientele of the restaurant has changed recently. It used to be mostly an Ethopian hangout. However, as the neighborhood has changed around the restaurant the crowd has changed a bit too. This seems to have surprised the staff of the Dukem a bit. Each time I have eaten there recently the server has dutifully explained that the dish that I have ordered, a great Doro Wat, is very spicy. . . of course that is the whole reason that I order it! I think it just lends to the charm of the place.
Another plus to this restaurant, and possibly one of the reasons it is becoming a popular U Street destination, is the fact that it has a good-sized outdoor seating area. Something that few of the other establishments on U Street can offer.
Review by 71pham on June 2, 2004
Duken is a great local spot. There is plenty of outdoor seating to watch the action on U Street. You'll find many more Ehthiopian diners here... always a good sign.
Review by danielm72 on May 25, 2004
The best Ethiopian food I've tried in Washington. That said, if you don't like Ethiopian, then this place obviously isn't for you. If there's a signature dish, it's the kitfo, which is highly-spiced, finely-ground beef warmed (yes, just warmed) in rosemary butter. There's a house version with cottage cheese in it, but both are good. If you are shy about eating raw beef, the staff will happily cook the kitfo to your specifications--just ask for it cooked all the way through.
I've never had to wait for a table except late on weekend evenings, when there's live music.
If there's one complaint, it's that many of the combination dishes are too similar to one another. But in general it's very hard to go wrong here.
Review by jstoloff on May 25, 2004
The food at Dukem is excellent, the service is friendly, and the TVs are unavoidable. The staff is very accomodating and let my party change tables several times until we found a comfortable spot. Unfortunately, there is no where to sit where you are not in the sight line of one of the many TVs. It is annoying, but would not keep me from returning. There are also often some communication problems with the staff and they cannot explain (at least in English) exactly what all the items on the menu are, but we managed to figure it out and avoid ordering the raw steak entree. The only complaint I would have is that it is hard to know how much food to order for a large group. We really enjoyed the meal and ate every scrap of food they brought. Clearly, we should have placed a larger order, but we did not communicate well with the waitress. We had one vegetarian in the group and she had, possibly the best things. The food was flavorful, spicy (but not too spicy), and the bread was great. The lamb was particularly good. I also really like the potatoes.
Review by frosty on April 24, 2004
The Awaze tibs represent the spiciest dish on the menu and are hotter than the stoic DC set can handle. Perfect injera. Get there before the quickly expanding U-Street corridor causes line-ups at this terrific Ethiopian Restaurant.
Review by iadams on January 13, 2004
Dukem is rumored to be one of the best Ethiopian restaurants in town, and to wit the place was packed with Ethiopian families and local residents. Four of us shared two lamb, one chicken and one beef platter, along with a vegetable combo platter. The food was all excellent and demonstrated a variety of cooking techniques and tastes. The only item that was not well executed was one of the lamb platters (goram goram, I believe) which was tremendously overcooked. Nonetheless, with the variety we choose, there was plenty of selection for the spice-lover and spice-averse alike. The service was pleasant, but our questions about the menu yielded blank stares and few answers. Be prepared to choose rather blindly from the menu, but you are likely to make a very good choice.
