Blue Nile Ethiopian Restaurant

Food was decently good, though I've had better. More importantly though I was charged 2.50 to sit at the traditional seating instead of regular tables, which was not told in advance. While I don't understand why they would charge for ""traditional"" seating as customers have to sit either on a stool or a regular chair, I do think that if they are going to charge this absurd fee they should let their customers know in advance. Due to this poor experience, I will not go back. more

The owners are not scammers, they are a kind, Christian family trying to stay afloat in a tough economy, all businesses in the area took a huge hit over the last couple of years as a result of the rebuilding of high street. The prices are on the cheap side compared to most Columbus restaurants, and the charge for the seating is listed right on the menu. They have to have these tables shipped in from Ethiopia for gods sake... I've never been to an ethnic restaurant where extra bread is free, you may get Naan with your curry but I would expect to pay for extra bread, this ain't Spaghetti Warehouse. And the owner really is a busy man, with a family of five plus extended family to look after, a restaurant to run, and being an active person in his church and community. We have been going there for over 15 years and they have always treated us with a kindness and graciousness and even given us free extras because we are nice to them. Sure, you may wait for your drink refill a little longer than at some corporate restaurant, but have a little humility. I have never ever heard the owner be rude to anybody in hundreds of visits there, one time he even had a hard time asking a woman to put out her cigarette. He practically falls over backward greeting customers with a smile. They also never fail to greet our children and ask how they are doing. And the food is awesome, the eggplant in particular is a family recipe from the owner's wife. more

I had a very negative experience recently at the Blue Nile. The food was very average, yet extremely expensive. What really got me was that when the bill came they had tacked on extra charges such as $1.25/person for traditional seating. They made no mention of this when seating us. They also charged us for the extra bread which they offered to us during our meal. Typically bread is free, especially when it is offered to you. We were not aware of this charge until the bill came. When I attempted to speak with the manager I was told he was ""busy"" although the restaurant was nearly empty and I saw him walking around. I finally managed to catch him on my way out and he was extremely rude. I recommend avoiding the blue nile at all costs!. They also told us, like in the review posted already that nobody ever complains about it. DONT GO- it's about principle Cons: over prices, exta charges more

I was visiting from out of town. I decided to try Columbus' Blue Nile, because the ones in Michigan are fantastic. However, when my party came in, we weren't even greeted. We were told we could sit wherever, so we chose the traditional style seating. I had ordered tea, but the food came first. When I asked about it our waitress was like ""Yes, it's coming"", with an attitude. She didn't even check on us one time! Pros: Nice Ambience Cons: Bad Service! more

pyroburns: more

I was STRONGLY disappointed with The Blue Nile. Recently, I started cooking African cuisine just for the hell of it, and I did WAAAAY better than they did on my first try (It won third in a dutch oven cooking contest). Pros: Sweet Waitress, Nice Injera Cons: Garbage food, bad service, poor atmosphere. more

Mequanent is an extremely polite host with an amazing demeanour. Laurie and I love the Doro Wat. It's chicken cooked in Berbere sauce (spicy !) with a boiled egg and Injera bread. The Blue Nile brings much needed culinary diversity in Columbus. If you're unsure about what to order go for the dinner #1. It's a combination of entrees that'll jog your palette delectably. Pros: Excellent food, resonably priced Cons: Slow service when busy, limited High Street parking on weekends more

They find silly excuses to pile additional charges on your bill. The traditional table costs an extra $5. We were even told about the additional cost, werent asked where we would prefer to sit, but were directly led to one. When we got our bill there was an additional $5 just for the table. I thought this was unfair. Especially since we were not told before hand. As a student, $5 amounts to a days lunch. Some amount of consideration should have been shown, esp as we walked in with our school bags and they knew we were students. Pros: the food Cons: service more

Hardly any vegetarian options and the waiters aren't that friendly. The food itself was mediocre. Pros: fast service Cons: not very friendly more

as seen on '30 days' fx tv show. this restaurant has exceeded every expectation, service, food and atmosphere. this family run business brings africa to the midwest. you can enjoy your food either tradional ethiopian style (our favorite) or at a good old fashion american style. we recommend any of the vegetarian options (esp the eggplant and lentils): the berber chicken is very spicy (yum): tomato fit fit is a great appetizer. this place is very well priced for the quality of food. Pros: inexpensive, great tasting, unique Cons: parking, decor more

Excellent African cuisine, at an extremely affordable price. Truly one of the best African restaurants which I've visisted. Beverage refills can take a bit of time, but one hardly notices that. The servers/owners are very friendly. Also, if you're new to Ethiopian/African, I suggest trying the lunch buffet first, so you can be exposed to several kinds of dishes. Pros: Price, taste, friendly service more

We are very fond of west African cuisine and through the years have sampled resaurants from coast to coast ( even 'Blue Nile' in Detroit ), and NO ONE does it like they do!! The owners are very gracious, the food is heavenly. The only criticism we might have is the frequency of visits by the server. One might wait until the end of dinner to get a beverage refilled, but this is fairly rare. Two people can order more that they should eat for < $20. A bargain at twice the price. Enjoy!! Pros: Excellent Food, Fast seating, Generous Buffet more

This is my favorite restaurant in Columbus. This is the place I take all of my out-of-town guests for a truly ""big city"" experience. The food is delicious, the atmosphere is fun and exotic. I'm a huge fan of Ethiopian food, and the Blue Nile does not disappoint in any way. more

Dining here was a very unique - and wonderful - experience. I can't say enough good things about the food. Thanks to the combination platter, we were able to sample all the vegetarian items on the menu. Everything was excellent but the shiro and the gomen were especially good. The service was wonderful - we were welcomed by the owner as soon as we walked in the door and the server was very attentive. We will definitely make the 1-1/2 hour trip to eat here again. Pros: Excellent service, Inexpensive, Vegetarian selections more