Dama Pastry and Restaurant

As I start this review I begin to daydream about wearing a full body suit made of injera and diving into a pool of delicious Dama ethiopian and tearing off pieces of injera and eating my way through said pool of awesomeness. MMMMMM. Oh wait… sorry…Ok…review time…
In my opinion DC beats NYC in terms of two cuisines. Ethiopian and Vietnamese. Before doing a project in DC I probably had Ethiopian maybe 4 times in my life. Now that my DC project is over, I can says that I have had it over 18 times and at least 8 of those dining experiences were at Dama, It may have also helped that I was staying next door at the Sheraton but I still preferred Dama to (Das, Ethiopic, Balageru, Others that I forget the name)
What do I like about it you may wonder? Besides for the taste, it’s the authenticity of the place for sure. I hate seeing things americanized to extremes the way we get at many asian restaurants here in the US. Nothing pleases me more when I am in in a restaurant with an easily identifiable ethnic origin and I am the only white person inside. That is the case just about every time I’m at Dama and sometimes even leads to an added dose of learning some Ethiopian (Bonus points for learning phrases in a new language). The cars that fill the parking lot are mostly cabs and ubers (great indication of a legit establishment).
The atmosphere isn’t what you come here for as it has a very plain interior. But the food makes you forget that there’s no art, plain floors, and old tables and chairs. That’s because the food is straight up delicious. The injera is perfectly spongy (please refer to daydream from review opening … breast stroke all day). I am mostly a fish/​veg eater so I go with the the cubed fried fish (lightly fried and sauteed in onions and jalapenos with the perfect spicy sauce). It still reigns as the best ethiopian dish I have ever had. I also pair this with the veggie sampler that gives you a bit of ethiopian salad, spinach, lentils, cabbage, etc. The total for both the fish and veggie sampler (perfect amount of food for two people) is $ 36 after tax and tip. Great affordable meal and pretty healthy to boot.
Ehtiopian breakfast is also worth a try here. Ground beef, with onions, jalepeno, scrabled eggs, over injera and spicy sauces is just perfect (see photo). SO much yumtown here. (See all photos).

Part café– part restaurant, Dama has served as a staple in the DMV Ethiopian community for years. It is arguably most widely known by Ethiopians in the area for its delicious espresso drinks, teas, pastries, cake, other baked goods. On the café side, you’re bound to see a large area full of older guys chatting away and enjoying their beverages and snacks. It’s casual and always busy even during the middle of the week.
On the other, you’ll encounter a large dining space that serves as a large traditional restaurant with an extensive menu and endless lunch buffet. Their food is solid, but not the best Ethiopian I’ve had in the area. I did appreciate how helpful our waiter was, and how creative (yet traditional) some of the «tsome» (fasting/​vegan) dishes were while also staying true to our traditional spices and flavor.

Yes, the dinner was delicious! But the cakes pretty much made me die. I can not believe they only charge $ 3.50 for a slice of that. But they do.
We ate dinner on the restaurant side, then migrated over to the café for dessert. I might try to sit in the café for the meal next time. I prefer that coffee shop vibe.
You won’t regret coming to try this place out.

went there for lunch buffet:
The food (the veggies) are pretty good and tasty, but the parking is a mess!!! Had to park a whole neighborhood away since the café next door.
The only complaint I have is that there is really no meat at the buffet and with tax, the buffet is $ 13 for no meat.
Maybe go there again since I love Ethiopian food.

This bakery — located in an old, nondescript strip center — is a true hidden gem. Wonderful cakes and pastries. Dama also does an incredible job on special orders (vegan, gluten-​free, etc.).
The owner is a former White House pastry chef. As soon as you walk in and see the amazing baked goods in the pastry case, you can’t help but be impressed.

Shockingly good food located in such a no-​name spot we almost drove right past it. Who says location is everything? I had their food at an office party and was so impressed that I went out searching for it. Luckily, it wasn’t simply beginner’s luck. Their food was even better at the restaurant than it was at the office party. And talk about huge portions! Dama, I love you. Four stars only because parking was a bit of a hassle due to the weird location. But great food.

Once you see all the Ethiopian cab drivers park their taxi and come here. Then you are absolutely in one of the best authentic Ethiopian restaurant. This place is a real gem!
Service always excellent, the waitresses always smiling and friendly.
The prices are super cheap for the quality and the portions you get.
The food always tastes the same if not better… Ive tried the veggie combo, kitfo, beef and/​or lamb sautéed with onions, tomatoes, jalapeño pepper and Ethiopian spices (sooo good)
My favorite tibs is the fish. They cut it into cubes, fry it then sauté it with onions, tomatoes and jalapeños. Absolutely a must to try
The restaurant is more like a café style. Nothing fancy… So don’t come with high expectations!
I’m giving 4.5 star

Poor service. Waited over 40 min for part of our meal and felt pressured to take it to go. Didn’t bring condiments until was completed. Stood over me as I paid and added tip to portable card reader. Sigh. Very disappointed today.

I come for the Lamb tibs — the injera soaks up the sauce and spice from the lamb and makes for a fantastic combo.
Tried this place once and instantly became a regular. The food is delicious and presents unpretentiously. Very reasonable prices for how much food you get.
Will continue to come regularly!

I came here by recommendation of an Ethiopian friend, and we tried some of the pastries (European ones like miles feuilles and fruit cream cake) which were pretty good but nothing earth shattering. The green tea was however very good and fragrant.
My friend ordered me a vegetarian combo dish and a lamb dish. Both came with the very filling porous injera bread which is like a South Indian dosa for size and more like an Appam in texture, and a sour taste. The lamb was very good, but I am astonished at how out of this world the vegetarian Ethiopian combos are! The meat dishes can’t even come close! I just can’t get enough of the Shiro wot and the Miser wot (I still can’t tell which is which), and of course Kik Alicha (which we call Paruppu in South India), and even the Yatakilt wot! It’s amazing that I am rooting for a vegetarian dish so much, but if you go to an Ethiopian restaurant, seriously you have to give priority to vegetarian because it will blow you away! The only gripe I had was the «house salad» that they stuffed inside. Whenever I see this iceberg lettuce mixed with tomato slices and some weird vinaigrette sneaking its way into halal cart platters, sandwich dishes, and now Ethiopian dishes, it makes me angry. I sincerely believe that iceberg lettuce should be banned. There, I said it. So that’s probably my biggest issue since the salad ate its way through the injera and soggied it up and I had to throw that whole chunk away. I loved the food, but Injera (in Crystal City) is even better taste wise.
p.s: If you haven’t noticed already, Ethiopian food is very similar to South Indian food and we have a lot of the same dishes or concepts in food which is why I am familiar without even knowing it first hand. The music has its similarities to ours. The people also look like us South Indians. The original name for India was «Eastern Ethiopia.» The Ganges River in River was named after a famous Ethiopian emperor. Coincidence? Nope. Ethiopia is our twin separated at birth.

My wife and I had never tried Ethiopian cuisine. She ordered # 16 Dulet and I ordered #16 Beef Tibs.
We were blown away with how delicious the food tasted. I commented to her that it is really great to experience new, unique flavors and we got it here at Damas.
We read some of the other comments about how much food you get and I was skeptical, especially since we were starving after s long bike ride earlier. We couldn’t finish all of the Injera (sourdough flat bread which you use as a utensil).
Parking is limited, but big deal!
Everyone was friendly and very engaging.
We will be back for the buffet.

Delicious breakfast! We came on a Saturday morning around 9:30 and by 10, the place was packed! We were the only non Ethiopian people in the place (you know it’s authentic!) we got the French toast– delicious, tasted like it was made on pound cake– yet still fluffy and sweet. I got the egg sandwich, made standard with tomatoes, onions and jalapeño (I added cheese), and the potatoes on the side was quite delectable! (But be prepared, spicy!!)
The coffee was of course, of highest Ethiopian quality and delicious and strong. Nice way to start a Saturday! I’d highly recommend to anyone in the area!

I took a friend here for her birthday by request. She had never had Ethiopian food and wanted to try it. I hadn’t been here before, but trusted the Unilocal reviews. The location was not particularly nice and the inside isn’t particularly flashy, but the food was so yummy that I’m glad I trusted the Unilocal reviews. :)
We shared a vegetarian sampler plate which was a good decision. There were so many delicious things to try. We were unable to finish it and left with another meal to-​go.
The pastries were a surprised too. Not only did they have pastry staples, but also a nice selection of specialty type options such as gluten free and vegan. We purchased three slices to split among four friends and that was plenty of desert. We were pleased with all of them.
When I want to have Ethiopian food, I’ll definitely consider Dama Pastry and Restaurant again.

Tonight we decided to grab a meal close to our hotel.
This little Ethiopian Restaurant (Dama) is much better than it looks from the outside. The service was great… But let’s talk about the food… The vegetarian combo and awaze tibs completely blew us away! Amazing. Fresh!!! Very tasty!!!
The cultural eating with bread (flat and a little bitter) was truly a great meal and experience.
The desserts are good also!
Thank you for a fantastic experience. Even my 18 month old enjoyed every bite!
Shalom!!!

This bakery is a perfect example of «not all that glitters is gold» — its shabby and crabby but makes great cakes! You can have a café in the Palace of Versailles but if you aint making stuff upto par — do yourself a favor and GTFO!
Back to Dama and its crusty lookin cakes which actually are amazing LOL im not kidding — when I came here as a last resort for my birthday cake, I was so concerned about the black and white cake I chose that I kept asking them if it was fresh? They laughed and thought I was kookoo and said yes it’s made today. I was desperate and took their word for it. But when I tasted that cake, OH MY! Not only did the cake taste fresh but everyone at the party wanted to know where it was from. That black and white cake destroyed alot of diets that day but all in good fun because for the first time in the history of my birthday, there were no leftovers to take home. I still have to try another cake from here but for now I’ll stick to the black and white cake which saved my birthday :)

Food is OK!
Just do not visit the bathroom :-(
Totally disgusting!

This place is a hidden gem. I’ll start with the one downside. No booze, no BYO. They need to fix that, but otherwise this is a must-​go Ethiopian restaurant for any vegetarian. They actually have fake meat! Fake tibs, fake doro watt, and a whole bunch of other meat-​free protein options that simply don’t exist any Ethiopian restaurant I’ve seen. And the «regular» food is pretty great too. Homemade injera is a plus and the lentils are outstanding. Have been back a couple times now and it’s worth the trip to no-man’s-land, in Virginia. You pretty much need a car to get if you don’t live close, but again well worth the trek. Prices are super cheap and large portions. Service is solid and quick. Check it out!

The food was fantastic, with lots of spice and flavor. Servers were lovely and attentive. It would have been nice if they had told us there was a lunch buffet though.
There was some «creative» pricing at the café part. I can read the board, I know you’re ripping us off… but my husband had just handed over the cash before I could protest. Eff it.

Good food!
Came for the buffet during lunch but didn’t realzie the buffet has little to no meat options. The collard greens and yellow lentils were probably my favorite items from the buffet. Later, I ordered beef tibs which were sooo good. Everything was perfectly seasoned and perfectly cooked.
My friends ordered a cheesesteak and it was surprisingly really good. The bread, which I believe they make themselves, was amazing. They provided a great portion of meat and came with a lovely side salad.
The only thing I didn’t care for was the injera. I’ve had better injera. But all in all, I love this place. I’ll be back!

3.5 stars.
So I’m impressed with a couple things. First of all, even though I showed up during breakfast hours, they still let me order from the main menu. I was really craving some injera and practically devoured the entire veggie combo (leaving only a little injera to take home). The combo came with a little of everything — and though the dishes weren’t as spicy as Ethiopian food I’ve had elsewhere, I generally enjoyed all of the samples. The servers were also friendly — especially the female barista.
However, there were definitely areas that needed improvement. One, this definitely isn’t a fancy affair. They had no qualms of pulling delivery carts through the front door in the middle of the day. That, I didn’t particularly mind. What did irk me was how slow the service was — I literally waited 20 minutes to get my check and then the waiter lost my card for a bit. Yikes. Also, normally I don’t let things like that away my rating but the food wasn’t as flavorful as Ethiopian food I’ve had elsewhere and they also lacked a meat + veggie combo option.
All in all though, I did enjoy my injera for breakfast and will likely be back. Dama is a homey restaurant and definitely will satisfy a craving for Ethiopian food. Even better, they have some delicious looking pastries that I really want to try!