“ "I HAD A Fantastic Experience!" ZARA restaurant offers delicious food, friendly service, and a cozy atmosphere. Every dish we tried was excellent. Highly recommend! ”

“ Great food! The lamb was spiced perfectly, and the portions met expectations for a take out/ delivery order. I *almost* feel like I bought too much in anticipation that the entree wouldn't be enough for my family of three-- but we're more than content with the amount of food. The side shiro and yellow lentils were good for my toddler as they weren't as "hot" (my 18 month doesn't say spicy yet). The amount of injera that came with the Lamb entree and the side shrio was wooo perfect, because we love injera. It's best described by me - an outsider- as like an Ethiopian sourdough tortilla!?! So good, spongey and clings to every delicious flavor of anything it touches. The only thing I'd suggest they add/offer/fix-- greek yogurt or anything similar in the Ethiopian culture to help lil people/young eaters cool their mouths, luckily I had some greek yogurt in the house to help my lil girl lol because she was not ready for the handful of Jalapeno'd Lamb she grabbed . Perfect meal though! MmMm can't wait to see how any left overs reheat and that'll definitely get added to the review, because who doesn't love big portions that leave delicious left overs ?! The service was quick and on point too-- I ordered at about 4pm-- and I live on the opposite side of town-- food arrived hot and well packaged by 4:23pm. I noticed I had a missed call from tbe restaraunt, they'd ran out of my drink and wanted to offer a replacement (good and quick work to their front of house lady). They weren't messing around, attention to detail -- check , polite and respectful -- check , quick and accurate order+ seamless deliver with Grub Hub -- check!!! Definitely will be ordering again! A previous yelper who reviewed said if you like Lalibela you'll like this place, as a long time fan of Lalibela, I agree! Part of how I how I found Zara was that I couldn't order Lalibela on Grubhub. ”

“ Delicious! The beef is spicy and tender. The lentils, cabbage, collards and injera are perfectly prepared. Authentic and comforting. Yum! Portions are quite large ”

“ I actually really enjoyed the food here. Me and Amir ate at the bar where it was just us, the restaurant was actually pretty dead which was nice because there were no wait times on food. We had the veggie combination and Dinish siga, everything was really good and flavorful! Definitely will be back to try more things from the menu! Also our waitress/ bartender was super friendly and helped us figure out what we wanted from the menu. ”

“ If you enjoy the food at Lalibela, then you'll definitely like your meal at Zara. This is another Ethiopian spot not even a half mile down the street. While the exterior isn't the greatest (It's pretty beat up), the inside is actually pretty nice and brighter than Lalibela. I went during the week for lunch, and the only person serving was the bartender, so I took a seat at the bar and ate there. She was incredibly nice and seemed pretty happy that I was in there, and we talked for a little while about the menu and some of the ingredients that were in all of the dishes. I ended up just going with the lamb tibs on her recommendation and got them extra spicy. It wasn't a melt-your-face-off spice, but it did pack a pretty good heat. The meal comes with a side salad as well that has a tasty dressing. All of this is served on either injera or rice, depending on what you like, but you're in an Ethiopian restaurant, so go with the injera. The coolness of the injera with the spicy lamb tibs was a perfect combination, and I absolutely loved the flavor of the meal. If you've only been to Lalibela and are looking to do some comparisons of other Ethiopian cuisine in Columbus, then this would be a spot I'd recommend checking out. The strip that it sits in might look a little intimidating, but the people inside seemed very friendly, and the meal was totally worth it. ”

“ 1st time trying Ethiopian food. Ordered via door dash and the food arrived fresh aand hot. Had Fish tibsi the rice and the sauce it was covered in was addicting! Also had the Special Vegetarian Platter, the red dipping sauce reminded me of Korean Gochujang sauce. It was very good. I will definitely try again! ”

“ Our first time eating Ethiopian! The food was excellent. Apparently the food is on the spicy side. I had the tibisi basically a seasoned meat it came with the chilled Ethiopian pancakes. You use them to eat your food. My husband had the mahberawi. Which gave a nice cross section of various foods. The service was great our server was helpful. We will visit again. ”

“ According to the lovely young waitress who served us lunch this past Friday, Zara Restaurant and Bar has been open for two years or so, despite the lack of previous Yelp reviews. Maybe it's because Zara has a comparatively low-key presence in an otherwise nondescript strip mall in an unprepossessing portion of Hamilton Road, or maybe it's just because we're so focused on barcades and food trucks and whatnot that Zara has managed to escape everyone's notice. The restaurant itself is pretty simply decorated, with a large bar (including some draft beer options) occupying the center of the space. The front of the restaurant has big tall windows, so it's a bright, sunny space in the day. Our meal started with a complimentary salad of green leaf lettuce, tomatoes, bell pepper, onions, and jalapeno peppers. At many restaurants this would be the least memorable part of the meal, but Zara's salad was fresh and bright, and lightly dressed with a housemade dressing of salt, pepper, and oil. For our entrees, we ordered the vegetarian combination, the kitfo, and the dinish siga. The vegetarian combination included lentils, split peas, cabbage, collard greens, and more salad; everything was decently cooked, but comparatively underspiced. The kitfo, I have to admit, was not my favorite; a mix of ground beef cooked with butter, it was, for me, rather heavy and bland. The dinish siga was the highlight of the meal; tender cubes of beef cooked with onions, tomatoes, and potatoes, it was both hearty and surprisingly complex in flavor profile. I would come back to Zara for this dish alone. Everything came in the traditional Ethiopian manner, served on a bed of injera, and accompanied by additional rolls of injera, and eaten with your hands. So wash your hands before your meal, and ask for a fork if you want one. Lalibela remains my go-to for Ethiopian food, but I'm happy to see another option available, and Zara is a worthy peer in Columbus' Ethiopian food scene. And I'm not complaining about being able to get a draft beer, the next time I'm there for dinner. ”