Enat Ethiopian Optimist Hall - Chaotte

I tried Enat at the Taste of Charlotte, and it was great. I come here all the time now.

This was my first time trying Ethiopian food, and I was a bit nervous, but I'm glad I did. We ordered the 3 meat and 3 sides platter. It was so much food but it was so good! Our friends had never tried it before, and they loved it. The collards and cabbage were amazing, but the chicken and lamb was delicious. The spongy bread was also delicious, so you should definitely try this place when you visit Optimist Hall! #FirstTimeTaste #EthiopianFood #OptimistHall #SpongyBread

I’ve never had Ethiopian food and was happy to see a place here at optimist hall where I could see some others meals ordering ahead of me to see what it was all about. The portions are pretty big in my opinion and can share for two people which is great! I can’t quite remember what we got here, but nothing is better than getting to eat with your hands when it comes to eating these type of dishes. Overall, really nice flavors and spices and would eat here again!

Frankly, this is the least enjoyable Ethiopian food I've ever had. I've gotten Ethiopian food all around the states and even out of the country but this place has been the most lacking. Overall, everything felt very soupy and lacked the depth of flavor I'm accustomed to having in this cuisine. The workers were nice and the wait was not long, but I couldn't even finish it because of how much the pool of liquid the food was swimming in threw me off. It felt very white-washed to be more palatable to the clientele tbh. I've put off trying this chain, but with the lack of Ethiopian spots in Charlotte, I decided to give them a try (twice! and was very disappointed. Apparently their base location has more options but I'm not keen on spending more on them given my experience. I'm sure those just venturing into Ethiopian food may enjoy and it is a good, filling vegan option but I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone who has experienced good Ethiopian food outside of Charlotte.

I went two times in the last week. The first time everything was spot on perfect. The second time today the injera tasted like it was tainted with bleach. I told the lady behind the register and she brought me a fresh one out wrapped in aluminum foil. When I unwrapped it it was also wrapped again with some white bleachy paper that smelled like bleach. So I didn't have any injera with my vegan platter. Hopefully they can find something better to wrap it and that isn't bleached and instead more natural or isn't going to leech chemicals into the food. I will probably try again the next time I'm in the area since it was so good the first time.