1/5 Leeza S. 3 years ago on Google
Total
disappointment.
Had
the
chebchebsa
for
breakfast
on
Timket
morning
(Jan
19/20).
My
first
time
at
Kategna.
Impressive
place,
yes,
but
both
the
food
and
service
was
horrible.
The
chebchebsa
was
dry
and
tasteless.
No
kibehe,
berbere,
or
salt.
When
I
arrived,
the
place
was
relatively
empty
and
well-staffed.
The
host/server
who
ushered
me
in
was
very
pleasant.
He
brought
me
the
menu
promptly
and
took
my
order
in
a
timely
fashion.
Some
40
minutes
later,
a
hostile
servant
dropped
the
chebchebsa
off
with
2
forks
and
disappeared.
I
guess
one
order
of
chebchebsa
is
typically
shared
by
two
people
and
I
was
passing
my
place?
Anyway,
10
minutes
into
my
meal,
I
started
to
look
around
for
a
waiter
to
inquire
about
my
tea.
My
eyes
would
eventually
connect
with
the
host
who
assured
me
from
afar
my
tea
was
coming.
It
arrived
10
minutes
later.
Again,
the
servant
appeared
hostile.
Some
20
minutes
later,
I
inquired
from
a
cleaner
if
there
was
a
box
available
to
take
the
leftover
home.
She
left
to
inquire,
but
never
returned.
For
the
next
20
minutes,
I
patiently
observed
the
incredibly
hostile
servers
busily
attend
to
everyone
else
but
me.
I
finally
flagged
one
of
the
servers
to
bring
me
the
bill
and
a
container
to
take
the
leftover
home.
He
promptly
returned
with
the
bill
and
a
container
with
a
filthy
lid.
He
then
disappeared
without
so
much
as
a
word.
After
5
minutes,
I
flagged
him
to
complain
about
the
poor
service
and
filthy
lid.
He
seemed
indifferent.
He
offered
to
bring
another
lid.
No
apologies.
When
I
declined,
he
merely
left,
not
bothering
to
take
my
payment.
After
5
minutes,
I
took
the
bill
payment
to
the
bar
and
asked
them
for
change.
I
was
fuming
by
this
point.
Mission
accomplished,
they
probably
thought.
The
host,
now
serving
guests,
quickly
ran
over
and
took
the
payment
from
the
bartender.
He
apologized
for
the
tardiness
and
told
me
to
take
a
seat.
When
I
expressed
disdain
for
the
poor/hostile
service,
he
apologized
and
brought
me
the
manager.
The
manager
apologized,
but
the
good
Lord
only
knows
if
he
meant
it.
When
I
told
him
I'd
be
sending
a
picture
of
the
filthy
lid
to
head
office,
he
hardly
looked
concerned.
It's
typical
of
Ethiopian
servers
to
target
and
mistreat
Ethiopians
from
the
diaspora.
It's
actually
a
running
joke
amongst
Ethiopians
in
the
diaspora.
I
just
haven't
seen
such
coordinated
effort
on
this
level
in
a
while,
so
it
did
take
me
by
surprise.
I
certainly
didn't
expect
it
from
an
establishment
of
Kategna's
size,
that's
for
sure.
With
the
exception
of
the
host,
every
server
I
crossed
appeared
to
be
severely
unhappy.
It's
possible
management
is
part
of
the
problem.
I
did
notice
that
service
charges
aren't
automatically
added
to
the
bill
-
something
I
agree
with
as
it
takes
away
incentive
for
providing
good
service.
Whatever
the
case,
the
servers
at
Kategna
are
just
strangely
hostile.
Aside
from
the
ambience,
there
is
nothing
nice
about
this
restaurant.
