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Addis Ababa Restaurants

Serenade

2 reviews | Write a review

Good for: Nothing, A Date or for a quite dinner

Not good for: Romantic evening

  • Address
    • Piazza
  • Phone
    • tel, info: 0911 200072
  • Hours
    • dinner Wed-Sat, lunch Sun

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Lonely Planet review for Serenade

Tucked up a dark cobblestone alley in eastern Piazza is this magnificent Mediterranean eatery. Peruse the creative menu, laden with succulent treats like braised lamb with caramelized onions, lentils, lemon and raisin orange couscous. There are vegetarian delights and divine desserts.

 

Traveller reviews for Serenade (2)

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    Cynical, overpriced and smug, a HUGE dissapointment

    jongreenstar does not recommend this,

    My wife and I booked a table for Valentines day, the restaurant is not usually open on Tuesdays so having confirmed a table I was expecting a romantic evening with the great food and service Serenade is known for. When we arrived the road was outside was clogged with cars, certainly many other people had the same idea. On entering we saw that the bar usually designated for a relaxing aperitif had been converted, for valentines day, into an extension of the main restaurant with table upon table crammed in. Unlike the main restaurant which is cosy and tastefully decorated the bar was... well a bar, overlit and loud at that. Even though we had booked we were levered into a small table in a corner - everyone has to book for Serenade. The menu was a fixed five courser, if you call bruscetta a "course" that is, no vegetarian starter option and a veggie main that was a salty mangle of grilled something or other. All dishes came to our table cold making it rather like a wedding buffet that someone is good enough to deliver to your table. Every so often a waiter would come to check that we were enjoying our meal - "delicious?" they smarmed one after another, as if there was only one possible answer. Nope. It was a rotten evening. And at 1200 birr with wine (50 euros) about the most expensive meal for two I have had in Addis in five years living here. The idea of cramming so many people in was cynical and cheap, the food was awful and the service terrible with a different waiter wedging himself through between tables every few minutes as other people prodded their cold food.
    I loathe the attitude that becuase we are in a city with a relatively under-developed restaurant trade, places like Serenade can not only get away with such an appalling offering at such a ridicluous price, they do it with a smug, self-satisfied smile all over their face.

    Good for: Nothing

    Not good for: Romantic evening

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    A charming small place with advanced fusion dishes!

    tknudsen recommends this,

    Excellent personal service, fantastic food with the best local ingredients, made by a chef with practice from some of the best Mediterranean resturants.

    Good for: A Date or for a quite dinner

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