Lion of Judah Ethiopian American Cuisine - Valdosta, Georgia

Prasanna K.

The food was great but the wait time was almost an hour and half. Reached there at 4:29 and got food at 6:04 pm (noted the exact time because I read reviews beforehand about long wait time and wanted to calculate our wait time). Maybe it was not the best time of the day to visit.
Ordered the taste of Ethiopia. The food was super delicious. Will definitely return again for the food. But, if you are hungry and want to eat faster, I guess this is not the place to go. Saw couple of costumers leave because nobody approached them to ask for their order even after a long wait.
Should definitely work on their service and wait time. No comments on the foods. Just wow!!! A must visit if you want to try some new taste.

Cecilia

I had the Ethiopian tea, and that was a very tasty surprise for us. Very different from normal teas but so refreshing. We also had the beef sambusas with whatever sauce it came with which was so good... finally, we had the taste of Ethiopia and it was delicious...I would def recommend trying this place! The owners were really sweet too.

Aviatrix

We came through for dinner the day after Christmas so it wasn’t busy. The staff were friendly. The food was ok;the portions tiny. I was disappointed by the beets as it looked like and tasted like the sliced beets straight out of the can but warmed. The hibiscus tea was the most delicious hibiscus tea I’ve ever had. The place was dingy and dirty so that was not pleasant. I didn’t have the injera because it’s wheat/teff not just teff. I tried my husband’s tofu and it wasn’t the tastiest tofu I’ve ever had. The salad was just alright.

Aubrey G.

I travels lot for my company and have a corporate card for dinners. I can eat literally anywhere. I stopped by for something different.

Very pleasant young man waited on me. Gave me a good choice of what to order.

The food was great and Ethiopian tea was very tasty.

If I get back to Valdosta, I will eat here again.

Darlene M.

Such a wonderful experience every time! Every detail from the sambusas to the soups, salads, entrees, coffee, and desserts are consistently flavorful and delicious. I've come here with vegan and non-vegan friends, some adventurous and some non-adventurous eaters and everyone loved it. I even brought my 4 year old and she asked if we could come back before she even finished her dessert!

The people who serve here are kind and the owners are genuinely lovely people. They're always grateful to see their guests and always looking to give us the best food experience possible.

The food is fulfilling in, not only flavor, but in nutrients so I feel satisfied and healthy eating here. This place is a staple for me. Highly recommend!!

kimberly C.

I will say the food was mostly good and so was the server. This place could most definitely use some improvements. I won’t list every little bad thing because I still think it is worth checking out. I would love to see this place succeed and grow. I would be happy to share with the owner if they care to know. The only thing I do want to note is that I wouldn’t come here if you are in a rush. The food is worth the wait.

Rashad B.

Mr. and Mrs. Gemeda are outstanding professionals who provide excellent Ethiopian cuisine to a culturally starving food community. The food is so fresh and flavorful that there's no doubt that it's been prepared and served with love and commitment.

Though they don't serve Indian food or West Indian/Caribbean food, make no mistake about it, like those places, the quality food is of excellence and made with some of the same great ingredients, spices, meats and fresh veggies that are so rewarding to the body that it touches the soul!

Their service is second to none, as they always seem to work on better food ideas and service to the community, constantly refining their cooking techniques to reach broader audiences; beit classical eaters or more daring crowds who have an abundantly rich taste pallet and who are looking for the next best thing to diversify their experiences.

At the Lion of Judah, it's all about the herbs and spices piling into home-made oil based and veggie pureed, smoothly reduced sauces, lean bits of meat like beef and chicken, freshly diced and sauteed veggies of choice with the infamous ingera which is Ethiopia's renown slightly tangy sponge-like bread to sop everything up together with each finger-snatching scoop. This is not a sit pretty and fine dine with forks and knives ordeal unless you wish to be culturally boring. This is a hit-home hearty, roll your sleeves up and dive those clean soap-washed-hands-into the-food type of get-down feasting!

My only hope as time goes on is that they offer lamb and even goat which is a major staple culturally attributed to the famous Ethiopian dishes. It is for this reason and this reason alone why I give them a review of 4.0 out of 5 stars. It is my pleasure to order and reorder often from Lion of Judah, as the experience is nothing less than remarkable.

I personally had a few orders including the Taste of Ethiopia which includes 3 choices of meat and 9 choices of wots (stewed meat or veggies with spices and herbs) as well as a lightly seasoned garden salad, sambusas (empanadas or meat and cheese or veggies stuffed in fried, triangular shaped flakey/crusted pastries/patties) as well as their lightly seasoned watermelon slices in the shape and size of French fries and yellow rice; all phenomenal. Please note the watermelon fries are not photo featured below as I forgot to take a picture before swiftly consuming them. 😆

With quality food combined with courteous and skilled staff always improving and going above and beyond to satisfy their customers, Lion of Judah looks like it's here to stay as a Valdosta, GA community favorite!

Melissa L.

This place was above my expectations, and I had high expectations based on previous! It felt like I was invited to eat with the family, not just a patron. Flavors, textures, ingredient quality, all were amazing! Of course there is some kinks to be worked out during the time of first opening. Do not let that discourage you, or blame them. You will enjoy every bite!
It's our new favorite place! So many vegan options. Yummy