The good thing about the opening of Sheba, an Ethiopian restaurant in Shockoe Bottom is that Richmond now has two Ethiopian restaurants in its mix.

The bad thing is that, as No. 2, Sheba has to live up to the expectations set by The Nile, Richmond's long-standing Ethiopian spot in the heart of Virginia Commonwealth University.

To some degree, The Nile introduced the current Richmond dining scene to the wonders of the Ethiopian diet and has continued to do so with skillful attention to detail. Servers teach, the menu and Web site explain, and the atmosphere encourages questions and conversation.

With Sheba now open, it's difficult not to compare the two.

Similar to The Nile, Sheba's menu includes wots (thick, spicy stews), tibs (meat or vegetable dishes sautéed with niter kebbah -- spiced, clarified butter) and kitfo (chopped beef mixed with mitmita -- a cayenne pepper blend -- and served anywhere from raw to well done).

Different from The Nile, Sheba's interior feels somewhat upscale. White tablecloths pop against pale yellow walls and deep amber wood tones. An elegant bar glittering with all types of spirits lines one wall as moody music pulses throughout the open dining room.

Because of this attractive ambiance, we were surprised by the kinks that detracted from our recent Friday dinner kinks that wouldn't have existed had more attention to detail been paid by the kitchen and the wait staff.

Some of what we ordered wasn't what we received. Our server, while friendly, wasn't up for answering questions. And several entrees were either served too cold to truly enjoy the depth of their flavors, or were overwhelmed by grease.

While this sounds like a myriad of complaints, many of these issues -- cold food and order mistakes -- are easy to fix if the staff as a whole holds attention to detail in higher regard.

After checking out the winelist ($22-$36), which includes tej, an Ethiopian honey-based wine, we started with katenya ($4.95), toasted injera (Ethiopian cuisine's signature porous, sourdough-flavored bread) spread with berbere (a red paste blend of paprika, garlic, ginger, onion, clove, nutmeg, cardamom and fenugreek) and homemade farmer's cheese.

Unfortunately, the toasting part was forgotten. While the spices were pleasingly intense, the injera was soggy and cold, although the cheese enhanced the bread's natural tanginess.

We also ordered two combination platters -- the Sheba Non-Veg Combination ($13.95), which includes a choice of three wots, and the Veg Combination ($12.95), listed as samples of five dishes varying from collard greens to string beans in a caramelized onion sauce.

For the meat combo, we chose Ye-Beg Wot (lamb strips braised in red pepper sauce) but got Ye-Beg Tibs (lamb cubes sautéed with onion and garlic). The mix-up turned out to be fine. The dish was pleasingly tangy, its light gaminess tempered by the sweetness of the onions.

We also chose Alicha Sega Wot (tender beef stew slow cooked with onion, potato, garlic, ginger and tumeric) and Ye Doro Wot (chicken simmered in berbere and spiced butter).

The beef stew was the all-around favorite, its heartiness offset by a combo of maple-syrup-like sweetness and warm spiciness. The flavor of the Ye Doro Wot's chicken was accented, not overpowered, by the robust sauce; however, it was extremely oily.

We were confused by the veggie combo, which arrived with four (not five) entrees, one of which was a surprise.

Yekik Alicha (mild yellow split peas described as cooked with onions, garlic and sliced green pepper) were missing the green pepper but were wonderfully earthy.

Misir Wot (split red lentils cooked with red pepper) was a harmonious marriage of spicy, sweet and robust flavors.

The surprise dish, Sheba's Special Shiro Wot (seasoned pea flour blended into a thick sauce), was the most disappointing -- bland and texturally unappealing.

Tikel Gomen (cabbage, potato, and carrot simmered with garlic, ginger, onion and green chills) was missing the potato, which actually made it a crisp accent to the smoothness of the other dishes.

Sheba's Ethiopian menu is a wonderful addition to the Farmers' Market's increasingly eclectic line-up. However, until its attention to detail can be honed, Sheba may be bypassed for its more established competitor.