It’s been a while since I’ve been to Little Ethiopia in LA.
What are your favorite Ethiopian restaurants? I’d prefer a place that offers vegetarian and non-vegetarian options.
Thank you.
Meals by Genet, hands down. Every bite is packed with outstanding flavor - particularly the veggies, which I think outshine the meats (but the meats are great, too). The owner, Genet, is in the kitchen every night cooking every single dish - with a helper or two. One of the more special restaurants in LA, in my opinion.
Here’s how to order:
Idli’s Vegetarian Combination - you get every single side vegetable around the perimeter of a giant circular piece of injera bread. Then add on a few meats which they sprinkle in between the veggies.
But Meals by Genet is fancier and more expensive than the rest of Little Ethiopia. If you want to keep it more casual, Lalibela is a great option too.
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Lalibela
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I have recently become a fan of Awash on Pico.
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Lalibela, Mealss by Genet and Awash are all great; take note of Genet’s limited hours compared to the other options.
My wife and I’s all-time favorite though is Merkato. Can be a little inconsistent but it’s our favorite.
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What to order at Lalibela?
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I think the best thing to order at every Ethiopian restaurant is the “veggie combo.” At Lalibela, they have what’s called the “Veggie Utopia” which is an upgraded veggie combo. I’ve never not ordered that.
Lalibela has a few menu items that are not quite as common. Their lentil sambusas (much like samosas) are excellent. Their tofu tibs (small pieces of tofu browned and butter and cooked with Ethiopian spices) is one of my favorite tofu dishes in LA.
Yeah, all of this so far is vegetarian, almost vegan (and you can get the tofu with olive oil instead of butter). But those are my favorite dishes.
The doro wat (chicken on bone) and chicken tibs (chicken pieces) are both good, on par with everything else.
I’m not a big fan of the fish, which is just a whole fish deep fried with no spices (though this seems very common in all Ethiopian restaurants I’ve tried).
I’m also not a big fan of the “kategna with ayib” appetizer (rolled injera with cheese). It’s unique, but I found the spice over-powering for the mild cheese. And if there’s one problem with Ethiopian food for me, it’s that it’s too injera-heavy, so an injera appetizer doesn’t make much sense. It would make a better snack.
They seem to specialize in kitfo (Ethiopian beef tartare), but I’ve never tried it. Not my thing.
Their Ethiopian coffee is pretty good, a little like Turkish coffee.
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Veggie Utopia Platter
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Buna has a couple of salmon fillet, non-fried. I’ve had the Salmon Gored, which is cubed salmon marinated and cooked with tomato, garlic and berbere. It was outstanding.
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