The best restaurants Ethiopia

Addis Ababa has a fine new restaurant to discover. Hotto is a top-flight Japanese-Asian fusion restaurant. It's chic and rather expensive. Dinner is served in an elegant room with soft lighting and green and blue upholstered armchairs. On the menu: small dishes to share, such as vegetarian taquitos with bean sprouts, carrot, cabbage and ginger, or others with salmon, soy, sesame oil and lime. A wide choice of dishes: teriyaki, tempura, glass noodle... Everything is appetizing and delicious.

The restaurant has a terrace and a large single room that has 50 seats. The stove is a real blue cord for both Ethiopian and pizza dishes.

The capital's oldest restaurant is housed in the former residence of Emperor Menelik's son, very close to Piazza, which is handy when you're looking for a table in the center. It's a vast building built around a large circular room that opens onto smaller, more intimate rooms. The decor and patinated furniture are typically traditional, very authentic, nothing touristy under the dim lights. The kitchen offers all variants of national gastronomy. The house tej is renowned.

Offers traditional cuisine in an original setting. On the floor, the musicians are in wax! To see the folk dances that take place on two little podium, you must be served in the basement. The decoration is even more imaginative.

At 300 m from Bekeletch, the Yohannes kitfo bet is even more famous for its guragé cuisine, especially for its delicious kitfo. The setting is magnificent and the perfect service. It's also where you can try the coffee experience in the butter if your heart tells you.

One of the best addresses to taste the kitfo, this steak tartare to Ethiopian: from 25 to 28 birrs the portion.

Fish dishes at 25 birrs on average and service very fast despite attendance at meal hours which is absolutely incredible.

An excellent restaurant not far from the emblematic Four Sisters, which we recommend for a change of pace. It's run by a chef who has returned to Gondar after eleven years of service in several Dubai restaurants. The focus is on Ethiopian cuisine, but there are also a few international dishes on the English menu, which is quite original and focuses on delicious fish from Lake Tana. The specialty: goulash or grilled fish. The chef also makes Margherita pizzas. The traditional setting is pleasant, both inside and on the small terrace.

A fairly new, very pleasant restaurant facing the lake. The menu features international and Ethiopian cuisine, with many local specialties such as fish fuel, a tilapia fillet with vegetables cooked in foil, orfish finger. You can eat under a big top or in the garden, near the water, with a view over Lake Tana. The atmosphere here is relaxing. Although the hotel is not exceptional, especially for foreign tourists, the restaurant is highly recommendable. Good value for money.

Located in a modern upstairs building on Jinka's main street, this friendly restaurant boasts a pleasant terrace where the town's locals gather. A good reason to immerse yourself in the authentic atmosphere of this place. It serves good Ethiopian cuisine, as well as pasta dishes, grilled steaks and roast chicken. Clean, pleasant surroundings. Fresh fruit juices, takeaway sandwiches and breakfast are also available à la carte. However, no alcohol is sold here.

This restaurant at the Hawassa Lake View hotel is one of the most popular. It offers modern cuisine based around grilled meat or fish, a specialty you really must try when staying in the Ethiopian lake region, especially tilapia, the most frequently caught perch. You can also opt for burgers, pizzas, chawarmas and salads. It's also a very pleasant place to meet at aperitif time, to sip a cocktail on the terrace, admiring the sunset over the lake.

Romina is a long-established institution in Addis Ababa. It's an excellent local restaurant, often crowded in the afternoon. It serves good St. George beers on draught (a rarity), delicious fresh homemade fruit juices, good traditionalinjera dishes and, for the die-hard, pizzas - but don't go looking for Italian-style pizza! The dishes are tasty and reasonably priced. The outdoor terrace, planted with trees and flowers, is pleasant and the central location, where there are few other places to eat, is very convenient.

This restaurant serving traditional Harari cuisine is a little out of the way, but well worth the detour. You'll appreciate the layout of the outdoor terrace in the garden, with canopies to filter the sun and a soft ambience. Note in particular the pretty solid wood chairs framing the tables with their checkered tablecloths. At this typical address, you can enjoy steamed goat's cheese, locally roasted chicken or the region's signature fennel soup. The tibs are served over a sizzling charcoal burner.

This Italian restaurant is a rather chic address for homemade pasta dishes and specialties from the Botte region, making a welcome change from Ethiopian dishes. Good pizzas à la carte too, cooked over a wood fire and crisp to perfection. We love the way the plates are laid out, the chef's savoir-faire and the imported ingredients that combine with local flavors, sublimated in the kitchen. The setting is as elegant as the plates, very modern and bright, with white tablecloths and picture windows opening onto an outdoor terrace.

Bahar Dar's most chic lodge has a remarkable table, complete with wine bar. The setting is absolutely magnificent. Ethiopian and international specialities are served à la carte, with all the variations of fish dishes from Lake Tana, prepared with subtlety, a delight. The room, under a giant toukoul, offers a lovely view of Lake Tana through the large picture windows. Every evening: cultural performances of Amhara song and dance.

Excellent traditional restaurant serving delicious goulash fish and other typical dishes with injeras, the typical Ethiopian pancakes. Every evening, there are performances of folk songs and dances from the Amhara region, inviting you to discover the culture of this part of Ethiopia. You can also taste tedj, Ethiopian mead, a deliciously sweet handcrafted honey alcohol. A beautiful stage with many musicians and dancers.

It may not look like much from the outside, but once you've passed through the small door, you'll find yourself on a pleasant green terrace where tables are set up under a large marquee. This address is popular with Ethiopians and foreign tourists or expatriates living in Addis Ababa, who come here mainly to enjoy the excellent local cuisine (grilled Nile perch, chicken stew...). Portions are large enough for two people. Traditional dance performances every Wednesday and Saturday evening from 7pm. Coffee ceremony.

The restaurant at the Hyatt Regency hotel is a good place to eat at any time of day. We love the wide choice of refined Levantine dishes (hot and cold mezzés), as well as the extensive menu of Western and Ethiopian dishes, wraps and sandwiches. We loved the labneh with beet and dried mint, the different lake fish of the day, such as the samak mashwi with turmeric, coriander, lemon, zaatar and chilli, the shawarma in its homemade bread, the fatoush salad... The interior is really pretty, bright, in beige tones and decorated with Ethiopian crafts.

The restaurant, housed in the beautiful gardens of the Hilton Hotel, is an elegant option for lunch or dinner of international specialties, with a few local options. A fusion menu allows you to choose from fried chicken, grilled rib steak, pasta, club sandwiches, pizzas and burgers. Excellent cocktail menu for aperitifs. Every Sunday, a brunch featuring an original buffet and live music is organized.

Among the numerous cafés that border Bolé Avenue, this one (which has three signs) is to visit at least once during a stay in Addis Ababa, the time of breakfast, a quick meal or a snack. Fresh fruit juice, croissants, pizza, sandwiches, omelettes, waffles, pancakes and pastries of all kinds are served on the terrace or in the room decorated with paintings from Montmartre and Moulin Rouge. Not always easy to find a place so popular is popular with residents.

Fresh Touch is one of the city's most popular and busiest hararis addresses. It moved a few years ago, but it's still as central as ever. You can easily make it your canteen for a few days, as everything is so good and prepared for a handful of birrs. Between Ethiopian dishes, grilled meat, pasta, fantastic pizzas and desserts, the choice is varied. To make matters worse, the setting, in a tree-lined courtyard, is most pleasant. What's more, the service is friendly. They even serve draught beers.

On the main street, within the walls of the Jugal (the walled city), this little room that doesn't look like much is nevertheless an authentic place for breakfast, a freshly squeezed fruit juice, a homemade pastry, a spicy pizza or even a colorful salad with raw vegetables (avocado, carrot...). You can eat here at any time, in a very local and lively atmosphere. It's also a good opportunity to check that Harari coffee is one of the best in the world, served here as espresso, latte...

The tiny, family-run Unique restaurant has no outside seating. The place is very rustic, a favorite of backpackers and budget travelers. The welcome is warm, the food homey, and that's why we sit here, to experience the flavors found in Ethiopian homes. In addition to the shiro, injera and other typical dishes served here, he offers amazing Ethiopian pizzas. Plus: Sisko gives cooking classes in his kitchens, for an even more authentic experience.

There are few restaurants in Jinka, apart from those in hotels. This one is a popular local address for lunch or dinner, indoors or out on a sheltered terrace, where you'll also come across locals as there's a menu for them, a menu for faranji, which is fair enough given the standard of living in Jinka. The Ethiopian dishes on the menu are tasty and prepared with fresh ingredients, especially the shiro. The place is clean and acceptable, good salads and bread, plus injera, cold drinks, Wifi.

Ziway's chic address is an elegant restaurant and wine bar. Attractive flooring and quality wooden furniture give the place its cachet. It is decorated by a fine collection of bottles that line the walls. The menu features both international and Ethiopian dishes. The mutton was very good. As for the wines, our French palates are still too fickle to appreciate them as much as the locals, but a small glass to taste..

Indian vegetarian cuisine is all the rage in Addis Ababa. Ethiopians practice fasting, i.e. fasting until midday mass, then eating dishes without meat or animal products (vegan in short). This restaurant, opened by a woman, Indian chef Radhika Goenka, offers creative vegetable and grain-based dishes such as curried dhals, as well as an "Indo-Chinese" fusion menu. The place is elegant, frequented by Ethiopian businessmen, with brick walls behind the counter.

Burgers can be found on every street corner in Bole, with varying degrees of quality. This one is delicious, one of the city's best, and the setting is pretty cool, with a modern decor. There's nothing really fancy here, the burgers are pretty basic - we're a long way from Brooklyn - but they're good, the meat is fresh and the place is popular. It's really a fast-food restaurant, with menus displayed on luminous boards behind the counter. The advantage is that you're served quickly, it's good and efficient, and the hours are extendable.

This Yemeni restaurant, set up on the first floor of a house in the Bole district, is a real culinary discovery and a great place to eat. It offers hearty Middle Eastern dishes, with lots of fresh vegetables, overflowing with well-seasoned grilled meats and fresh fruit juices. A good place to try mezzes (the oriental tabbouleh, full and hummus were delicious) or meat dishes with saffron rice. Addis Ababa's Arab community has made this their canteen. The setting is neat and tidy.

There are four successful restaurants in Addis Ababa, including two in Bole. The whole of Addis Ababa can be found here. Traditional Ethiopian dishes are prepared here with the utmost finesse and accompanied by local and Italian wines. Enjoy a real shiro wot, gored gored, chechepsa, the famous kifto (Ethiopian tartar of raw meat) or the special kategna, a signature platter with lots of small dishes to taste placed on a large ingera. The decor is magnificent, whichever kategna you choose. Contemporary coffee ceremony to match the setting.

For those nostalgic for vitamin-packed bowls and raw vegetable salads, Moyos Cafe offers organic, veggie or just plain healthy meals. At breakfast, its signature dish, the keto diet, consists of eggs, multiple slices of avocado, tomato, cheese and broccoli. For lunch and dinner, you can find sandwiches and fresh juices, as well as free-range chicken with pasta carbonara, eggplant lasagne, grilled fish, a wide selection of salads, all in a brand-new green-and-white setting, and even a children's playroom.

If you're nostalgic for Turkish kebabs after ingesting far too much ingera, this is the address for you. The menu features all the classic Turkish grills: tavuk shish kebab (chicken), mutton, kefta, etc., as well as Turkish pizzas. Everything is prepared with fresh, quality produce, and the dishes are absolutely delicious. What's more, the setting is pleasant, with a lovely garden where you can sit at any time of day.

This new address boasts an elegant, modern dining room with a lovely view through the windows, and large green-topped tables with carved wooden chairs. In the center, a buffet is served for lunch and dinner when it's busy. You'll discover fine salads, a rarity here, veal and lamb, specialties of the house, in all possible forms (roast, stroganoff, cotlet, goulash), all the Ethiopian national dishes (doro wot, shiro, tibs...) including the famous kitfo tartare. Excellent welcome from the owners.

The Alliance éthio-française bistro is a good place to eat in a neighborhood not far from the Mercato. You'll appreciate the parking space, the large garden where you can sit in pretty surroundings, the fast service in French and, above all, the tasty, well-executed dishes. The menu is Western, with French specialties of course, particularly the desserts, which are accompanied by a good cup of coffee and are well worth a gourmet afternoon break. Don't hesitate to take a stroll through the gallery to enjoy the current exhibition. Closed evenings except Thursday.

What a beautiful open table near Piazza (which was lacking in them)! The restaurant's photos and arty setting set a chic tone for the space. The specialties here are wonderfully Italian, from wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizzas to pasta dishes worthy of the Botte. You can enjoy hearty breakfasts and, at all hours, focaccia, bruschetta, basil and arugula salads or more regional dishes, including Nile perch with local sauce. In the evening, don't miss a refined cocktail.