Work through the list in order. Hide the notes when you know what to do.
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Try injera
A giant, spongy, fermented flatbread made from ancient teff grain, serving as the plate, eating utensil, and carbohydrate staple for nearly every local meal.
Pure teff injera is naturally gluten-free and light; cheaper eateries stretch it with wheat or barley flour, creating a heavier, stickier texture.
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Try doro wat
Ethiopia's quintessential holiday feast of chicken drumsticks slowly simmered in caramelized red onions, spicy berbere, and clarified butter, served with a spiced hard-boiled egg.
Because it requires hours of gentle reduction, doro wat is rarely eaten as everyday fast food; seek it out in traditional dinner venues.
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Try kitfo
Finely minced lean raw beef marinated warm in spiced herbal clarified butter (niter kibbeh) and pungent chili powder (mitmita), accompanied by mild ayib cheese and braised greens.
First-timers can order it leb-leb (barely warmed through) rather than completely raw (tire). Order only in packed specialty kitfo restaurants.
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Try shiro wat
A velvety, bubbling stew of powdered chickpeas and split peas simmered with garlic, ginger, and berbere, often served boiling in an earthenware pot as tegabino.
Entirely vegan during fasting periods, this comfort food is the most common and beloved daily dish across all social strata.
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Try shekla tibs
Cubed beef or lamb flash-fried with sliced red onions, fresh rosemary sprigs, and green jalapeños, served sizzling over a portable clay brazier with burning charcoal.
The charcoal base keeps the meat piping hot and aromatic; dip each bite into fiery mitmita powder or tangy senafich mustard.
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Try beyaynetu
A rainbow-colored fasting platter featuring small ladles of various vegan stews on a single injera: split peas, red lentils, collard greens, spiced cabbage, and beetroot.
The ultimate introduction to Ethiopian vegan cookery, always available on Wednesdays, Fridays, and throughout Orthodox Lent (Tsom).
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Try tere siga
The ancient practice of eating raw, freshly butchered beef. Diners pick cuts directly from hanging carcasses in butcher houses, carving strips with a knife to dip in awaze paste.
Dating back to wartime history when troops avoided cooking smoke to evade detection, this extreme delicacy is washed down with heavy shots of areke or cold beer.
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Try chechebsa
A beloved breakfast dish made of torn flatbread pan-fried in rich spiced butter and berbere until warm and chewy, traditionally served alongside plain yogurt.
One of the few Ethiopian dishes traditionally eaten with a spoon rather than folded inside injera; pairs wonderfully with morning spiced tea.
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Try Ethiopian ful
Slow-cooked fava beans mashed into a thick porridge and topped with diced tomatoes, onions, green chili, crushed boiled egg, and crumbled dry curd cheese.
Unlike most stews, ful is eaten by tearing off pieces of crusty fresh-baked French rolls (dabo) to dip into the hearty bean bowl.
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Try misir wat
Red lentils gently stewed into a thick, aromatic paste with sauteed onions, garlic, and fiery red berbere chili paste.
Lentils are the backbone of Ethiopian vegetarian cooking, offering rich protein content without heavy fats during religious fasting.
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Try gomen
Tender collard greens braised with finely diced ginger, garlic, and green chilies, finished with spiced butter or vegetable oil during fasting.
Gomen cuts through the heavy spice of surrounding stews; make sure to scoop it up together with a dab of mild cottage cheese.
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Try defo dabo Desserts and pastries
A massive festive spiced wheat bread infused with cardamom, nigella seeds, and honey, baked wrapped in false-banana (ensete) leaves.
Often presented to guests during celebrations; buy freshly sliced wedges from neighborhood morning bakeries.
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Try local millefoglie and bomboloni Desserts and pastries
A sweet relic of Italian influence: flaky mille-feuille custard pastries and sugar-dusted bomboloni donuts sold in classic historic pasticcerias.
Traditional Ethiopian cuisine lacks desserts; local sweet tooths gather in the Piazza district's vintage coffee houses for pastries and espresso.
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Taste ceremonial popcorn Desserts and pastries
Lightly salted freshly popped corn served in small woven baskets as the customary complimentary accompaniment to strong ritual coffee.
Often mingled with roasted barley kernels (kolo), this simple snack neutralizes the palate between dense cups of dark coffee.
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Experience Ethiopian coffee ceremony (bunna) Non-alcoholic drinks
A revered hospitality ritual: raw beans are roasted over coals, ground by hand, and brewed in a clay pot (jebena), poured into handleless ceramic cups.
Tradition demands drinking three consecutive rounds named abol, tona, and baraka; leaving before the third cup is considered impolite.
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Try layered spris juice Non-alcoholic drinks
A vibrant glass layered with thick, fresh fruit purees—usually creamy avocado, mango, papaya, and guava—topped with a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
So dense it must be eaten with a spoon like a parfait. Order at dedicated 'juice bets' and specifically ask for it without added ice tap-water.
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Try Ethiopian spiced tea (shai) Non-alcoholic drinks
Steaming black tea brewed directly with whole cinnamon sticks, fragrant cloves, crushed green cardamom pods, and crushed fresh ginger.
Available in virtually every small tea shack, this comforting brew is the city's antidote to chilly high-altitude mountain evenings.
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Try tej honey wine Local alcohol
Ancient golden honey wine (mead) fermented with wild honey, water, and woody gesho leaves, sipped exclusively from round-bottomed, narrow-necked glass flasks called berele.
Visit a traditional tej bet (honey house) for the best brew; sweet flavors mask a deceptively stiff alcoholic punch.
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Try traditional tella beer Local alcohol
An unpasteurized, smoky, rustic homebrew crafted from roasted barley, malted teff grain, and bitter gesho shrubs, served unfiltered.
Look for residential homes displaying an inverted tin cup on a post outside, signaling a fresh batch is ready to pour for neighborhood patrons.
