Must see restaurants in Addis Ababa

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Yes, it's touristy, but they sure put on a show at Yod Abyssinia. The large dining area is crammed with low wooden stools that all face a stage; at around…

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This upper-crust French restaurant serving superb and authentic, traditional French dishes is still one of the best restaurants in the capital. Try an…

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If you’ve travelled overland to Addis Ababa, and eaten in a succession of cheap local restaurants serving less-than-inspiring injera, then reward yourself…

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It may have moved locations but Lime Tree remains one of the hippest places to have a light lunch. Lunch specials range from chicken shwarma (Monday and…

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For both the local Muslim and Christian communities, this busy place is a lunchtime institution – queues for a table can form out the door. The reason…

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A pleasingly modern take on the traditional Ethiopian restaurant, Kategna feels like a classy urban cafe with its soothing colour scheme, low wooden…

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Recently moved to an unprepossessing suburban back street, Avanti is a quiet and classy place that serves some of the best Italian food in the city. There…

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Best known as Addis' coolest cafe, Galani also serves up fabulous food such as raw cauliflower salad, sweet and savoury crepes, tacos and the city's best…

Very much an Addis institution, this Italian restaurant has fed Swedish royalty, Bob Geldof, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and US presidents. The food is (of…

If you’ve developed a craving for a cracking curry, try this atmospheric and upmarket Indian restaurant. There's plenty to choose from but the mughali…

One of a handful of traditional theatre-restaurants in town, the excellent Habesha 2000 has low-slung wooden seating, a full portfolio of traditional…

If either Nile perch, artichoke, capsicum, olives, white wine sauce, basil polenta and vegetables, or linguine served with mixed seafood, garlic, chili…

Set within the Sheraton’s confines, Shaheen is Addis Ababa’s most sophisticated Indian restaurant. The decor in the restaurant is grand and the melange of…

Feel on top of the world and enjoy the views over the city at this 5th-floor restaurant inside the Boston Day building. The menu, which takes in Ethiopian…

Next to the National Museum and a favourite haunt of locals, expats and museum-visiting tourists, this bright and airy restaurant with alfresco garden…

This simple outdoor restaurant receives high marks from locals, expats and tourists alike for its quality Ethiopian fare. The yetsom beyaynetu (variety of…

Watch chefs manoeuvre airborne dough while you wait for your thin-crust pizza – we reckon they're Addis' best. There are two-dozen pizzas on the menu –…

If Addis has a vaguely ‘boutique’ pizza place then this is it. It’s small, warm and welcoming, with thin-crust pizzas popping out of the pizza oven to…

Come dinner and lunch, this local option sees few tourists and is alive with action. Tables spill onto a large courtyard topped by flowering vegetation…

Having moved to a tranquil location in the grounds of Addis' Alliance Française complex, this classy Mediterranean eatery does a creative menu of Beirut…