Must-see restaurants in Addis Ababa

  • Yod Abyssinia

    Addis Ababa

    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…

  • La Mandoline

    Addis Ababa

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

  • Itegue Taitu Hotel

    Addis Ababa

    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…

  • Lime Tree

    Addis Ababa

    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…

  • Sana’a Restaurant

    Addis Ababa

    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…

  • Kategna

    Addis Ababa

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

  • Avanti Restaurant & Wine Bar

    Addis Ababa

    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…

  • Galani Cafe

    Addis Ababa

    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…

  • Ristorante Castelli

    Addis Ababa

    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…

  • Sangam Restaurant

    Addis Ababa

    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…

  • Habesha 2000

    Addis Ababa

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

  • Stagioni

    Addis Ababa

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

  • Shaheen

    Addis Ababa

    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…

  • Kuriftu Diplomat Restaurant

    Addis Ababa

    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…

  • Lucy Gazebo & Restaurant

    Addis Ababa

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

  • Elsa Restaurant

    Addis Ababa

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

  • Antica Restaurant

    Addis Ababa

    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 –…

  • እፎይ (Efoy)

    Addis Ababa

    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…

  • 17 17

    Addis Ababa

    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…

  • Serenade

    Addis Ababa

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

  • Jewel of India

    Addis Ababa

    This Indian-run restaurant specialises in tandoori dishes – with more than 150 menu items to choose from, it's difficult to know where to start, but…

  • China Bar & Restaurant

    Addis Ababa

    If you’re craving something sweet or sour, this central Chinese restaurant, just around the corner from Meskal Sq, is the most convenient place in town…

  • Makush Art Gallery & Restaurant

    Addis Ababa

    Containing vivid paintings and woodcarvings from the 70 artists this gallery-restaurant supports, and staffed by attentive waiters and your genial host…

  • Backyard

    Addis Ababa

    In an unpromising building by the side of a busy road, Backyard surprises with its softly lit interior, light pastas and salads, and with the steaks for…

  • Roomi Burger

    Addis Ababa

    Supersized burgers are the obvious highlight of this place, which is a cross between a fast-food joint and a pavement cafe, but pizzas and other dishes…

  • New York, New York

    Addis Ababa

    We wouldn't cross town for it, but New York, New York has a vaguely diner-like feel to it (although it's more Addis than Queens) and does pretty good…

  • Raizel Café

    Addis Ababa

    This slick modern cafe speedily serves pastries, pizza and sandwiches to a fashionable, young crowd; canoodling local couples hide in the shadows upstairs…

  • Rico’s Restaurant, Pizzeria & Bar

    Addis Ababa

    A brightly lit place serving everything from Moroccan kebabs to minestrone soup, plus the oddly named ‘farmer’s wife’ steak. Rico's also does a handful of…

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