Must-see restaurants in Northern Ethiopia

  • Four Sisters

    Gonder

    Now here's something special. One of the best places in northern Ethiopia for both food and atmosphere, Four Sisters has brilliant traditional food (order…

  • Ben Abeba

    Lalibela

    Easily one of Ethiopia's coolest restaurants, this Ethio-Scottish-owned, Dalí-esque jumble of walkways, platforms and fire pits is perched on the edge of…

  • Geza Gereslase Cultural Restaurant

    Northern Ethiopia

    If it’s Ethiopian food you’re after, the big tukul across the street from Eve Hotel is easily Adigrat's best. Traditional decoration and well-priced…

  • Black Rose

    Mekele

    This stylish outpost of an Addis lounge bar is one of Mekele's more intriguing dining options. Downstairs it serves excellent pizza, pasta and Ethiopian…

  • Wude Coffee

    Bahir Dar

    For high-class Ethiopian fare in a chic city-style garden cafe, come to Wude Coffee, although it's just as good for a stiff macchiato. While the indoor…

  • Karibu Kitchen & Bar

    Mekele

    This garden restaurant is the first choice for faranji food, with a pleasing garden setting where the wood-fired pizza is the star of the show.

  • Geza Gerlase

    Mekele

    This cultural restaurant within a cavernous traditional tukul is a great place to enjoy excellent Ethiopian dishes. Specialities include zilzil tibs …

  • Unique Restaurant

    Lalibela

    This basic but cosy little restaurant (‘bad house, good food’ is what the charming and irrepressible owner Sisaynesh tells people who hesitate outside her…

  • Old Abyssinia Restaurant

    Lalibela

    The combination of excellent food (mostly Ethiopian with a few European dishes), fine views and an on-site cooking school means you can take care of all…

  • Limalimo Lodge

    Simien Mountains National Park

    High on a hilltop north of Debark, with some of the best views you'll find in the Simiens, the stylish and uber-contemporary Limalimo Lodge opens its…

  • XO Lalibela

    Lalibela

    With a classier dining area than most (but with no views), XO Lalibela serves up a fresh modern menu that does have some Ethiopian dishes, but it put most…

  • Lemat Restaurant

    Bahir Dar

    You don't see many tourists in here and the menu is only in Amharic, but that's precisely the point. Excellent local food bring the locals here in droves…

  • Simien Lodge

    Simien Mountains National Park

    The best place for passing travellers to eat in the park, the restaurant at Simien Lodge does lunch set menus and dinner buffets most nights, with an…

  • AB Traditional Restaurant

    Aksum

    Decorated with bamboo and crafts and with traditional low-stool seating, this restaurant is calm, peaceful and a great spot to dig into shekla tibs, with…

  • Castel-Kuriftu Wine House

    Bahir Dar

    Right by the water and affiliated with the Kuriftu Resort, this fine place does excellent Ethiopian dishes with all the usual suspects – tibs, firfir,…

  • Fisseha Hotel

    Rock-hewn Churches of Tigray

    The main reason to come here is not the large and loud TV screen in the dining room, but the roast goat served with rice – it's a great meal and easily…

  • Tesfay Restaurant

    Rock-hewn Churches of Tigray

    Opened in 2016, this friendly place is a good, simple choice. It does all the usual Ethiopian staples, as well as sandwiches. It's not signposted: take…

  • Desset Resort

    Bahir Dar

    This popular restaurant really makes the most of its long landscaped shoreline. Both the habesha (Ethiopian – try the fish firfir) and faranji (foreigner)…

  • Misrak Special Food

    Bahir Dar

    Out in the west of town, far from the main tourist trail, Misrak Special Food has a lovely traditional setting on the 1st floor and excellent Ethiopian…

  • Antika Cultural Restaurant

    Aksum

    Dimly lit and with a nightly 7pm show of traditional music and dance on stage, Antika is a welcome addition to Aksum's culinary offerings. It does some…

  • Lakeshore

    Bahir Dar

    Down a rough dirt track and right by the lake, Lakeshore looks a little past its prime, but still serves what some locals claim to be the city's best…

  • Ezana Café

    Aksum

    An awesome, down-to-earth breakfast spot with excellent ful and ‘special fata’ (bread firfir with yogurt and egg). Complete your meal with a juice from…

  • Empire Restaurant & Bar

    Aksum

    Under new management but still a great place to eat, Empire does excellent Ethiopian food – its doro wat (chicken stew) is a cut above the average. There…

  • Lucy Traditional Restaurant

    Aksum

    Slightly cheaper than some of the other traditional restaurants around town, Lucy has low wooden stools and attracts a predominantly local crowd who come…

  • Lodge Fasil

    Gonder

    With an agreeable garden setting (there's a more formal dining area inside), Lodge Fasil in the hotel of the same name does a good mix of Ethiopian dishes…

  • Seven Olives Hotel

    Lalibela

    We don't recommend staying here, but it's a popular lunch spot where travellers enjoy the leafy, bird-filled terrace. It does the usual mix of local and…

  • Tele Café

    Gonder

    Although it serves food all day, we rather like this spot for breakfast and for people watching. When it comes to the former, it serves good ful (an…

  • Yordanos Restaurant

    Mekele

    Tucked away up a side street off the main road, this surprisingly stylish place has a casual open courtyard popular with local couples and a more stylish…

  • Quara Hotel

    Gonder

    While the menu doesn’t break the mould, it does offer a few meals not often available in Ethiopia, such as curry-spiced noodles, as well as the usual…

  • Alliance

    Gonder

    Several locals recommended this newish place for traditional Ethiopian food and while we couldn't quite see what all the fuss was about, it does serve up…

  • Bahre Negash International Resort

    Northern Ethiopia

    Easily the best place to eat in town, the Bahre Negash has relinquished the best views to the bar upstairs but the food (mostly European, with a few…

  • Gozamen Hotel

    Northern Ethiopia

    A cut above the other places to eat in town, the lobby restaurant of Debre Markos' best hotel does the usual melange of pastas, burgers, salads and, what…

  • Agoro Lodge

    Northern Ethiopia

    This attractive restaurant is a good place to break up the Aksum–Mekele journey with a good mix of Ethiopian and European dishes. When things are busy, it…

  • Masterchef

    Gonder

    This bamboo-walled restaurant, a short walk from the Royal Enclosure exit, is a good place for lunch, with grilled fish a speciality, but it also does…

  • John Café

    Lalibela

    A great little local breakfast spot in the town centre.

  • Great Work Cafe

    Simien Mountains National Park

    Just up the hill and opposite the bus station, this simple cafe does excellent breakfasts, including ful (an Egyptian staple of broad bean and butter…

  • Wawi Pizzeria

    Bahir Dar

    You take your life in your hands climbing the rickety spiral staircase up to this 1st-floor pizzeria. Once there, as long as you’re not in a hurry, join…

  • Ayetegeb Café

    Northern Ethiopia

    Formal in an Ethiopian kind of way, this hard-to-miss place on the main drag in the heart of town has a large crowd-pleasing menu of European and national…

  • Mango Park

    Bahir Dar

    A popular lakeside spot for an afternoon drink, this rundown place is usually packed with local students and families, though the pelicans that once…