Ethiopia — Food and Dining
Cuisine
Menus in the best hotels offer international food and Addis Ababa also has a number of good Chinese, Italian and Indian restaurants. Traditional restaurants in larger cities serve food in a grand manner around a brightly colored basket-weave table called a masob.
Things to know: Traditional Ethiopian food does not use pork because most Ethiopians are Muslim or Ethiopian Orthodox Christians. Before beginning the meal, guests will be given soap, water and a clean towel, and the right hand is used to break off pieces of bread with which the rest of the meal is gathered up. Cutlery is not used.
National specialties:
• Ethiopian food is based on dishes called we't (meat, chicken or vegetables, cooked in a hot pepper sauce) and served with or on injera (a flat spongy bread).
• Shivro and misir (chickpeas and lentils, Ethiopian-style).
• Tibs (crispy fried steak).
• Kitfo (raw or very rare ground beef marinated in a very hot chilli powder).
• There is a wide choice of fish including sole, Red Sea snapper, lake fish, trout and prawns.
National drinks:
• Ethiopian coffee from the province of Kaffa, with a little rue (a sweet herb) added for extra aroma, is called ‘health of Adam'.
• Local red and dry white wines are worth trying.
• Tej (an alcoholic drink based on fermented honey).
• Talla (Ethiopian beer).
• Kaitaka (a pure grain alcohol).
Tipping: In most hotels and restaurants, a 10% service charge is added to the bill. Tipping is usual, but amounts are small.
Nightlife
There are numerous local bars or pubs in the larger centers as well as more international style venues in hotels. In Addis, ‘cultural' restaurants are good places to eat traditional food and take in Ethiopian music and dance.
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