3 Incredible Ethiopian Restaurants in Detroit

If you’ve never tried Ethiopian food before, Detroit is a great place for your first time! Here is a quick primer.

Ethiopian food comes in a variety of meaty or vegetable-based stews, usually spicy although you can often request your preferred spice level. Injera, a flat bread made from naturally gluten free teff grain, is a staple of Ethiopian food. Use the slightly sour, spongy bread to dip into the stews, serve yourself, and devour!

Blue Nile
Grab a bite of authentic Ethiopian cuisine at Blue Nile in Ferndale, owned by Seifu Lessanework who immigrated from Ethiopia over forty years ago. The restaurant is only open for dinner, because it takes all day to prepare their richly flavored dishes.

Blue Nile specializes in traditional gursha-style dining, in which dishes are shared. Multiple stews are served on a platter lined in injera bread, which is shared among your fellow diners. The best part? It’s all-you-can-eat.

Location: Ferndale
What to order: The “Ethiopian feast”: a gursha-style sharing platter. In the mood for a sweet drink? Try Tej, an Ethiopian honey wine.

Konjo Me Ethiopian Cuisine
Konjo Me is an Ethiopian food service that currently operates pop-up events across Detroit. Owner, CEO, and chef Helina Melaku was born and raised in Ethiopia and has brought her unique brand of food and storytelling to Detroit.

She frequently hosts Ethiopian cooking classes; traditional coffee ceremonies; pop-up food stalls at festivals and markets; and event catering. Check their website or social media for upcoming events.

You can also buy Konjo Me’s Ethiopian coffee and spices online and in select stores across Detroit. There are vegetarian, vegan, meat, and halal options available.

Don’t worry, Detroiters - a brick-and-mortar restaurant is in Konjo Me’s future! According to Melaku, they anticipate a December 2024 opening. Stay tuned for more restaurant opening updates this year.

Location: Various pop-ups across Detroit.
What to order: Melaku’s personal favorite dishes are the doro wot and chicken tibs, which both come with vegetable sides such as misir (red lentils) and turmeric cabbage.

Taste of Ethiopia
Taste of Ethiopia has been a beloved family-run restaurant in Southfield since its opening in 2005. Owners Meski and Kassa serve up delicious, authentic Ethiopian food as well as host events for their local community.

The restaurant is open Monday through Saturday for dine-in or carry-out and has both a meat and a vegetarian menu. Notably, you can also order Ethiopian beer here.

Location: Southfield
What to order: Veggie or meat combo platter (pick 5 items), a side of fried plantains, and a raw juice or Ethiopian beer depending on your preference.

Baobob Fare
Baobob Fare is a relatively new East African restaurant that opened on Woodward Avenue in Detroit in 2021. Husband-and-wife owners Mamba Hamissi and Nadia Nijimbere arrived in Detroit as refugees from Burundi, a country in Eastern Africa that shares culinary similarities to Ethiopian cuisine.

So, although this is technically not an Ethiopian restaurant, lovers of Ethiopian cuisine will want to check out Baobob Fare as an ideal option close to downtown Detroit.

The entire menu at Baobob Fare is halal, with plenty of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options as well.

Location: New Center, Detroit
What to order: For meat-eaters the Kuku (a pan-fried chicken dish slathered in mustard sauce with yellow beans, pilau rice, and plantains). For vegans, the Intore (an eggplant stew accompanied by yellow beans, fried plantains, and peanut-stewed spinach).