Merkato Ethiopian Restaurant

?Came with a friend and Ordered the fish dinner! Service and food were both great.??Bonus: This resTaurant was LOVED by Anthony Bourdain. It was also featured in the HBO series INSECURE.

A friend invited a group of ladies to experience Ethiopian food. Since we ate with our hands, I did not take any photos inside once I washed my hands. We shared . Veggie Combo, Combo Plate, Lentil Sambusa, Whole Trout and Yedoro Tibbs. I enjoyed the experience but I left not feeling satisfied. Flavors were new but nothing was crave-able except for the Lentil Sambusa. We ended the meal with the coffee ceremony which was truly a fun experience. The wait staff did a great job hosting our party of 15.

My friend and I had been craving Ethiopian cuisine separately, and me specifically for about five years. Because my friend lived near Little Ethiopia at the time, it was only natural for us to head down and check out the local food offerings, which brought us here.I wanted injera, which as a food concept is impeccable, and naturally this place has lots of injera. My friend was craving fish so we got the Asa Tibbs. We also ordered the Veggie Combo for a balanced meal. All in Alex it was a quite filling meal for the two of us, and very tasty. It is always fun eating with injera, especially after it has absorbed some of the sauces/flavors on it. No complaints. I need to come back to try the rest of the menu.Random story to tack on at the end here, but I was talking to my friend about what I was studying in my master 's program, and somehow by uttering the words noun phrase, I immediately outed myself as a linguist to another linguist who was sitting a table down from us. Him clocking me was so affirming but also inexplicably hilarious. Perhaps there are a bunch of linguists running around Los Angeles eating Ethiopian food. We linguists must all have good taste in restaurants.

This was the first time I ever had Ethiopian food, and it was such an awesome experience! I came when my friends came to visit they are huge fans of the HBO show Insecure, and apparently this restaurant was mentioned in the show.The inside had really cool designs and decorations, just walking through the door felt like I entered a completely different space. The food was delicious, super duper filling even had leftovers. There is also a cute boutique/ store next to the restaurant where they sell a variety of different things.

Been coming here for years. Little shop and bar attached to the restaurant with all sorts of cool stuff and spices for sale. Bought the main spice because my wife wants to make Ethiopian food. I always call ahead for take out. The people in there are always friendly. Food is excellent! Always big portions except this last time. Not sure what happened. Overall love this place and still willing to give 4 stars.