Merkato Ethiopian Restaurant & Market

our favorite for 12 years! the fish, the vegetarian combo, and chicken tibbs are my favorites of this favorite.

I love the ambiance here, and the food is good. It’s pretty consistent, I’ve gone here for years. The service can be a little slow, but I just try to go with that in mind, it’s not fine dining or anything, but more fun and funky. I like the vegetarian combo, or the one with the whole trout, it’s a really good deal and I always have leftovers. Oh and I always get a lentil sambusa with the spicy awase sauce on the side.
One time I will say that I was annoyed because I tried to make a reservation for 6 people on a Saturday, and when we got there they acted like we didn’t have a reservation at all. That’s fine if they don’t want to take reservations, but then they should just tell me and I will plan accordingly or go somewhere else.
I do love the food though, so I keep going back. I just try to go when I’m relaxed on time and don’t have to stress about anything.

I had always gone to another restaurant across the street from here for Ethiopian food. But since some relatives from abroad were visiting, we decided to check out a place with more options. I was definitely pleasantly surprised with Merkato.
The service was wonderful. It might have been because there weren’t very many other people in the restaurant.
Still, we got our food quickly and our server was very friendly.
For my drink I got Ethiopian tea. The delicious flavor made up for the fact that they were served in Bacardi glasses for some reason. For my main course I ordered the shrimp tib. It was delicious, probably one of the best shrimp dishes I’ve ever had. The injera bread was also good. I also ate a bit of the veggie combo which was really, really good! There’s just something about eating with the injera. It makes the food taste better. After our meal we checked out the market where you can buy Ethiopian foods and products.
If you want delicious and affordable Ethiopian food, I highly recommend Merkato.

It’s a strange experience walking in to the market confused as to where the restaurant is! I had called in my order of the vegetarian combo ($ 9.99) and two sambusas ($ 3/​ea). I had never had Ethiopian food in LA and I was soooooo eager to try it again after having it in Chicago! The special, doughy and soft injera is what my dreams were made of lately and the cravings were unstoppable. To my surprise as I walked through the door I was greeted by an employee and she already knew that it was me who placed that recent meal order!
I got home to my meal and finally devoured it with my sister! The vegetarian combo is a lot of food for two people but we definitely got our money’s worth. It was delicious and flavorful. Next time I’ll try the meat dishes!
The parking is kinda nuts since its on Fairfax. They apparently have valet service but if you can try to do street parking.

This place is pure heaven! Vege combo is my favorite, I could eat the food at this place every day. Also zil zil is off the chain delicious. My favorite LED painting ever is there. Staff incredible! This is one of my favorite restaurants in LA. Love it!

Great food here! Large portions and really great flavors. Probably the best I’ve had in a while. Rich and savory, their dishes all have a heartiness to them.
Next door they have a market so you can look at some fun Ethiopian things over there too.
Will def be back.
Note: one drawback — only one combo dish for meat (only 2 specific types of meat for this combo. Can’t choose your own.) And one veggie combo. Wish they had more combo platters!

One of my favorite restaurants in LA. I’m a regular here and refuse to go anywhere else for Ethiopian. I love the vibe inside of the restaurant and the staff. I always get the same thing: the veggie combo with a bowl of meat (lamb or braised beef in a red sauce). I love eating with my hands, and especially eating the bread (called Enjra) after it’s had a chance to become soggy with all the items on the platter. They of course bring a large side of that bread that is not soggy as well. I get a huge Ethiopian food craving about once a month and everybody knows this is where I’ll go!

Nice cultural artifacts, décor in Ethiopian style and also playing Ethiopian music. The restaurant is in «Little Ethiopia» so nice cultural experience. I had the lamb wot with shuro and collard greens. If you are coming for lunch, there are others close by that offer lunch/​buffet specials for a better deal. It is a market/​store and restaurant.

Ethiopian Food in LA, head right to Fairfax Avenue
The street has lots of Ethiopian restaurants but my pick always is Merkato.
The ambiance is so cool and colorful. Have to appreciate their hospitality.
Food comes in huge portions and everything on your place is delicious. Mark my work.
Service is slow sometimes as they make the injera’s fresh. Dont forget to try the sambusa and honey wine.

This place has a sweet little coffee counter/​bar on the back left. We saddled up for some Ethiopian beers, and the group of men swigging Coca-​Cola out of glass bottles and watching soccer around nearby tables made us feel like it was a weekend evening in Addis Ababa.
The restaurant on the right-​hand side serves up some of the best meat dishes on the block (try the kitfo, a raw minced beef dish prepared in butter), which is a huge plus for the non-​vegetarians in your group. They also have freshly-​made injera packaged and ready to take home, as well as the usual bags of lentils and spices.

I loved that they had free valet parking. I didn’t love that they look at you as if you have a third eye when you walk in. Finally I was seated and after having to flag down a waitress I got my order taken. The food was really good and that is all that matters to some. The service not so much. I had to raise my hand like I was back in school to get attention. Once again the food was really good. The fish was the ultimate best of all.

Service was slow, not quite friendly either. Went on a Sunday afternoon last week and waited well over 1 hour for our food… There weren’t even that many people in there when we came in. They also moved us to another table, while we were waiting. Realized that it doesn’t take an hour or even 30 minutes to prepare food… I went to Zeni Ethiopian in San Jose last night with my fiancé and realized that service should only be 10 minutes because that’s how long we waited.
Despite the fact that this is a well known place… I might not come back because the service was under par.
Food was great though, that’s their only saving grace

I was here last Thursday. It was my first time trying Ethiopian food.
I was surprised at how easy it was to find parking at around 6:30pm. There was plenty of metered parking close by. The restaurant is small-​ish. Half of it is (as the title suggests) a market and the other half is the restaurant area.
I started off by ordering honey wine. It was sweet and STRONG. Definitely order it if you’re a fan of sweet wines. I ordered a sambusa with lentils as an appetizer, it was good, but I wished I had ordered one with beef instead. I ordered Awaze Tibbs for my entrée, which is beef with onions, tomatoes, and peppers. It also came with a side of something like pico de gallo… I wish I could remember the name of it, but that’s the closest thing I can compare it to. When the entrees came out, the waitress brought out several plates full of injera bread. It was delicious and very filling, probably because of the injera bread. Forks aren’t provided. You use your fingers and the injera bread to eat your entrée.
The service was a little slow, but to be fair I think our waitress was the only one working that evening.

First time trying Ethiopian food. I ordered the veggie combo and you eat your food with bread which has a sourdough taste. The food overall was ok. I like to try different things but i don’t think i am a big fan of Ethiopian food. The service was great and the portions are pretty big. I didn’t finish my plate. I got really full with the bread. I also tried the honey wine and it was ok too. The restaurant is small but its very cute and they have a market right next to it.

It was delicious and open late on a holiday. My husband always gets the meat combo, and I always get the vegetarian combo. I was happy with how reasonable the price was too! We usually spend around $ 40 when we go out for Ethiopian, but here we got both combos for $ 27.

Good food, nice service but the place a little pricier than other restaurants with the same quality. The place had very nice pictures and art on the walls.

First time visiting Little Ethiopia. I was amazed at the number of Ethiopian restaurants there were within 100 yards of each other.
We chose Merkato based on the reviews of others on Unilocal… Solid 4. It lived up to expectations.
The restaurant (attached to Ethiopian market) appeared to be an authentic Ethiopian restaurant based on its décor and the employees. There were even Ethiopian patrons which was an indication that the food was going to be good.
We both ordered the vegetarian combination platter which consistent of five different vegetable dishes and Ethiopian bread (injera).
Since I’ve only had Ethiopian one other time, I can only compare Merkato to one other restaurant which was in Fresno. To compare, the food at Merkato was good but the injera was a little thinner than I would’ve liked.
Service was friendly but we needed to flag the waitress down a few times.
As for parking, we street parked but there was a sign at the front door that said that there was a parking lot to the rear. There was also valet service in front.
I will definitely be back to Little Ethiopia to try the other restaurants. If this ends up being the best, I’ll update my review.
Worthy of a visit!
*As with authentic Ethiopian restaurants, be prepared to eat with you hands.

SOOO TASTYYYYY !!! if you love food with a lot of spices and different flavors come here… i love the Greens and the Shiro

This review is only for the market side. It’s the biggest market on this little Ethiopia main strip, and I just picked up a massive bag of teff and berbere. The market is clean and bustling, and though the cashier is split between the market and restaurant and can take awhile to attend to you, it’s still a pleasant place to pick up Ethiopian goods.

First time eating Ethiopian food. Saw great reviews for this place but surprisingly dead on a Friday night dinner with 2ppl here. It’s connected to the market which seems more poppin with bar seating space. Recommend #3 Awaze Tibbs $ 13.99 cube beef, onions, tomatoes, peppers, spiced butter. Food is good, but restroom smell almost brought it down a star because of loss of appetite.
I like the meat dishes, just not accustom to liking the spongy cold bread and eating it with fingers.
Recommend not using their restroom toilet before eating. Smells a lot of pee. They do have sink outside of the restroom though.
Entrees are for one or can be shared. Finger food with some spicy fun. We got a combination entrée with braised beef and lamb #14, and then a beef entrée #3. They look different from the pictures menu. They put all 3 items onto one plate. Fun décor.
Service: lady really nice. She’ll let you take your time eating. Had to try to find her a couple times.
Parking: free valet in the front or meters on he street (free after 8pm, and wknds).

Discovered we are not fans of Ethiopian food. The buckwheat bread was not what we expected. The service was great though and the ambience is so cool. We ordered veg combo, tibs and samosas. It was highly recommended by people we know who go there regularly.

I adore Ethiopian food, and Merkato is my favorite in Los Angeles. It loses a star because the service can be slow, even when the restaurant is not that crowded, but boy oh boy is it worth the wait! Merkato stands head and shoulders among the other (also good) restaurants on the block.
If you don’t already know, Ethiopian food is served family style and eaten with your hands. Don’t ask for a fork. You might not get it, and if you do, it’s going to come with serious side-​eye. Go in the back and wash your hands, keep them out of your face, hands, mouth and off your cell phone, and enjoy the meal!
We usually order a few entrees and share everything. 3 entrees is enough to leave me, the BF and two hungry teens sated. Don’t miss the Asa Tibbs (whole fried trout.) That and the veggie combo are my favorites. We usually order those, along with ZilZil Tibbs, because the boys like their beef.
I’m the only coffee drinker at the table, so I never order it just for myself, but I love it when someone at an adjacent table orders coffee. It’s a full ceremony with incense, and the most aromatic fresh coffee!

This is by far the best Ethiopian food in LA… The spices and flavors are unforgettable… the ceremonial coffee is not to be missed… Elsa, the resident barista/​waitress roast coffee beans at the table and passes them for everyone to smell and enjoy… The place is small… food and service perfection. Parking is plentiful! Amazing experience… I’ll be back very soon!

The food was delicious! Braised beef, veggie platter combo, and trout I highly reccomend! Waitress was really kind and helpful for my first time experience here (p.s I recommend St. Georges Lager!)

It is my first time and is really good! Very tradicional place with rich decoration, nice service and very taste food. Try don’t ask fork and eat with of bread, indira. You can buy products there too. Enjoy!

This place is a super casual authentic Ethiopian spot but serves pretty good dishes for a fair price.
We strolled in here on a Wednesday and was first greeted by a not so friendly/​accommodating worker but it looked like he was maybe a cook. The hostess/​waiter showed up and was super friendly and informed us to shit where we wanted. After seated we decided to order the Ethiopian white wine which was soft going down.
We ordered the beef tibs dish and the veggie combo and requested them to be on a separate plate. We waited about 15 minutes and they brought it out on the same plate which is the waitress realized right when she brought it out. Def a no go since the person i was with only eats veggies. She went in the back but then came back and said yeah you can just have the combo plate and we’ll bring a separate veggie plate for you. 10 minutes later the veggie plate came.
The actual food was full of flavor. The veggie combo had a hummus/​pickled cabbage/​curry potatoe choices which was good. The beef tibs had big pieces of beef which were savory but were a bit greasy for my taste but typical for Ethiopian and Indian.
Overall, it was nice night out to try something different and the prices were reasonable. More of a once every few month sort of thing though.

Although the food is great, the look and feel of the place and the service could be more attentive — definitely worth a stop though!

Stopped by to grab a few bottles of Tej, Honey Ethiopian wine for about $ 12 in the market area. The market and restaurant are connected. They have a small selection of items from foods (injera bread, grains, herbs), snacks, tobacco, pipes, cd’s, and jewelry. There’s a small bar located in the market and it seemed like a group of regular men that come to hang out there. It was a little awkward when I walked in because they were probably staring and wondering what I was coming in for. But the owner was nice. And the food from the restaurant smelled delicious.

When I first moved to LA, one of the first types of food was Ethiopian. In fact a director that I worked under all he would order everyday for lunch was Ethiopian food. At first glimpse, most would not have a clue on what they’re eating. Surprisingly the food is flavorful and superb.
Cannot call myself an expert in this type of food but honestly can say its worth the trip into this part of town. For the longest time I would always hit up the other spots and never venture into other restaurants. It was wasn’t until recently a goof friend has brought me here and boy is this place excellent. We started off with honey wine, the taste was exquisite. if you have a fan of sweet wine, highly recommend ordering honey wine.
As for entrée, cannot exactly remember the name but the dish was mostly beef layered over injera (allot like a soft thin flat bread.) If you wanted to carbo load, you can most likely eat a whole platter until exploding. The ambiance of the joint is great, dimly lit with traditional art hanging on the walls.
Adjacent to the restaurant appears to be a bar. At the end the experience of this place is awesome, if you had to choose between the other restaurant in the neighborhood, start off here.

Who decides on a Thursday morning right after brekke that they want to go on an Ethiopian food excursion that evening? We do!
I asked my boyfriend to invite his brother and a few friends so we could go try Ethiopian for our first time. I’m not usually a real adventurous eater but this had been on our list of things to try for a little while now.
We had a table for 5 people at 7P and appeared to be their first customers of the evening. We had our choice of table and by the time we left, closer to 9P every table was occupied.
We ordered three vegetarian selections, chicken and fish with a couple sides of injera.
We started with the honey wine, which I usually drink nothing other than red wine and can’t do sweet but was not going to pass on making the most of this experience. It was actually quite nice, and I poured several «refills» for myself :) It paired nicely with the food.
When our large platter arrived, the adventure began. Two of us had been here before while the other three were first timers.
I enjoyed everything, most especially the fish. Breaking off pieces of injera and picking up all of the different options of cabbage, lentils, chicken, greens, etc.
It was all enjoyable. I wasn’t sure if I’d like it and told myself I’d go pick up something after dinner if I didn’t care for the meal but that wasn’t necessary.
Service was prompt and friendly.
I don’t see us coming back here often but I definitely wouldn’t rule out another visit in the future.
We had a great time!

So many Ethiopian spots within this block on Fairfax. The question is, which to choose?! My boyfriend never had Ethiopian so I decided I must break him in. I love the idea of eating with your hands and just getting down and dirty with the eats.
I pulled up the good ol Unilocal to see which is rated the highest and to have some sort of reference. Honestly, they’re all rated pretty high. So we decided to just take a stroll down and that’s how we settled on this one. It was the only restaurant that was packed. We had to wait about 15 minutes to be seated.
We ordered the Veggie Combo and the Beef Tibs. The bf had an Ethiopian beer called St George (?). It was very subtle and a perfect pairing with the food.
We waited over 40 minutes for the food to come out. We were famished by the time it came. The veggie platter foods were quite tasty. The Beef Tibs were a little dry and chewy. I wasn’t really a fan. The bread was perfect, so light and airy.
And the food wasn’t spicy at all which was surprising. I was expecting full on spice factor but it didn’t have much of a kick. I probably wouldn’t go back, just wanted my love to have a new experience :)

Every now and then I get a craving for Eithiopian food. If I’m in a cleansing mood I crave the veggie plate here. The service is very nice and fast. There is also a little market attached if your looking for African items such as soap, spices, or gifts.
This place is in the heart of Los Angeles, «Little Eithiopia» off Fairfax.
My plate consist mostly of lentils and veggies. The bread that you eat with has a sour taste like sour dough bread.
The tea they served was a mixture of currents, cinnamon, and much more. With Lemon and honey it was terrific! So good that I got a box to go for anyone who gets sick. It will be used as a hot toddy!
Parking is on fairfax.