Ethiopian restaurant, Cocktail bar, Restaurant in Washington, DC
An Adams Morgan Ethiopian restaurant and bar serving tibs, kitfo, slow-cooked ye beg wet and ye bere alicha, whole fried tilapia, and a full range of vegan dishes including a special-blend shiro, misir, gomen and kik alicha, with sampler plates for first-timers. Injera is made from fermented teff, with a gluten-free version available, and no cutlery is provided under any circumstances so guests eat by hand in the traditional way. The bar pours house cocktails built on Ethiopian ingredients such as coffee, spiced tea, honey wine and mitmita, alongside tej, wine, beer, champagne and an Ethiopian coffee ceremony. Doro wat, which takes two days to prepare, is made only twice a year for Ethiopian Christmas and Easter and given free to every guest. The site notes Michelin Guide recognition in 2021, 2022 and 2023, a Washingtonian Top 100 listing, and a RAMW Casual Restaurant of the Year finalist nod.
Selam Gossa opened the restaurant in Washington DC in 2019 and named it after her mother, Tsehay. Raised in Harrargie, Ethiopia as the second eldest of fourteen children, Tsehay learned to cook before she could read, ground berbere by hand, tended a garden in Addis Ababa and made her spices from scratch. She ran a café, raised four children, and taught her daughters the techniques the kitchen still follows.