Lalibela Ethiopian Restaurant

Up until Beteseb opened in Anaheim, Lalibela served the best Ethiopian food we could find anywhere in Southern California, and we were happy to drive up to Los Angeles’s Little Ethiopia just to experience it. Offering the sort of white tablecloth dining experience we neither expect nor need with Ethiopian meals – which are meant to be eaten with your hands using pieces of spongy injera bread as edible spoons – it elevates one of our very favorite cuisines to a level that might be worthy of a fancy date night.

To that point, Lalibela does more than most Ethiopian places to acquaint you with their beverage selection, which includes sweet Taj honey wine, other wines and beers, hot Ethiopian coffee, and teas. While none of these drinks is necessary to enjoy the food, we’ve rarely been pushed to try anything more than a coffee elsewhere; having a nice variety of options like these can make waiting for food a little easier.

On our visits, we’ve been offered (rather than needing to request) big mounds of fresh injera, which is necessary to eat the piles of spiced meats and stewed vegetables. While standard injera is included with each meal, Lalibela also serves fir-fir, a filling version of injera that’s pre-mixed with meat and sauce, so it can be enjoyed on its own.