Merkato Ethiopian Restaurant & Market, Los Angeles

Merkato Ethiopian Restaurant & Market offers both a market that sells Ethiopian spices, groceries and souvenirs, and a traditional Ethiopian style restaurant. The restaurant is decorated with Ethiopian artwork, such as masks, paintings and colorful parasols that hang from the ceiling. The menu offers both vegetarian and meat dishes with generous and inexpensive portions, including various types of stews, grilled or fried items and served with injera, Ethiopian bread made from tef, a buckwheat type grain. Like many traditional Ethiopian restaurants, Merkato doesn’t provide silverware; instead, injera is used to scoop the food. Street parking is available, but be aware of permit parking restrictions.