“The tour was much more than just eating, it provided insight into local traditions, daily life, and the people.”
— Nicole, 2026
01 Food tours
Original food tours, curated with our local tastemakers to showcase the neighbourhood kitchens, markets and family-run eateries that define Addis Ababa.
Berbere Bites
Addis Ababa
Eat Addis Ababa at lunchtime — injera, doro wat and kitfo bright with berbere.
Addis Eats
Addis Ababa
Venture beyond the guidebooks into Addis Ababa's rich culinary traditions, flavours and neighbourhoods.
02 Meet the tastemakers
The local food experts who help us research, refine and lead every A Chef's Tour.
Injera sour and fermented, berbere spice loud on the tongue, doro wat slow simmered chicken stew, kitfo raw beef seasoned with mitmita. Ethiopian food is unlike anything else on the continent.
04 The pantry
- Berbere, red chilli and spice blend at the heart of Ethiopian cooking
- Injera, sour teff pancake used as both plate and utensil
- Niter kibbeh, spiced clarified butter with cardamom and fenugreek
- Mitmita, hotter dried-chilli mix for kitfo and awaze
- Awaze, thick berbere paste for dipping
05 In the kitchen
- Fermenting teff batter for days to sour injera
- Slow-simmering wat stews for hours until the onions collapse
- Roasting berbere spices before pounding into paste
- Serving kitfo raw or lightly warmed with mitmita and clarified butter
- Performing the bunna coffee ceremony from green bean to cup
06 Eat this first
- Doro wat, slow-simmered chicken stew rich with berbere and clarified butter
- Kitfo, raw minced beef seasoned with mitmita and warmed clarified butter
- Injera be wat, sour teff pancake spread with a wheel of stews
- Shiro, chickpea flour stew tempered with berbere
- Buna, coffee brewed in a jebena pot for the daily ceremony
What happens inside a hammam kitchen
A morning with the cooks who feed the neighbourhood before dawn. Charcoal, dough, the smell of a bakery working its second oven.
09 Recipes
A collection of authentic recipes we couldn't leave behind.
Roast pumpkin simmered slowly with pieces of dried spiced beef and berbere. Ethiopia's autumn-into-winter stew, richer than it looks.
Berbere blended with tej or red wine and a splash of oil into a fiery, glossy red paste. Ethiopia's essential condiment, on every table.
Roasted barley, chickpeas, peanuts and sunflower seeds tossed with a little salt. Ethiopia's coffee-ceremony snack, portable, endlessly refillable.
Collard greens braised slowly with onion, garlic, ginger and a spoon of niter kibbeh. The everyday Ethiopian side that shows up on every plate.
Whole milk fermented overnight into a thick, tangy Ethiopian yogurt. Served with kitfo, drizzled with honey, or spooned into fitfit dishes.
Spaghetti tossed with berbere-spiced tomato sauce, awaze and a spoon of niter kibbeh. Ethiopia's café pasta, born of the Italian occupation and made unmistakably Addis.
10 Field Notes
Quick field notes to help you get accustomed to Addis Ababa.
Weather
Sitting at 2,300 m, the city stays cool year-round — days rarely top 25°C, evenings can drop to 10°C. The heavy rains run June to September; the dry season (October–May) is ideal.
Currency
The Ethiopian birr (ETB); cash is essential outside upscale hotels and a few chain restaurants. Bring small denominations for taxis and coffee houses.
Language
Amharic is the national language, written in the beautiful Ge'ez script; English is widely spoken in tourism and business.
Etiquette
Eating is a communal act — food is shared from one plate (injera) and fed to guests as a gesture of welcome (gursha). Dress modestly and remove shoes before entering churches.
Getting around
Blue-and-white minibuses cover most routes cheaply but require Amharic; ride apps (Ride, Feres, Zayride) are the easy option for visitors. The light rail is limited but useful across the centre.
Prayer
Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity shapes the week — Sundays and fasting periods (many during the year) noticeably slow the city. Muslim, Jewish, and Rastafarian communities all have long roots here.