Awash Restaurant

Easily one of the best Ethiopian restaurants in Los Angeles. As good as it gets.

Real authentic little gem hidden in a whole a wall. I’ve been a fan of this place for the past 6 years now. My only complaint is that the wait can be super long at times.

The reviews on this place ranging from 2 to 4 stars, have all got me more torn than a munchkin’s bloomerz.
Frankly I considered our experience at «Awash» yesterday to have been quite fair.
Located on Pico within LA’s «Little Ethiopia» or… wait, maybe it’s «Ethiopia Town» (I seriously don’t know), sit Awash Restaurant that’s honestly, so hidden within plain eye sight that it’s possible to circle the block repeatedly and still NOT locate it!!!
For those in search of sustenance here, this is one of those places that ya’ just have tuh’ KNOW ABOUT!
Walking in, you’re seemingly taken into another world as from the sidewalk’s trek inside, the ambiance abruptly metamorphoses.
* Picture Dorothy FINALLY making her way into Oz. This would be the bear equivalent.
Parking surrounds the place (both free and metered), seating is adequate, service is meager but the FOOOOOD!!! UghhhH! The food here will make ya’ wana’ smack the damn wizard!
My recommendation is going with the vegetarian plate. It’s larger than life and while I’ve got absolutely NO CLUE what I downed, I’m led to think that it consisted of:
[ — A small salad, potatoes/​yams, spinach/​kale, something bean reminiscent and something wasabi-​esque — all atop a pancake like bread item (I’m guessing) that when spread to full capacity, resembles Glenda’s (the good witch’s) gown — ]
To further it, each item is intended to be shared and consumed by hand, i.e.: prepare to get down and diRRRty.
Sometime’s you’ve gotta’ get ugly with your food, lol.
As for the food itself: Bestie’ ALWAYS goes with the «Awaze chicken tibs» and I elected upon the Zil Zil Tibs. Both were no more than $ 12 – 15.00 a piece (if that much) and arrived shortly after the completion of our veggie platter.
Take my word for it, THEY WERE AMAZE-​BALLZZZ! You can taste the grill from the chicken and the zil zil was nothing short of tender and packed with flavor! Unable to finish, I took my portion home and I’m looking even more forward to the leftovers than I did the actual meal!
Of course I limped back to the car with an absurdly full belly coupled by «the itis».
Sadly, that whole «heel click» while chanting there being, «No place like home», only works in the movie.
I fell asleep shortly after getting into my car — -

Very Good Ethiopian food! Kitfo and Zilzile Tibis. you can’t go wrong. Service maybe a little slow, tidiness can be worked on but food is still real good!

Great Veggie combo. It comes with variety of options, large portion and super flavorful. The service is pretty great and the people are very welcoming as well. I totally recommend this small family owned spot.

Simply, the best Ethiopian restaurant in Los Angeles. Very authentic food, I always get Vegetarian Combo with Spiced Tea. It is family own restaurant so it feels very welcoming. I highly recommend this place if you are looking for good authentic Ethiopian food in LA.

The food is awesome. I tried the Zelzil tips and the vegetarian platter. I shared it with my two God daughters. It was more than enough for us. Capped off my meal with a spice tea. I enjoyed myself. I’d definitely return.

A year ago our friends introduced us to Ethiopian food at Awash. vegetarian combo. We fell in love with Ethiopian food that night. So we tried every Ethiopian restaurant within 10 miles of LAX. Some were good, but for special occasions we return to Awash. Worth the drive.

3.5 Stars rounded up to 4.
I used to live in Washington, DC, and have eaten a lot of good Ethiopian food. I see some reviews saying the food here is better than Meals by Genet. It’s not. But it’s still excellent in its own right and a lot cheaper. I can see how someone looking for a certain kind of experience might prefer Awash.
I like the veggie combo and the awaze chicken tibs. Both dishes are hearty and flavorful with ample portions and fresh ingredients. I’m particularly impressed with the chicken, which is a stew of dark-​meat chicken chunks in a spicy berber sauce. The stew pairs perfectly with the simple but delicious salad of romaine lettuce that comes with every plate.
It’s an interesting contrast with Meals by Genet. Whereas Genet does more refined preparations, the food at Awash is like what someone might serve you in their home for dinner. A good example is the horseradish stew, which comes with the veggie combo at both places. At Awash, the legume is unidentifiable and the taste one-​dimensional. At Genet, however, you can actually tell they’re lentils, which enhances the taste and texture.
Personally, I still prefer Meals by Genet, particularly if we’re talking about the vegetarian combination. While the portions are smaller and the price higher, the flavors are more complex and satisfying. However, I find myself going back to Awash regularly for more of that delicious awaze chicken tibs and salad. There’s something about the hearty, flavorful fare that’s undeniably delicious.
My one big complaint with Awash is the inconsistent hours. Always, always, always call before heading over, especially for lunch. They claim to open at noon but will sometimes be closed. Even when they’re open, it can take the kitchen up to an hour to be ready to serve food. That’s really annoying and keeps Awash from getting a full four stars.

In short: definitely a restaurant worth seeking out.
People may cite Meals by Genet as the ‘best’ Ethiopian place in town (per a certain famous food blogger), but having tried both, I would give the award to Awash hands down. Truly the best Ethiopian place I’ve been to.
The food was stellar: for two people, get the vegetable platter (whose portions are much larger than at Genet) and one meat. You will be satisfied, with great leftovers.
Was no wait/​no need for a reservation on a Friday night: definitely a plus since Genet’s can be incredibly packed on any given day.
Check it out. One of the best I’ve been to in LA.

Delicious Ethiopian food! A Unilocaler introduced me and I’m hooked. I even got my family members to come and visit and they were surprised on how delicious everything is! Our go to picks are the veggie plate, trout and the raw meat with clarified butter. Come with a group as if a lot of food!

Best Ethiopian food! The fish and veggie combo is super delicious every single time!!! Consistently delicious and their Tibbs are tasty too. Highly recommend!

I am so torn about my review on this place. Let me tell you why: AMAZING food but the RUDEST customer service I have experienced.
Food: Beyond AMAZING! My favorites are the Zil Zil, Chicken Tibbs, and the Veggie Combo! Always my go to! I can eat this all the time and not get sick of it at all ! That’s how good it is!
Customer Service: When dining in the service is ok — takes a while to get your food, be prepared to wait a while. When ordering for pick-​up, don’t even bother. They make up BS excuses like «we’re closed» when it was way before closing time. WOW! Just ridiculous.

Reasons: 1 ½ hours to get the food there was no explanation as to WHY the service is painfully slow. After an hour, we asked if there was a problem and were told the «LINE» (meaning the cooks line in the kitchen was backed up.) it would have been nice if the server had told us when we ordered. I had to run out to the meter 3 times.
The food was good but not exceptional. I had the fish was was GOOD but not special. The vegetable plate was generous with various types of lentils, carrots and greens — it was fresh. But an hour and a half to get fed is insane. I arrived at 1:30 pm and left at 3pm.
My friend ordered Kitpho which is basically spicy Steak Tatar. She said it was mushy beef of uneven pieces instead of being carefully chopped by hand. I saw a Cusinart in the kitchen which appeared to be how the steak was being made.
The restaurant itself was packed. I saw groups waiting outside for tables. I got the impression that this is a popular place for Ethiopian families to congregate. Several of the tables had people who’d been there eating for hours. This is not my favorite place in Little Ethiopia by far.

The prices are good, the food is pretty decent (except the zilzil tibs were very rubbery), but the service is just absolutely atrocious. How does it take TWO HOURS to bring out zilzil and chicken tibs and mesir wot for just two people!!! An hour and ten minutes just to get tea??? No water!!! I understand this is a family-​run place; there were only three people working when we visited. But if you are going to seat a full dining room crammed with people, with 10 tables, then you need to be staffed to actually serve those tables!
This was our first and last visit to Awash. We had to move the car two times before our food had even arrived because of the one hour meters on the street.

Excellent food, we drive 1hr from OC just to eat here. Also, must try the spiced tea!

Def my fav Ethiopian Restaurant in LA hands down and I am a very picky eater specially when it comes to Ethiopian food because I am an Ethiopian who comes form a family of amazig cooks.
The Veggie Combo is by far the best dish I’ve tried so far!
Only reason I’m not giving them a 5 star is because I don’t like is that they used to not take Cards but had an ATM machine if you need to use it, i think that it’s very inconvinient specially if you have to pay fees to withdraw money.
Not exactly sure if they accept it now, but that’s pretty much my only issue with the place.

The Veggie Platter was good. Some of the beef nibs were good. I came here for the beef ribs, and I was highly disappointed. I expected the meat to fall of the bone and it did not. The meat was tough and not tender. The service was not that great either.

This Ethiopian restaurant sure doesn’t look like much on the outside. In fact, we thought it might not be open when a group of us showed up for lunch. But we knocked and a woman came to open the door. It’s a very casual restaurant so think about calling ahead to double-​check they’re open.
I haven’t had Ethiopian food in a few years, so I was super-​happy someone suggested this place. And of course I was looking forward to eating with my hands … my preferred method. Plenty of injera was set out on the table for you to tear off pieces and grab bitefuls of food.
My friend suggested I try the ZILZIL TIBBS (#8), chunks of beef seasoned with garlic, black pepper and purified butter, seared over a hot charcoal grill, and then brought out on a sizzling iron plate. It came with a small green salad of lettuce and tomatoes. The beef was so tender and flavorful. I sampled my friend’s VEGETARIAN COMBO, which is one pretty platter. Reminds me of an art palette. Everything I tried on it was good. If there are two of you, getting these two dishes is an excellent way to go.

My only experience with ethiopian have been vegetarian places but it was positive, so when a friend mentioned going to ethiopian I was in. My friend picked this place because she always sees a bunch of ethiopian cab drivers here when she passes by.
We decided to order to vegetarian combo and an order of the awaze tibbs to share. Everything was SO GOOD. My favorites were the creamy lentils that kind of tasted like there was a little horseradish in it. The awaze tibbs were delicious as well. The sauce that came with it was the best. It ended up being too much food and there was enough to feed another person.
The service is a little lackluster here. We had to go up to the bar for more water and injera and ended up waiting half an hour for our check. It didn’t end up being that big of a deal other than when I ate a piece of something super spicy and didn’t have any water to drink.
I’m still thinking about those awaze tibbs days after I went so I know I’m going to be a regular!