Awash Market

This place was great! It was very chill and low key and I felt relaxed. We got the veggie combo and the meat combo and everything was really good. It wasn’t as much of a flavor explosion as some of the other Ethiopian restaurants that I’ve eaten at in the Bay Area but I definitely will be back to eat here again. It was only like $ 22 for two combos, not including drinks and it was a generous amount of food. I recommend it.

If I can put zero stars I would. We always make our own injera, but we decided to go buy it this one time. Nd we made a horrible choice. My mother and I found two flies made in with the injera. Just gross

This market has Shiro and Berbere spices that I needed. Our dishes came out amazing!
First time cooking Ethiopian food.
I will be back again.

Well I called a few times to ask if they have lamb. Got hung up on. It’s a shame, because we buy lamb regularly and this is conveniently locked for us, but why would you shop where no one speaks English enough to even know what lamb is, so they hang up on you? Learn English.

Easy to miss as the front looks like a quik-​stop grocery mart, but the restaurant in the back has amazing food. The locals eat there too, making this a great cultural immersion experience. I recommend the meat or veggie sampler plate, and the Meta beer is tasty.

I love Ethiopian food but I’m never going back here again. I ordered the «shorba» which is like curry but with macaroni, carrot, and your choice of meat (lamb or beef). It costs $ 8.99. I ordered lamb and I ordered it to go. The cook said «it will take long to prepare, about 45 minutes.» I replied «it’s alright, I’ll head to the thrift store across the street to kill time.»
45 minutes Iater, I returned and the cook handed me my order. It was just shorba and rice. I was surprised by the rice, I’ve never eaten rice here or at an Ethiopian restaurant before. I’ve eaten take out here many times and I was wondering where the injera was. The menu even stated that it includes injera. I told the cook to please give me injera and she agreed. She just put the injera in a plastic bag, no take out box whatsoever. I was mad that they messed up my order but I needed my Ethiopian food fix. There was no extra «wot» or anything like that, which is something you’ll always find in an Ethiopian restaurant and they always gave me wot here. They just gave me shorba and white rice
What really made me more upset was that the cashier was trying to rip me off. He asked me to pay $ 15 due to the rice. I said that I don’t want the rice then. He said «never mind, you can keep the rice.» So I paid $ 8.99 plus tax which is what the menu stated
The fact that they messed up my order and tried to rip me off made me so mad that this Ethiopian market and restaurant is now my least favorite in all of San Diego. If I could give it a zero I would but 1 star is just too nice

I love Ethiopian food so I decided to check this place out. I went into the market and was greeted immediately and they asked if I was looking for something specifically. He toik me to the cart right where the injera was held and I grabbed a pack. 5 large pieces for 3 $. He told me there was a restaurant in the back, so I decided to look there too and order something. I got the #9 which is the special: beef cubes with onions, jalepenos, and seasoning served with injera. I ordered it to go and it took roughly 30 minutes which was really long. Since it was my first time at this place, I was nice because I’ll probably be back and most likely they would remember me. The food was really good, but I am still wondering where I can get a plate with the meat being saucey instead of just dry beef cubes. So I’ll be back to look at the menu.

Just from waking past this place, you’d think it would just be another market/​liquor store! They do cater to many Ethiopian/​Eritrean restaurants in town (injera is made in house) but there is a restaurant in the very back!
Portions here are massive! I’m talking about loads of meat, meat and meat! You’ll be good just sharing one dish with a friend because you’ll be stuffed and super bloated from the overdose of injera that is expanding in that belly of yours.
I’ve tried many joints all around town and each one of them is good but this by far is the best bang for you buck because of the portions. Their meat is well marinated and full of flavor that’ll make your taste buds happy. Trust me, the moment it hits your tongue, your mouth will immediately water up.
If this is your first time (I’m sure it won’t be your last either), go for either their meat combo or veggie combo (if you’re a vegan/​vegetarian). You’ll get a taste of all their popular flavors. Share if you’re not a big eater because this will make you stuffed beyond contentment.
Please be open-​minded and try out new ethnic food if you’re one that sticks with the familiar. SD is a melting pot of cultures, especially on El Cajon Blvd. You won’t be disappointed!

This was definitely out of my culinary zone, but it was exhilarating to venture into the unknown especially into Awash. As an annual event, my bestie host a thanksgiving pizza making party and every year we change up the challenge. This year everyone got assigned a specific country/​foreign city and I got Djibouti.
Of course I did some crazy research and learned about the cuisine, spices, techniques of making Djibouti food. Trying to Unilocal «Djibouti grocery» was not giving me results, but African grocery did and this is how I discovered Awash market. I’m not saying they specialize in Djibouti cuisine and it may be my own ignorance to assume they are similar… but I wanna win this pizza challenge.
Oh my gawd, if I only knew what to do with all the spices! I walked into this little shops and the air filled with this heavenly spicy richness that didn’t burn my nose. I noticed the ijenri (I completely spelled that wrong. My bad) but after the warm fully bread, I was a lost dog In a squeaky toy shop. Hidden in the wayyyyy back of the store is a tiny café where they cook and serve food… and I got two entrees and they give ALOT of food! And good food. Simple yet flavorful and not too spicy. A good kick.
Yes in a way you can say I’m ch-​eating but it never said in the rules everything had to be made by scratch. Shoot…

Amazing food, every time ! I am impressed every time that I go to Awash… both the food and the service are amazing. The tea is fantastic, the Kitfo is a great choice and the vegetarian platter is both colorful and delicious.

Wow, this place blew me away.
It was awesome. Everything about this place is authentic. Our waiter was the most friendly and awesome guy I’ve ever met. He took so much time with us helping us out with what we should order. We ordered the vegetarian plate, and it was great. It came with different lentils and collard green and injera which you use to pick up the different lentils.
When we were done eating, we talked for an hour or two, and there was no rush whatsoever.
I literally have nothing more to say… this place is just awesome.

I have a special place in my heart for Ethiopia and this store definitely helps me get my Habesha fix. There is a plentiful selection of authentic Ethiopian products. I drive all the way here from Oceanside just to stock up on their fresh roasted coffee, berbere, and injera. The owner is always very friendly and chatty and he even gave me some suggested ideas on how to prepare a shiro recipe.
There is a little restaurant hidden in the back and the food is always delicious, quickly prepared, and cheap. I will continue to support this store as long as they are around!

We love Awash Market. Great food, very authentic. Great, friendly service. We eat at the restaurant once a month and always have a great meal. The staff always has time to chat up my kiddos.

The guy that works at the counter is very kind and attentive. I’ve been here twice. First time to get some berbere which was a bit of a struggle since we didn’t properly pronounce the name haha he kept trying to give us BEER.
Attention the gluten sensitive!!! I pre-​ordered 5 injera breads for $ 5 made with ONLY teff grains and he took the order no problem! He told me that you just have to let them know 2 – 3 hours in advance. I asked the Red Sea restaurant (an Ethiopian restaurant) how far in advance and they told me one day before.
I will picking it up tonight and I’m sure it’ll be just as good. He told me that they put wheat into their injera mixture to help it rise easier since using pure teff is not only expensive but I guess more difficult.

Bought ½ lb of Berbere spice for $ 5. It came in an unmarked vacuum sealed plastic bag. I look forward to trying the restaurant.

friendly but pricey. i am fixin’ up a yummy ethiopian feast and needed a few essential ingredients: berbere, teff flour, and fenugreek. nothing was really labeled so the guy working was sweet and helped me.
the had giant bags of berbere. even the littlest could have seasoned a years worth of meals for an army. berbere is a mix of different spices which can result in different tasting berbere. there’s is super duper spicey! which for some of us is great but does not offer any variation for heat in your cooking a.k.a not everyone likes their tongue melting off after a meal.
the teff flour was 10 bones for a medium sized bag. yikes!
would have given 3 stars because the customer service was super helpful but the price just left me dry and my wallet empty.

Hours are great, and so is the service. Very friendly and helpful. I got pretty much everything that I needed (teff, berbere, niter kibbeh, cardamom, fenugreek, etc.) and, if my cooking works out, will be back.

I felt like I was in Ethiopia! Such nice, kind people and great food!
Wish there was one in Solana Beach!

This place gets more than 3 stars. Any place where you can buy injera to go is worth having in the neighborhood. And I guess it depends how you define «pre-​made» if you want to call their injera «pre-​made». They’re usually making it in the back room while you shop and, if you’re subtle about it, you can walk back there and watch. So, while the injera is packaged to take home, it’s not like it just sitting around for hours. In the very least, it’s a lot less «pre-​made» than most of the other stuff you eat all day.
The selection of Ethiopian wine and tej (honey wine) is also quite good.
And if you need a calling card to call anywhere in Africa or the Middle East, these is one of the best bets around.
So, a solid vote of approval for Awash Market!

This place isn’t exactly taking business away from Vons. But you should go and buy pre-​made injera (Ethiopian bread) and berbere powder (Ethiopian spice). YUM!