Ethiopian cuisine has firmly established its presence in the United States over the past few decades. Known for its flavorful wot (stews) served atop injera – a tangy, spongy flatbread made from the grain teff that doubles as both plate and utensil – Ethiopian dining offers a unique communal experience. Diners traditionally share a large platter, tearing off pieces of injera to scoop up bites of richly spiced meats, lentils, and vegetables. The first Ethiopian restaurant in the U.S. opened in 1966 in Long Beach, California, marking the beginning of Americans’ introduction to this ancient cuisine. Since then, Ethiopian restaurants have spread to numerous cities across the country, becoming beloved establishments in many urban dining scenes.
Growth of Ethiopian Restaurants
The growth of Ethiopian restaurants in America closely follows patterns of immigration and cultural exchange. Significant Ethiopian immigration began in the 1970s, especially after political upheavals in Ethiopia, leading to growing Ethiopian-American communities in cities like Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and New York. Washington, D.C. and its surrounding areas in Virginia and Maryland now host the largest Ethiopian community outside of Africa, and Ethiopian cuisine has been a fixture of the D.C. dining scene since the late 20th century. As these communities grew, enterprising restaurateurs opened eateries to serve familiar foods to the diaspora and introduce the cuisine to curious locals. What started as a handful of restaurants in the 1960s and 1970s has expanded dramatically: a few years ago there were roughly 350 Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurants nationwide, and recent counts indicate there are about 616 Ethiopian restaurants across the United States as of January 2025. This represents a remarkable rise in visibility, although Ethiopian cuisine still remains less ubiquitous than some other international cuisines (for context, those ~350 Ethiopian restaurants were fewer than the number of Chinese restaurants in New York City alone). The expansion continues steadily, with more cities each year getting their first Ethiopian restaurant as awareness of the cuisine spreads.
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