LALIBELA

Hoppen Hierarchy: ★★★★

District: Midtown

Authentic Ethiopian Cuisine

Standout Dishes: Combination Platter; Doro Wot; Yebeg Tibs

Forget plates and utensils when you dine at Lalibela. You’re about to not only encounter some fantastic food, but you’ll experience a culture that doesn’t require table settings.

In fact, you’re going to end up eating the platter your food is served upon.

One of the culinary backbones of Ethiopian cuisine, which Lalibela specializes in, is a spongey, porous flatbread called injera.

Meals at Lalibela are served on injera, a spongey, porous flatbread that has a mild, slightly tangy flavor on its own. But its main role isn’t for taste; injera is an eating device. Meats, stews, and vegetables are served atop this giant flatbread, and diners rip off pieces and scoop up bites.

Rather than order individual appetizers and entrees, your family or group typically shares one enormous platter of uniquely spiced food. It’s a communal style of dining that not only brings people together and creates community, but also allows you to experience something unique in each handful.

Injera is more than food in this culture; it’s an essential part of the Ethiopian food landscape and takes days to make. The countless air holes along its surface dutifully soak up every last ounce of sauce and stew served atop it, injecting blasts of flavor into each bite.

Lalibela’s menu is rather small, consisting of 6-7 pan-fried dishes and stews. But maybe the best way to experience it is by ordering the manhole-sized combination platter, a massive piece of injera loaded with three meats, three preparations of lentils, greens, cabbage, and ayib, a mild Ethiopian cheese similar to ricotta.

Included on the combination platter are:

Doro Wot: a juicy chicken drumstick and soft-boiled egg are covered in a deeply savory, richly spicy red pepper stew tinged with berbere spice.
Derek Tibs: the pan-fried beef cubes are a bit dry, but they have a good sweetness after being cooked with peppers and onions.
Beef Tibs: these succulent bites of beef are served in a hearty stew-like sauce that brings a warming heat and savory flavor.
Lentils: each preparation of these stewed beans has its own unique flavor, ranging from the more peppery green to the sweeter red and yellow.

Lalibela has also become a favorite spot for vegans and vegetarians for its Vegetarian Platter, which includes everything on the Combination Platter without the meats and cheeses.

There are also dishes with one preparation of meat, the best of which is the Yebeg Tibs, a cohesive symphony of flavor. Tender lamb is served in a buttery stew that delivers sweet, savory, earthy, and spicy notes all at once, and the injera soaks up all the rich goodness of the thick sauce.

The cubes of beef in the Gored-Gored are cut larger than any of Lalabelia’s other offerings, and they become a bit tougher and more chewy. But the flavor is on par with the other dishes, as awaze (a paste of hot peppers, ginger, and other spices) adds a subtle heat that creeps up as you shovel more of the dish into your mouth.

The Ethiopian Spiced Tea is a welcome pairing with the meal. The hot tea will warm you from the inside out, soothing your tastebuds with a good deal of sweetness from cinnamon and nutmeg.

The portion sizes and prices seem very disproportionate. The plates and platters range between $20 and $30, and they feature enough food to feed a small army. Stuffed as you’ll soon find yourself, good luck stopping eating; the unique flavors bring your hands to the bread for bite after bite as if coerced by gravity.

But as great as the food at Lalibela is, the experience is what really defines eating here. You have no choice but to become closer with your fellow diners as you reach around one another to enjoy varied bites, and you’re forced to put your phone aside unless you want it covered in stew and sauce. Ethiopian cuisine is all about creating community, and bonds are forged and strengthened as you enjoy the food.

If you’re intimidated by trying something new, Lalibela guides you into this new experience. Its menu has a glossary that describes various terms, and the front of house staff is very knowledgeable and happy to explain the various dishes. There are also packets on each table that detail Ethiopian culture, spices, and the process of making injera, if you want to dive deeper.

The first time you pull up to Lalibela, housed in a former pizza restaurant off Cass St and Saddle Creek Road, you have no idea the adventure you’re about to encounter. Dining here isn’t just a meal; it’s an experience that takes you across the world.