Meskerem Ethiopian Restaurant
One of the oldest Ethiopian restaurants in Washington D.C., Meskerem has been feeding Adams Morgan since the neighbourhood first became a hub for the Ethiopian diaspora. Sharing a woven basket of injera loaded with misir wot, tibs and gomen is one of the most communal meals the city offers.
What to Order
The combination vegetarian platter is a masterclass in spice layering — lentils, split peas, collard greens and beet salad arranged like a painter's palette on a single round of spongy injera.
Meat-eaters should go straight for the doro wot, a slow-braised chicken leg in berbere sauce that has been the restaurant's signature dish for decades.
The Atmosphere
Meskerem occupies a warm, low-lit space on 18th Street with traditional Ethiopian basket tables (mesobs) and hand-woven textiles on the walls — it feels transported rather than decorated.
Service is unhurried and generous; the staff will happily walk first-timers through the etiquette of eating with their right hand and tearing injera communally.
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