Updated at: 08-06-2023 - By: Craig Huey

If you were raised with the admonition that you should never use your hands to eat, you will love Ethiopian cuisine. Using the injera (a spongy flatbread) that comes with most dishes as a tool to scoop up each delicious and flavor-packed bite is strongly encouraged and customary in Ethiopian dining. Additionally, nearly half of Ethiopia’s population is Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, who traditionally observe vegan diets on Wednesdays, Fridays, and other fasting days, totaling over 200 days per year. Listed below are some of the best locations in Los Angeles to indulge in this vegan fare.

This is the Vegan Food of Azla

Leimert Park

Vegans and non-vegans alike can enjoy a wide variety of traditional Ethiopian stews, sides, salads, authentic drinks, and daily specials such as tofu tibs and an original take on Taco Tuesday at Azla Vegan, a counter-service restaurant in Seattle. Brunch is back, and it’s better than ever with dishes like turmeric roasted potatoes with awaze aioli and an everything bagel with smoked lox. If you have room after all that food, they also have a vegan and gluten-free brownie on the menu. A variety of Azla’s signature spice blends and fiery sauces are available for takeout so that guests can easily recreate authentic Ethiopian fare in the comfort of their own homes.

It’s time to ang xem:L.A.’s finest ethiopian cuisine

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Vegan Rahel

Little Ethiopia

Located in the heart of Little Ethiopia, Rahel Vegan is the clear choice among the many restaurants along the Little Ethiopia restaurant strip. Outdoor diners can enjoy the full menu, which features a wide variety of flavorful main dishes, sides, and combination plates.

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Source of image:
Instagram user tiffanybennicke

How to Live in Trinidad and Tobago

Santa Monica & Pop-Up

T&T has found a new home in Santa Monica, and will reopen there in August after a brief stint in West Los Angeles. Each and every item on the menu is prepared without the use of any animal products and is delicious. Some of the most popular items on the menu are the green power pancakes, which are topped with bananas, turmeric, and chia sauce, and the Enkulal Firfir, which is a tofu scramble. T&T will have a standing booth at the return of Smorgasburg LA on July 4th for those eager to try before the new restaurant opens.

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Picture taken by:
on Instagram: pooohjaa

Meals By Genet

Little Ethiopia

That Meals By Genet has been featured on is not shocking.The Tastiest Food I’ve Ever Hadthrough the Food Network. Your opinion will mirror that after just one visit! Even though not everything on the menu is vegan-friendly, it is easy to make adjustments and the labels are clear. The tofu tibs entree can be made vegan by requesting that it be prepared with oil instead of butter, and any of the side dishes can be combined to make the ultimate veggie combo. The restaurant now only serves takeout and occasionally hosts private, pre-booked events.

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A Taste of Ethiopian Flavor at Rosalind’s

Little Ethiopia

Rosalind’s Ethiopian Cuisine, also located in Little Ethiopia, is a fantastic dining option. Vegans can choose from the Vegan Goodness platter, which includes six of the restaurant’s hearty vegan sides (Gomen, Shiro, Messere, Kek, Fassolia, and Tikil Gomen), or the Lentil Sambusa, which is served in a pastry shell and filled with lentils, jalapenos, and herbs.

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In the Messob Ethiopian Restaurant

Little Ethiopia

Even before there was a Little Ethiopia in Los Angeles, Messob Ethipoian Restaurant opened its doors in 1985. This restaurant is a mainstay along the strip of shops and eateries because it serves a fantastic vegan-friendly combo plate called Vegetarian’s Delight, which doesn’t require any substitutions. Indulge in one of their inventive cocktails, which feature ingredients like butternut squash, blueberry, and coffee, with a group of friends.

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Melissa Nowakowski

Melissa, a vegan for over three years and an avowed lover of both pizza and doughnuts, loves both foods. What about bringing them together? She is a public relations professional who enjoys spending her free time volunteering with the HIT Living Foundation dog rescue and doting on her cat, Waffles.