Where to Eat Ethiopian and Eritrean Food in Liverpool (2026)
Liverpool has a genuine cluster of Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurants, most of them around Kensington, from Desta on Smithdown Road with its in-house coffee ceremony to Geez, MOSOB, XO, Salina and the newer Sara Ethiopian Kitchen. Here is where to eat, what to order, and how injera, berbere and the coffee ceremony work.
African Stores Editorial Team
The short answer
Liverpool has a real Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurant scene, and most of it sits in and around Kensington. Desta on Smithdown Road is the standout, known for its food and its traditional coffee ceremony, while Geez on Kensington is the most reviewed of the cluster, with MOSOB, XO, Salina and the newer Sara Ethiopian Kitchen filling out the map. Expect injera, the sour flatbread you eat with, rich meat stews and plenty of vegan fasting dishes. You can find more African and Caribbean restaurants near you on African Stores.
What to remember
- Kensington is the heart of Liverpool's Ethiopian and Eritrean scene, with more places a short way out on Smithdown Road, Prescot Road and Rocky Lane in Anfield.
- Desta on Smithdown Road is the highest rated of the group and holds a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony with beans roasted in house.
- The food is built around injera, a sour flatbread made from teff, which you tear and use to scoop up stews spiced with berbere.
- There is a huge amount here for vegans and anyone eating light, because the fasting dishes of the Orthodox tradition are naturally plant based.
- To find Ethiopian, Eritrean and other African and Caribbean restaurants near you across Liverpool and Merseyside, African Stores lists them wherever you are.
Walk along Kensington on a cold Liverpool evening and you can catch the smell of berbere and roasting coffee drifting out of a doorway, and for the city's Ethiopian and Eritrean families that smell is home. Sharing a single wide platter, tearing off pieces of injera, reaching in together for the stew you like best: this is food made for company, and it carries the warmth of a whole way of eating with it.
Ethiopian and Eritrean cooking has one of the oldest and most distinctive food cultures on the continent, from the spongy sourness of the injera to the deep, layered heat of berbere and the slow ritual of the coffee ceremony. To find it done properly in Liverpool, cooked by people who grew up with it, is a small joy for anyone who misses that taste and a genuine treat for anyone meeting it for the first time.
That mix of comfort, generosity and real heritage is what makes a good Habesha meal so memorable. A shared plate, a pot of spiced coffee to finish, and an afternoon that stretches on longer than you planned: that is the taste of home this corner of Liverpool keeps alive.
Where Liverpools Ethiopian and Eritrean Restaurants Are
Liverpool's Ethiopian and Eritrean places sit in a loose cluster with Kensington at its centre. Kensington itself holds two of the best known, Geez and MOSOB, within a short walk of each other, and the scene spreads out from there: down to Smithdown Road for Desta, across to Prescot Road in Fairfield for Salina, up to Rocky Lane in Anfield for XO, and along Deane Road for the newer Sara Ethiopian Kitchen. It makes for an easy area to explore if you want to try more than one, and it reflects how the city's Habesha community, the shared name for people of Ethiopian and Eritrean heritage, has settled and built its life here.
Ethiopian and Eritrean food is close kin, and most of these kitchens cook both. The two cuisines share the injera, the berbere spice, the stews and the coffee ceremony, with small differences of name and emphasis, which is why you will often see a single restaurant described as serving Ethiopian and Eritrean food side by side.
The Restaurants One by One
Here are the places that make up the cluster, with what each is known for and where to find them.
Desta Restaurant is the standout. An Ethiopian restaurant on Smithdown Road, it holds an excellent 4.9 on Google from 109 reviews. Diners come for the food and stay for the traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony, with beans roasted in house, and there are strong vegan options too. You will find it at 186 Smithdown Road, Liverpool L15 3JT.
Geez Ethiopian and Eritrean Cuisine is the most reviewed of the group, with a 4.6 on Google from 152 reviews. It does dine in and takeaway and is vegan friendly, which makes it an easy first stop in the heart of Kensington. You will find it at 296 to 298 Kensington, Liverpool L7 2RN.
MOSOB Cafe Traditional Eritrean and Ethiopian Food is another Kensington spot, rated 4.6 on Google from 45 reviews. It is a dine in cafe and vegan friendly, serving the traditional dishes its name promises. You will find it at 227 Kensington, Liverpool L7 2RF.
XO Cafe Eritrean and Ethiopian Restaurant sits a little further out in Anfield, a dine in restaurant rated 4.6 on Google from 14 reviews. You will find it at 89 Rocky Lane, Anfield, Liverpool L6 4BB.
Salina Cafe is on Prescot Road in Fairfield, a dine in cafe rated 4.5 on Google from 19 reviews. You will find it at 70 Prescot Road, Fairfield, Liverpool L7 0JA.
Sara Ethiopian Kitchen is a newer Ethiopian kitchen on Deane Road, worth knowing as the scene grows. It does not have a Google rating yet, so it is one to try and tell others about. You will find it at 42 Deane Road, Liverpool L7 0ET.
What to Eat Injera Berbere and the Stews
The centre of every Ethiopian and Eritrean meal is injera, a large, soft, slightly sour flatbread made from teff, a tiny ancient grain. The batter is left to ferment, which gives injera its tang and its distinctive spongy, bubbled surface, and it is served as both plate and cutlery: the stews are spooned on top, and you tear off pieces to scoop them up with your right hand. If it is new to you, that gentle sourness against the rich, spiced stews is exactly the point.
The other cornerstone is berbere, the deep red spice blend that gives so many dishes their colour and warmth. It brings together chilli, garlic, ginger and a run of warm aromatics, and it is the backbone of the meat stews, known as wot in the Ethiopian tradition and tsebhi in the Eritrean one. The most famous is doro wat, a slow, rich chicken stew, and you can read more about it in our guide to doro wat. Beef and lamb versions are common too, and for something different there is kitfo, a dish of minced beef seasoned with spiced butter and chilli, which we cover in our guide to kitfo. To see the whole cuisine at a glance, our overview of Ethiopian food is a good place to start.
The Vegan and Fasting Dishes
One of the best things about eating Ethiopian and Eritrean food is how well it suits vegans and anyone eating light, and that is no accident. The Orthodox Christian tradition keeps many fasting days through the year when no animal products are eaten, so cooks developed a rich repertoire of plant based dishes that stand entirely on their own. On a fasting platter you will find lentil stews, split pea purees, spiced greens, cabbage and potato, and beetroot, all served together on the injera.
A dish worth looking for is shiro, a smooth, comforting stew of ground chickpeas or broad beans simmered with berbere and aromatics. It is a staple of the fasting table and a favourite of many regulars whether they are fasting or not. Several of the Liverpool kitchens, Desta, Geez and MOSOB among them, are noted as vegan friendly, so a plant based platter is easy to come by.
The Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony
No account of this food is complete without the coffee ceremony, and it is one of the reasons Desta in particular is so well loved. Coffee is native to Ethiopia, and the ceremony is a slow, hospitable ritual: green beans are washed and roasted over heat until they darken and release their aroma, then ground and brewed in a clay pot called a jebena, and poured out in small cups, often over several rounds. It is an unhurried way to end a meal and a real expression of welcome, so it is well worth staying for if the kitchen offers it.
How We Put This Together
We hold data on the African and Caribbean businesses across Merseyside and pulled out the Ethiopian and Eritrean kitchens in and around Liverpool, keeping only places that are genuinely trading and reading the reviews so the strengths we mention are the ones people actually value. Ratings quoted here are as at our August 2026 verification, and they are given exactly as they appear on Google. Ratings move and small kitchens change their hours, so it is always worth a quick call before you travel.
Where to Find Ethiopian and Eritrean Food Near You
Kensington is the place to start, with Geez and MOSOB a short walk apart, and Desta down on Smithdown Road within easy reach. From there the scene reaches out to Fairfield, Anfield and Deane Road, so an evening of Ethiopian and Eritrean food is an easy plan to make. To find these and more African and Caribbean restaurants near you across Liverpool and the rest of Merseyside, African Stores lists them wherever you are.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I eat Ethiopian food in Liverpool?
Most of Liverpool's Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurants are in and around Kensington. Desta on Smithdown Road is the highest rated, and Geez and MOSOB are both on Kensington itself, with XO in Anfield, Salina on Prescot Road in Fairfield, and the newer Sara Ethiopian Kitchen on Deane Road. Between them you can eat injera, spiced meat stews and a wide range of vegan dishes.
What is injera and how do you eat it?
Injera is a large, soft, slightly sour flatbread made from teff, an ancient grain, and left to ferment so it develops its tang and its spongy, bubbled surface. It works as both plate and cutlery: the stews are served on top, and you tear off pieces with your right hand to scoop them up. That gentle sourness against the rich, spiced stews is a big part of what makes the meal.
Is Ethiopian and Eritrean food good for vegans?
Yes, it is one of the best cuisines for vegans. The Orthodox tradition keeps many fasting days when no animal products are eaten, so there is a rich range of plant based dishes such as lentil stews, split pea purees, spiced greens and shiro, a chickpea stew. Several Liverpool kitchens, including Desta, Geez and MOSOB, are noted as vegan friendly.
What is the Ethiopian coffee ceremony?
It is a slow, hospitable ritual in which green coffee beans are washed and roasted over heat, then ground and brewed in a clay pot called a jebena and poured out in small cups over several rounds. Coffee is native to Ethiopia, and the ceremony is a real expression of welcome. Desta on Smithdown Road holds a traditional ceremony with beans roasted in house.
How can I find Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurants near me?
African Stores lists Ethiopian, Eritrean and other African and Caribbean restaurants across Liverpool and the rest of Merseyside, so you can find the ones nearest you wherever you are.
