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A feast at Demera that’s made even better with a glass of honey wine
Demera/Facebook

Six Fantastic East African Eateries to Dig Into

Where to find the best sambusas, shaah, and wots

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A feast at Demera that’s made even better with a glass of honey wine
| Demera/Facebook

In addition to the abundance of Ethiopian and Eritrean eateries along St. Paul’s University and Snelling, the Twin Cities are home to a wealth of restaurants reflecting cuisines from other communities within the East African diaspora: milky, fragrant cups of shaah from Somalia, seared beef suqaar, tender, puffed flats of Yemeni mulawah. Here are six favorites across Minneapolis and St. Paul.

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The Red Sea

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At The Red Sea, tackle the extensive menu from the beginning: with a seemingness endless selection of made-to-share starters. Make sure to order a sampler of their rolls: thin rounds of sour injera wrapped around a variety of lentil- and bean-based stews.

A West Bank classic
The Red Sea/Facebook

Dilla's Ethiopian Restaurant

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Diners from across the Twin Cities flock to Dilla’s on Thursdays and Sundays for their lunch buffet: endless rolls of injera, massive platters of seasoned rice, and a rotating selection of stews, curries, and marinated grilled meats.

Try one of everything at the lunch buffet
Dilla’s Ethiopian Restaurant/Facebook

Ghebre's Restaurant

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Located just across the street from Fasika, this Eritrean restaurant is housed in an airy, open space with live musicians often playing throughout the evening. Order any of their alicha specialties, featuring meat and assorted vegetables simmered in a gingery, turmeric- and berebere-spiced sauce.

Sunshine colored lentils help combat the winter doldrums
Ghebre’s/Facebook

Fasika Restaurant

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A long-standing institution in St. Paul, Fasika offers a particularly broad range of options for vegan and vegetarian diners. The best way to sample the largest portion of their menu is by ordering from their combination platters: whether the “Vege Sampler” or the “Ultimate Combination,” each platter comes with over half a dozen dishes served on a large disk of fresh injera.

A wide, round injera is piled with curried lentils, braised goodies, rich sauces, bright greens, creamy sauce and more
Good luck choosing what to eat first
Fasika/Facebook

Demera Restaurant

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With a vibrant selection of unique cocktails, Demera is the perfect place to raise a glass alongside Ethiopian favorites: freshly fried sambusas served with spicy-sweet honey awaze sauce, a variety of wots (stews), and the house specialty ambasha, a yeasted, slightly sweet skillet-baked bread.

Don’t miss the gomen here
Demera/Facebook

Nawal Restaurant

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At this Burnsville outpost, order Somalian favorites like chicken suqaar or beef suqaar with rice: tiny cubes of chicken or beef crisped in seasoned oil with sauteed onions and green pepper, served over a choice of aromatic basmati rice or rolls of jabati: a flaky, tender flatbread.

Delicious Somali fare in the south metro
Nawal/Facebook

The Red Sea

At The Red Sea, tackle the extensive menu from the beginning: with a seemingness endless selection of made-to-share starters. Make sure to order a sampler of their rolls: thin rounds of sour injera wrapped around a variety of lentil- and bean-based stews.

A West Bank classic
The Red Sea/Facebook

Dilla's Ethiopian Restaurant

Diners from across the Twin Cities flock to Dilla’s on Thursdays and Sundays for their lunch buffet: endless rolls of injera, massive platters of seasoned rice, and a rotating selection of stews, curries, and marinated grilled meats.

Try one of everything at the lunch buffet
Dilla’s Ethiopian Restaurant/Facebook

Ghebre's Restaurant

Located just across the street from Fasika, this Eritrean restaurant is housed in an airy, open space with live musicians often playing throughout the evening. Order any of their alicha specialties, featuring meat and assorted vegetables simmered in a gingery, turmeric- and berebere-spiced sauce.

Sunshine colored lentils help combat the winter doldrums
Ghebre’s/Facebook

Fasika Restaurant

A long-standing institution in St. Paul, Fasika offers a particularly broad range of options for vegan and vegetarian diners. The best way to sample the largest portion of their menu is by ordering from their combination platters: whether the “Vege Sampler” or the “Ultimate Combination,” each platter comes with over half a dozen dishes served on a large disk of fresh injera.

A wide, round injera is piled with curried lentils, braised goodies, rich sauces, bright greens, creamy sauce and more
Good luck choosing what to eat first
Fasika/Facebook

Demera Restaurant

With a vibrant selection of unique cocktails, Demera is the perfect place to raise a glass alongside Ethiopian favorites: freshly fried sambusas served with spicy-sweet honey awaze sauce, a variety of wots (stews), and the house specialty ambasha, a yeasted, slightly sweet skillet-baked bread.

Don’t miss the gomen here
Demera/Facebook

Nawal Restaurant

At this Burnsville outpost, order Somalian favorites like chicken suqaar or beef suqaar with rice: tiny cubes of chicken or beef crisped in seasoned oil with sauteed onions and green pepper, served over a choice of aromatic basmati rice or rolls of jabati: a flaky, tender flatbread.

Delicious Somali fare in the south metro
Nawal/Facebook

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