A long-cooked chicken stew bronzed with berbere and niter kibbeh, served on a round of injera flatbread alongside a hard-boiled egg, the centrepiece of DC's Ethiopian feasts.
Washington DC has the largest Ethiopian population outside Addis Ababa, settled along Ninth Street NW in Shaw (Little Ethiopia) and Adams Morgan from the 1980s onward. The community arrived after the 1974 revolution and grew through the 1990s; the unofficial neighbourhood designation came in 2005 after a coalition of business owners petitioned the city. Doro wat, the long-cooked chicken stew bronzed with berbere chili paste and niter kibbeh spiced butter, is the national dish of Ethiopia and the menu centrepiece in DC's Ethiopian rooms. It is traditionally eaten with the right hand from a shared round of injera flatbread, with a hard-boiled egg in the middle and additional vegetable stews (gomen, misir, atakilt) ringing the platter. Etete on 9th Street has run the canonical version since 2004; Dukem opened nearby in 1997 and is the older institution.
2 editor picks for Doro wat with injera in Washington DC, ranked by editorial score. All Washington DC signature dishes · Doro wat with injera across every city.
Etete ★ 4.6
shaw · 1942 9th St NW, Washington, DC 20001
Etete in Washington DC is the canonical Little Ethiopia dining room on 9th Street since 2004, with doro wat, vegetarian combos and the spongy injera served on a shared round platter.
Dukem Ethiopian Restaurant ★ 4.4
shaw · 1114 U St NW, Washington, DC 20009
Dukem Ethiopian Restaurant in Washington DC is the U Street Ethiopian dining room since 1997, the older sister to Etete and a U Street institution with sidewalk seating and live music.