A dinner platter from Little Ethiopia Restaurant and Bar in Tokyo. (Jonathan Baez/Stars and Stripes)
One benefit of living in the third most populated city in the world is the variety of food options available. Whatever you are craving, you can find it in Tokyo.
Little Ethiopia restaurant and bar is one of two Ethiopian restaurants in the city, and it does not disappoint. The small restaurant is right off the Arakawa River in the Katsushika ward.
The restaurant is on the bottom floor of an apartment building and feels like the inside of a jewelry box — small, boxy and covered in velvet.
For those unfamiliar with Ethiopian food, the traditional way to eat a meal in Ethiopia is with your hands. Diners do not use utensils but instead scoop food with their right hands, since the left hand is considered unclean. They also use injera, a spongy, tangy, fermented flatbread that would make anyone who is trypophobic run for the hills.
Injera is a traditional Ethiopian flatbread that is used to scoop food. (Jonathan Baez/Stars and Stripes)
The dishes come family-style on a large platter served over multiple pieces of injera that overlap the edges and can be used to scoop. All the dishes are inexpensive, but to have the best experience, it is best to order multiple items.
Order both meat and vegetable options. The contrast between the hearty, spiced meats and the earthy legumes is what makes the meal feel complete. Three dishes worth ordering are the beyayinetu, the doro and the tibes.
The beyayinetu is a colorful spread of different lentils and vegetables, each cooked separately with its own blend of spices.
The doro is slow-braised chicken steeped in a deep red sauce made with berbere, a smoky, earthy spice blend. Nestled in the sauce is a hard-boiled egg that absorbs all the surrounding flavor.
The tibs features stir-fried cubes of lamb and beef, charred at the edges and seasoned boldly with onions and spices.
The beyayinetu costs 1,300 yen, or about $8.28. The doro wat is 1,500 yen, or about $9.56, and the tibs is also 1,300 yen.
The Little Ethiopia Restaurant and Bar in Tokyo, Japan, May 7, 2026. (Jonathan Baez/Stars and Stripes)
The idea of eating with your hands may not appeal to someone hoping for a formal night out. However, in Ethiopia, the concept has deep meaning. The word gursha — meaning mouthful or bite — refers to the tradition of feeding another person directly by hand as a gesture of love, respect, hospitality and friendship.
What better way to grow closer to family, friends or a partner than by sharing a meal, hands and all — as long as they are clean.
Little Ethiopia
Location: 3 Chome-23-6 Higashiyotsugi, Katsushika City, Tokyo 124-0014
Directions: From the east exit of Yotsugi Station, the restaurant is a two-minute walk toward the river. Google plus code: PRJM+FX Katsushika City, Tokyo, Japan
Hours: Open 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, closed on Mondays
Prices: Entrees range from 1,200 to 1,500 yen; appetizers around 500 yen.
Dress: Casual
Information: Online: little-ethiopia.net
