There is so much to say about this wonderful food I make the drive with my family regardless of distance I am a regular customer with many friends at the Mercato excellent quality as well as prices the owner and the staff are remarkable at this point it’s not about the great service and great food and the great beverages realistically it’s about the people that are working there together. They will talk to you about anything answer questions you always get a hello welcome thanks for coming and will see you soon or in my case nice to see you and your family again it is a pleasure being there. thank you for the many years of authentic Ethiopian food. There is no comparison to the other restaurants they’re OK but if you want the real thing, the Merkato is the place to go! Thank you. See you soon loyal customer.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Frosty S.
The best Ethiopian food in LA hands down! Also the customer service is the best there is you will feel like you're eating at your closest relatives restaurant!! It's so beautiful in there the ambiance is top tier! It's like you are in Ethiopia enjoying there greatest dishes
JP Shelton
I agree with previous reviews that a lot of the menu options seem very similar - some sort of beef tibs with a varying vegetables / flavors.I ordered the zil zil tibs to go and we enjoyed it at home. Nice long pieces of beef
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
olivia m.
Had a lovely meal! My eyes are always bigger than my stomach though! We had several items on one large plate and everything was good! Will definitely be doing it again!
Michael Ketema
Great service and very good
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sirena Bazile
Delicious food, great service, and absolutely loved the atmosphere!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Joseph W.
Merkato was great! Good Ethiopian food in a beautiful setting of a restaurant. Ordered Awaze tibs and the veggie platter and it was very good! Service was good, will be back!!
Viewy M.
The last four times I have ordered a veggie combination from them, the ingredients are rancid. Usually it's the cabbage or the collard greens or the split peas. It just depends what's rancid that day. So freaking disgusting. I let them know and they don't care
Cece A.
By far one of my favorite places to go. The vegetarian plate is delicious and I am completely hooked on their injera. After you dine, you can check out the market in the other room that has a ton of delicious food items to purchase (including giant packs of the injera) and other goods. A MUST TRY!
Courtney L.
This was my first time at this restaurant, second time having Ethiopian food. My friend came to visit me from Ethiopia by way of DC and we came across this spot! The service was very good, the lady who waited on us was excellent and very accommodating! Definitely enjoyed her service! The food was good...well Yedora Tibba was good but the Kirfo was okay. However, we asked that the Kirfo be heated up more and the waitress was very accommodating to help us with this and it tasted better then. The Yedora Tibbs was a bit spicy and I really liked that! The inside was normal setting and they have a market in it as well. A lot of seating and you can sit anywhere you please! I would return to get more food lol.
This place is a top notch!!!Keep up the good reputation Dave!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Portida T.
I really wanted to love it but it was just ok. Almost every other Ethiopian restaurant on Fairfax was closed today (Valentine's day around 11am) which was odd. Since Merkato was the only one open and my craving for Ethiopian food was strong, I went with it. The service is nice. They accept card/cash. They burn palo santo inside which is nice. I ordered kitfo and collard greens. The greens were good. The kitfo was pretty underseasoned. It wasn't salty, spicy, or had an aroma of spices. I wish they would've been more heavy handed with the black cardamom and other spices. Luckily I had some mitmita at home and that kinda helped. The store front itself, is nice. They have a bunch of bunches of sage, palo santo, incense in boxes. It's nice! Overall worth a stop for goodies and snacks but perhaps ask for more spices in the kitfo
Dom J.
Merkato FEELS welcoming and family owned. We were greeted warmly upon entrance and allowed to seat ourselves where we liked. Great and calm ambiance with beautiful cultural decor that added to the experience. Our waitress was very kind, answering our questions about things on the menu and I decided to try the sambusa with lentils and the trout. The portions were GENEROUS. Enough for leftovers (which I took home). The lentil Sambusa was crispy, flaky, and flavorful. Really delicious. The sides were good as well and the injera bread was standard. The STAR of the meal was the trout. It was crispy on the outside, supple and moist on the inside and SEASONED to perfection. This will likely be my go-to meal anytime I return to Merkata.
Alec Perelman
Of all the Ethiopian spots on the strip this is definitely my favorite. A bit of a culinary adventure for the uninitiated. Amazing food and such great value. Service isn't the greatest in the world, but that hardly matters here. P.S. try the Ethiopian beer.
There is so much to say about this wonderful food I make the drive with my family regardless of distance I am a regular customer with many friends at the Mercato excellent quality as well as prices the owner and the staff are remarkable at this point it’s not about the great service and great food and the great beverages realistically it’s about the people that are working there together. They will talk to you about anything answer questions you always get a hello welcome thanks for coming and will see you soon or in my case nice to see you and your family again it is a pleasure being there. thank you for the many years of authentic Ethiopian food. There is no comparison to the other restaurants they’re OK but if you want the real thing, the Merkato is the place to go! Thank you. See you soon loyal customer.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The best Ethiopian food in LA hands down! Also the customer service is the best there is you will feel like you're eating at your closest relatives restaurant!! It's so beautiful in there the ambiance is top tier! It's like you are in Ethiopia enjoying there greatest dishes
I agree with previous reviews that a lot of the menu options seem very similar - some sort of beef tibs with a varying vegetables / flavors.I ordered the zil zil tibs to go and we enjoyed it at home. Nice long pieces of beef
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Had a lovely meal! My eyes are always bigger than my stomach though! We had several items on one large plate and everything was good! Will definitely be doing it again!
Great service and very good
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Delicious food, great service, and absolutely loved the atmosphere!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Merkato was great! Good Ethiopian food in a beautiful setting of a restaurant. Ordered Awaze tibs and the veggie platter and it was very good! Service was good, will be back!!
The last four times I have ordered a veggie combination from them, the ingredients are rancid. Usually it's the cabbage or the collard greens or the split peas. It just depends what's rancid that day. So freaking disgusting. I let them know and they don't care
By far one of my favorite places to go. The vegetarian plate is delicious and I am completely hooked on their injera. After you dine, you can check out the market in the other room that has a ton of delicious food items to purchase (including giant packs of the injera) and other goods. A MUST TRY!
This was my first time at this restaurant, second time having Ethiopian food. My friend came to visit me from Ethiopia by way of DC and we came across this spot! The service was very good, the lady who waited on us was excellent and very accommodating! Definitely enjoyed her service! The food was good...well Yedora Tibba was good but the Kirfo was okay. However, we asked that the Kirfo be heated up more and the waitress was very accommodating to help us with this and it tasted better then. The Yedora Tibbs was a bit spicy and I really liked that! The inside was normal setting and they have a market in it as well. A lot of seating and you can sit anywhere you please! I would return to get more food lol.
Restaurantji Recommends
This place is a top notch!!!Keep up the good reputation Dave!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I really wanted to love it but it was just ok. Almost every other Ethiopian restaurant on Fairfax was closed today (Valentine's day around 11am) which was odd. Since Merkato was the only one open and my craving for Ethiopian food was strong, I went with it. The service is nice. They accept card/cash. They burn palo santo inside which is nice. I ordered kitfo and collard greens. The greens were good. The kitfo was pretty underseasoned. It wasn't salty, spicy, or had an aroma of spices. I wish they would've been more heavy handed with the black cardamom and other spices. Luckily I had some mitmita at home and that kinda helped. The store front itself, is nice. They have a bunch of bunches of sage, palo santo, incense in boxes. It's nice! Overall worth a stop for goodies and snacks but perhaps ask for more spices in the kitfo
Merkato FEELS welcoming and family owned. We were greeted warmly upon entrance and allowed to seat ourselves where we liked. Great and calm ambiance with beautiful cultural decor that added to the experience. Our waitress was very kind, answering our questions about things on the menu and I decided to try the sambusa with lentils and the trout. The portions were GENEROUS. Enough for leftovers (which I took home). The lentil Sambusa was crispy, flaky, and flavorful. Really delicious. The sides were good as well and the injera bread was standard. The STAR of the meal was the trout. It was crispy on the outside, supple and moist on the inside and SEASONED to perfection. This will likely be my go-to meal anytime I return to Merkata.
Of all the Ethiopian spots on the strip this is definitely my favorite. A bit of a culinary adventure for the uninitiated. Amazing food and such great value. Service isn't the greatest in the world, but that hardly matters here. P.S. try the Ethiopian beer.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Love it
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5