Meaza Ethiopian Cuisine - Falls Church, VA (Revisited)

5700 Columbia Pike
Falls Church, VA
(703) 820-2870

If there is a go-to Ethiopian restaurant for us, undoubtedly it's Meaza. We first reviewed it back in 2011, but since then we've been there so many times that we are updating our review. We said in our last blog that we had "one terrific meal" at Meaza, but in reality we've had several dozen terrific meals there.  

According to the absolutely lovely and hospitable owner for whom Meaza is named, this is the largest Ethiopian restaurant outside Ethiopia. Two large dining halls (one usually reserved for private banquets or evenings with a need for extra need for dining space) are filled with cheerful diners during typical meal times.  There are the "regulars," both Ethiopians and non-Ethiopians, as well as a rather consistent stream of "newbies" to Ethiopian cuisine.  Dress style of clinetelle ranges from the typical "ethnic dive attire" to beautiful colorful dresses.  We particularly enjoy watching the newbies' reactions when the large plate arrives to be filled by the waitress spooning out entrees of freshly made sizzling meats and delicious veggies from kettles, to be shared by everyone at the table.  The only utensils at the table are one's own clean bare fingers, using the injera bread to scoop up the delicious food.  

We go well-done on the meats, which is probably not authentic, but is more suitable to our palates than the traditional raw Kitfo (ground beef or lamb). We order our Kitfo well-done, or, on most occasions we go for one of the beef Tibs choices, usually it's the house specialty Meaza Tibs.  Because the Meaza tibs are not very spicy, we usually request that our Kitfo to be made on the spicier side, to complement one another, since one of us likes spicy food and the other one does not.  Kitfo is served with a wonderful side of white slightly salted grated cheese, which gives the meal a great flavor and a great texture.  While the meats are offered with one side order of veggies, we usually add the Vegetarian Sampler to our order to have a larger selection (and also plenty leftovers to take home!).  This gave us a wonderful array of choices like several types of lentils, cole slaw, potatoes, carrots, spinach and other small samples to make each bite different and delicious. A great choice also, if you're up for it, is the veggie sampler with the option to include a whole Fried Fish!  The fish comes out on the tray with its head intact (you may want to ask that the head be removed in the kitchen), but it's one flaky, tender and delicious option that you can choose, although it makes the meal a bit more filling. 

A perfect addition of several glasses of red wine and cold Perrier and we were good to go. Wonderful service by Genet made our meal extra special! But all the wait staff are wonderful. 

We say "amasat ganalo" (thank you very much) every time we finish our meal because it's truly a gastronomical feast.   

It's no wonder that Meaza is a winner of numerous awards, including "Best Restaurant" rated by Northern Virginia Magazine and "Best Bargain Restaurant" rated by Washingtonian Magazine.

Note to the frugal budget diners: Although Meaza is certainly a bargain restaurant, they regularly offer a Groupon for half off.  Get the Groupon and order double!

(Updated June 2015)

Karamara Ethiopian Restaurant, Arlington, VA

3205 Columbia Pike

Arlington, VA 22204
703.271.0202

Next to the Panda Express Chinese restaurant, this place looks much smaller than it is. We came to Karamara for a "linner," so besides us there was only one other table occupied. Walking in, it seems like a tiny carry out, but the upstairs opens up to a large dining room. The feel of the place is dark and dingy. Railing along the stairs is broken exposing dried gummy glue. There was only one waitress, who was very nice, but clearly more preoccupied with getting the kitchen ready for dinner than with the diners in the restaurant.


We ordered a vegetable sampler of 5 items, including spicy lentils, a pico-de-gallo type of side mixed in with pieces of injera called "fit fit", a mixture of boiled cabbage, potato and carrots and chick peas. As opposed to most other Ethiopian restaurants, like Meaza or Merkamo or Lalibella, the flavors here were definitely toned down and not great. We ordered 2 types of tibs, which is the typical Ethiopian dish consisting of pieces of steak grilled with jalapenos. We ordered the house specialty tips, the Karamara Tibs, and the regular Beef Tibs. The Karamara tips were dry and flavorful. However the Beef Tibs came in a oily sauce that even as a fan of stews, I found very oily and runny, coupled with the fact that there was a very weird and unsavory flavor to them. It was like a mixture of being "gamey" and... just weird, not in a good way.

We tried this place because we had a Specialicous coupon and love Ethiopian food. Washington DC metro area is very lucky to have so many wonderful Ethiopian restaurants, so we have tried most of them. Unfortunately, Karamara is not a restaurant worthy of a second trip.