New Haven, CT
For Ethiopian in New Haven, the local food press points to Lalibela Ethiopian Restaurant and Habesha Ethiopian Restaurant & Bar. Picks from Daily Nutmeg and New Haven Register, updated July 2026.
Editor’s picks
Press picks, until locals rank their own Top 5s. Sourced from the local food press. As seen in Daily Nutmeg and New Haven Register. Updated July 2026.
Lalibela Ethiopian Restaurant · Downtown
New Haven's longtime Ethiopian kitchen on Temple Street. Daily Nutmeg (Dan Mims) walks through the injera-and-wot format: the yemisir wot (spiced red lentils), misir alicha, gomen (collards), and kosta, all served to scoop up by hand off the spongy sourdough flatbread. At the time of writing Dan Mims noted it as the only dedicated African restaurant inside the city limits. Order a vegetarian combination to sample the wots across one platter.
Habesha Ethiopian Restaurant & Bar · Downtown
Downtown's second Ethiopian room, on Whitney Avenue, from owners Solomon Fiseha and Tigist Desalegn, who cooked in Ethiopia, Dubai, and Connecticut before opening here. The New Haven Register (Mark Zaretsky) covered the arrival in October 2024. Order the doro wat (chicken stewed in berbere), the shiro wat, misir wat, and tibs, all over injera, and ask about the coffee ceremony to finish.
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