Itegue Taitu Hotel

This is my favourite restaurant in Ethiopia! I have returned to Addis Ababa for two months, after spending at least six weeks here in 2012, and I'll probably eat at Taitu Hotel every day. The Vegan Buffet lunch is amazing. You can sit in the historic and fairly formal hotel restaurant, or take your plate outside to the terrace and sit under greenery or in the sun. The variety of food is perfect and the quality never disappoints me. You can choose from your favourite dishes... tasty injera with lentils or chickpeas, stir-fried mixed vegetables, spinach/kale, a lovely cabbage and carrot dish, tasty and robust spicy lentil stews (wats), some spaghetti dishes, many different breads, herbed baked potatoes, plain rice, and a variety of simple salads. It's a great place to be gently introduced to Ethiopian tastes. Taitu Hotel's restaurant is very popular with locals and I find it interesting to experience their culture, including the reception for a beautiful wedding on one occasion. The live piano music played on some days is also a nice surprise.

It's nice to sit outside and eat a lot of veggies. I was happy with the buffet and really liked the yellow lentil stew. Would def go again.

Yes--it's good that there's an all-you-can-eat vegan buffet open every day for lunch in Addis. And the old hotel itself had an interesting ambiance. However, the day I went (Saturday) was really crowded, and it took a long time to get a seat (and even longer to get the water I ordered). While the variety of the food was decent (injera--multiple kinds, rice, spaghetti, various lentil/bean dishes, vegetable dishes and salads), the quality was a little below average for Ethiopian standards (the rice was bland and dry, some of the vegetable dishes had little or no spice). Usually getting the atkilt bayinetu (the injera with a mixture of veggies and wots) at a typical restaurant in Ethiopia will result in better food. I was deciding in my mind between 2 and 3 stars for this place and then saw one of the waitresses kick a cat that had walked into the restaurant--not cool. 2 stars.