Ethio Express Grill

I’ve never been to such a trendy, down to earth Ethiopian place. The inside of the restaurant doesn’t feel like the traditional style, but the food tastes just as good and it’s quick. The menu is easy to understand. The ethio hot sauce was just spicy enough, but it didn’t stop me from eating. The portion size was good and the prices were very reasonable. The lamb was delicious and well worth the extra dollar. Try it!

Such a good find. I’m wary of the SUPER hole in the wall places in the area … This place is not like that. It’s clean, updated, and easy to understand Chipotle-​style menu.
My advice is to go for the tofu, mild Ethio sauce, collard greens, split peas and the white cheese. And the traditional bread! Can’t skip that.

Let me make it simple for you. If you don’t visit this place, you are missing out big time in your life.
Literally everything I ordered was the best food I’ve ever had. Just go there now!

Very much like a chipotle for Ethiopian food. So many things to choose from and everything tasted so good. I will be going back whenever I am close by. It was my first time eating Ethiopian food and I feel in love with it.

This place is fast food Ethiopian fusion– for that style, it does pretty well. However, I can’t help but feel that somehow it’s a bit too kitschy, detracting from the traditional Ethiopian flavors in the food to bring in a clientele that is… well, not your typical crowd of ex-​pats…
Anyhow… Once over that shock, I came to appreciate the clean, open, bright modern space that serves up Ethiopian food with your choices. Oh, and the choices! Why there is a pita bread and romaine lettuce choice baffles me… But maybe those are two fun changes to the norm? Personally, I heart the staples of injera and well, add in brown rice. Yes! They have gluten-​loaded and gluten-​free injera, just ask.
The protein selection is your next choice. I don’t link tofu with Ethiopian, but it’s fusion. It’s pretty tasty and compliments the items here quite well. Then, pick a sauce — Koch kocha (jalapeño) if you dare! Finally, the hardest part: pick 4 sides. All 3 of the hot sides are traditional Ethiopian sides of mesir (spicy red lentils), kik (yellow split peas) and gomen (collard greens) that are as legit as can be. You can see and taste the garlic in the awesome gomen. The kik has a fabulous ginger infused flavor. The mesir is a bit salty and not as spicy as I would hope, but then just add in the hot sauce and you will be happy.
There are a bunch of non-​traditional sides like quinoa, a coleslaw like cabbage mix, and roasted corn. I suggest the azifa or tomato salad if you are aiming for more traditional flavors. Yum yum yum.
The food is generous if you realize that most Ethiopian restaurants will serve up the same amount of the stewed deliciousness but add in mounds of injera to make you feel like you are getting more. Same portions here, just less starch. The veg (vegan is so easy to do) plate of your choice will cost you just about $ 8. Steal of a deal.
This is a good choice of you want your food fast, you have never tried Ethiopian food, you like modern décor, and/​or you know this place is legit. Yum. The only problem can be parking or walking, as it is a bit of a trek from Metro, and street parking fills quickly (opt for the garage closest).

January’s Unilocal Luck Club Meeting Attendee: «HERE!».
My 1^st rodeo here & I wasn’t disappointed. I’m not an avid Ethiopian Food consumer, however I do enjoy partaking when the opportunity presents itself. & what a way to start the visit off, my #1 go to App, Unilocal bestowed up on me a 20% off $ 25 or more… let’s explore.
They state: «Gluten Free Restaurant».
You walk in to a very spacious, clean & an in depth environment. The walls have the basic signage of ‘How To Order’. Basically mirrors the Shophouse, Cava, & Chipotle aspects, of pick this, pick that, eat & be happy. I enjoyed seeing the larger than life sign when you walk in describing the Teff, the main ingredient of their specialty Injera Bread.
I opted for the Create a Meal, where I selected Mixed Greens, Grilled Tofu, Cabbage Slaw, Tomatoes, Red Onions, Cucumbers (very nice tang to it), Spicy Lentils aka Miser & Yellow Split Peas aka Kiki, with both their house mild & medium (Kocha Kocha) sauces on the side to compare. You get complimentary Injera bread with your order, as they offer Pita Bread as well.
You’ll have to listen closely for your order number to be called, then you go back to pick up your meal, they give you a fork & bon appetite. All other items, such as napkins, straws, condiments are by the Tea/​Lemonades stations.
My food was good, not as spicy as I thought with the sauces, but a great combination to use both. The injera bread is a room temperature feeling, very thin and spongy flatbread, I’ll be trying the Pita Bread next time.
While me & one of my FAV attendees QB, were doing creative payment to utilize the discount (they have the Belly App, so get your points while you spend your coins), I noticed some goodies in a basket next to their computerized register.
Yep, they were Vegan. The Teff Bar has almonds, flax seed meal, natural dry fruits, agave, & spices. & the Teff Brownie, also has flax seed meal, almond butter, large chunks of chocolate, walnuts, organic cocoa, pure natural spices & chocolate chips… it was slightly dry.
This quick-​serve spot offers savory Ethiopian inspired bowls for a good price, & the service was grade A. Even though they ran out of lids for the To-​Go containers & we had to ask for napkins, it was an enjoyable & positive outing/​experience.

Never having been there, I can’t really vouch for the authenticity of the food, but I was introduced to Ethiopian cooking at a restaurant in DC run by the exuberant Mama Desta, and loved the bright and complex flavors. When Mama moved out of town in the late 70s, I found that the other places I tried had really dumbed down the recipes to suit the American palate, and stopped trying, Until now. I went with a group of friends, and so was able to sample most of the menu options. Everything was fresh, interesting, and delicious. Heat levels all the way from mellow to four peppers on the ShopHouse scale, be sure to ask.
The details have been well covered in other reviews, so just two notes. The spiced tea is a hidden gem, reminding me of Indian masala tea but not as intense. And since I started dating a woman who does not tolerate gluten (can’t resist saying it: GF GF) I have to point out that there are many gluten free options, including the injera, which has the proper sourdough tang and is made from an ancient grain called teff — see the wall right by the door, or the photo Sara Y posted. Mama would be so proud!

My first time here. On a cold snowing sunday afternoon. They also had a deal on Unilocal 20% off of $ 25 or more. The lady at the counter didnt know how to redeem this offer and then when she did something, she took off 20% only off one dish and not the whole meal. We were a family of 4 and had ran a bill of 35 dollars. I noticed this only after we paid and were served and didnt want to make a fuss. But to the owners, if you have a deal, a) make your employees aware of it b) make sure they know how to do it on the register.
Now that, thats off my chest. I’ve been to several of the Ethiopian restaurants in the are (and there are several within a 2 mile radius of this one). Ethip Exp Grill employs the chipotle style of choosing your base protein, toppings etc… For those that don’t like the ethiopian style of everybody eating from one big dish, this place is great. Bt I personally dont mind that either. Two of us had the Injera platter with Beef and I chose spicy lentils, collard greens, corn with Jalapenos, cabbage slaw and the mild sauce. The dish was yummmy and the best of what we ordered. The only item that disappointed was the cabbage slaw, it tasted more like a salsa and next time I won’t get this. My LO had the pita bread with chicken, yogurt honey sauce and the yellow lentils. The yogurt honey sauce was delicious and I thought it paired very well with the chicken (probably with the beef as well) The pita seemed store bought. The yellow lentils had too much turmeric and so had a slight bitter taste. My hubby got the Injera platter with Tofu, this is a good options for vegeterians, but I would not recommend it to anyone that eats meat. These guys do a very good job on the beef and chicken, (i will try lamb next time).
The place is neat and clean, like one of those fast food places that crops up in town centers these days. Its almost self service, you place the order, pick up and clean up your table as well. Except for the glitch of the 20% off (we tipped 20% as well and then ended up cleaning up ourselves) this was a good place and a good meal. One last thing, please turn up the heat at your restaurant, its was snowing outside today and it was freezing inside as well. When we went in, there were no other patrons, everyone that came in after us, kept their jackets on!

Good food but not really Ethiopian.
They have the bread, but other than that it can be compared to tex mex food.
Tasty but not what I was expecting.

Large portions of delicious Ethiopian food served very fresh and at a reasonable price! I have only eaten Ethiopian food once before so I am not qualified to comment on its authenticity, but it doesn’t seem watered down for American tastes — the food was very spicy and flavorful. There are vegetarian and vegan options which are also nice. If you like Ethiopian food I highly recommend this location.
I only gave it four stars because the décor and service could use some improvement. But those are minor issues — this is a great place.

I’ve ordered takeout from here many times and am always satisfied and happy with the food and friendly service. I’ve been to a couple other Ethiopian places around Silver Spring/​Rockville, and this one is our favorite. I would say that Ethiopian is still a little ‘exotic’ to us, and the menus can be kind of intimidating. However, Ethio Express makes it simple and easy to order, and we always know what we’re about to eat. :) They do NOT skimp on the flavor, freshness, or authenticity, it is still as spicy and tasty as all the other places (maybe even better IMO). Even better — the prices are very reasonable (2 very filling meals for us totals just over $ 20). My favorite items are the lamb, spicy lentil, ethio hot sauce, and injera.
Parking can be a little hard to find around there, but there’s street parking around Sligo, and also a public lot one street over on Gist Ave. I love the atmosphere — it’s always clean and bright, and I’d describe it as an upscale Chipotle. My only concern is that we usually don’t see many patrons there (maybe everyone else also orders takeout like us?). I hope this place sticks around for a while — it’s truly a gem!

I haven’t eaten a lot of authentic Ethiopian food so I cant compare it to that but the Rice Plate was very flavorful overall. It was just spicy enough for me but if you like a lot of spice perhaps you should ordered the hottest sauce option. It definitely reminds you of «chipotle» styled presentation but taste much better. The chicken was grilled to perfection. I would definitely order from them again and try other dishes.
The delivery time will take about 40 mins so dont think you will get items super quick but my food was still warm and fresh so I’m ok with that wait time.
Not major complaints but they did forget to add my injera bread i added to my meal. Womp.

I got the create your own plate with grilled lamb, injera bread, hot topping of spicy lentils; cold topping of roasted corn and jalapeño; cold topping of tomato, red onion and cucumber; and cold topping of quinoa salad.
This was my first time trying Ethiopian food and I was surprised that the injera «bread» is actually like a thick, spongy and sour dosa (crêpe). One injera bread and about half a plate of the meat and salads was enough to fill me up. All of the flavors melded nicely in the dish.
The ethio hot sauce that came with it was very spicy. A little went a long way.
The delivery was very fast and the delivery guy mentioned that it was an «express delivery.» He was probably 15 minutes before time.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed the meat and salad preparations, the injera bread is something I will pass on next time. The sour flavor doesn’t seem like something I will get used to.
I will be sure to try something else from this restaurant in the future.

Well… The food was pretty good. But if you’re ordering delivery, be prepared to wait a while. Estimate for delivery was between 5:35 — 5:45. Food didn’t get here until about 6:40. I called the restaurant twice and no answer. I understand sometimes there is traffic or you are just running late, but at least either call me and let me know or pick up the damn phone.

Fast casual Ethiopian food with a chipotle twist. First off, wanted to admit that I was really afraid to try Ethiopian food BUT the plates here looked so delicious I had to try! The restaurant is set up like chipotle where you can build your own plate with a starch, protein, veggies, and sauce. My boyfriend and I opted to split a plate since it was our first time and we got the injera plate with beef, hot sauce, split peas, spicy lentils, collards and roasted corn. Let me tell you — I’m a true believer now! It was all so tasty and spiced perfectly. The injera bread is more like a sour spongy pancake but it goes so perfectly with each plate!
The staff there is so friendly. It was our first time and the store manager walked us through the entire menu and answered all our friends and made us feel at ease! All in all, I would come back and try the other plates!

There are a lot of fast casual pizza places, a lot of mediterranean ones, some Asian ones, and so on, but this is the first Ethiopian one I’ve ever heard of, opened in Silver Spring near a bevy of more conventional Ethiopian restaurants.
Somewhat strangely, their vegetarian base is tofu; I’m no expert on Ethiopia but I didn’t think that was a big thing there. Fortunately, the things I do expect from Ethiopian food (stewed lentils and peas) are available on the side, which seems quite sufficient. And whatever one can say about authenticity, that grilled tofu is as good as what I’d have gotten at any Asian fast casual place. The accompanying injera was about the right amount to take care of my rather messy meal (I do wish they used more secure takeout containers). The hot sauce is pretty hot. The portion was right for the price; the amount of tofu was decent, and with three sides included, my lentils and chickpeas plus a quinoa salad (eh) made for a substantial meal.
They’ve also started carrying desert; why not try a teff cookie or a brownie or something? The cookie I tried was a tad dry, but tasty enough. The only vegetarian protein is tofu, but the bases and toppings are varied, and all vegetarian (and mostly vegan; a cheese being the only apparent exception), and their desserts seem to be vegan friendly as well. While many fast casual places are rather precious about having their own app, this one does a variety of online ordering options, and there are several ways to pick up discounts on their (reasonable to start with) prices. I didn’t quite know what to expect from Ethiopian fast casual, but it seems this place is a respectable entry to DC’s current craze.

Pretty decent place. Very clean and trendy interior, not that expensive — set up like a fast food place.
I never had Ethiopian food before but I did like the texture of the Injera bread. I would prefer it warm (not sure how it is supposed to be served but it was room temperature) but it did a great job (better than bread or tortillas) of wrapping the lamb, lentils, grilled bell peppers, and grilled onions. The lentils were EXCELLENT (I could probably eat a large side of the lentils directly with some meat), the lamb was tender and tasty, and not much you can go wrong with on the grilled vegetables. Also had the cheese with this plate which was okay; not really tasty enough to bring out any more flavor in combination with the other items. I had the Ethio sauce and also the ‘hot’ sauce. I preferred the Ethio sauce but it did not really stand out, just kind of like another dipping sauce.
Good place and good food, but not «WoWWWW!» I would definitely come here again if I wanted Ethiopian food and was not trying to find a new «IT» spot.

I’m Ethiopian. I’ve have some of the best Ethiopian home cooked meals, so when I dine out, I have very high expectations.
And Ethio Express Grill fit the bill, passed the test, and any other cliché you want to insert here!
I’d read some local articles about this place, and, to be honest, I was skeptical of the description of the place as an Ethiopian, Chipotle fusion spot.
But, hey, now I’m a believer! I stopped by early on a Saturday evening, and there was only one other customer. The cashier recommended that I ordered the Injera Plate. I’m so glad she did, because…
I’m obsessed w/​the Injera Plate with Lamb Tibs. It’s amazeballs!!!
Like. Stop reading this review. Get up now. Go here. And order it!
PS: You can also order delivery through GrubHub as well. Win-​Win. You’re welcome.

Ethio Express earns a solid 3.75 stars for the concept, execution, and taste.
I love Ethiopian food, but have given up since I haven’t found anything worthwhile without having to go into DC. This place is a good substitute.
The concept is fast, clean, casual, and tasty; as others mentioned, sort of like a Chipotle for Ethiopian food. You order at the cash register and pick up your order at the counter. It takes about 8 – 10 minutes from order to food. I think it’s a great concept because say you go out with a group where one is a vegetarian, the other doesn’t eat beef, etc. Now, you can each get your own plate of food for about $ 7 – 9 each. The portion is generous with the injera bread and portion of food is just right.
For the proteins, I highly recommend the chicken. Very juicy & flavorful. The beef & lamb were a little bit dry, with the lamb being a touch better. They give you a huge portion and it’s drizzled with the sauce of your liking which adds back some moisture and taste.
For the toppings, I enjoyed the collard greens w/​ayib cheese, azifa (green lentil salad), kik (yellow lentils — MMMM!!!), corn & jalapeño salad, and miser (spicy lentils). With the spicy lentils, you won’t need the hot sauce. Everything was so flavorful and FRESH.
I frequent this place for a more casual experience for when I have cravings for good Ethiopian, but don’t have anyone to share a humongous platter with.

Fast-​casual Ethiopian food with good flavors and a clean modern interior — all for around $ 10/​plate. A great introduction to Ethiopian food for those who might not have tried it before.
This place makes Ethiopian food more approachable than most, and still offers some of the traditional Ethiopian flavors. Seasonings and spicing may seem a bit tame to those who already know Ethiopian flavors, but the meat dishes also seem less greasy than some. Entrees are available with pita, rice or injera as well.