Desta Ethiopian Kitchen Westside
Ethiopian restaurant · Atlanta ·
Vegan options, fish, chicken, beef, prime meats, pasta
Vegan options, fish, chicken, beef, prime meats, pasta
"On days I don’t know what to eat, a quick stop at Desta Ethiopian Kitchen has never failed me. Tucking into spongy injera with meaty tibs and lentils is quintessential Atlanta comfort. Ash Nega and Titi Demissie first opened the restaurant in 2006, and now, with locations in Westside and Briarcliff Road, the duo continues to teach the city how to embrace Ethiopian cuisine. The Original Meat Lover’s platter ($35) is ideal for sharing: pick three meat options (get salmon, ground beef, and lamb tibs), and three vegetable sides — arguably the best part of the meal — like gomen (which are sauteed collard greens), the cabbage and potato, and misir (spiced, rich red lentils). The vegan platter ($18) comes with all 12 vegetable offerings, and I end the meal with a towering slice of tiramisu and Ethiopian coffee. Desta puts friendly service at the forefront. The Westside location is a no-frills, casual place: the walls are warm tones of orange and yellow with African art strewn throughout, and the air is thick with berbere spice; booth seating is ideal for spreading out as massive platters piled high with stewed meats and bread take up every inch of the table. With a cold Habesha lager in one hand, the other deep in misir and kitfo, this is the place to slouch back and exhale. Insider tip: the meat platter holds up well as take-out, order extra injera for a few bucks more — you’ll need it for leftovers; all the meats are also available as lunch sandwiches in pita or white bread, and the breakfast combo ($15) is a filling platter for two with scrambled eggs, kinche (cracked wheat with Ethiopian butter), and chechebsa (berbere-braised flatbread)." - Henna Bakshi
"Owners Ash Nega and Titi Demissie, who were both born and raised in Ethiopia, first opened Desta in 2006. Since its opening, Nega and Demissie have turned Desta into one of Atlanta’s premier Ethiopian restaurants, landing it on several “best of” lists over the years. With two locations open in Atlanta, this restaurant institution focuses on traditional Ethiopian dishes like goden tibs (short rib), dinech wot (potato stew), beef or salmon kifto wraps, fish dulet, vegetarian specialities like shiro fir fir (stewed chickpeas), and sambusas stuffed with beef or lentils. Want to try it all? Order the meat platter, which comes with three meat and three vegetable options and is big enough to share with at least three people. There’s also a full vegan menu and a variety of drinks to choose from, including Ethiopian tea and beer." - Eater Staff
"If you’re the vegan friend who always gets the short end of the stick when your crew picks lunch, suggest a trip to Desta. Their Westside and Briarcliff locations both have spacious dining rooms, so there’s room to invite the friends who don't know about the “other” group chat. In addition to their beloved meat dishes, the Ethiopian restaurant makes one of the most flavorful vegan platters in the entire city. The delicious misir wot is a garlicky, turmeric-spiced lentil dish we’d order by the vatful if they allowed it." - nina reeder, demarco williams, juli horsford
"Like its original location on Briarcliff, Desta Ethiopia on the Westside has a menu to appease everyone—vegans, low carb dieters, and even the friends who only eat spaghetti, making it a perfect place to take your buddies or colleagues after work. Order the tender lamb or salmon tibs, which come with a basket of injera. Vegans will find joy in the vegetarian plate, which includes well-seasoned gomen, red lentils, and mushroom stew. And Desta also serves big bowls of pasta if you’re in the mood. Whether you order for dine-in or carry-out, the food comes quickly out of the kitchen, so you can eat and be back home with plenty of time to catch up on the latest drama on RHOA." - demarco williams, nina reeder, juli horsford
"We all have those friends who change their diet just as often as the IT department forces us to change our system password. Just three months ago, they were on keto, then they’re vegan just on weekends, and now they only eat things that start with an L. Who knows why? But here’s what we do know: Desta is the best place to meet that friend for a satisfying meal you can both love. Located in a shopping center, Desta’s Westside Village location is a casual scene, reminiscent of any old-school neighborhood restaurant. There’s not a lot to focus on—just a few framed photographs, booth seating along the walls, and tables in the middle for large parties. Afrobeat or R&B hits play in the background to set the scene. But diners aren’t here for the aesthetics; they’re here for their favorite Ethiopian staples like Kitfo and Gored Gored, which come quickly out the kitchen. Desta has a menu to appease everyone–vegans, low carb dieters, and even your friends who can’t handle much spice. It’s even perfect to take a first date because sharing a basket of injera is probably how Pixar would re-envision the Lady and the Tramp scene. But Desta also serves big bowls of pasta, so you can still do the spaghetti kiss thing if you’re really invested. Food Rundown Sambusa These spring roll wrappers are stuffed with either savory lentils or minced beef, then fried for a perfect crispy shell and served with a sweet chili dipping sauce to dial up the heat. Sadly, these are just an appetizer, so only two come with the order, but we double up every time. Tibs Whatever your choice of protein, from lamb or salmon to filet mignon, that meat is going to be cubed, seasoned and sauteed with tomato, onion, and pepper. We like our tibs to be laid over shiro–a stew of pureed chickpeas, which is a thick sauce we’d gladly eat by the spoonful. photo credit: Amy Sinclair Vegan Platter All the vegetable sides are well-seasoned and cooked without meat or animal products—though the shiro can be made with butter or olive oil, so ask about that one. But everything from the mushroom stew to the gomen are so satisfying that they may make you consider a foray into veganism. photo credit: Amy Sinclair Pasta If you are in a carb mood, find your way to the pasta options for a big serving of spaghetti drenched in Ethiopian flavors and your choice of protein. We like it with the salmon or with Kifto, a seasoned, raw minced beef (or done well if you also prefer)." - Nina Reeder
