Meals By Genet

"A perennial favorite in Little Ethiopia, chef Genet Agonafer has had heaps of praise bestowed on her 24-year-old restaurant. Meals by Genet received a Michelin Bib Gourmand, is a James Beard Award semi-finalist, and received numerous other local accolades throughout the years. Her restaurant’s spicy doro wat is always popular, while the vegetarian combination platter is a great way to sample Agonafer’s range as a chef." - Oren Peleg, Eater Staff

"A renowned Ethiopian restaurant in Little Ethiopia offering dishes like buttery, spicy chicken tibs and dorowot, best enjoyed with injera." - Eater Staff

"It doesn’t get any more classic than Meals By Genet, a restaurant in Little Ethiopia that serves some of the best food in Los Angeles. Now open for takeout, you can get all of their incredible dishes to-go, like a super-spicy doro wot, a fragrant chicken stew that’s marinated for 50 hours (!!), or their vegetarian combination, a massive platter that brings together every side dish on the menu, like collard greens, split peas, green lentils, and pureed sunflower seeds, and is served with an absolute brick of injera bread. Injera it into our veins? We’ll work on that one." - kat hong

"One of the best Ethiopian restaurants in the city, Meals By Genet, has announced that they are transitioning to a takeout-only model. As reported by Stephanie Breijo at the L.A. Times, 68-year-old owner, Genet Agonafer has decided to semi-retire from the industry, and now offers takeout only, plus the occasional private event in the dining room. Call (323) 938-9304 to place an order." - kat hong

"Little Ethiopia institution Meals by Genet chef Genet Agonafer managed to keep her restaurant afloat by offering takeout during the COVID-19 pandemic. She closed her dining room for nearly four years before finally reopening it in January 2024 for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday dinners. Though takeout is limited to weekend lunch, longtime fans of one of Los Angeles’s most celebrated Ethiopian restaurants can enjoy freshly made injera, sprawling vegetarian platters, tender beef tibs, and ravishingly delicious chicken doro wat three evenings a week. Those who book dinner at one of the restaurant’s glass-topped tables can take in Agonafer’s delicious cooking inside an intimate room filled with tastefully appointed African artwork. — Matthew Kang, lead editor" - Eater Staff