Seeing a lot of Ethiopian influence in the area, I knew I had to give their cuisine a try! I ordered online and got to the restaurant a bit early. The owner and her family greeted me with a smile and despite a language barrier and broken English, helped guide me as to what I would be eating! The food was unique, with a heat I was unfamiliar with and the flatbread helped as I was told this food needs to be eaten with your hands! read more

Elilta Restaurant - Eritrean Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

Great food, seating available, beer, sodas available as well. Owner stated we can park in the lot in the back. Wish there was a little more food but we did not leave hungry ha. read more

Elilta Restaurant - Veggie platter + chicken doro wat + lamb tibs - Eritrean Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

Almaz was absolutely amazing -- truly the highlight of our visit. She was incredibly kind, checked on us often, and when she noticed my wife wasn't eating the fish goulash because it was too spicy, she immediately offered to cook something else. That level of care really stood out. The restaurant has cozy, homey vibes, and on a busy Friday night we were lucky to snag the last table. I always order the veggie combo and kitfo when trying a new Ethiopian spot, and while the flavors were good, the food itself wasn't especially memorable -- though that may be because we're spoiled in the DMV with so many excellent Ethiopian restaurants. That said, the service alone would keep me coming back. Warm, attentive, and welcoming -- if hospitality counted as a main dish, this place would be a regular for me. read more

Elilta Restaurant - Veggie Combo (6) with Kitfo and Fish Dulet (I think I got Goulash) - Eritrean Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

Been a while since I had Ethiopian food! I just found out one of my buddies only had it once, but he had never had it in MD. So I gave myself a mission. I Yelped this spot and had to try. They've got the decor and the music down. And sambusas are on display at the counter, which is dangerous. We looked through the menu and I knew I wanted to try their veggie combo -- typically that's my go-to. And the sambusa was irresistible since it was on display, grrr. That came first, and it was nice and flaky, but I would've loved a sauce with it! Traditionally, I'm not sure if they usually come with sauces like samosas do, but I definitely would've liked one. And then the main course came out. Such a beautiful display of lentils, beets, cabbage, and more. Every Ethiopian spot doesn't have beets, so I was excited to see them here. And they were good -- everything was good! And they nailed the amount of injera... at least for me. I didn't have to ask for more or anything! They also have a fridge with soft drinks, beer, and honey wine. The latter is difficult to spot... you see a bottle, but the labeling is in Amharic, so you wouldn't know what it is unless you know what honey wine looks like, which I do :). They don't sell it by the glass, but the bottle was $20 and my friend and I shared. I've never had it sparkling, but it was delicious. I prefer non-carbonated beverages though. The only issue I ran into was the parking. That area does not make it easy, and the parking lot signs are very strict about which businesses you are supposed to visit in designated spots. I don't know how strict they are, but I know I wouldn't want to take the chance. This isn't the restaurant's fault, but it is helpful to mention. All that to say, I'll be back to this restaurant soon. It was FANTASTIC! read more

See all

Amazing! The food here is really good but they were out of lamb which was unfortunate and the menu descriptions aren't correct; our server was very helpful in describing what each item actually entailed. Two friends and I got three things to share family style, which was nice. The interior is cute but there's no music so when no one is speaking it's a weird silence. Overall would definitely reco read more

Elilta Restaurant - Veggie combo, lega tibs, and awaze tibs - Eritrean Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

Food is delicious and the restaurant is so clean and cozy. The owners treat you like you're in their home. read more

Elilta Restaurant - Beef tibs and veggie sides - Eritrean Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

See all

Best Ethiopian restaurant! We won't need to search any further. This will easily become our new favorite. Enjoyed the space. Owner was a delight and the 6 veg combo was mouth wateringly delicious! Honey wine was also very tasty! Looking forward to eating here again and highly recommend it to others. read more

Everything ordered was outstanding. Recommend the fish goulash. Will be back. Will try the kitfo next time.

Hole in the wall. Hidden gem. Low key best Ethiopian food around. It's a treat to have them in the Four Corners neighborhood and their food is excellent. I won't even recommend a specific dish; just order what you want and it will probably be good. As others have said the owners is also super sweet. Parking doesn't look great, but you can street park around back. Don't sleep on this place. read more

The food was definitely the highlight. Everything I ordered was fresh, well-seasoned, and beautifully presented. You can tell they put care into both the quality and the details. The flavors stood out, and each dish felt thoughtfully prepared. read more

I had a veggie firfir today which was out of this world. Delicoius, generous and fairly priced. Well done Almaz.

My family was visiting and my stepmom had never tried Ethiopian. We chose this spot and it was amazing! The owner/chef is so welcoming and she recommended a family style meal and then traditional coffee and we loved every bit of it! read more

Amazing Eritrean host, waitress and chef serves up delicious, fragrant Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine in an unassuming environment with Ethiopian music and decor. We enjoyed the Derek tibs (crispy beef sautéed in onions, tomatoes and jalapeño peppers with the vegetable platter (pictured). They also serve Ethiopian sandwiches and pasta. I had to write this review to include the menu for take out. Definitely returning. read more

See all

They are friendly and welcoming, and the food was incredibly fresh, flavorful, and absolutely delicious.

Delicious fresh high quality food. The vegetarian platter was delicious. Friendly service!

The veggie combo (6) is simply delicious. It's also a good value and can feed two people with leftovers possibly. I would also recommend the lentil samosa/sabusa if you want a crunchy appetizer. read more

My husband said "this is my new favorite Ethiopian restaurant." For me, it was a 6/5 The owner gave us such great service and you could taste the love in her food. We ordered the fish goulash & the 6 vegetarian combo. The fish was crispy & tender & a perfect bite with enjera & beets. The lentils were my favorite, so much flavor in the sauce. The food came out steaming & was so beautiful. Also she makes the best coffee. Restaurant is small & there is limited parking -- best for 2-4 people. read more

Elilta Restaurant - Fish goulash & 6 veggie combo - Eritrean Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

Delicious! We live in DC and stopped in on the way back from an appointment in silver spring. The proprietress took our order and went back to the kitchen cooked the meal fresh for us. The food was delicious and she was very friendly and welcoming. We'll definitely be back! read more

Food was absolutely delicious! Service was excellent. Such a down to earth feel and such a wonderful experience!! Anytime we are back in this area we will return. Highly recommend!!! Awaze tibs was phenomenal. read more

Elilta Restaurant - 4 veggie option with Beef entree. Absolutely amazing. First time here and would recommend it over and over again - Eritrean Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

See all

Great food and nice ambiance. Small, cozy. Highly recommend. Friendly service. Parking available. read more

Amazing food and great service. The owner is so sweet and accommodating. I would recommend Elilta to anyone looking for great food in silver spring. read more

Best most accommodating owner you've ever met. Just talk with her and she'll do anything to make you comfortable and happy with your experience!!! Vegan and gluten free available. Special breakfast and coffee plus all the traditional Ethiopian delicacies. Gomen!!! Yay read more

Elilta Restaurant - Traditional coffee service. Puts out coffee bars to shame - Eritrean Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

Our soccer/gym/everything pal "The Great Yoseph" took us there, and the food was excellent! I would definitely go there again, and I would also highly recommend this place! read more

Delicious veggie platter for $14. I can't believe they're able to make a pile of lentils, potatoes, and beets taste so dang good lol. Service is great, one time they ran out of beets and the lady whipped up a delicious chick pea alternative instead! Another time I called right when they opened and no one picked up. Turns out they were running late to open but the lady was thorough in calling me back to make sure I got my order in. They really care about the business and their customers. I usually order takeout, takes 15 mins to be ready. Parking is next to the 4 corners Pub or street parking near the pub. 10/10 highly recommend! read more

Delicious Ethiopian food, well prepared injera, sweet/smiling owner/waitress. Ambiance is simple & Ethiopian.

Feels like a home cooked meal. Very friendly and attentive in terms of the behind the counter staff. This is a great food served by friendly people. read more

My rating = 72 (Food 57/75, Service 12/15 Ambiance 3/10). Good family-run Eritrean restaurant and bakery with a few small tables in an unassuming spot in Four Corners. We had awaze tibs and veggie combo (cabbage, collard greens, red lentils, yellow lentils, peas). Friendly hosts. Casual setting. read more

Elilta Restaurant - Veggie combo with awaze tibs - Eritrean Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

See all

First time trying Ethiopian food a few days ago and it was so good! My favorite was the doro wat. Don't forget the coffee, it's the perfect post meal drink. read more

Elilta Restaurant - Veggie platter and doro eat - Eritrean Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

See all

Food was prepared according to dietary restrictions thus it was freshly made,seasoned to Perfection and served with love. Customer service was extremely friendly. We will be returning. read more

Elilta is a solid choice for Ethiopian food, and the owner is a total sweetheart! One of the best spots in the neighborhood for dinner or take out. read more

Really good food definitely would get again and food was cooked to perfection The service was incredible read more

Elilta Restaurant - Eritrean Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

I've been jonesing for my newest addiction, Ethiopian food, so we came here for dinner. Fortunately, we didn't have any trouble getting parking - I guess it isn't a "Mother's Day" destination, but other folks were missing out on a treat. Normally this lot is a bit tricky. We were the only ones dining in so we got lots of special attention from the owner who is a super sweet lady. She brought us lentil samosa/sambusas on the house - they were really good. We actually had considered ordering but hubby wasn't super hungry. We made room. We'll definitely order them next time. We ordered a keywat bemitad and veggie combo to share. Elilta gets our new award for having spicy food that is actually spicy not MD spicy. The keywat bemitad and the lentils on the veggie combo both had some kick (especially the keywat bemitad). Those two were our favorites. The others on the veggie sampler were good too. In order of preference after the lentils I'd rank the cabbage, beets, collard greens and split peas. Keywat bemitad's curry was very similar to the doro wat curry from another place we've been, but with beef instead of chicken. I suspect their doro bemitad is equivalent to doro wat then. It comes with a light crumbly cheese that really complements the spicy flavors well. The meal came with what I consider just the right amount of injera. Some places give you so much you have a ton left after eating everything. We actually only got through half the food (took the other half home) and still had a few strips of it left plus of course the "tablecloth" which soaks up the yummy sauce. If you eat a ton of injera you might want to order extra but I thought it was just right as someone who tries not to load up on bread. The prices were extremely reasonable. Before we ordered, the owner warned us that the real prices were all a dollar or two higher than printed, as she hasn't had them reprinted yet since costs went up. Even with that in mind I think they were on par or cheaper than other area restaurants. So many of the other dishes sounded good, we'll have to try them on future visits. I tend to like tibs a lot so hoping to sample hers soon. Another review said portions were small. I disagree. If hubs and I only got through half of two entrees, (admittedly with a samosa) they're pretty good size. If I were eating alone and ordered one entree, I think I would have only eaten half in one meal. Maybe if you don't eat any injera the portions would seem small, but veggies and legumes are quite filling. There were about 6-8 tables of 2-4 seats each. It's not a huge place but absolutely fine for dining in, but I think they do mostly takeout still. I'm glad she was able to weather the COVID storm and definitely plan to go back soon! read more

Small but good food. The menu is limited and the chef was also the waiter (the waiter did not come to work) so the wait for our orders was a bit long. The veggie combo (4) was fine as was the yetsom firfir. read more

The food speaks for itself - delicious vegetarian platters (yetsom beyaynetu) and fantastic prices for authentic Ethiopian cuisine My brother's review, "good food" Note: limited restaurant parking available read more

Elilta Restaurant - a plate of ethiopian food - Eritrean Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

See all

OMG, the food was amazing! The ambiance is nothing much. The owner was extremely friendly. And the food was just extraordinary!

I've been to many Ethiopian spots in the area but was excited and curious when a new one popped up right in my neighborhood. I ordered from them a couple times (the veggie platter) and the food was just decent - nothing exceptional and the portions were smaller than most places I've been to. This is pretty much a carryout place only. There's a couple or so tables if I recall right. What turned me off most was when I stopped in to inquire if I could buy injera which they clearly had available. The lady at the counter was very hesitant, implying they were selling just to Ethiopians. This was near the earlier stages of the pandemic when there was a lot of grocery shopping and flour shortages. It rubbed me the wrong way that she did not want to sell to me based on my race. I cook my own Ethiopian veggie dishes from time to time and buy injera when I do. read more

Everything was great, especially loved the veggie platter and key wat, The owner was exceptionally nice and made us feel welcome. Small dining room but it' didn't feel cramped. Our daughter just moved to Silver Spring and said she will be back often, and we will definitely return when we're visiting. read more

more than a year later and I got to go back and have an actual meal! they close at 9 and I got there at 8:15 but the owner/chef/server (she's an all in one ) still made us food. I got the awaze tibs (beef) with gomen and a little bit of the cheese (can't remember the name) and it was sooo good. This is a portion for one and it's very filling and satisfying. The perfect balance of spice and seasoning which makes for a perfect meal. The owner is so sweet and accommodating to special requests. I will def come back and a bit earlier so that I can take my time to sit and enjoy my food. read more

Elilta Restaurant - Eritrean Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

See all

Amazing food! Some of the best food I have ever had. Owner is so very sweet and welcoming. A great place to bring out of town vistors. 10 out of 10. read more

Such a cute family-owned restaurant. The owner was very kind and friendly. Food tasted homemade and very delicious. I will definitely go back. read more

Elilta Restaurant - Veggie combo with tibs and key wat, plus Enjeera. - Eritrean Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland