WONDERFUL STAFF!! I can't say enough good things about their genuine kindness towards me. I am a third time customer and I have found their food to be absolutely fantastic. I highly recommend their beef tibs as it is FLAVORFUL! I also have tried their vegetable platter and it is just a delight! The staff always have a wonderful smile when they greet you and they answer your questions with kindness and show care in their business. This is SO IMPORTANT and to contrast their restaurant to the one in the van dorn plaza by Safeway, I really must give my 5 stars to this place and 3 to the other. Try out their food! read more

Meda Restaurant - Tibs Lamb - Ethiopian Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

Ordered delivery on Uber eats and got the veggie combo and shiro fitfit - both were sooooo good!!! the shiro fitfit especially surprised me as I've never had it before. it was delicious, the portion size was incredible, and the ice was still not melted when I received my order. will definitely order from this restaurant again! read more

Meda Restaurant - Veggie combo - Ethiopian Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

See all

I have never eaten Ethiopian food before, but this place has me sold. The food was delicious and portion sizes were amazing for the price. We shared the meat combo between 4 people and it was more than enough. The waitress was very sweet and lunch went smoothly. I'm not sure if the Injera (the bread) was suppose to be cold, but it didn't take away from the meal. It would have been nice to have more descriptions of what the food was, especially if you are unfamiliar, but I'm ok with surprises. So, if you're new and ok with discovering through the journey, you'll be ok. In general, nice experience, seems authentic from my very limited experience , and I would go again. read more

Meda Restaurant - Meat Combo - Ethiopian Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

The first place we went to was very busy, so we came here on a late Saturday night. Nobody was currently there just the workers. We order the tidbits, I got one that was soft and my cousin got one that was hard. I have never been a fan of Ethiopian food, due to one restaurant I went to where their food left a bad taste in my mouth. However, my cousin and I loved both our dishes. I loved the customer service and the food. We were skeptical at first but my cousin said she preferred their food over the first place,and said it was only crowded because of the hype. If you find yourself around here, just go here and it in. read more

Meda Restaurant - two plates of food on a table - Ethiopian Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

Want a casual spot to enjoy Ethiopian food? TVs with sports or Ethiopian music videos, coffee, wine or beer? This is your spot. Minimal but friendly service and great ambiance - a very international experience. Highly recommend you get out of your comfort zone and enjoy something a little different! read more

Had an amazing time at ZeMeda Restaurant celebrating my friend's birthday! The food was absolutely delicious, full of authentic Ethiopian flavors, and the service was warm and welcoming. It truly felt like being in Ethiopia. Highly recommend! read more

Very nice ambiance and definitely great dishes for meat lovers. I bet it would be the place to watch the World Cup or the Super Bowl read more

See all

My first experience with Ethiopian food and it was awesome! We got a vegetable combination and meat combination for the four of us and it was just the right amount of food. Both tasted wonderful and fresh. Also decided to get a coffee and so glad that I did. Perfect end to the meal. On top of it all the staff was very friendly. Highly recommend this place! read more

Meda Restaurant - Coffee was excellent - Ethiopian Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

See all

I tried the shiro, sis tibs, and veggie combo - all were delicious! My favorite was the shiro. Also, the service was great.

I have eaten here multiple times now and I love the veggie combo. Be ready though, you really should be ready to share this with someone as it is rather large. If you are fasting, ordering your own might not be a bad idea. The coffee service is very good as well. It is similar to Turkish coffee but the coffee is a bit smoother. Highly recommend this Ethiopian restaurant for the quality of food, setting, staff, and price. read more

Renovated and welcoming environment. Great Happy Hour! Super service. Delicious food! Highly recommend any day of the week.

They send me burned and dry meat. Impossible to eat super hard and burned. I'm so disappointed I love Ethiopian food but this place is trash read more

Meda Restaurant - Supposed to be Zilzil Tibs - Ethiopian Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

Food was amazing!! Got the meda kornis with tibs. We didn't really know what we were ordering, but everything tasted so good and went together so well!! The service was also amazing. The owner came over to ask what we want on that plate and explained the food to us. We also got the coffee ceremony, which was amazing. And everything was so cheap, even though it was so good and we were stuffed. read more

Very mean and disrespectful lady the cashier at 2 pm on Thursday dec 15.2022.vert very rude.i will never come

Food was eloquent, service was an extraordinary, waiters politeness, humbleness beyond words and the manager personality outstanding. I highly recommend definitely will enjoy the meal specially if you love meat. read more

The waitress need gloves when serving the food, other than that everything was excptional.

We went with our family. We had gored gored, Shkla tibs, and weta geba. This is the best food ever had. The soft lightly cooked tenderly mixed with house Seasoning melted my heart. The server Rebeca is sweet and polite. I can't wait to go again thanks for best food and service read more

I went to this restaurant with my girlfriend by my friend recommendation this past Saturday and she is poisoned by the food we eat still since last Saturday she is sick ,this place must be inspected by local health authority ,I couldn't believe that this thing happening on her from the begning the kitifo we ordered when it comes the meat colour it looks like it spread some colouring looking spray the meat it doesn't like real meat it looks like Costco meat in a package ,please restaurant owners be wise and honest if you don't have good food product for your customers coming to you to support your business and get service tell us you don't have what customers asking you and recommend the better one you have ... read more

The food is amazing and it never disappoints but the service could be better. They usually have only one server so it could get hectic on weekdays. Don't even try ordering food for a pickup on weekends or expect to wait for a pretty long time for your food. We've expressed our concerns to the owners but they always seem like they are short staffed. The servers are super friendly and fast to their regular customers only. read more

Meda Restaurant - Tibs firfir - Ethiopian Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

Meda Market is a small, family-operated Ethiopian market and restaurant, located in the Giant plaza off of Van Dorn. The place serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, offering items such as Scrambled Eggs, Chechebsa, Kikil, Kintot, etc, as well as catering services. I came here for a later lunch, and ordered the following: the Meda Special Tibbs (vertically-cut Ribeye, sauteed with red onions, jalapenos, and traditional spices), and Derek Tibs (more saucier and contained more garlic, and choosing lamb for the meat). Both came with a side of berbere sauce, and the entrees came with two plates of a generous amount of injera. I really liked the Meda Special Tibbs, as this is a dry version of the meat, jerky-like, and had good flavor; I'm a sucker for sauteed onions, and while I would have preferred just a bit more of the onions and the peppers, this was still great with the berbere sauce. The Derek Tibs was just okay - the lamb meat was too game-y for me, but I did like the strong garlic flavor to this. I was a little surprised that no additional sides were given, such as a small salad or veggies, but I am thinking that this is reserved for the vegetarian platter. I also wished that they had housemade injera, as that would be a GF option. I also tried some of their lentil sambusas in the case (located up at the cashier) - these were not freshly-fried, but they still had a pretty good tasting filling - not at all salty with just a subtle kick. There are a few booths and a few tables to dine-in, and there is also some bar seating up at the front. There are also some market goods you can buy, such as canned lentils, salt, injera bread, etc. Staff was pretty friendly, but we had to request for water and some extra napkins. Good little spot to get your Ethiopian craving fix. Plenty of parking in the shared plaza lot. +Meda Special Tibs +sambusas up at the cashier +cash tip +some selection of market goods +free parking in shared plaza lot read more

See all

We decided to try Meda Market after reading Tyler Cowen's Ethnic Dining Guide: "A mom and pop Ethiopian, full of Ethiopians watching TV around a bar, with an attached spice shop as well. A small menu, mostly various forms of kitfo and tibs, but with an excellent vegetarian sampler as well. There are so many very good Ethiopian places around these days, it is disorienting to try to rank them all. Still, if you ask is this one in the top tier, the answer is yes, yes, and yes...recommended, definitely. You will note that the outside sign is in Amharic only, but if you are looking for this place you will find it, just don't expect the four letters "Meda" on the outside." So we traveled to Van Dorn station. It's in the back corner next to Mumbai Darbar (also new), and is an unassuming little market and restaurant. Several TVs were showing a soccer match, and a few men were hanging around the tiny bar eating tibs. Tyler Cowen is correct: this is a mom and pop Ethiopian, and the service was personal, friendly, and excellent. Ethiopians are known for hospitality; my only gripe is the absence of iced water for the table. You can purchase bottled water, and of course there is Ethiopian tea - basically, a Lipton tea bag accompanied by spiced cardamom water. The tea is simple and good. Since they are just starting up, there are a few bugs to work out, such as the water and the lack of napkins; when you're scooping up heaps of kitfo and tibs with the spongy Injera, you're going to dribble. As much as I love to lick my fingers, there's a point when you need a napkin. But these are MINOR hiccups. The food! Oh, my goodness the food. The "Vegie Combo" ($10.99) is bountiful, and the usual mounds of collards, lentils, and vegetables were accompanied by what I can only describe as "injera stuffing" -- three mounds of injera, chopped fine and tossed with a single flavor for each: tomato, sunflower, and yellow lentils. Another mound of a white puree LOOKED like a white bean paste, hummus-y, but it ended up being a huge hit of horseradish! That was unpleasant. Thankfully, the lovely pile of kitfo ($12.99) took care of that -- as much as I tried to get him to make my kitfo mild, Ethiopians are not quite known for subtle heat. LOL. But man, as painful as the spice got, it was simply too dang tasty to stop. Even the accompanying ayeb had some heat! My partner ordered the Awaze Tibs ($11.99) - essentially, chopped beef with tomatoes and onions. Here's the thing - it has a pepper beside it; he likes spicy food. But the Awaze Tibs were NOT as spicy as the kitfo! That was hilarious, and it was perfectly fine, since we like to share everything... and that is the Ethiopian Way. If you are new to Ethiopian food, this is a great experience - you share the entire meal, and you eat with your hands. It's fairly healthy food, and it's dang delicious. We enjoyed the Vegie Combo, and I would return to try other dishes on their menu. I was a little surprised that they don't actually make Doro Wat, which is a thick chicken stew with an egg on top. It's one of the signature foods in Ethiopian restaurants, so I was hoping to find it on the menu. Luckily, Meda has plenty of other offerings and did not disappoint. If you visit (and you totally should), keep in mind: 1. They do not indicate the ingredients of the dishes listed on the menu, so if you are not familiar with Ethiopian dishes, you'll need help, which they are happy to provide. 2. You're going to eat with your hands, scooping up food with Injera, a fermented spongy bread made from Teff flour. It's yummy - slightly sour, and sops up all the flavor of the rich sauces. 3. They do not, as of now, have iced water. If you want water, you'll need to order bottled water. 4. When we paid the bill, there was no room to enter a tip. The server was so very, very kind: "we are just glad you came to visit." So until they adjust their system to allow tips, you may want to bring cash for a gratuity. 5. Come hungry. These dishes are rich and filling! read more

See all

This is the worst Ethiopian, I mean food, I've ever had. Had two lumps of charcoal delivered through DoorDash from this restaurant. It was not eatable. I love Ethiopian food and order it regularly from various places, these tibs were supposed to be medium rare. Wtf!?! read more

Ummmm definitely get xenophobic vibes from this place. Was inside for at least 7 minutes before anyone said anything to me. They weren't friendly at all. They were actually were cold. If you aren't Ethiopian or white, you may want to look elsewhere. read more

Hidden gem, never new this place existed . Excellent food and service!! We will definitely return.

Ordered thru grubhub because the person who answered the phone couldnt understand me. Its raining and i get there, and they tell me my order was cancelled. No notification or phone call! However, my money was deducted, and I'm waiting for my refund. Great way to piss someone off and I love Ethiopian food and its close! Ive been here before-- this is maybe my 5th time and the service is hit or miss. read more

Loveeee!! I got the regular tibs with a side of gomen and i also got the kik. Everything tasted AMAZING and FRESH like i loved it so much and cant wait to go back. All the workers were so kind and the regulars there were nice and helped when my indecisive self couldnt figure out if i wanted the regular tibs or the awaze tibs. Was a great portion, enough to save half for later or to share for 2 people. I will definitely go back and try the awaze tibs. The price was also pretty good with the extra side it was about $14 but without, it would have been like $12. The only thing i didnt like was the texture of the kik. I like my kik alicha more on the drier side (like a mashed potato kind of texture) and their kik was really wet and kind of soupy but the taste was so good that i was able to ignore the texture. I definitely recommend this!! read more

Meda Restaurant - Regular tibs with gomen and kik to go! - Ethiopian Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

I ordered from them on Grubhub in June. This is the place to go if you have never had Ethiopian food before, and you should definitely try Ethiopian food at least once. I got ginger tea with honey (served hot, $2.25), sambusas ($1.50), kuanta firfir ($14.49), and misir wot ($2.50). The ginger tea was excellent. The ginger makes in strong and you cannot chug it down. In all seriousness, this drink would be a good natural way to clear your sinuses if you are feeling sick. Ginger is a spice with medicinal properties. You cannot chug this drink down, you have to sip it. It must be served hot for the best taste. Ethiopian sambusas are similar to Indian samosas, but the spices are slightly different. I would say the sambusas are not as spicy as the samosas. I always find it fascinating to compare and contrast the similar but different foods from different countries. The kuanta firfir is beef berky and injera bread. It has onions, vegetable oil, garlic, berbere, beef jerkey salt, dried injera, and eggs (https://allaboutethio.com/rquantafirfir.html). Injera is a spongy bread made of a grain called teff. It has a whole grain flavor. It is excellent if you have never tried it. The spongy texture is hard to describe since it is so different from our bread. It serves the same function as Indian naan since you tear of pieces to wrap the meal in it and eat it one bite at a time that way. This is definitely finger food. The servings were generous and I split the meal over two days. The misir wot is red spiced lentils (https://www.daringgourmet.com/misir-wat-ethiopian-spiced-red-lentils/). It is lentils with spices but has the consistency of beef chili. It is excellent. The ingredients were fresh and the meal was well made. The delivery fee was $1.99, the sales tax was $1.84, the service fee was $0.88, and the tip for the driver was $5.60. Most of the fees were waived in this case, since Grubhub had a promotion on this particular day, but they are usually much higher for a meal of this price (maybe $8.00 to $10.00). I do not mind paying a tip to the driver, but I should not have to pay delivery and service fees to Grubhub. The expense of delivery is borne by the driver and not by Grubhub. This is on top of the 30% fee Grubhub charges to the restaurant. I also object to the 11% Alexandria sales tax on restaurant meals. This was extremely controversial when Alexandria enacted it a few years ago. There is no way this tax is not causing Alexandria restaurants to lose business. The sales tax in Fairfax County is only 5%. This is on top of Grubhub fees and driver tips. The problem with Grubhub orders in Alexandria is that four parties are trying to make money from the transaction: the restaurant, Grubhub via fees to the diner and the restaurant, Alexandria via the sales tax, and the driver via the tip. What happens with so many parties trying to make money from the same transaction is that the price to the consumer is very expensive, and yet none of the parties is making very much money--except for Grubhub. I have always said the more parties you add to a transaction, the more problems you are going to have. Many times all of the fees can add 50% to 100% to the cost of the meal. I only order from Grubhub half as often as I would like to because of all the fees. I cannot be the only one who is deterred from ordering. My issues are with Grubhub and not the restaurant. This place is excellent for Ethiopian food. Keep up the good work. read more

Order was placed with Door Dash, and 2/3 items were missing from delivery and the single item that was delivered was incorrect. Called restaurant to see if pick up was still there and no resolution, only said restaurant was closed. No proposal for how to rectify situation. read more

This was an awesome find, the food has amazing authentic home made taste. To top my meal, I had perfectly pulled Macchiato that reminds me of the cafe's in Ethiopia. Keep it up! read more

I have known this ethiopian place for over three years. The food is so delicious and the service is second to none. I would recommed for ppl to try different ethiopian spicy food. My favourites to mension few are "vegie combo" ,"kitfo(spiced red beef),"asa gulash"(fried fish stewed with spiced ethiopian pepper.....more.. read more

The best food the best service in town!!! So pleased to dine here. The owner knew we're from out town so he made sure that we're treated well! The In house Coffee ceremony with some Dafo dabo was exceptional!!! I can't wait to go back read more

Horrible time delivering for doordash and had to stand 30-45 minutes waiting on the customers order it's 2:15 still haven't received it and it was supposed to be ready at 1:46 definitely not the place for take out or honestly looks like if you're not Ethiopian read more

I have been hesitant to write this review for months, for one reason - I don't want the rest of you to find out about my favorite place in the Northern VA/DC area to eat! I travel all around the world monthly for work and get to eat the most authentic foods available. Nowhere have I had more authentic and better tasting Ethiopian food than I've had at Meda - not even when I've been in Ethiopia! I would be a regular at Meda even if the service was horrible. But again, in this area as well Meda exceeds every expectation. From the first time we visited to the last, we were treated as though we were having dinner at the families home - not a restaurant seeking profit. The owner, his family and staff, seem to only care that So yes, come check out Meda for yourself. Make me wait for a table each time I arrive. I know it will be worth every minute I wait. read more

Meda Restaurant - Delicious. - Ethiopian Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

The best service clean and authentic Ethiopians food Thanks for Everthing we will come back again

This ethiopian restaurant is truly a hidden gem. If you want delicious ethiopian food, served fresh this is the place to go. It bee seem unassuming from the outside but the food is great. So come try out this local place, you won't regret it. read more

Me and my family have been eating here for a about a year. We wanted to try Ethiopian food and stumbled upon this place. It's become one of our favorites! Very good place for authentic family style Ethiopian food. The staff are super helpful and polite. I would highly recommend! read more

This is literally one of my favorite restaurants and definitely the best Ethiopian I have found in NOVA so far. We come here all the time because of the delicious food and amazing prices. We usually get the veggie combo and sometimes add beef tibs (I get them without butter and they're still tasty). It's a local place with no frills but it tastes better than any fancier place I've been to. read more

The awake tibs are absolutely delicious. Nice and spicy, and extremely fragrant. They have a little sports bar going in the restaurant and the owner seemed to be very friendly with his customers. Our server was extremely sweet as well read more

Great dulet. Not too heavy on the liver and with a lot of tripe. Good price. The woman behind the counter made a sweet macchiato type drink for me when I told her I missed Ethiopia. Affordable and good. read more

One of the best & most authentic Ethiopian restaurant in the DMV area. I usually don't like most Ethiopian restaurant's veggie combo because it takes time to make and it's not something that could be rushed. It's a slow cooked meal and the longer it's cooked with love and care the better it tastes. We came here 2 days in a row now because of the welcoming owners, great food, great prices and the cleanliness of the place. Love it and I would recommend it to my fellow Ethiopians and others that would like to have or try GREAT Ethiopian food. read more

Meda Restaurant - Veggie combo "Best Authentic Ethiopian Vegan/Veggie combo" - Ethiopian Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia