House Of Tadu Ethiopian Kitchen

Depending on your childhood experience, you’re either extremely good at sharing or enter fight or flight mode whenever someone asks to split a sandwich. But regardless of how you feel about going halfsies, there are instances where sharing feels right. A meal at House of Tadu is one of them.

The move when you come to this casual Mission Bay spot is to tell whoever you’re ordering from that you’d like to go family-style, to ensure everything is placed onto one massive platter for you and your friends to dive into at once. The menu is extensive, and spans from firfir and tibs to kitfo, House of Tadu’s specialty. If you’re struggling to narrow down your options, know that it’s hard to go wrong with any of the tibs plates—especially the chicken tibs—and that the crispy, golden-brown sambussas should definitely be on your table. 

The best way to try a lot of different things is to get the vegetarian combo, our go-to dish. Tadu’s version includes a rainbow of kik alicha, misir wot, gomen, and alicha tikil gomen, plus more than enough injera. Each item has its own distinct texture and flavor, but the misir wot, which is packed with tons of garlic and onion and cooked down to a soft, saucy consistency, is our favorite.

By the time you wipe the last bit of kik alicha clean off the plate, you’ll already have sent out a mass group text to as many people as possible in an attempt to plan the next time you can come here and go to town. Hopefully, they’re all down to share.

Food Rundown

photo credit: Melissa Zink

Sambussas

You can get the sambussas stuffed with beef or lentils, and they’re both great. The chewy, still-crisp pastry really makes these an appetizer you shouldn’t skip.

photo credit: Melissa Zink

Vegetarian Combo

The richly spiced scoops of kik alicha, misir wot, gomen, and alicha tikil gomen do wonders at curing our perpetual vegetable deficiency. Everyone at your table will probably fall silent while digging into this (always a good sign).

photo credit: Melissa Zink

Chicken Tibs

Small pieces of chicken are sautéed with onions, jalapeños, big tomato slices, and bright red berbere. It’s our favorite version of tibs on the menu.

photo credit: Melissa Zink

Kitfo

House of Tadu sautées their kitfo with housemade butter and spices that pack a decent punch. The ground beef (you can get rare, medium-rare, or well done) is flavorful and comforting, and the side of cheese does a great job at cooling down your tongue.