Dukem Ethiopian Restaurant
$$ - average
Ethiopian/Eritrean
Ethiopian Restaurant in Baltimore
Dukem has a separate list of vegetarian dishes on its menu. It boasts all of the standard vegetarian Ethiopian fare: lentils, yellow peas, greens, cabbage, shiro (a chickpea spread) served on a large piece of flat bread (called injera).
Note: The website is for their Washington DC restaurant. The Baltimore location is new.
- Kid-Friendly
- Outdoor Seating
Added by Lola on Dec 21 05 (updated Mar 28 06)
Reviews
Apparently this Dukem is owned by the same people that run the Dukem in DC. I've been to both, and I was MUCH more impressed with this location. The food was better and the service was friendlier (although it took about 15 minutes for us to get our check after we finished).
My friend and I shared the vegetarian special, which had the usual 6 or so items they carry (yellow split peas, yellow lentils, spicy red lentils, potatoes, greens, tomato salad) but also had a few items not usually offered on the menu, including a potato salad, and some other unidentifiable potato dish. Everything was delicious and the price was very reasonable- $16 for the platter for two. Quite often, Ethiopian restaurants will double the price for two people but not give you twice the food. This restaurant gave us one, huge platter for the same price. Yum.
Dukem is one of Baltimore's few Ethiopian restaurants and the word on the street is that it's the most authentic. It's a welcome addition for vegans due to the fact that all of its veg items are clearly labeled and completely vegan (they don't use dairy in anything). Our waitress was really nice and offered us extra injera to take home with our leftover vegetables.
That said, the restaurant itself is very small and made me feel a little claustrophobic (we were seated so close to the tables next to us that my friend and I were having a hard time not giggling at the conversations that we were inadvertently overhearing). Also, it's located in a part of town where parking is hard to come by.
Cass Danger (see below) and I went here together during her trip to Baltimore. I go to Dukem several time a month. They recently have expanded their dining room to the upstairs. There are traditional tables up there and they do the Ethiopian coffee ceremony as well in that area. I believe that if you go on a Sunday at 2pm that is when it is usually held. The employees don traditional garments and perform the ceremony for the patrons to enjoy.
The upstairs is beautiful and the remodeling was just completed this spring/summer. The manager Senadu (spelling?) is delightful and will treat you as if you are a member of your family while you are there. During Lent (and apparently other times as well) Dukem has an additional vegan platter available which is the one Cass and I shared for $16.
I highly recommend this restaurant, and there is generally parking within a 1 or 2 block walk unless Artscape is going one (one weekend a year).