Christmas Dinner in Dakar: An Ethiopian Table at Ge'eza

Anyone looking for Christmas dinner in Dakar will not find a special December 24 or 25 menu at Ge'eza, but the everyday Ethiopian menu already covers the ground: doro wot, the dish of Ethiopian celebrations, at 9,000 F, the Ye Fisig Beyaynetu for a table that mixes tastes, a fully vegan beyaynetu, a glass of tej at 5,000 F, and a coffee ceremony at 7,000 F per person to close the evening. The restaurant sits at 656 avenue Birago Diop, in Point E, open Tuesday to Sunday from 8am to 10pm, closed on Mondays; for public holidays, check opening hours on WhatsApp at +221 78 660 07 07.

No Christmas menu, a table built dish by dish

Ge'eza does not publish a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day set menu, and no such date appears on the site. That does not stop anyone from putting together a festive feel with the regular menu, which already carries several dishes built for celebrations. The advantage of an Ethiopian table is that it comes together dish by dish rather than as a fixed menu: everyone picks what they want, and it all lands on the same injera at the centre of the table.

For a group dinner at Christmas, the team suggests combining a meat dish, a fasting option for vegan or vegetarian guests, a drink, and a coffee ceremony to finish the evening.

Doro wot, the dish of Ethiopian celebrations

Doro wot, a chicken stew simmered slowly with a hard-boiled egg, is the dish Ethiopians associate with religious and family celebrations, including Genna, the Ethiopian Christmas marked on January 7. At Ge'eza, it is prepared with kibbeh, Ethiopia's spiced clarified butter, from chicken bought fresh in Dakar, and served at 9,000 F. Our doro wot guide covers its preparation and history for anyone curious why this dish holds such a special place.

Alongside doro wot, the menu lists other meat dishes at the same 9,000 F: lamb wot, siga wot, alicha siga wot, kitfo (order 24 hours ahead), kikil, derek tibs and tibs firfir. Tibs, sautéed beef, is priced at 8,000 F.

Ye Fisig Beyaynetu, for a mixed table

When a table has both meat eaters and guests who keep a fast, the Ye Fisig Beyaynetu answers both on a single injera, pairing fasting sauces with one meat sauce. It is priced at 8,000 F for one person, 13,000 F for two, and 19,000 F for three, a useful reference for working out a group budget before booking.

A fully vegan option: the beyaynetu

For vegan guests, the beyaynetu brings together the menu's fasting dishes on a single injera, starting at 7,000 F for one person. Prices for two and three people are not listed on the menu; ask the team directly when booking. Shiro wot, misir wot, fosolia tibs, gomen, key sir, tikil gomen and alicha ater kik, all vegan and made without butter, make up this shared plate.

Tej, birz and a coffee ceremony to close

To go with the meal, tej, Ethiopian honey wine, is priced at 5,000 F, and its alcohol-free cousin, birz, at 3,000 F. House juices (hibiscus, ginger, baobab) are 2,000 F. To close a festive dinner, a full coffee ceremony at 7,000 F per person brings together the three rounds, Abol, Tona and Baraka, with incense and house-made dabo, over about forty-five minutes. It is worth booking ahead, especially for a group, by mentioning it at the time of the table reservation.

Putting together a larger table

For a Christmas dinner with several guests, it helps to split dishes by diet and taste: one or two meat dishes at 8,000 or 9,000 F, a beyaynetu or Ye Fisig Beyaynetu for fasting or mixed preferences, drinks, and a coffee ceremony at the end. Our guide to ordering an Ethiopian meal for a group walks through more worked examples for a table of four or more.

A dessert and a stop at the gallery

The menu does not list a sweet dessert in the Western sense, but house-made peanut baklava, at 5,000 F, rounds off a festive meal well, with an Ethiopian macchiato at 4,000 F or Ethiopian tea at 3,000 F for guests who prefer to skip strong coffee in the evening. To stretch the evening without adding another dish, a stop at the gallery, open without an appointment during the restaurant's own hours, lets guests take in the works currently on show before or after dinner, at no extra cost and with no separate booking.

Booking for Christmas

Tables can be booked on the reservation page, Tuesday to Sunday, 8am to 10pm. For groups of more than eight, it helps to also write on WhatsApp at +221 78 660 07 07, alongside the online form, so the team can prepare the space. Since holiday hours are not published on the site, the safest step before coming on December 24 or 25 is to check opening hours on WhatsApp.