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Chercher Ethiopian Cusine is one of the best Ethiopian restaurants in the heart of Washington DC offering a fun-filled, casual dining experience! Cherecher strives to always serve you fresh and affordable Ethiopian cuisine.
Chercher is a name give to the today’s region officially called West Harargie zone. Chercher is known for the beauty of diversity if its geographical make ups, cultures and natural inhabitants. Chercher is the starting point for the chains of mountains that end in Ogaden. It has high lands and low lands famous for all kinds of produces ranging from grains, fruits, vegetables, different livestock, forest, mountains, rivers, plains and plateaus. Chercher highland is famous for minerals. Chercher is known for the quality and unparallel taste of fruits and vegetables. The quality of beef is famously known throughout Ethiopia delicious for Kitfo, Gored Gored, tibs and Tiresiga, all varieties of Ethiopian dishes made from beef.For a taste of Ethiopia come dine with us.
This is what our customers say about Chercher:
Yelp.com:
Cydney L./Washington, DC
Delicious. I went with meat eaters and we had the veggie combo and lamb and beef. The whole meal was wonderful! I like Ethiopian food a lot, and this was really tasty. At one point the chef came out to check on our meal, which was very nice of him.
It’s a cute little place, easy to miss but worth searching out. Casual and unpretentious, which is great because the food is easily the star. Prices fit the neighborhood.
Karen H./Washington, DC
I came out of the Convention Center and used yelp to find this place. It’s sort of hidden, but you have to look for the white sign on the outside of the building. The restaurant has a shelf on the right side where they sell spices, and seating area on the left. Very clean and very homey.
When I walked in, there were a many (I’m assuming) Ethiopians eating in the dining area. I was originally just going to take a take-out menu, and then come back another time to order, but the smell coming from the kitchen lured me to try a dish.
The lady at the counter was very helpful and extremely nice. She took the time to explain to me what certain dishes were and recommended their best dishes (one of which was the vegetarian combo). A man sitting in the dining area was eating a very interesting dish which turned out to be the vegetarian combo, so I ordered that to go.
When I got home, I couldn’t wait to dig in. The cabbage and salad was delicious, but the green lentils and yellow lentils were to die for. I’m still trying to figure out if I liked the spicy one because I’m a so-so on spicy foods someday. I will DEFINITELY come back to here again… maybe even make a special trip out just for this dish! 🙂
Firstbitedc ‘/Washington, DC
Chercher is a semi-new Ethiopian spot at 9th and O, Northwest, on the edge of Shaw. I say semi-new because the restaurant opened in May, but seems to have slipped by the foodie set (or at least the Yelp Set). They also still have their “Grand Opening” banner up, six months later.
Inside, Chercher is tiny but brightly colored and warm. The space is in an English basement, so sunlight is at a premium, and the furnishings are more cafe than fine dining. But this isn’t a place to see or be seen; it will thrive or not on the quality of the food.
On that score, my experience was mixed. The veggie combo, for example, had its highs and lows. The red lentils were amazingly delicious – the best I’ve had. That was the highlight; the yellow lentils and cabbage were tasty but not worth a trip, and the brown lentils were bland and unremarkable. I don’t typically eat meat at Ethiopian places, but I felt obliged to, both because Chercher’s menu is very meat-heavy and I couldn’t write a proper review with only veggies. Unfortunately, the Awaze Tibs (special beef tibs in a spicy red paste) were pretty bad. The flavors were promising, but the meat was much too chewy, almost inedible. (I say almost because I did choke some down, but it took effort and concentration). Maybe I got an off batch–I was the last customer of the night–but I’m not sure it’s worth another 11 bucks to find out.
In terms of the menu, vegetarians are basically stuck withe the veggie combo. Meat lovers can choose from a variety of kiftos (minced raw beef, marinated in spices and butter) and tibs. I’m not sure if you could convince them to make a veggie combo with only red and yellow lentils, but that might be your best bet.
I should also note that Chercher serves two of Ethiopia’s best gifts to the world: coffee and Foul. Foul (or Ful) is Ethiopia’s national breakfast, and is made of mashed fava beans, a spice mix with chili powder, and some combination of olive oil, green onions, feta cheese, diced tomato, jalapeno, and hard boiled egg slices. Done well, it’s an amazing dish. Sadly, I haven’t tried Chercher’s version of Foul, but I’ll get there one morning soon and update this review. For coffee, Chercher offers the “Harar” variety, which is apparently a Big Deal. Or you could stop in at Azi’s, a lovely coffee shop next door owned and operated by a lovely Ethiopian woman named, you guessed it, Azi. You won’t find a friendlier host or a more comfortable cafe in all DC.
I wish I had loved Chercher, but they still have some work to do. Go for the red and yellow lentils, or try the Foul and coffee for breakfast and let us know how you like them.