As good as it gets for Ethiopian food!
A friend of mine came over and I told him that I got a "something different dinner place".
He never tried that kind of food while I had neighbors from Eritrea for about 2 years so I have a pretty good idea about their food. (I even used to chew tchat with them - but tsss! don't tell anyone because it is actually illegal here in US :)
We ordered beef tibs and doro wat. Boy... it was plenty of darn good food! I also had that Ethiopian sparkling water (i think it's better than Perrier).
Bottom line:
If you never had Ethiopian food before - go for it and start here at Merkato.
Ask for "not too spicy" because Ethiopians like it "spicy as hell" on a "Caucasian scale" :).
Also... just an advice - don't drink much cold beer - it doesn't help digestion in this case - go for hot tea or coffee and it'll make it easier for your full tummy :)
I will be back for sure - try more stuff off the menu.
The only thing that I would like to have there - some kind of dessert would definitely be great.