I just noticed a couple weeks ago that there was a new place called Addis Grill downtown between Market and Main, in between Yaching's and Z's Fusion. I went to check it out today for lunch. The signs say "Mediterranean & Ethiopian Cuisine," though to be honest I didn't see anything on the menu that looked distinctively Ethiopian. Mostly Mediterranean standbys with perhaps some Persian influences - kabobs, a chicken curry, hummus, baba ghannouj, dolmades, tabbouleh, etc. There were also a few Mexican items on the menu, which I thought odd - fajitas, quesadillas, and burritos.
Anyway, I had the kufta kabob lunch platter, which was great. It came with three decent-sized kuftas (elongated meatballs made with ground beef, onions, parsley, and spices), rice, hummus, pita bread, and a salad. The kuftas were very flavorful and cooked to perfection, not at all dried out as I've had elsewhere. The rice was a good accompaniment, mildly spiced. The hummus was some of the smoothest I've had and may have had a bit too much olive oil on top, but the flavor was still good. The salad had good quality romaine lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, a light dressing of some sort (I'm not a salad person), and topped with some really wonderful house-made pita chips - bits of pita bread fried crispy and seasoned with what I think must have been sumac. With a glass of water, lunch set me back just $7.95.
The women running the place look East African, so I hope they do add some more authentic Ethiopian dishes to the menu soon. Even so, it's great to have another option for inexpensive Mediterranean cuisine, especially downtown. It's well worth checking out. They're open for lunch Monday - Saturday and for dinner Tuesday - Saturday..