Language/Amharic/Culture/At-the-restaurant-in-Ethiopia

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Culture ⇨ At the restaurant in Ethiopia

When you eat food from the same plate with somebody, eat from your side of the plate. It may be considered impolite to eat from the other person’s side.
When you eat with elders, wait for the elders to start before eating yourself.
You don’t have to eat all the food served. You can eat as much as you can and return what remains. There is usually someone else who will eat it.
Smelling food served to you can offend your host (You can explain to your host that in America it is a compliment to smell the food).
When somebody serves you water for your hands, it is polite behavior to stand up to wash, but your host usually asks you to sit down. You can then insist and wash standing up, or choose to wash sitting down depending on the age of the person who helps you to wash (relative to you). If the person seems to be younger than you, you may choose to sit down. But generally since standing up is a sign of respect for your hosts, it is the safer thing to do.
While eating food on the same plate with somebody else, you may be offered ‘gursha’ (feeding with hands). If you don’t want the gursha, you can politely refuse to have it.
It is not acceptable to lick your fingers at meals.
Leaving a seat before the meal is over and while others are eating is considered inappropriate.
If your food arrives before that of the other diners, you may begin eating without waiting.
Usually the drinks arrive after the food (and are ordered after the food).
Double-check every bill before you pay (compare against the menu price and check the addition of the bill).
Tipping is not necessary, and usually is just a birr or two, depending on the cost of the meal and the number of guests.
You can get change for a large bill by asking for ‘zïrzïr’ (for example, a 100 birr note can be changed to one 50 and five 10s).
When handing over the money, eye contact is important, and use your left hand to support your right forearm.