When was the last time you perused an Ethiopian menu and spotted lemon-pepper wings? I’m guessing never. Unless, that is, you already know about Ruki’s Kitchen, a fast-casual spot for Ethiopian dishes, with a few Atlanta inflections.
First debuting as a food stall at in East Atlanta Village in 2022, then transitioning to a popup at venues across the city, including Sceptre Brewing Arts in Oakhurst, in 2024, Ruki’s Kitchen graduated earlier this year to brick-and-mortar status at the Terminal South complex in Peoplestown, near the Beltline’s southside trail.
Ruki’s Kitchen is the passion project of chef/owner Ali Lemma, a Georgia-born son of Ethiopian parents whose childhood was divided between Atlanta and Ethiopia. Encouraged by friends and family to focus his career on Ethiopian cuisine, he turned to his mother for recipes and guidance. This third incarnation of Ruki’s Kitchen is a charmer, located in the Terminal South complex. While a food stall, it seems more like a tiny bistro with cream-colored quartzite countertops, bar stools with nutmeg-colored cushions, wooden pendant lights in the shape of mesobs (Ethiopian handwoven baskets used to store injera, or flatbread), a rosy neon silhouette of a woman’s face, and flowers on two-top tables along the banquette opposite the eatery…