This Restaurant Serves Up Cuisine From Around the World While Helping Refugees

Flavors From Afar is an absolute local gem in the Los Angeles enclave of Little Ethiopia that features cuisines from all around the world. Expect a menu featuring staple dishes from Somalia, Guatemala, Egypt, and more, while also featuring a monthly rotating menu that serves up cuisines from around the globe.

For the restaurant’s co-founder Christian Davis, Flavors From Afar was built as a launch pad to highlight global cuisine and help assist refugees and impacted communities in Los Angeles. The restaurant works with local chefs from these communities, telling their personal stories through the dishes served at the restaurant.

Each month, Flavors From Afar also works with local chefs that share recipes native to their culture and features them on the menu. When we visited in February 2022, they worked with chef Nisren Diab from Syria to celebrate some of the country’s signature dishes. You can view their Instagram to see which cuisine and chef is being highlighted each month. 

Flavors From Afar is not just a place to try food from around the world, as it also works to empower and give a platform to communities that need it. A portion of each meal’s proceeds goes to the Tiyya Foundation, which helps refugees, immigrants, and displaced indigenous communities access resources and economic opportunities. 

Between the thoughtful, delicious and comforting dishes that harbor the spirit of each country highlighted to the impactful cause that it champions, Flavors From Afar is a one of a kind restaurant that’s at the forefront of a community-based mindset burgeoning within Los Angeles’ dynamic dining landscape.