Cafeography
Addis Ababa · Olympia, Lancha & Kera

Cafés in Olympia, Lancha & Kera

Africa Avenue south of Meskel Square, with a roaster near Olympia and early pastries in Kera.

Photo: Lan Yao, Pexels License

Olympia, Lancha and Kera are neighborhoods of Kirkos, the sub-city at the center of Addis Ababa.1 They lie just south of Meskel Square, where crowds gather every year on 17 Meskerem in the Ethiopian calendar, 27 September in the Gregorian one, to watch the demera, a tall bonfire, burn until dawn.2

The cafés follow Africa Avenue, the road toward Bole, and the side streets of Kera. Purple Cafe, New York Cafe & Restaurant, Ambrosia Cafe and a branch of La Parisienne sit within about 200 m of each other on the avenue. Kera has CaffeOl, a café run by women, and Dido Café, which opens at 06:45.3

Local tip: Have breakfast at Dido Café in Kera, which opens at 06:45, then try the butter-free vegan croissant at CaffeOl, also in Kera.3

At a glance

11Cafés listed
1With opening hours
06:45Earliest opening
15:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Dido Café, from 06:45 (Daily 06:45–15:00).
  • Most common features: bakery café (18%).

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Addis Ababa.

Africa Avenue below Meskel Square

On Meskel, priests, students, bands and the army circle the demera before lighting it with torches. After the monarchy fell in 1974, the square was renamed Revolution Square, Abiyot Adebabay. A city upgrade finished in June 2021 added underground parking, LED signboards and retail space.2

Wikivoyage rates the cafés along Bole Road as high standard and relatively inexpensive, and singles out Purple Cafe, also called City Cafe, for its cakes, pastries and macchiatos.4 Ambrosia Cafe is at BMS 07B on the same avenue, and Darik Coffee and Loza cafe are a few hundred meters along. La Parisienne has a second café on Haile Gebresellasie Avenue in Kazanchis.

Roasters around Olympia and Kera

Aster Bunna, near Olympia, has roasted and distributed Ethiopian coffee for local drinkers and for export since 1998. At its counter, order a macchiato or a spris, the mix of coffee and tea.3

In Kera, CaffeOl sits between Sishu, a burger spot, and Shega, a handicraft store. Faiza Ahmed founded it, and women own and run it. Its coffee is sold in the UAE and the US as well, but the café is where you find the vegan menu: a croissant made without butter and an oat milk caramel iced latte.3

Enitewawek, on the ground floor of the TM5 apartment building behind Makush Gallery, adds another sit-down café on the Bole side of the area.

Early coffee and pastry in Kera

Dido Café opens every day at 06:45 and shuts at 15:00. It is a bakery-café, so go for breakfast rather than an afternoon coffee. A branch of Bilo's Pastry is a little further north, and Coffee Signature Addis and ፀጊ ቡና are smaller coffee counters between Kera and Africa Avenue.

Getting to Olympia and Kera

Both light rail lines share a 2.7 km common section between St. Lideta and Meskel Square, opened on 20 September 2015, so Meskel Square is the station for this part of town.5

At peak hours the trains are crowded enough to be unsafe, and pickpocketing is common. Ride outside the rush, or take a ride-hailing car down Africa Avenue.4

Rain is heaviest from June to mid-September. February to May brings the shorter rains, and from mid-November to January showers are only occasional.6

Sources

  1. Kirkos, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Meskel Square, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. The Sprudge Guide To Coffee In Addis Ababa, Sprudge (Tidenek Haileselassie, March 17, 2025), accessed October 2026
  4. Addis Ababa, Wikivoyage, accessed October 2026
  5. Addis Ababa Light Rail, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  6. Addis Ababa, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
Keep exploring

More of Addis Ababa

Piassa

8 cafés

Mexico, Sar Bet & Old Airport

7 cafés

Bole

22 cafés

In Olympia, Lancha & Kera, also browse: Pastry shops & bakeries

FAQ

Olympia, Lancha & Kera cafés: questions

Where are the coffee roasters near Olympia in Addis Ababa?

Aster Bunna, near Olympia, has roasted and distributed Ethiopian coffee for local drinkers and for export since 1998, and serves macchiato and spris at its counter. In Kera, CaffeOl, founded by Faiza Ahmed and run by women, sells its coffee as far away as the UAE and the US.

Which café opens earliest in Kera, Addis Ababa?

Dido Café in Kera opens every day at 06:45 and closes at 15:00. It is a bakery-café, which makes it a breakfast stop. CaffeOl, also in Kera, is the place for vegan baking, including a croissant made without butter and an oat milk caramel iced latte.

How do you get to Olympia and Meskel Square in Addis Ababa by light rail?

Both Addis Ababa light rail lines share a 2.7 km common section between St. Lideta and Meskel Square, opened in September 2015. Olympia, Lancha and Kera lie just south of Meskel Square. Trains are very crowded at peak hours and pickpocketing is common, so travel outside the rush.

For café owners

Own a café in Olympia, Lancha & Kera?

Free listings are free for good. A featured page gives you photos, a menu and your own URL, in your café's own design, for less than a coffee a day.

Get listed, free See a page in its own design