Konjo Me
Detroit Shipping Container
474 Peterboro St.
Detroit
May 6, 2026
One of Detroit’s newest restaurants is offering local diners authentic Ethiopian cuisine. Konjo Me – meaning “beautiful me” – opened mid-March and is the latest addition to Detroit Shipping Company, a Midtown food hall made of shipping containers with a shared dining space and community events. My friend and I checked it out this week and enjoyed the chance to try food we had limited experience with.
Konjo Me started as a pop-up in 2020 by Chef Helina Melaku, who is originally from Ethiopia. Her mission was to blend her heritage with fresh, nutritious food made from scratch with many ingredients imported from her home country.
The menu is a straightforward pick-your-own adventure experience. Visitors start with a base, either turmeric rice or injera – a spongy bread – before adding a protein of chicken, beef or fish, all Halal. The final step is picking a vegetable side with options that include a red lentil stew, a yellow split pea stew, collard greens or a slow-cooked cabbage. Vegan diners can replace the meat protein selection for a combination of all the sides.
We opted for the two-person meat platter combo – essentially two shared meals – which was a great way to sample a range of options. We went for the chicken and beef, the red lentil stew and collard greens, and both the turmeric rice and injera.
The ingredients merged for a flavorful experience that largely blended onions, garlic, red pepper and tomatoes with a small kick. The rice and injera countered as a mild base that served as a vehicle to blend the flavors and soak up the oily sauces.
Konjo Me encouraged diners to eat with their hands for an authentic Ethiopian experience, tearing off bits of injera to pick up the food and take a bite. I tried this a few times, but alas, I was not graceful or experienced enough to prevent the oils from running down my hand and switched to a fork fairly quickly.
Konjo Me also offers Ethiopian cooking classes, as well as Ethiopian coffee and coffee ceremonies, where participants can sample three rounds of different coffees. It was too late in the evening for me to add caffeine into the mix, but the coffee ceremony in particular sounds like a lot of fun for coffee lovers. If I liked cooking, I’d probably enjoy the cooking class as well.
I can’t say Ethiopian food is my favorite cuisine - especially with my sensitive stomach and low spice/oil tolerance – but I did enjoy my meal and trying something new. Konjo Me is a great addition to both Detroit Shipping Company and the city’s overall dining options and worth a try if you find yourself in Midtown.
