Bunna Ethiopian Cafe

If you walk past this place daily, I wouldn't be surprised if you've never noticed it. Their sign is very sterile and easy to miss. However, if you do one day venture in, you'll be surprised to find an Ethiopian coffee shop/lunch spot. Here's what's going for it and what's not:

What's going for it:
- A different option for lunch. Downtown DC has dozens of fast casual spots and food trucks. If you need a quick lunch that's unique, come here.
- It's a fun experience. No silverware allowed. You'll eat your food with your hands and use the injera (Ethiopian bread) to wipe up every last drop.
- It's tasty. It may not be DC's best Ethiopian, but it does the trick. For how quickly your food comes out, it's not bad.
- It's cheap (ish). Lunch for two was just over $20. For DC, that's not bad!
- The service is on it and friendly.

What's not:
-The environment is very sterile. It looks like a boring cafeteria rather than a true Ethiopian restaurant.
-I haven't had it, but I hear the coffee isn't amazing.

If you're sick of food trucks in downtown DC, come here!

Great place to grab a quick bite to eat for lunch at a reasonable price. Bunna Ethiopian Cafe is pretty small with about 6 tables. Service is super friendly. After ordering/paying at the counter, your food is out in no time.

I knew I had to get my go-to dish when eating Ethiopian (beef tibs), but also decided to try something different...chicken wot. I really enjoyed the beef tibs. It had a lot of flavor to it, the beef was tender, and the fresh jalapenos added just the right amount of heat. I was a little disappointed with the chicken wot. For $12.50 you only received one drumstick. One! Are you kidding me?! The rest of this dish was the stew and whole egg. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the stew. However, I was expecting it to come out with more than one drumstick. Surrounding the platter that came out was four vegetable samplings. I enjoyed the collard greens and cabbage the most. Plenty of injera was given to enjoy your meal.

A nice touch while dining at Bunna was having the waitress come around passing out free samples of their coffee. It was strong and good!

Bunna Ethiopian Cafe is one of my favorite places to grab a quick delicious lunch and also for a morning coffee. The service is friendly and personable. I'm not sure if they remember most of the time, but regardless, the service is the same and beyond what I experience elsewhere.

In the mornings I have ordered their Viennese coffee. It's made fresh every morning with some semi-sweet chocolate. It's a delicious cup of coffee, and it beats the price, taste, and line at the local Starbucks. Now for lunch, I have had both the Beef Tibs and the Vegan Combo. Let me start by saying both are absolutely delicious. However, my favorite is hands down the Vegan Combo. So so good! There's definitely enough in the lunch portion to divide and save some for dinner later.

Overall, with friendly service and it's delicious food, Bunna Ethiopian is a must!

What can I say? Hands down my favorite restaurant I've been to so far.

I went during lunch hour and there was a line. However, the employees managed it well and I waited about ten minutes to place an order. I ordered the veggie combo which is $8.50 from 12-2 on Monday thru Friday via their lunch special.

I waited for another ten to fifteen minutes for my food. Unlike other restaurants I did not grow impatient which I accredit to their soothing ambience. In the background they played classical music and the employees frequently walk around to check up on their customers.

Now when I got the food, let me tell you, my to go box was heavy! I've heard they give a lot of food and boy did they deliver. I ate about half and was extremely full. I'll save the rest for another day.

Bunna has it all. An amazing lunch special, great portions, a vast coffee and tea selection, amazing service, and delicious food. They don't deliver or accept orders through GrubHub, but when you go in, you won't regret it.

I came here for coffee and unfortunately they were out, but they barista immediately started a fresh pot for me. During my wait, she kindly offered my a free lentil pastry (crunchy pastry, well spiced with a jalapeno kick at the end!) from the display case. I admire all of the vegetarian and vegan options on their menu for breakfast and lunches. I look forward to coming back here to try the vegetarian sampler!

Also the coffee is very, VERY good!

I've heard amazing things about the veggie lunch combo from other Yelpers, so I was a little surprised when I went there and the cafe didn't meet expectations. I had the Veggie Combo and the gomen and misir wat were a bit greasy. After a few bites, I just couldn't eat them. I enjoyed the lentils and split peas.

For the lunch Veggie Combo - $8.50 is not a bad price, considering that food trucks in the area charge $10+. During non-lunch hours (after 3pm), the combo goes for $12.50, luckily the lady gave me a break and charged me only $11. Although I was stuffed, I had plenty of leftovers to give to the homeless woman outside the restaurant.

The staff was very friendly at the restaurant and I told her my honest opinion of the food. For a lunch time special, I would skip it and go to Rebecca Ethiopian Cuisine in McPherson Square. It's worth the extra dollar or two without the grease.

great quality lunch option to spice it up in the monotonous offering of salads, sandwiches, hot/cold bars and mediocre food trucks.

good flavours, comparable prices, still feels healthy enough for lunch, and friendly fast service.

don't think i can want for much else here.

Just had a delicious vegetarian lunch combo! Great price and the meal was very filling! To top it off the person bringing me the food very kindly offered me a cup of Ethiopian coffee. I am not a frequent coffee drinker, but this was delicious!

I also loved the very relaxing classical music in the background. Will definitely be back!

I came here today to try their fuul (this is my first time eating here). I ordered two bowls so I could have one for today and one for tomorrow--my office was going to close due to the pope visit so I thought I'd get an extra bowl for breakfast at home. I had to wait 15 minutes for the fuul because they had just opened, but that was okay because I wasn't in a hurry. While I was waiting, I got a chance to chat with one of the owners. She was really pleasant and she even gave a free chicken sambusa. I got back to the office and the fuul was delicious--the bread was a little hard but wasn't terrible. Also, I was charged for fir fir (which is a dollar extra) but I'm pretty sure it was a mistake, and I didn't notice until I got to the office. Overall, I thought the food and service were good and I would come back. It's really nice to have an Ethiopian restaurant in downtown DC.

Good food and good people. Quality injera! Mild is way too mild so get spicy for real Ethiopian flavor!