Went here a few months ago with friends. Never had Ethiopian food until then so while I'm a little uneducated as far as Ethiopian cuisine goes, this was the best food I had while traveling through DC. My wallet was cool with it too. $30 for 4 people? Yes plz read more

This place is amazing! It's like home cooking for me. If I were Ethiopian, it's food my mom would make. Excellent service. Good prices. Good quality and quantity of food. I wish it were in NY. read more

This place was amazing! It was our first time eating Ethiopian food, so we really didn't know what to order. Our waitress was awesome at explaining and giving suggestions, she was very friendly and patient as well. We ordered a couple different things based off her suggestions and some based off of what some previous yelpers had posted. There was not one thing I didn't like about this place. read more

As an Ethiopian American, this is the best real deal you'll find in America! Three friends and I had a everything option for $10.99 each. We had so much food - my roommate and I finished our leftovers three days later! The owner LemLem is amazing, she talked to us for three minutes to ensure our food was superb. It's known for its brunch, but it has excellent italian food and fresh veggie combination. It felt like the food my mother made for me. There is a reason it's rated #4 best restaurant on TripAdvisor. DC has great restaurants, but this one is refreshing. read more

Wow! And wow again! My wife and I were down from NY for the weekend, and Ethiopian food was #1 on our list. There was a very short line when we arrived at 6:00 on a Saturday night, and we spent our wait at the bar, trading stories with the owner about growing up in Ethiopia. The food, when we finally were seated, was totally worth the wait. Among the finest Ethiopian meals we've had. When we left at 7:45, there was a long line waiting to go in, and we assured all we saw that it was well worth the wait. We'll be back! read more

Since (apparently) our old favorite in DC, (The Red Sea) has closed e thought we'd give this a try. Glad we did -- delicious food, very much what we want from Ethiopian. Highly recommended! read more

Really good food but even better service. Wish I grabbed the name of our waitress but just wanna say she was the sweetest, most patient human being ever. She said she usually works in the kitchen but because they were short handed she was waiting tables. Kudos to her for being awesome! Thank you so much and we will definitely be back here again :) read more

Excellent food with reasonable prices. Get there early as the place is not that big. Portions are generous too, we ordered too much and were stuffed with half the food left on the table. read more

Great food. Their spicey chicken is bomb! Potions are big if you get a traditional plate. Do try their coffee too. It's so good

This is my favorite restaurant in all of D.C. My girlfriend introduced me to Keren and now we go every week - it is so affordable and tasty. Always get the Keren special with beef, medium spicy. read more

Really good food in-house, but wish they still did delivery.

This is the first time I've tried Ethiopian/Eritrean food and it was awesome. I went for breakfast with one other person and we ate like kings for $23. Great service, very unique flavors, and huge portions. I will definitely go back! read more

We went for dinner and there is really only one choice for Ethiopian -- a vegetable platter to which you can either add a chicken or meat stir fry, which is called tibs, but obviously isn't because it's cooked. Food is much less complexly spiced than Ethiopian food should be and they are missing many of the classic dishes. If you're new to this type of food, perhaps this is good because the blandness is accessible, but if you've had Ethiopian before, you'll be very disappointed. read more

Food light and flavorful. Portions incredibly generous. Good value. Interesting crowd of Ethiopians and others. Menu very different from other Ethiopian places I've been to, with things like spaghetti and sandwiches on the menu. read more

Super friendly family run operation. Delicious food. Positive feel. Great experience! Since Zeds is long gone, about time for authentic go to Ethiopian food, and at a good price. Get the sampler with chicken and add a side of beef - more than enough for two people. Try some honey wine and imported beer as well. Excellent! read more

Delicious food and wonderfully flavored. The staff was incredibly nice and accommodating, even during a really busy time. I ordered the tibis, which was fantastic, but noticed that most of the ethnic customers ordered other dishes and none had any tibis...perhaps because the other dishes (the names escape me) are more common everyday ethiopian food? Regardless, everything was fantastic. read more

Good Ethiopian food. Good Coffee and a cozy spot.

Oh no! Here I walked in and thought I was getting Ethiopian, but instead the menu tells me it's Eritrean! Would what little experience I already had with Ethiopian be thrown out the window? Nay, the answer is nay. My old friend injera was there to guide us through the cuisine, and every last bit was absolutely delicious. I ordered the first item on the menu, and all of the components of the meal (salad, meat, veggie and a grain) were arrayed on a delightfully large circle of injera. On top of that, I was brought another serving of injera to help me scoop up all of the goodies. I am not experienced nor cultured enough to be able to tell you the differences that might exist between Eritrean and Ethiopian food, but my limited experience does at least tell me they are comfortably similar to each other. Italian colonial heritage means that spaghetti is on the menu, and we ordered a dish with breaded chicken. The breading was made in-house and the spaghetti sauce was mostly a familiar flavor, but was still undoubtedly an Eritrean interpretation. Service was hands down delightful. Lots of genuine smiles and a real desire to please. When the check was left with us, we put our card out and lingered for a few minutes. It hadn't been picked up yet, so we thought perhaps we were to go to the counter. When we did this, one of the waitresses looked absolutely mortified that we were being inconvenienced, and apologetically motioned us to sit and make ourselves comfortable again. It was so sweet. Oh, and that check? Incredibly inexpensive, especially considering portion sizes. I absolutely recommend this, and hey, it means you get to tell people you've eaten Eritrean food! Now Yelp, let's get an Eritrean category, no? read more

I don't take pictures of food, but you can take my word for it that this place is authentic and awesome. When you are from OOT, it is essential to use Yelp reviews and Yelp steered us in the right direction. Super yummy inexpensive food and welcoming atmosphere. read more

When I went to keren, it was my first time trying Ethiopian food. When we went in, our table was a bit dirty, but mostly clean. Our waitress arrived about 3 minutes after we entered. She was not that talkative, like other waitresses at Ethiopian places, but she got our order correct, and refilled our water glasses repeatedly. The restroom was not very nice. It smelled bad, and was pretty dirty. Also, the sink did not have too much water pressure, and the hand dryer was very loud. We got our food about a half hour after ordering, and I have to say that it tasted ok, but it was not as authentic as food at other Ethiopian restaurants I went to after this. After that, I wasn't sure if I liked Ethiopian food or not, but a couple months after that, I went to a Washington d.c. Ethiopian place called Ethiopic, and that made me decide that I like Ethiopian food. If I eat Ethiopian food the next time I go to d.c, I will most likely go to Ethiopic, but just because I had one relatively mediocre experience here doesn't mean that it is always like this, considering how great the other reviews were, so I might give this place another chance when I got to Washington next. food timeliness: 4.5 stars employee kindness: 3.5 stars restaurant cleanliness: 4 stars restroom cleanliness: 2 stars restroom facilities: 2.5 stars taste of food: 4 stars authenticity of food: 3 stars chances of giving restaurant another chance: 70% read more

I never write Yelp reviews but the service/food at this place was so good that I had to. The owner even gave us a bowl of a free dish to try. Probably shouldn't have been so surprised because it was crowded at 3:30 on a Monday (and packed around dinner) read more

The service was great and very attentive! It was a tiny place, but they appeared very efficient in getting people served and tables bused quickly. Their injera was awesome as was everything we had (beef awaze tibs and veggie combo. Very inexpensive for the amount of food we had. read more

I come here all the time. The food is consistently good and the prices are great, especially if you want to go somewhere and get the most bang for your buck. I don't go to any other Ethiopian eatery in the city, except for Keren. read more

The food is flavorful, wonderful, fresh, served fast, and the service is very homey and sweet. I wish they would add a heavier salad for the vegetarian option, but I really enjoyed my experience here and it's so fun to try with a group! read more

Excellent, got the special and if had a little bit of everything. Got the medium spiced beef and it was a good amount of heat. Everything was delicious!!! Service was a little slow, but nice. They knew we needed forks. read more

Quality food for a great price. I eat here once a month and the food is consistently good. They are gracious enough to let me stay a while and pick at every remaining bite of my food. The Shiro is unmatched and so is the fish. The fish is tender, flavorful, and the right amount of spice. Every injera order should feed 2 people comfortably, which means you and a friend can eat and be full for under $20. Tip well, they deserve it! The only downside is space and especially when it gets busy. So just expect that you'll have to wait. The place is small so if you're waiting, the servers know and have you in mind for the next table even though they may not verbalize it. read more

I love Ethiopian food, but it's somehow all the better, when it's from a nice locally-owned business. The owner, Lemlem, is a lovely woman who works really hard and clearly, cares about her customers. We came for dinner around 6:30p on a Sunday and it was packed! The decor is no-nonsense, but we came for the food. We shared the veggie combo. Then we added an order of the spinach (for only $2!). Not sure what it is, but there's something magical about this spinach. I would have been satisfied if my whole meal consisted of only spinach. The other veg dishes were nice, but flavors were on the mild side compared to other Ethiopian fare I've had. Delicious nonetheless. Also, don't be a fool, try the ful (which comes with salad)! Add the flaxseed dip (spicy) to mix it up. You can call a day or so ahead for the full teff/non-gluten injera and we weren't charged for extra injera (but maybe that was a mistake?) Will have to come back to try the coffee...and eat more spinach of course! Only wish the hours were longer, especially on the weekends. read more

Absolutely the best Ethiopian food I've ever had! We waited in a line outside for 35 min, but it was more than worth the wait. The staff was very friendly and helpful in providing suggestions for our entrées. read more

Awesome service, and the best bowl of foul (fave beans) you can ever get, you cannot beat the fresh bread and the zesty salad they make. hands down the best fave bean dish. Do not forget to get the spices and sour cream to the mix...you are welcome. read more

The fuul here is amazing, so much so that I come here most Sundays to partake. Mulu, the owner, always insists on committing my large group's orders to memory, noting each of our customizations of the standard toppings of scrambled eggs, yogurt, onions (none for me, thanks), jalapenos, and "spicy," which is a red spice that she sometimes brings extra helpings of to satisfy the more adventurous members of our fuul posse. Watching Al-Jazeera on one TV and ERI-TV (an Eritrean station that covers the latest music vids as well as provocative segments on the latest developments in the national infrastructure) on the other always is a great way to start the day. Add in the $1.59 cappuccinos, and Keren is my favorite restaurant in a city full of great local places. read more

I discovered Keren a few years ago while staying close by in Adams Morgan. It was my introduction to Ethiopian/Eritrean food. It is by far the best I've ever had anywhere in the United States. I eat here every chance I get to while I'm visiting DC. I always get the same thing and the wait staff is super nice and attentive. I will continue to come here until I or it no longer exists. 10/10 read more

Very good! I'll be back. Staff was nice, the food fresh. I ordered Ful with egg and salad. Coffee was delicious.

Can't get enough of this restaurant! Every time I visit D.C., this place is a must. The staff are very friendly and helpful. On my last trip, I ended up going there twice eating the ful and beef tibsi. You can't go wrong either way. The flavors are amazing from the first to the last bite. Also, eating with your hands is the norm here - take that mom and dad. read more

great vegetarian options. ful with coffee is the way to go. Slow but lovely service. best place in DC.

This is my favorite Ethiopian restaurant in the DC area, by far (note that it is actually Eritrean, but the food is identical, as they were the same country until early 90's). The food and prices are excellent, so cost benefit ratio couldn't be better. The owners are extremely warm and welcoming. It gets very crowded, for obvious reasons, so I now mostly call in and then pick up (they do not deliver), or I go in the middle of the afternoon. Let's make sure this gem stays in business! You never know what will happen to rents... read more

Went here to try Ethiopian food for the first time (tonight!) and I couldn't be happier. We had the veggie sampler and special tsi(something) meat and it was delicious. It was three of us and we couldn't finish the dinner sampler. The staff was friendly and genuinely interested in providing great service! I would absolutely call this place a gem of DC! Thank you!!!!! Oh, and super affordable! read more

I have been to this restaurant more times than I can count and I have never had an unpleasant experience. Everything on the menu is made to perfection! Whether you are a vegetarian or a fan of meat, there are so many great options on their menu. It's nice to finally come to a real authentic Eritrean restaurant and leave completely satisfied in every aspect. The waitresses are very attentive and the ambiance is incredible. I recommend this place to everyone who can appreciate really great Eritrean food. They are truly the best! read more

Excellent breakfast foods! I got the ful and the ingredients were fresh and delicious and not salty. I would definitely come back here to try their other dishes. read more

This place has AMAZING food! and they owners are extremely kind. Wish I lived in DC so I can eat at this place again. Casual place, inexpensive and delicious! read more

The food is excellent and the staff bent over backwards to make sure my kids, particularly my very finnicky 5 year old, was happy. They couldn't have been nicer and more accomodating. Definitely worth a visit. read more