Keren Restaurant and Coffee Shop

Service and food were super, but the space wasn't overly nice. It was clean, but old.

The food here is good and filling. If you have never had Eritrean cuisine, this place is a convenient location with friendly staff ready to assist in your dining experience.

The long narrow restaurant has a few tables up front by the windows, and the rest line the left side of the restaurant's wall of mirrors. It is a more intimate experience than some U Street or NoVA restaurants.

The prices are good, and for a decent price, you will be ridiculously full if you eat the injera to scoop up each delectable bite from the veggie combo. You can also order pasta, as a result of historic Italian occupation of Eritrea. This also lent itself to a cuisine more tomato-friendly-heavy than Ethiopian cuisine. You will notice the spices are present, but compared to Ethiopian food, they are lighter.

Expect a huge serving for your veggie combo with yellow split peas perfectly stewed, red lentils with a rich but lightly spiced tomato based sauce, stewed spinach, tender stewed potato quarter-chunks and braised cabbage (also in a light tomato sauce). The food is less greasy than most Ethiopian restaurants in the area, but it still has the same injera appeal if you like the sourdough crepe-like-pancake-bread.

They have breakfast, too, focused on a fava bean stew of ful. It can be veganized, just ask them to hold off on the dairy and eggs.

Very authentic Ethiopian restaurant with great, flavorful food. The vegetable injera is vegan and is huge! Definitely big enough for two people and inexpensive. The staff is very friendly.

Note that it isn't a very big place and is packed on weekends.