Letena: Ethiopian Restaurant, Coffee House, Culture

Earlier this month, Letena hosted its grand opening in Columbia Heights.  The new Ethiopian Restaurant aims to bring authentic, healthy, locally sourced Ethiopian cuisine to DC for both those who want a traditional experience, and those who want a more exotic fast-casual option. “Letena” translates to either “for health” or “to health,” which is evident in its freshly made entrees – which include vegetarian dishes, tibs, stews, salads, and other Ethiopian specialties.

And did you know that Ethiopia is actually the birthplace of coffee? Letena fully embraces the Ethiopian coffee tradition by offering traditional Ethiopian coffee made from freshly roasted Ethiopian coffee beans. If you really want to embrace the Ethiopian coffee culture, Letena will have Ethiopian coffee ceremonies on Sundays, and if you want to learn even more about Ethiopia, the walls in Letena are adorned with a variety of facts about Ethiopian culture as well as traditional Ethiopian art and artifacts.

The restaurant is located just a few blocks away from the Columbia Heights metro station at 3100 14^th street NW (entrance on Park Street) will also serve wine and beer.