Bunna Cafe

I really can’t express how much I love Bunna and how special of a place it is. The feast for 2 ($ 28) is my go-​to, and you can share a giant platter of 9 types of beans, greens, and root vegetables on top of a huge serving of injera bread (with extra on the side!). The mood is dark and cozy, it’s great for groups, and there are a few cheap beer options (but the cocktails and wines are on the pricey side). Tip for those with food allergies: all dishes are vegan, and you can request gluten-​free injera 24 hours ahead of your reservation, sometimes they have a little extra day-​of.

I’m vegan, and I love Ethiopian food, so I should love Bunna, right? I really want to, I’m just not there yet. I had eaten at their pop-​up, but was not impressed by crunchy, undercooked collards. I understand that there are challenges with pop-​ups, so I was willing to give the restaurant a shot.
We got the Feast for 2, and I thought all of the dishes were quite yummy. The collard issue had been solved!
But what is up with the injera? It was so thin, dry and brittle that it was barely serving its function as an eating utensil. And then to have to pay $ 1 more for each extra piece of dry injera? The people next to us were using silverware. At first I silently judged them, but when I thought about it later, I had to give them credit for their problem-​solving skills.
Is the thick, spongy injera I get at other Ethiopian restaurants inauthentic? Was it an off night? Were you using up some gluten-​free injera? I’m really hoping the injera improves because I would like to support a vegan Ethiopian restaurant!

Nice service, decent food, overpriced wine.
A unique idea in a part of Bushwick that is overrun with mediocre restaurants.
The service here was lovely. The hostess especially took care of us — finding two seats for us on a very crowded night.
The coffee ceremony was a nice, unique touch. Coffee was also delicious.
The food was very affordable ($ 28 for two people) for entrees.
I’d suggest finding a way to inform us on what we are a eating. The Feast for instance included 9 items, but we couldn’t tell what the items were once they were served. An info card or even a quick explanation by the server when the food comes out would be very nice.
The wine was a rip off. They were charging $ 39 for a bottle that was $ 9.75 at the wine store down the street. We were disappointed we got taken for a ride on that. A markup of 2x would be fine. 2.5x even. 4x oh honey no.
Tasted cheap. Poor quality.
They should also learn to serve it properly. Pour a bit, allow one of us to taste, and make our selection. The server just began to fill our glasses. Steer clear of the wines.
Otherwise we really enjoyed this unique take on Ethiopian.

This really is a hipster’s paradise with the coffee they brew. Ethiopian is one of my favorite cuisines. The food is above average but this wasn’t the best Ethiopian food I’ve had — just not as good as the hype of the reviews. They definitely are too stingy with the inerja bread. They only give you half of one to start off then charge you $ 1 for another half??? Still on the look for my «go-​to» Ethiopian place, but this one will do until I find something better.

This place is great! The service is great and the food is delicious! Certainly a fan, and certainly going back!

The food was great! Even though I love my meat this place gets an A+ for the food and atmosphere Unfortunately the night I visited they where waay understaffed. Rather than leaving we where very patient but dinner took almost 2.5 hours which is the only reason they get a 4 star rating.

Bunna is a perfect mix of spice, variety, and love. The service was just fine and the coffee ceremony is pretty cool. They have a nice selection of local Ethiopian beers as well.

Un de mes restaurants préféré à NY. Né comptez pas sortir apres

If you are a vegetarian interested in trying Ethiopian food, I definitely recommend this place. The food was so flavorful and it was displayed on a beautiful platter. It was a fun an unique experience. There is a big young crowd there.

This place is so amazing !!
The food is delicious, the place is very clean, worm and has good energy :)
Love to eat her!!!

I’m not well versed in Brooklyn geography, but this place was pretty far from the friend on 8^th ave home I was visiting. The trek took ~40 minutes by car. It was worth it.
A nondescript exterior belies a cozy restaurant inside, reminiscent both of a very hip coffee shop and a speakeasy. Having gone midday on a weekday, it was rather empty minus a few tables of seeming regulars.
Being three, we ordered the 8 dishes at $ 22. Wow, is this ever worth it. The platter is a huge assortment of their lunch entrees. The seasonal dish was squash simmered in berbere sauce. Almost everything was delicious. Apparently, I really love berbere sauce. My two dining companions had unfortunately small appetites, so it was left to me to finish off much of the dish. I did not fail, although my waistline did not thank me for my success.
The injera was also delicious. A fluffy sourdough flatbread, it was a delicious and happy mate to the assortment of spiced dishes. Having finished the second platter of injera, I stole a tea spoon and started eating the now-​soggy injera that acted as a plate for the dishes.
The drinks are also awesome. My friend ordered a bunna (coffee w/​cardamom and cloves), while the other ordered a shai (black tea w/​spices). Both were great. Mine was better. The Ethiopiano is a mix of the former two drinks. Sweeter than the others, it was delicious. The drinks are a bit expensive ($ 3.50 for an espresso sized cup), but should last you awhile given their strong flavor. It would be worth returning just to try them again.
I’ll be back soon.

This place is nasty. I couldn’t eat the food or drink the coffee. You pay $ 2.50 for a thimble of coffee. It’s a joke. Hipsters like it because it’s cool. It’s sad that this restaurant has such a high rating on Unilocal.
It was impossible to get service. We got two cups of water for a party of five, had to wait minutes for more water and waited an insane amount of time for even the coffee to come (we had to ask where it was). We were given no napkins or utensils, I had to go ask the absent minded wandering waiter for napkins and utensils. We asked for sunflower seed milk for the coffee (sue me) and it never came. We asked for more bread. It never came. You can only apologize so many times before you are just bad at your job.

This place is great! I never had Ethiopian food and I decided to eat here for my birthday. Got a great table, nice spot, nice table with my friends, and great dining experience. The place was busy but staff made sure we were doing well.
The place is not too expensive either, it was about $ 12 per person which is great for a good meal in New York.

Great, quaint Ethiopia in Brooklyn!
Loves how they do the Katanga appetizer. Try it.

Bunna is my favorite place to eat, any day of the week, hands down! I am consistently impressed, even after having been here at least a dozen times! Fabulous, fresh– amazing! Come here for a delicious Ethiopian-​inspired experience. Take your time, and enjoy! LOVE BUNNA– FIVE STARS!!!
Having said that, I’d like to give props to some reviews on Unilocal that you may not have viewed, but with which I completely agree:
«Boy oh boy I love me some Bunna. This is the best Ethiopian food I’ve ever had and the ambiance, meal sizes, and prices are just right. I enjoy the easy-​going hospitality, too.»
«The food is always deliciously fresh, the flavors are robust and distinct and the Bunna crew are friendly and engaging.»
«This place is just fantastic. Best Ethiopian in the city, and the atmosphere is great.»
«I love Bunna! I eat here at least once per week, often more. It is my ‘go to’ place when I am hungry, and want a lot of filling food for a small price.»
«I love this place! The food is delicious, and I love to coffee ritual that provides a great insight into the culture of Ethiopian coffee and food. Not too expensive, especially the lunch special. And the owner is a total sweetheart!»
«This is the best Ethiopian food I have ever had. The food is healthy, fresh and simply delicious. The kale and avocado salad, pumpkin dish, lentil dish and mushroom dish were spectacular.
…the food tasted homemade and fresh. The quality of the food and ingredients is superb. The portions are really generous and the prices are really reasonable.»
«FAVORITE BRUNCH IN THE USA!
I travel a ton and get sick of the same-​old same-​old egg breakfast. If you want something different, savory delicious, hot and yummy, then try this place. If you are in the city it’s worth the trip to east Bklyn to try this joint. And the coffee is fabulous. I am a huge Ethiopian food fan to begin with but I never had Ethiopian breakfast. I came in expecting to get a standard combo plate. I was a little sad at first when I realized they only had food from their brunch menu. BOY WHAT A GOOD SURPRISE! homemade naan and injera are on point. I could go on and on but I won’t. Just go here one day. :)»
I would give them more stars if I could! This is my all time favorite restaurant and my boyfriend and I are lucky enough to live around the corner from it! I’ve never had anything that I didn’t love from here but I would suggest getting a feast with a little bit of everything to find out what your favorites are. I especially love kedija selata, misir wot, shiro, yater kik alicha and duba wot (we always look forward to this seasonal dish coming back in the Fall). Though we usually go for dinner, the brunch menu is also tasty. The coffee is fantastic, the juices are fresh and delicious (try the espris), the cocktails are good and they have a solid wine and beer selection. The coffee ceremony is a cool thing to witness… and smell! I can’t rave enough about the fresh, simple, yet unbelievably satisfying food.
«Food aside, I also appreciate the relaxing ambience created by dim lighting and candles on every table, as well as the attentive service from the kind and friendly staff. Since we eat here fairly regularly, we always receive a warm welcome. Highly recommended! Just be aware that its cash only.»
«My absolute favorite vegan spot in Brooklyn. It doesn’t get better than Bunna Café. I went for dinner first, and then their brunch… both are incredible! The chai tea was absolutely delicious. If you call ahead 24 hrs you can request their gluten free Injera also.»
«The food was excellently prepared. Very colorful and flavorful. Fun experience eating without utensils. The layered juice was delicous and guilt free. Staff friendly and helpful. Solid vegan joint.»

Best food. Ethiopian food rules and these dudes do it exceptionally well. I’m an extremely well known and respected guy when it comes to food from the great continent of Africa so I come to Bunna and shred kik alecha and misir wot like it’s no one’s business… Because it’s not.
I like how the other patrons at this place are yuppies that blab to each other about the art history program at Brandeis or how they taught their pure bred weimaraner to play dead. Get cool. I stack injera and shred stong coffees without wearing a blazer or looking like Michael Stipe. RELAX pretentious nerds trying to look cultured. No one cares.
It’s vegan so don’t bring your fat uncle that likes fishing and Bob Seger. If you were thinking about bringing a girl that orders extra rare steaks, ditch her and go to Bunna because she’ll get fat anyway.
Also the drinks rule. And they don’t deliver which is fine because I feel like they need me in there.

Lovely atmosphere. Brutal food poisoning… Like all culinary tragedies, it’s best to start at the beginning and then move toward gastronomic bedlam.
The atmosphere and positive Unilocal reviews drew us in. The food itself was average (the grand feast we had felt like a stylized salad), and overpriced ($ 48 for a «grand feast», why it’s called «grand» is beyond me and compared to other Ethiopian places in Boston and LA this is expensive). After moving to a nearby bar, members of our party started getting hit with cramps and then the vomiting started, streams of it caking the Bushwick sidewalk. Diarrhea followed. The owner of the bar gave us napkins, water, and whatever else he had that could alleviate the symptoms. Our thanks to the kind people there.
Without the food poisoning this place was below average food-​wise and above average atmosphere-​wise, but is that worth food poisoning.

Bunna Café was my first experience at Ethiopian food, and immediately I was hooked. So much so that I ate it again for dinner that very same day! I was a party of 4 and ordered 2 orders of lunch feast for 2. (Note: It is half portion of dinner feast) It came out in a large plate of 2 scoops of each and 4 rolls of injera. Each of the vegetarian options were delicious. Not one did I not like but my favorites were the red spicy lentils and the yellow split peas. There was no meat, but I didn’t miss a thing.
My only complaint was that there wasn’t enough injera. Other Ethiopian restaurants freely give you additional refills at will but Bunna will charge you a $ 1 a roll. Sad. But not to worry! The base layer of injera is soaked up with all the spices and is delicious finish all on its own.

I love the fact that this place is Vegan, it feels cozy inside and they do cool things like Tea ceremonies and live music. I dislike that our host forgot about our order and didn’t really check on us after having us sit in the waiting area (They were too full).
We tried the feast for two so I got to try a little of everything, I thought it was too bland for my taste and they only have one dessert option (Baklava), it tasted cardboardish. The Drink list looks good but the overall service can be a bit non attentive.

Probably the most hipster thing I will ever say: «There’s this great vegan Ethiopian place in Bushwick…»
But seriously. Amazing vegan Ethiopian food in Bushwick. You might as well go big or go home and order one of the «feasts,» which lets you try every single dish on the menu with a generous amount of injera. My personal favorites are the enguday tibs (mushrooms with spices), keysir selata (beets, carrots, and potatoes), and kedija selata (kale and avocado). Watch out for the misir wot– they aren’t kidding when they say it’s spicy. Eat at your own risk.
I’ve tried their brunch and unfortunately don’t like it as much as their dinner menu, but it’s still delicious and very reasonably priced.
Bunna also has a great atmosphere. Sure, it’s dark and pretty loud on any given night (they could definitely use some sound absorbers), but I always feel welcome there. There’s a really nice sense of community, particularly when they perform the coffee ceremony or have musicians playing. We stopped by during a jazz concert on our last visit, and although we couldn’t hear what any of our party was saying, the music was really great.
Vegan or not, get a few friends together and go share some amazing food.

Ethiopian food = no utensils, so be sure to wash your hands!
I came here for lunch, so it was pretty empty. I had the lunch special with Yatakilt Alicha with Ethiopiano.
The Yatakilt Alicha was seasoned really well — not too salty with a great amount of flavor. It’s interesting how the Injera (a sour flatbread) actually lends to the flavor of the dishes. Injera is sort of an acquired taste — the first time I had it, I was weirded out because I didn’t expect the sour, but the more I ate it, the more I liked it. The entrée itself was in a bowl, which didn’t look like much, but it came with 3 rolls of Injera and I was stuffed when I was done. I did hear that Ethiopian food was supposed to be really spicy, but I was disappointed when the hottest thing I saw was «spicy like wasabi», which is more sinus-​clearing than spicy.
The Ethiopiano tasted like a water-​down Ethiopian coffee with some floral notes from the tea. For those that have never had Ethiopian coffee, it is not for the faint of heart. It is heavily spiced, and it took me a while to drink all of it the first time I had it. However, I really enjoyed the Ethipiano because it tasted like both coffee and tea, which is exactly what it is. But the cup the drink came in was very small. Not worth $ 3.
My friend, who is not vegan, ordered the feast with almost everything. He finished everything on his plate and really enjoyed the food. We both decided we would come back again another time to try out other dishes.
As a recap, the food was good, and the experience of eating it was fun. It’s worth a try if you’re feeling a bit adventurous.