Letena Ethiopian Restaurant - Ethiopian restaurant in Washington - 3100 14th St NW #121, USA

Probably my favorite Ethiopian restaurant in the entire United States as of now, especially because this place has amazing food, excellent service, and a totally gathering-friendly atmosphere and pure cleanliness. I cannot find a single factor that I wanted tp provide constructive comments about. My entire experience was extremely positive. I really loved the fact that they had a meat sampler that allowed me to have a bit of everything, so I got that, and managed to have a combination of kay siga (beef stew in spicy berbere sauce), goat wot (braised goat stew), gomen bèsiga (seasoned collard greens cookied with beef), mushroom dulet, and timatim salad, all placed on a gigantic piece of injera ready to be feasted! And then of course, the classic doro wot (chicken stew) and alicha siga wot (beef stew in mild curry sauce) are just plain hits, really tasty. The kik wot added a very nice plain flavor that would lower the spice level of both the alicha siga wot and the lamb. Together with some injera, it was simply perfection. I also have never come across the kategna before! Toasted injera coated with berbere and seasoned butter! I have never had injera cooked that way because it was almost like the Ethiopian equivalent of our rice: never eaten alone. But man, it tasted amazing! I would really commend everything! Absolutely amazing food!

I had the pleasure of trying their meat sampler plate. The plate was a great, and featured a variety of meats such as beef, lamb, and chicken. The beef was particularly tender, and the lamb was rich and flavorful. All the meats were served with a side of traditional Ethiopian injera bread, which was perfect for scooping up the flavorful sauces. The service was great and the staff were friendly. I would highly recommend this restaurant for anyone looking to try authentic Ethiopian cuisine, and especially their meat sampler plate

Food was delicious and the staff was so nice! Great for vegetarian/vegans

Friendly staff. To taste Lots of choices, We ordered the vegetable sampler plate # two and meat sampler plate # two, 🍽️ 😋 + shrimp goulash ‼️ Tasty choices🤤

Lucky for me, Letena was one of the first restaurants I went to when I moved to DC last year. It has become my most consistent go-to. My boyfriend and I always split the Veggie & Meat Samplers 1 — maybe one day we'll branch out, but haven't needed to yet. The food is consistently delicious, the staff are warm and attentive, and we can always walk in and sit right down. Great spot!!

I had my first experience with Ethiopian food here and loved it. The staff was very friendly and happy to explain everything. My party ordered a meat dish and the vegetable sampler and we couldn’t finish all of it, it was so tasty but also very filling. The prices are also low for DC, but you truly get amazing dishes!

It was a decent meal. Fast service. New flavors to me. Ordered the veggie mixed platter and meat mixed platter. A bit under seasoned for my personal taste overall. The samosas were great.

Highly recommend Letena's lega tibs if you like spicy food! We also got the veggie sampler, which includes hearty portions of lentils, steamed cabbage, collard greens and tomato salad served on freshly prepared injera. Service is prompt and the staff are incredibly friendly!