Bunna Cafe's Ethiopian Food Wizards Now Have Permanent Home In Bushwick

We've made no secret of our enthusiasm for Bunna Cafe, the stellar vegan Ethiopian food operation that's been bouncing around Brooklyn for the past couple of years. Previously, if you were jonesing for a heaping plate of injera and kedija selata, you had to "settle" for one of their festive pop-up dinners, or sample dishes at various food markets. Now, finally, they have a brick-and-mortar home, having taken over erstwhile Bushwick whiskey bar Mama Joy's space at the end of last year. Someone hide my ATM card, please and thank you.

The Bunna crew (Sam Saverance, Liyuw Ayalew, chef Kedija Srage) celebrated the restaurant's grand opening on Saturday, and they've done a solid job transforming the Flushing Ave spot from Southern fried-chicken to Horn of Africa style, decorating the space with traditional art and an intricate centerpiece area for performances and their signature coffee ceremony. The interior design is still in the works, though; an Indiegogo campaign (ending in 62 hours!) aims to bring more furniture and amplified ambiance into the space soon.

Foodwise, those familiar with Bunna will find the restaurant offers an unchanged menu, with standard vegan-friendly delights like gomenmisir wot (red lentils seeped in spicy berbere sauce) and cool keysir salata (sauteed beets, carrots and potatoes). You can order the entree dishes—which run about $6 to $14, depending on size—a la carte, or you can opt for a "feast" combo of them all, which run $15-$48 for 1-4 people. All dishes come with the aforementioned injera, spongey Ethiopian flatbread that doubles as utensils, and you can order extra for a small additional cost.

And while Bunna's still waiting on its liquor license—Saverance says the restaurant will boast a full bar once that's been granted—you can forgo the booze for now in favor of their $5 pureed juice drinks, which come in creamy flavors like avocado, papaya and mango (a combination of all three runs $6, and is spectacular). They also offer shai, Ethiopian spiced black tea, for $2.50, and their signature fresh-roasted, spiced coffee runs $2.50 as well.

Currently, Bunna's open for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch; you can also expect special events, ceremonies and other goodies in the future. Cash only.

Bunna Cafe is located at 1084 Flushing Ave between Varick and Knickerbocker Aves in Bushwick, Brooklyn (347-295-2227, bunnaethiopia.net).