Buna Kurs Ethiopian Cafe — Restaurant in Richmond

My random visit here was pretty much the highlight of my week. I was telling everyone how I had an Ethiopian smoothie and a latte, and they BLEW my mind! Everyone asked, “What’s an Ethiopian smoothie?” And I would answer with, “a smoothie at an Ethiopian place,” or, “I don’t know, but it was AWESOME!” Both responses are true. The peach, pear, and apricot smoothie was the best tasting smoothie I’ve ever had, seriously. And I ordered the brown sugar cinnamon latte to go, and wow, that tasted like the peak of coffee to me! It was so smooth, and rich, but still light, and yet full. Sweet, but mellow and balanced. I cannot wait for my next opportunity to visit just to get my smoothie and latte again. I ordered with two different servers, and both were extremely personable, welcoming, and helpful, which I really appreciated. I also ordered the Awaze Tibs, which was my server’s recommendation, and they were excited to prepare it for me. It was great, and had awesome flavor. The perfect amount of spice balanced with a cook tomato salad and top notch injera. My only downsides were that I had a couple bad bits of steak, some of the steak was fairly chewy, and it all was kinda pricey. But I’m not used to Richmond city prices, so that may be normal. They have Wi-Fi, which I needed to work, and their cafe is a cute and bright space, although the seating arrangements they had were not the most comfortable. None of these points, however, will ever stop me from recommending them to anyone just based on their smoothies and coffee alone! Hope to see you soon, and doing even...

great customer service! for drinks, i got the honey ginger latte (hot) and forbidden fruit smoothie and for food, i got the anebabero and the awaze tibs. the drinks were fine, generally the quality and price of what you would expect at a good cafe, definitely on the sweeter side of things, 4/5 for both. anebabero, personally 5/5 - nice and chewy/springy texture and the olive oil berbere mixture is perfectly flavored including the perfect level of spice. awaze tibs, personally more like 3.5/5 - beef bits were a bit tough and the tomato salad was nothing special, seasoning was on point though. both food items are a bit pricey for what they are, but i'm not mad about it? vibes are good inside, outdoor seating looks comfy. the counter chairs are also quite interesting although i imagine shorter people would struggle to get up and down from them (i'm 5'7...

Edit - I’ve tried to dine here 4 times since my initial review and 3 of the 4 times the kitchen was closed without announcement. The other instance the entire cafe was closed during their posted open hours with no announcement on the door or instagram. I love the food, but I’ve wasted so much time and energy trying to eat here that I have to write them off.

I was so excited to discover a new coffee/breakfast place, and one that's filling the spot of Saadia's nonetheless. The Ethiopian breakfast sampler was one of the best meals I've had in Richmond - I'll be thinking about the Egg Silsi for a long time to come. The house latte was great, and we got some baklava to go. On our way out, we had a lovely chat with the owner Lily. Before I even left Buna Kurs, I was recommending it to friends. I'm so happy I stumbled upon this gem and we'll...