From Lalibela to Berlin

Six tables in Neukölln

Our journey began in 2017 in a small shop in Berlin-Neukölln. Just 40 square metres, only six tables — but a large vision: to bring the real hospitality and the unmistakable flavours of Ethiopia to Berlin.

At the start we did not know what to expect. Would Berliners love our cooking? Would they eat injera with their hands? Would they take to a completely new way of eating?

The answer came faster than we had ever expected.

Day by day our little restaurant filled up. People came from every part of Berlin, brought their friends and told others about this small place where food was not just cooked but served with heart. The first two and a half years were wonderful — almost every day full to the last seat.

But in time it became clear: our dream had outgrown our first shop. So we dared to take the next step.

An old pharmacy in Kreuzberg

On 1 March 2020 we signed the lease for our new location in Kreuzberg. Back then the building was an old pharmacy — empty, in need of renovation, and a long way from the restaurant we had in mind.

Together with our builders we planned every last detail. The opening was to follow six months later. But life had other plans.

Then came the pandemic.

Weeks turned into months. A small delay turned into countless postponements. One lockdown followed the next. Again and again we had to tell our guests: “Just a little more patience.”

There were moments when we did not know whether we would reach our goal at all. Two years of uncertainty, worry and setbacks lay ahead. And still we never stopped believing in our dream. We kept building. Kept planning. Kept hoping. And it was that hope that carried us.

2 May 2022

After more than two years of waiting we were finally able to open the doors of our large Kreuzberg restaurant and welcome our first guests.

That moment was far more than an opening. It was proof that patience can be stronger than setbacks, that passion is bigger than any crisis, and that dreams can come true if you never give up.

Today

Today Lalibela is more than a restaurant to many people. It is a place of meeting, of being together, of hospitality. A piece of Ethiopia in the middle of Berlin. And every smile from our guests reminds us why we took this path.

Our story is far from over. It has only just begun.