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All Ethiopia Lalibela Ben Abeba
Gastro Obscura

Ben Abeba

An otherworldly restaurant perched on the edge of a jagged cliff next to a medieval holy city.

Lalibela, Ethiopia

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ewayte
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Ben Abeba Restaurant   Göran Höglund (Kartläsarn)
It’s a snail shell, spaceship of a restaurant   Chuck Moravec
The staff and ingredients are all hyper-local   Singapore.Alice
View of Lalibela, Ethiopia   Göran Höglund (Kartläsarn)
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  Ursula / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Lalibela, Ethiopia is a holy city, a UNESCO World Heritage site famous for its 12th-century churches cut into the rock of the earth. On the opposite end of the architectural spectrum, just a short walk away, is Ben Abeba, a snail shell of a building that looks more like a spaceship landed on top of that rock.

Ben Abeba is a restaurant with wide-open spaces, located next to the historic architectural wonders of Lalibela. Perched high on a hill on the north side of town, it’s often described as looking like a bouquet of flowers or some sort of cooking pot.

The whole enterprise was the dream of owner Susan Aitchison, a retired home economics professor who came to Ethiopia from her native Scotland, initially to help a friend set up a school. Faced with leaving such a magnificent place and going home to Glasgow, she opted to stay. A chance ride with a local transportation company owner led to a business partnership, and to one of the best restaurants in Lalibela.

Aitchison and her partner, Habtamu Baye, hired local architects to put her ideas into motion, and the curved decks jutting out from the building’s central, spiraling staircase give patrons unobstructed views of the breathtaking river valley below. The award-winning restaurant serves a menu mixing traditional Ethiopian dishes and western fare, sometimes combining the two. Rising to the challenges of running a restaurant in a place with sometimes-sketchy electricity and less than reliable refrigeration, they pride themselves on giving valuable training to their young local staff, and especially their sourcing of local ingredients.

Related Tags

Unesco Restaurants Mountains

Know Before You Go

Lalibela is in northern Ethiopia, accessible by its small airport about 30 minutes outside of town. Ben Abeba is open from 7 am to 10 pm. General Manager Habtamu Baye also operates a local transportation company which can arrange transfers from local hotels.

Community Contributors

Added By

ewayte

Edited By

PrestonW, julnyes, Martin, Ursula

  • PrestonW
  • julnyes
  • Martin
  • Ursula

Published

December 6, 2016

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Sources
  • http://www.triplepundit.com/2015/09/how-a-mad-scottish-woman-launched-a-top-restaurant-and-social-enterprise-in-ethiopia/
  • https://www.lonelyplanet.com/ethiopia/lalibela/restaurants/ben-abeba/a/poi-eat/1365440/355297
  • https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/travel/a/23982325/eating-in-ethiopia-ben-abeba-restaurant/
  • http://onlineethiopia.net/2015/12/ethiopiawhat-if-they-were-really-set-free/
Ben Abeba
Unnamed Road
Lalibela
Ethiopia
12.043209, 39.036981
Visit Website
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Nearby Places

Bete Giyorgis of Lalibela

Lalibela, Ethiopia

miles away

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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Lalibela

Lalibela

Ethiopia

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Bete Giyorgis of Lalibela

Lalibela, Ethiopia

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