Bethesda: Lucy’s Ethiopian Restaurant (December 2019)



My spouse and I visited Lucy’s Ethiopian Restaurant on a Monday evening in mid-December 2019. Lucy’s is open daily for lunch and dinner. Diners can make an online reservation using their website.

The Bethesda location of Lucy’s is located on Cordell Avenue in the Woodmont Triangle 
neighborhood, in the space previously occupied by Grapeseed restaurant. (Another location exists in Silver Spring.) We stayed nearby at The Bethesdan (a Hilton property that was formerly called the Doubletree), and it was a short walk from the hotel to the restaurant. The “Lucy” in the restaurant’s name refers to the 3.2-million-years-old female archeological remains that were discovered in Ethiopia in 1974. The large space includes the main front dining/bar room (accented with colorful hand-painted murals, one of which includes a primitive cave drawing of what Lucy might have looked like), with a few more private booths toward the rear of the space adjacent to a private dining room. 

As its name suggests, Lucy’s serves Ethiopian cuisine, something we had heard about but never tried before. We knew we would have to eat with our hands, using spongy injera flatbread to grab, wrap, and scoop our food. As a starter, we shared the sambusas (samosas), one lentil and one beef, which reminded us of Mexican empanadas. As our main plates, we ordered one lamb and one beef dish, which were served on a huge platter covered with injera that also included our six chosen side dishes (including beets, kale, two kinds of peas, and two kinds of lentils). The restaurant has a full liquor license, so patrons can enjoy beer, wine, and cocktails with their meal. 

We enjoyed our unique dinner at Lucy’s Ethiopian Restaurant.








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