Mannaweenta 1055 Gaines School Rd #107, Athens, GA 30605
4.8/5 – Google Reviews
| Monday | 5–9:30PM |
| Tuesday | 11AM–9:30PM |
| Wednesday | 11AM–9:30PM |
| Thursday | 11AM–9:30PM |
| Friday | 11AM–10PM |
| Saturday | 11AM–10PM |
| Sunday | Closed |
By Briana Young
The exterior of the building would suggest a cuisine less exotic than its name. The generic font displaying “Mannaweenta” sits unassuming next to an oriental goods store. Fortunately, the warm smile of the cashier and spice-filled air beckons you to enter the quaint restaurant. Inside is a restaurant that gives you the comfort of home while catering to all of your dietary restrictions.
Mannaweenta, a restaurant specializing in Ethiopian cuisine, has been a part of Athens’s restaurant scene since 2015. Started by Haregu Bahtu, the restaurant gets its name from her daughter, Weenta, which means “desire,” and her sister, Manna, which means “food”. Together the words translate to “food you desire” and there is much to desire at Mannaweenta. Not only does the restaurant a variety of meats from fish, to beef, to lamb, but it also offers vegetarian and vegan options.
The meat and veggie options are displayed in a concise menu with a step by step process to ordering for those who are new to east African food. At the counter, there is the option to order an entrée in either a large or a small and two vegetable sides with a bed of rice or traditional Ethiopian injera bread. The names on the menu give you a sense of authenticity but encourage you to carefully read through the menu. If you are hoping to make a quick decision, you may want to read the menu online before visiting. During my initial visit, I ordered a small plate of the Fish Tibbs (an entrée only available on Tuesdays) with Ater Alitcha and Yemsir salad on traditional injera bread.
The Fish Tibbs, as their name suggests, are chunks of tilapia sautéed with onions and green peppers and marinated with garlic, ginger and rosemary. The finishing taste has more of a tangy lemony flavor than ginger or garlic. When paired with the Injera bread, which has a tart flavor akin to sourdough bread, the sharp tastes can be a bit much for the unaccustomed palate. Fortunately, the sides offer a much more basic taste to complement the acidity of the injera and fish. The Ater Alitcha is a mixture of split peas, curry powder, tomatoes and a few other spices. The potato-like texture makes for a filling and hearty side and the curry powder reminded me of Indian cuisine. The second vegetable dish, Yemsir salad, is served cold. The side has cooked lentils mixed with the same mixture of onions and tomatoes seen in the other dishes. The cold mixture carried the same tart flavor that seems to reoccur throughout the menu and the small size of the lentils offer a fun texture in contrast to the fish and Ater Alitcha. Overall, the presentation of the plate was home-style. The foods were squished together on the plate on top of the injera bread, which puts emphasis more on the flavor than the appearance of the food.
During my second visit to Mannaweenta, a few months later, my dietary preferences had changed. I was trying out veganism, a diet that excludes all animal-based products including butter and eggs. Luckily, Mannaweenta is one of the many growing restaurants in Athens that serve plant-based foods. Other restaurants like The Grit and Your Pie are also catering to the health conscious citizens of Athens. Following this health trend proved tricky, but the fact that all of Mannaweenta’s vegetarian sides are vegan as well, made it very easy to order.
Staying true to my vegan diet, I order Timatim Fitfit, Atakilt Alitcha and Gomen Wot over a bed of rice this time around. At first glance, the food’s thick consistency and buttery appearance doesn’t scream veganism. The Timatim Fitfit, which is served cold, is reminiscent of a stuffing you might see at a Thanksgiving table. Pieces of injera bread are blended with tomatoes, jalapenos, onions and the house dressing. The sourness of the bread and acidity of the dressing create an overall tarte taste. Eating a bowl full of this vegetable side would probably be too much to handle, but partnered next to Gomen Wot, it has a complimentary flavor. Gomen Wot is a hot collard green dish. It has a much deeper and spicier flavor than the Timatim Fitfit, which was a nice change for the palette. Though the dish features the same leafy green as southern collard greens, the flavor is much different. Southern collard greens tend to feature one main ingredient, salt. Gomen Wot has a more complex flavor due to the ginger and garlic that it’s cooked with. My final side, the Atakilt Alitcha, reminded me strongly of the Ater Alitcha dish that I had on my first visit. It is probably the curry flavoring, which is featured in both sides, that gave me that impression. The main difference, however, is that the Atakilt Alitcha primarily has potatoes, where the Ater Alitcha’s main ingredient is chickpeas.
Besides the delicious food, Mannaweenta offers a relaxed and cozy atmosphere. If you have time to spare and an appetite for a cuisine unlike any other food served in Athens, then this is your place. As a review by Adrienne Andrews from the Red and Black mentions “Everything that is made inside of Mannaweenta’s laid-back, spice-scented family restaurant feels and tastes like a labor of love” (2015). Like a family, the cooking of the food and serving of the food can be unpredictable. There was almost a 40-minute wait between ordering and receiving the food. Though the wait time could be a deterrent for some, the flavor and quality of the food was well worth the wait.
If the home-like feel and delicious food doesn’t way you, the portion sizes will. The plates are large and hearty and won’t break the bank. The smaller size, which I ordered both times, was $10 and more than enough for me, so I imagine that the larger size, which is $12, could easily feed two or more people. Mannaweenta is a spicy little hole-in-wall that offers a unique cuisine with the familiarity of home.
Reference:
Andrews, A. (2015, September 25). Mannaweenta combines traditional dishes and welcoming atmosphere. Retrieved January 23, 2018, from https://www.redandblack.com/variety/mannaweenta-combines-traditional-dishes-and-welcoming-atmosphere/article_608caa70-5a8e-11e5-a849-97098c93c7e0.html