Keren's restaurant scene is modest but satisfying. Most places serve the Eritrean staples: injera with spiced lentil or meat stews, salads, and strong sweet tea. The food is filling and inexpensive, and the quality in a working market town tends to be reliable — these are places where locals eat every day.
The Italian colonial period left a mark on Eritrean cuisine that is still visible in Keren. Pasta dishes are common, often prepared with a local spice profile that makes them something distinctly their own. A plate of spaghetti with berbere-tinged tomato sauce is not unusual to find alongside the injera, and it is usually worth ordering. For coffee, skip the restaurants and find a place doing the full Eritrean ceremony — it takes time, but that's the point.