Seven Olives is one of the longest-established restaurants in Lalibela, attached to the hotel of the same name near the church complex entrance. It occupies a pleasant garden setting with the seven titular olive trees providing shelter from both sun and the occasional rain shower. The atmosphere is unhurried in the way that highland Ethiopia tends to be.
The menu is solidly Ethiopian: injera served communally with lamb tibs, shiro (a chickpea stew spiced with berbere), and the excellent local honey. The full Ethiopian coffee ceremony — green beans roasted at the table, ground by hand, brewed three times — is offered in the garden and is worth the hour it takes. Prices are reasonable by any standard; by the standards of what you eat, they are a bargain. The breakfast here, with fresh bread and eggs and the strong Ethiopian coffee, is a good way to start a day at the churches.