Ambar Capitol Hill

This is an absolute MUST when in DC. The staff is knowledgeable and friendly and the food is AMAZING. My husband and I had a class this week and a gal in our class told us we had to try this place. She was right. I wish I could give more than five stars.

This restaurant is simply amazing! We went here for our anniversary and it was an amazing experience. We were seated upstairs and our waiter was super attentive and recommended a few things to us. The food was incredible!! We will definitely be returning here soon.

We were visiting DC and this restaurant was recommended to us. We went for lunch and had the express lunch (small plates) for $19.99 per person - basically all you can eat. Food and service were excellent! Great opportunity to try almost everything on the menu but you need to have a huge appetite or fast the night before and do not eat breakfast! Will definitely go again.

The unlimited small plates for lunch were wonderful! I loved the mushroom crepe, the meat filo pie, the tuna tartare and the steak tartare. Service was attentive and the food came out quickly. Truly fabulous!

Great experience!

Food was fresh and a great concept. Go with a big appetite, relax and enjoy the event of eating. We also made friends with the table next to us so we discussed the small plates we liked and also shared— the restaurant will bring out extra small plates of food to enjoy that you didn’t order— fun and relaxing. Go!!

We arrived in DC on a Saturday afternoon and had brunch reservations at Ambar the next morning. I'd never had Balkan cuisine before, but with such great reviews, and a fantastic looking menu, I was excited. Neither the food nor the service disappointed us at all! Everything we tried was phenomenal and our waiter kept us supplied with food and drinks for a solid 90 minutes. We had such a fantastic time that we came back the next evening for dinner... And, the next afternoon for lunch! I travel often and eat at many great restaurants, but Ambar might be my new favorite! The atmosphere is welcoming, the food and drinks are beyond delicious, and the service is delightful! Top recommendations would be: stuffed pepper, karadjordjeva, baby beet salad, stuffed sour cabbage, veal soup, spicy pork, leek croquettes, and black Forrest gnocchi. Favorite drinks were peach mimosa (with lavendar) and the house old fashioned. Will definitely be back at least once, every time I visit DC!

We had friends from out of town visiting, and we wanted to enjoy a different kind of dining experience. WE DID. We all loved it. The bartender, the waiter, everyone was over the top friendly, and very knowledgeable in the food. I was worried there wouldn’t be too many options for me as I am a vegetarian but there were SO MANY! I loved the allergy menu they gave me that helped me see what I could have. I can’t wait to go back!

We decided to try something new and we are glad we came here! Our server was great, the location was great, and, most importantly, the food was outstanding!

Service dipped off towards the end of the evening. Couldn’t get water refills or place additional food orders.

This is one of the most unique but delicious restaurants I have ever been. They do all you can eat tapas style, and they had some of my most favorite bites - from any restaurant. We went for Sunday brunch and we loved it so much we went for Monday dinner and Tuesday lunch. That food is made with love and care and I will make a point to go whenever we come to D.C.

My family had a blast here - ambar is the best. We all want to return.

Second time going for brunch and it was great! My husband loved the Balkan burger.

Traveled from New York and surprised my boyfriend to this restaurant for his birthday. :) Can’t express how happy he was to eat Serbian cuisine and to feel like he was back home. It’s a dinner we will never forget and continue to go to every time we visit DC. Highly recommend!

P.S. Please consider opening another location in NYC. There is nothing like this here! ;)

Such a great style of eating!! Mojito & old fashion are drinks we recommend. Get the mussels!!

The food was delicious and the service was attentive. The $19.95 lunch special is a great deal. We'll definitely be back!

Just a great meal. The all you can eat is really great for your first time there. Staff were friendly and helpful in making our menu selections.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ All time favorite restaurant three years in a row!

We had a reservation and were seated promptly. As we were first time guests the waitress did an excellent job of explaining the menu and answering questions. Service was excellent throughout the meal and best of all the food was incredible. Wonderful dining experience overall. Highly recommend!

It was a perfect spot to have lunch with my daughter, they were extremely helpful

Absolutely fantastic! The food, the drinks, the service! Such a fun night out!

Nice small plates. I have to resist ordering more than I can eat. I am learning how to do that. Anyway we had an enjoyable time and will be back to do it again.

We came here for brunch on a Sunday morning and had an amazing experience! This place is located on Barracks Row in Capitol Hill and has such a great atmosphere inside. Food is top notch! We opted for individual meals but the Balkan experience looked amazing (all you can eat dishes and bottomless drinks for $39/person). You will not be disappointed here! Highly recommend!

The reviews we’d read for Ambar before we decide to dine here had set the bar pretty high, but the food far exceeded our expectations! They were a little busy when we got there, so despite a reservation we had to wait but the service, food and drinks more than made up for it. We were here for a get together and the ambience was just right for it.

Our second time here, and we loved it just as much as the first! Great food, lovely service, very pleasant atmosphere, and the unlimited small plates are a great way to go!

Great range of tastes and foods for the price. Love the $19.99 lunch special with unlimited small plates. Would like a bit less sour cream and cream in general, but overall a great experience and service!

The dining room is pleasant, the staff is welcoming and attentive. The menu is an array of interesting sounding small plates based on Balkan cuisine. I recommend the set-fee menu especially at lunch h when it's an amazing bargain. We started with a mezze-assorted charcuterie and spreads that were similar to other such assortments, but definitely not the same and in a good way. Everything we tried was tasty, but my favorite dishes were the mushroom crepes and the roasted cauliflower. My bro's favorites were the spiced stuffed cabbage and various sausages. I'm already looking forward to my next visit.

We were visiting the Capitol and wanted to eat a good lunch nearby. It was a 15 minute walk. The lunch is $20 for all you can eat small plates. We had about 20 small plates—all were very good. The Brussel sprouts and steak/frites were my favorites. My 11-year-old daughters loved it.

Delicious food, interesting cocktails, and solid service. Some of the foods struck me as slightly different versions of foods I’d grown up eating as an American of Polish descent. Some really amazing dishes. I won’t list mine as others have already done that and much will be a matter of personal taste, but definitely check out the Ambar experience. As long as they keep it the value it is for sampling this cuisine you won’t be disappointed. We’ll definitively be back!

My husband and I went to Ambar for dinner. Dinner was fabulous. They had a great variety of dishes both for vegetarians and nonvegetarians. Food was well-prepared, unique and very flavorful. Our waiter was from Serbia and was friendly, courteous and enthusiastic. Highly recommend this restaurant. We look forward to returning when we visit DC again.

Great unique food. Good to know that unlimited options were smaller size - not as great a value as it first seemed, but we still opted for this to try a larger variety. Hadn't realized our server was just bringing us her choices, so we finally interjected to order a few dishes we wanted to try. However, her selections were better than our choices. Service decent. Sat in table closest to restroom and there was VERY strong sewage odor which detracted from overall experience.

Terrific!
Just stuffed from the all-you-can eat deal and everything was delicious!

The service was excellent. The waiter, I think his name was Andraje, even let me try some of his favorite foods on the menu. The food was super tasty, it was just pretty small portions. But they told me that in the beginning.

It’s probably the best restaurant of Balkan cuisine in the US!

We have been here several times for brunch over the last couple of years( pretty much when they first started serving brunch, when you would get a full steak and a whole waffle!!) We literally come to the brunch for the waffles! We were seated upstairs which was cool since we've only been up there twice, once on the rooftop and another time in the section overlooking the front portion of the restaurant.
We were greeted 10 minutes after sitting and our orders were taking. About 10 minutes after we sat a party of three sat by us. First they got their drinks and food before us 3 plates to be exact (yes i counted) then finally we got our drinks and our first round of waffles. Not only were the waffles cold but we watched as the other table recieved more food. So we eat the waffles because we were starving but we let the waitress know. We get our second round and long and behold our waffles are cold again. This time i have her send it back and i wait patiently for a hot waffle! We ordered steak and eggs which was great but the portions became smaller and smaller each time we ordered them. In all this wasnt my favorite expereince here. I'm disappointed because this was truly my favorite brunch spot. But the inconsistency with the food and the "strange" waitress really killed it for me. I will give it one more go around and hopefully things are back to "normal".

Always a good brunch experience with a lot of options available

They put us in the absolute back corner by the bathrooms which was disgusting — other patrons made comments about it. Gross.

One of the best meals I’ve had

Superb tapas style restaurant!

I have never tried Balkan food before and it was a revelation !! Food was amazing. Love the concept of eating tapas style , that way we could try everything ( almost ). Service was kind and when we told them we were visiting from out of state , at the end they gave us for free a beautiful dessert! If you come to DC you must try this place