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Ambar
Brunch: Saturday - Sunday 10am - 3:30 pm
Dinner: Monday / Tuesday/ Wednesday/ Thursday 4pm - 10pm
Friday 4pm - 11pm
Saturday 4:30pm - 11pm
Sunday 4:30pm - 10pm
Public metered parking via parking station is available along 8th Street, SE from E Street to our north to I street to our south.
2 hour residential parking located nearby in the surrounding neighborhood at E Street, G Street, 7th Street, and 9th Street
Private Dining
Ambar is a modern Balkan tapas-style restaurant. With a desire to introduce Washington, D.C. to cutting edge Balkan cuisine, proprietor Ivan Iricanin has created a dining space that will delight and indulge the senses.
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Menu
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Phenomenal food and great value. Not a single thing was bad or boring. We had guests from out of town and knew this was the best place to take them. The variety of the Balkan experience is great and also allows people to try new things without being tied down to one dish which I love.
The Balkan Experience at Ambar was an amazing feast. You will get unlimited small plates and drinks for $49 a person and the value was outstanding. Our waitress, Milica, who is originally from Belgrade, offered to order the food for us, and placing ourselves in her capable hands and we sampled dozens of delicious dishes. We have previously dined at Ambar for brunch, but the dinner, with a wider variety of dishes more typical of Serbia was even better. Love this restaurant and we will return.
Ambar was amazing!!!
I keep recommending Ambar to friends and family and I keep coming back! It never fails to be an amazing experience from start to finish, with amazing food and drinks. Such a great experience, and a fun time with friends!
Delicious and tons of value in the Ambar Experience. I would not recommend doing it a la carte. Good service; knowledgeable and polite. Would absolutely recommend!!
You literally can't go wrong here. Food, service, experience. Top notch. Come here for dinner, you will not be disappointed, garanteed
My husband and I did the all you can eat deal and we definitely got our money’s worth! The food was soo good. Recommend asking your waiter for suggestions as we tried items that we would not normally pick. Fun for groups or just a date!
Definitely a unique experience that everyone should enjoy
I tried a lot of different restaurants in DC and Ambar was definitely the best! Had to go back there for a second time before leaving the city. The Balkan food is amazing and the service is great! I recommend the Ambar Express Lunch so you can taste all of their delicious plates.
Authentic pan-Balkan cuisine. Attentive staff and a great format: larger 'small plates'.
Unreal flavors!!!! Amazing wait staff and managers.
Ambar was one of the few restaurants we've been too that exceeded our expectations and the reviews: The food was both unusual and outstanding, the service was outstanding and the value (lunch special) was very, very high, particularly considering how wonderful the food was. Every dish had unique taste aspects to it and we loved them all. The house wines were also very good. The only negative was the decor was somewhat worn down (not a place one would pick for a glamour night out). However, we'd go back here anytime over nicer looking places because the food was so superior.
Not bad, but nothing exciting either. Definitely over-rated, in my opinion.
Visiting DC and trying new foods. Quiet at 5 and great service tried the all for 35.00 without alcohol. Loved the cheese pie, kebabs, different spreads and the mussels were awesome. Will go again before we leace DC
Amazing!! The Ambar experience is a must have. Can't wait to come back for brunch. All employees were so helpful and knew the menu very well.
Real balkan experience!!!!
Amazing experience at Ambar for a Sunday brunch! Everything was perfect from the welcome by the hostesses to the kindness and empathy from the waitress through the very yummy plates: Cheese Pie is a must as well as the Salmon Egg Benedict and the Mushrooms Crepes!
So delicious, so creative, and a great value. I keep thinking the quality will go down because it can't stay THAT good. But it is THAT good. You won't be disappointed.
TONS OF GLUTEN FREE OPTIONS!!!!! Amazing food, amazing value ($49 for all you can eat AND all you can drink wine/beer/select mixed drinks)! My wife and I are always looking for options to mix up date night cuisine and found this restaurant so highly rated and serving many foods we had never experienced, that this seemed like a no-brainer for our casual anniversary dinner. We made same-day reservations for 6:45PM and were seated immediately upstairs.
Our servers (2) were delightfully helpful and were Croatian; spoke of the food of their homes and tied stories of dishes to personal experiences which was heartfelt. We admitted being first-time diners and asked for recommendations off the expansive menu, though I had already spotted several dishes- and were presented with a culinary roadmap to enjoy the most traditional dishes paired with most popular ones at the restaurant. We were NOT disappointed! The small plates let us try (and re-order as necessary) many dishes and they were brought out fairly quickly for how busy the kitchen must have been on a Friday night. My wife is gluten- free and some reviews had mentioned 'yes, there are GF options here' but we were amazed at how many there truly were.
Our server offered us their 'allergy mapping' menu (see picture) and we were floored at how many options existed for my wife. We did not feel limited in ordering as we typically do based on her sensitivity; and I was still able to try a dish or two that contained gluten, thanks to the sizing of the plates. Our favorites were Brussels Sprouts, Stuffed Cabbage, Lamb Prosciutto, Drunken Mussels, and Spicy Pork Sausage. Hugely impressed and satisfied with this meal and will be returning next time with friends to share even more family-style.
Served by the most gracious hosts who shared their culture through their service and food tying together a very enjoyable and delicious experience.
Tapa sized sharable dishes made for a great date night. Try the drinks they are infused with Balkan brandy “Rakija”.
Cannot wait to go back!
Unlimited small plates and unlimited food.
Don't miss this place! Great value and mighty tasty.
FABULOUS SERVICE, GREAT FOOD AND JUST ALL AROUND FUN EXPERIENCE!
The unlimited dinner is a steal, the plates all a good size, so much variety, all very yummy! and the mojitos were spot on!
Ambar had quickly become our go to place for business dinner. We have been here 3 times in the past two years and always enjoy the food and service. Thanks again for allowing us to shine with our International Counterparts.
Was a great date and the Bartender/ Server did a great Job keeping up with the Bar Traffic as well as her section!
Great service, tasty food and even better value. I dined for a business lunch and it was nothing short of exceptional. Our server was extremely prompt and provided great suggestions for their unlimited lunch menu selection. They surprised my client with a birthday dessert for her birthday after noticing we were celebrating from the OpenTable details in the reservation.
I would indeed go back, again and again.
Discovered this place recently (a couple months or so ago) and have been back three times already. A unique and varied menu with something for everyone. Also, their "Experience" offering is well worth what you get! The food is great. The service is great. The atmosphere/ambiance is great. The value is great. I definitely recommend a visit.
Excellent service and delicious food. Natasha is the best waitress ever. She created a special dessert for a friend who was visiting from the west coast. Even wrote a special message on the plate.
The food choices and quality were outstanding! Our group took advantage of both the $49 all you can eat and drink (selected options) and the $35 all food, no drinks opportunities to have an amazing meal! We will be going back very soon!
Didn't like seating just across from bathroom, server didn't seem like she liked her job so we kind of felt bar about asking for things even though we were relaxed and polite and the four of us didn't over do all you can everything. Food excellent!
I really loved this place. We went to Sunday brunch and enjoyed the food and the entire experience. Will definitely be back soon!
Absolutely love this place. Have dined in Belgrade, Serbia multiple times and this was just as good. Reminded us of the quality, service, and experience we had in Europe. We can’t wait to go back. We loved Stephan!
Another amazing experience. This was my second time at Ambar, and I will continue to come and bring more and more and more and more friends for true Balkan cuisine in DC. Hvala puno!
I did the Balkan experience for brunch, and while it was very good, it doesn’t compare to the Balkan experience for dinner. It’s nice to have a range of drink options included in the bottomless brunch, and you can always find something you like with unlimited small plates, but I’d recommend Ambar for dinner over brunch.
Wow!!! That was the word that came to mind from all 8 of the group of friends we had gathering at Ambar on Friday night. Service was friendly and attentive, the food was amazing - each dish tasty and with a wide variety of flavors. We ended doing the “Ambar Experience” - which was $49 per person for all you cared to eat and drink. The drink part had a few restrictions (mainly that they served their house red and house white - but both were quite good - and there was a limited selection of other drinks. Our group had among us both wines, their special old fashioned, and mojitos - all of which were very tasty. The food was some of the best we have had - and they were not shy on bringing more, recommending things we had not yet tried, or in keeping our wine and drink glasses full - so despite being prix fixe they were not stingy with either food or drink. Our server was also wonderful - personable, knew what to recommend, and responsive. We did dinner here before an evening parade at the Marine Barracks - as the restaurant was only a couple hundred yards away it worked great.
This place is a find - one of the best restaurant experiences and probably the best restaurants value we have ever had!
The "Ambar Experience" was a pretty good deal for $35/EA. However, we did notice that portions were smaller than if you order plate by plate. Which means you just have to order more everytime the server comes by. One of the best meals I've had in DC though!
The place is designed to be a simple sit down and have some great food kind of dinner. The food was great and the 19.99 all you can eat from the small plate menu is too good a deal to pass up. Drinks are great and very reasonably priced. We both enjoyed the ambiance and overall experience. The lunch of a lifetime and drinks for under $60.00 .... in DC .... make this a go to spot for the finickiest foodies you know. The staff is terrific and you can tell they like their job(s). There's a great liquor store walking toward the restaurant. We were on metro, so no review of the parking. I saw a few empty parking spaces, so I don't think it would have been an issue. Cannot say enough about this place. The people dining are friendly and will share their favorite menu items if you are a first timer. BTW, a trip to Eastern Market is something everyone who enjoys food should do at least once. The whole area around there is worth a lazy afternoon.
$20 all you can eat tapas for lunch! Did a la carte but if I was hungrier it definitely would have been a great deal :).
Very aesthetically pleasing inside, there is an upstairs and in or outdoor seating is available
Great food; very loud!
Amazing Food and ambience, we enjoyed our occassion !!..