Chef and owner of Cleveland-based restaurants Zhug, Amba, and Chimi. Mission to spread joy through meaningful experiences and shared passion, focusing on global flavors.
5
We went here the other night. I hadn't been in about a year. The food was absolutely excellent. I'd recommend everything we had: the smashed pea samosas, basil chicken, the paneer, wok green bean, naan bread, and everything in my photos. I'm also a big fan of the dark, fragrant atmosphere. Its very unique and calming.
The food at Amba is amazing. Everyone from the host, servers and bartender were awesome. They have a huge amount of gluten free options and every we had was awesome. The atmosphere had great vibes and our whole experience was great.
We tried 5 sharables dishes and 2 sharable desserts. The Sloppy joes, cheese paneer, and shrimp in Ghee were awesome. The Gluten free flatbread was a great addition to the dishes. The cucumber salad was fresh and the chickpea fritters were amazing with the sauce it came with. We wanted to try more but just didn't have the stomach space knowing we were going to have dessert. Both the icebox cake and chocolate torte were awesome, but the chocolate torte shines. I'm not a chocolate fan and I couldn't stop eating it.
Also don't forget about some of their specialty cocktails. So many options that were amazing. Too many to chose from for one visit. We will be back!
Thank you for a great evening!
Super cute aesthetic. I’m so proud cleveland is stepping it up! The food was good and the bartender in the back bar was very nice and sweet. We enjoyed everything the drinks were great! will try again in the future.
Amba has committed full-force to their vibe & aesthetic. It's dark, moody, and ultra modern. From the staff to the menu selections, it's nothing like a classic Indian cuisine. For good or bad, this one will stretch your experience with Indian food.
With the right group, a sharable plates situation is super fun and a great way to try things you'd never pick on your own.
We enjoyed everything we had - but felt that the samosa strayed a bit far from home and the lack of any included bread/rice with some plates (available separately, though!) was a bit too trendy.
Enjoyable and unique, we are already eyeing up a whole different set of dishes to try on a future visit. Will be interested to see how/if the menu gets refreshed/rotated in the future to keep things fresh and new!
Had an interesting first time experience at amba!
Highlights:
The beans were so good! A1 cocktail was also very good. Also gorgeous ambiance. The coconut icecream was also very good.
Disappoints:
Shrimp overcooked to hell. Some of the dishes were just OKAY flavor wise. I agree with a lot of the reviews saying nothing really tastes 'indian'. Dirty bathrooms, no trash bag in the trashcan, and we got there right at 4pm when they opened. I didn't love the icebox cake!
Weirdness:
We ordered the amba favorites for 2, and we were given two extra plates we didn't order. Which was fine I flagged our waitress to tell her, and she apologized and took them away, but I know they were just going to get thrown away in the kitchen. I work in food service and when we make a mistake like that we just let it happen and let the table keep it rather than take it away. Just an odd choice to take it away.
OVERALL, we had a good time! And I think the tasting exp for two IS a good deal, buuuut it was a bit of a strange experience overall.
