Cafe Ambrosia

Reviews 3

A

A Private User

A six page menu says a great deal about a location. Primarily it says that after over six years in business the restaurant is still seeking to find its menu. Is it Greek? Vegan? American? Italian? The menu could fit any one of those places. But, since it claims to be Greek I choose to see just how Greek it is. This basically comes down to testing two dishes. The first is the Tzatziki a Greek yogurt-cucumber dip that is a staple food. The second is Mousaka, a complete meal in a simple package. But let’s start with the experience. Parking is on-street and in Long Beach on-street parking can mean a walk. I was lucky and only had to park a little over a block and a half away on Cherry Street. I walked to the corner. Here is the first minor sign of confusion. There is a corner entrance on Cherry that leads to a patio dining area. This competes with the front entrance on Broadway that leads to the dining area directly. At neither entrance is there a host/hostess station, so reservations seem to not be required since there is no one to either take them or handle seating. [snipped for size] [snipped for size] Within seven minutes I was offered bread and Greek garlic dip by the busboy. Bread? Yes, hard bread in roll sized forms. Not pita? No, not pita. A minute later a small bowl of Tzatziki was presented along with a basket of pita bread wedges (pita bread cut into quarters). The pita bread was non-split, as one would expect as dipping bread at a Greek restaurant. [snipped for size] The yogurt hung well to the pita used to dip and was also able to hold the chunks of cucumber on the pita without allowing it to slide off when being scooped from the bowl. The single drawback being the portion size for the appetizer. It was small. [snipped for size] At about 15 minutes into the meal I was presented by a massive plate broken into thirds. One third contained Mousaka the second third contained some hard dry broken rice and the last steamed or blanched veggies al dente consisting of three pieces of zucchini, one floret of both broccoli and cauliflower and 10 carrot slices. [snipped for size] [snipped for size] In this case the base was made of sliced potatoes, much better and closer to the way it is made in Greece than places that attempt to make it with a mashed potato base. The meat was a ground beef, which is acceptable although I generally give higher points for using ground lamb. The eggplant layer can fail for being either undercooked or in some cases too thick a slice. The idea is not to overpower with the eggplant, but to add the taste in such a way that it doesn’t overpower the meat. In this case the eggplant was neither over or undercooked, and it was sliced the appropriate size for the dish. [snipped for size] Now it was time to look at the most common failure for this dish, the béchamel sauce. The layer was nicely toasted brown, thick and not runny. In all I would say it was done perfectly. A taste of the finished product showed that it all blended just the way it should. So, with the meal served how did it rate? The actual food was 4.5 out of 5. The reason it was not a 5 out of 5 had to do with the portion size of the appetizer as well as the presentation and items included with the main course. [snipped for size] As for the ambience. [snipped for size] Additionally, at one point during my meal I was able to witness a full trash barrel being rolled out from the kitchen through the patio dinners to the street. While not enough to make one lose their cookies, it is not what a dinner should see while eating. On the positive side, after the meal I had a chance to talk with one of the owners. I was told that they have recently received a fill liquor license (they had only beer and wine before) and that they were undergoing the process of re-doing the menu. [snipped for size] It’s more than shattering to see Tiramisu as a desert offering at a Greek restaurant. In closing, I would say, go to Ambrosia Café for the food, it’s Greek and it’s worth it.

JO

Joygrace Harmony

I used to live in Long Beach back in 2007 and the menu was decent, but at the time I was in a health crisis and needed to make some dietary changes. One such change was to eating Raw --when possible and Vegan elsewise. I absolutely loved the decor and the pleasant atmosphere. The menu did not AT that time have any--what I call true vegan choices--exact to just get grilled veggies (which I did) and when I came back for breakfast I ordered fresh fruit and toast. Of course I came once and just ordered a salad. Since there werent any REAL Vegan Menu choices AT that time I have to admit I complained several times. (I may have been a difficult customer at the time--who wants to hear "you can always order the salad" all of the time?) --And if I was not so nice I certainly apologize. THE GOOD NEWS is NOW there are 9 different appetizers AND 11 Vegan Plates--and they are REAL MEALS!!!!!! And 2 Delicious desserts !!!! Forgive me for not knowing the exact dates they changed the menu-- but it was AT Least prior to March 2013. I have visited several times this year AND I LOVE the Sunday Champagne and Entertainment.Plus, I have eaten at different visits: the Vegan Tacos, the Vegan Lasagna, the Tofu & Avocado wrap and Tofu Pita. --While I wont say ANYTHING ever is to die for--- what I Say--"it is TO LIVE for" !!!!! THANK YOU to the owners Maria Efstathiou and Mike Krokidas for REALLY LISTENING to their local customers opinions regarding Food on the Menu AND Implementing them!!!! Every time I visit Long Beach I shall CONTINUE to RETURN AND tell my local friends about how FABULOUS it is to see a Great restaurant that has evolved into an AMAZING restaurant and is ALWAYS a Joy Full Experience!!!!!!!!!!!! But WAIT!!! THERE IS MORE+= the PRICE$$ EXTREMELY REASONABLE on BOTH the Drinks & Food!!!!

A

A Private User

Given that there are about 50 resturants within a 5 mile radius of this location, I dont know why anyone would want to go to this place. It look nice from the outside, and they do have a pretty decent wine selection, but thats where the positives stop. My girlfriend and I went here for lunch in late 2007. We were seated inside, but we had to keep our jackets on because the whole resturant was wide open in the middle of winter, must have been 60 degrees inside. After waiting for about tweny-five minutes to half an hour we finally got our food (I ordered a hamburger, my GF ordered a veggie dish). The food was hardly edible, it tasted as if both meals had been defrosted, Ive had better burgers at fast-food places. Well, we gave the "Cafe" the benefit of the doubt and figured the cook was sick that day and they were serving left overs. The best part of the day was when the (I presume husband and wife owners) began yelling at each other in the middle of the resturant at the top of their lungs (they did so for about five minutes). The lady even threw a towel at the guy....at first they were just loud and my GF mused at how loud Greek people were, then the cussing started. The waiter looked as though he was scared of the two, I can only imagine the probable beatings he receives if he drops a tray... Anyway, we live in the area, and have not yet met one person who has had a "good" or even a positive experience here (Im assuming the previous review must have been made by one of the owners). Im usually not a harsh critic and can eat about anything, but unless youre looking for humility in your dining experience do yourself a favor and drive east down second street for about two miles and find a much better resturant,