Ambrosia Japanese Restaurant

Reviews 3

CH

Christine Earl

We were on vacation in Key West this past week in June and wanted something different than the Steak and Seafood restaurants so we found Ambrosia. Initial thoughts when we walked in were bright and inviting place. We dined there on a Thursday night around 8pm. It was busy but there were some empty tables. Our waitress took a while to get to our table. She took the drink order as we ordered some soft drinks and some wine. It took about 15 minutes or more to get our wine. When we ordered our food, some ordered a shrimp scampi type dish, some ordered teriyaki steak and my husband ordered sushi. We received our appetizers within about 15 minutes but our meals came out about 30 minutes after that and piece by piece. Three dishes came out at the same time, then another one about 5 minutes later, then another one about 15 minutes then the last one, my husbands sushi came out about 20 minutes after the first meal came out. Well in my book....all food comes out at the same time. When I asked the waitress where the other food was she stated that she was busy and it might be sitting in the window ready for her to pick up. I said it wasnt her fault it was probably the kitchen and she stated "no I’ve been busy its probably mine I’ll go check on your food”. Well most of us had already finished our meals by the time the last two came out. At this point we were really upset. Had to ask other waiters going by for their help because our girls seemed to disappear. When she finally came back I told her that we shouldnt have to pay for the last two meals...they didnt get to eat with us and my husbands $40 sushi platter was uneaten...he had some of everyone else’s meal and didnt want it at that point. She said she was sorry and would take care of it. And asked if wed like a free dessert. We declined the dessert and just asked for the bill. Now heres where it gets interesting. This other young girl approaches the table and proceeds to lecture us on if you order something you pay. She would not be taking of any meals, but would give us half off one of them. I told her that we didnt get to eat together and my husband didnt even want his meal when it finally came out. She basically said tough. You will pay the bill. I asked who the manager was and she stated me. She said she was the manager on duty, but she was also working the bar that night. I asked to speak to the owner; she stated they were not there. I told her that we were not going to pay for meals when we didnt get them in a timely fashion nor did we have good service. The waitress then chimed in and got very ugly, as did the fill in manager. She slammed the bill on the table and said pay it. Then she proceeded to walk back by the table, staring at me and said under her breath "if I was only off work I’d .....We were all stunned. I had never been treated so poorly in a restaurant before. No had I ever been personally threatened or felt threatened by an employee of any establishment. I have been in F&B for over 20 years and never had I seen such poor disregard for customer service in my life! Finally a young man came up from the kitchen...I think he was the chef or head cook and said he was sorry and that he would take off the two meals. He took the bill and corrected it, but did put an automatic gratuity on the bill...which I dont think should have happened. But oh well. We just wanted to get out of there! I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone ever! Bad Bad Service and Experience!

JA

Jay Mehta

Definitely to be tried. For vegetarians, there are pretty good options. However, Im not a fan of this place because of the food. Its because of one of its staff members - Dado V. He is probably the best attendant I have met in my life. Food: The food isnt so great, except for a few things. We went for Yakinasu (grilled Japanese eggplant served with ginger soy sauce and dried bonito flakes) and Vege Futo rolls (asparagus, avocado, cucumber, gourd shaving, pickled burdock, pickled daikon radish) in appetizers, followed by Vegetable Tempura Entree, followed by a Ginger Icecream and a Black Sesame Icecream in desserts. Yakinasu was a bit bland (even with ginger soy sauce) and the presentation was not at all appetizing. The flavors just didnt appeal. Vege Futo rolls were great. The flavors were pretty much spot on and with spicy hot mustard sauce, it was a great combination. Vegetable Tempura had pretty much the same problem as Yakinasu. The veggies were quite good but the flour coating lacked the flavors and any type of seasoning (salt, pepper whatever). However, the star of the meals were the ice creams. Excellent presentation and even more - the flavors, particularly the Black Sesame. The harmony of fruits and the ice creams was really coming well. Service: This guy - Dado V - attending us, was amazing. While the service was spot on in terms of timings, what I loved the most was his genuine interest in attending the customers and guiding them through the service which was quite Japanese in nature and a little different from what you see in traditional American restaurants. With Japanese meal, the authentic way to eat is with chopsticks. In other restaurants Ive visited, if you are not comfortable with chopsticks, they readily give you knife and fork. We asked the same in our case since we had never eaten with chopsticks. He gave a quick crash course on eating comfortably with chopsticks with a little support to hold the sticks and demonstrating the finger positions that will help us eat comfortably. It is quite tricky to do such thing without offending customers and he was good at it. In addition, he came across as genuine yet professional. Great service!!! Ambiance: Quite good. Very upscale. They have a bar on the left as you enter and a seating area on the right. There are also chairs arranged in a circular fashion around the kitchen area where customers can sit and have their meals. I would also say - quite a romantic place in case you want to go out for a date. Lighting (quite dim) reflects the romantic atmosphere. Overall, a definitely to be visited place which is just two blocks away from the Southernmost Point and a block away from South Beach.

M.

M.J. Taylor

I dont know how they do it, but they manage to make sushi taste fresher and better than any other sushi Ive ever eaten outside of Japan. And I have been to many sushi restaurants in many cities. We have another great sushi restaurant in Key West (Origami), and its very good and maybe has better service -- Ambrosia is a little snooty but it is also a cut above, full stop. The presentation of the sashimi is very sophisticated -- I wont spoil the effect by trying to describe it. I ate there last night (not the first time, just the most recent) and was pleased with the dragon role -- the avocado was perfect! -- and I particularly liked the spicy salmon "sandwich." The atmosphere is decidely cosmopolitan and not at in the character of Key West. It is sleek, upscale and feels very expensive. The restaurant (which moved a couple of years ago from its Virginia St. spot) is in the lobby of the Old Santa Maria Motel, and the tall plate glass walls and sinuous curves of the 1950s "modern" architecture combined with expert lighting create an elegant setting. Our service was fine, though a tad slow, but I am willing to wait for food this good.