AMBAR Restaurant, Chicago

Reviews

• SW

  Sy W

  Jan 5, 2026
  5.0
  Amazing brunch experience! There was a very kind and friendly female server at the bar. I forgot to ask for her name but just wanna give her a big shout out for the friendly service she provided! Overall food was amazing, served in small plates. Easy for sharing. Pita bread was super fresh, came out hot and delicious. Christmas decorations were absolutely stunning and pretty. Got popular very soon for brunch on a Sunday and servers DO need to check in more. It took us a while to order food every time just because how busy it got. We also upgraded to premium unlimited drinking menu which was more like meh. All drinks were premade. Nothing special. My favorite was the kiwi smash. Street parking was easy to find.
• HN

  Hannele N

  Jan 1, 2026
  4.0
  This was our first time and we really enjoyed the experience! We got Lunch priced menu and absolutely loved the variety of dishes [some were tiny/bite sized: 1 meat slice, 1 mini slider burger, and others were almost like a meal: omelette+mac-n-cheese]. We're giving it 4 out of 5 stars due to order of the items brought out being so random. We did NOT get appetizers, then salads + soups, then entrees and sides...NOPE, items were brought out in completely random order [whatever the kitchen was preparing at that moment for masses of the guests that were there]. Various items were NOT brought to us [flatbread, 2 soups, 2 salads, 2 sides, 2 of the desserts] and we had to tell them what was missing, and only then learned that they were out of some of them. Regardless of all that, every single dish was really fun to look at and to try. We wanted to try all the various items and not overstuff ourselves, but they DO NOT let you take the food that you want to finish later, to go, so the food gets wasted. So it's up to you whether you wanna take little bites from a variety of foods to ensure that you try several OR finish every single bite of every plate, but then you're not going to have room for the variety. Note: The bathroom is NOT on the same floor, you have to go pass the dining/bar/main areas completely, then take the stairs up Note: it tends to be loud there because of noise from other diners and music, so if you have kids or anyone with noise sensitivities, bring noise-canceling headphones.
• ZC

  Zoe Christenson

  Dec 28, 2025
  5.0
  From the moment you walk in, the energy hits ... warm, vibrant... The space feels intimate yet buzzing, perfect for date night or a celebratory dinner with friends. The food? Unreal. Every dish is packed with bold Balkan flavors, beautifully plated, and meant to be shared (which makes it dangerously easy to keep ordering). The small plates let you try everything without commitment, and honestly… I didn’t want the night to end. Service was attentive without being overbearing, and the pacing of the meal felt thoughtful and intentional. It’s one of those places where you can tell care goes into every detail If you’re looking for a restaurant that feels special but still fun, elevated but not stuffy . . Ambar is it. Easily one of my favorite dining experiences in Chicago.
• JP

  Jacob Pecora

  Dec 27, 2025
  5.0
  The all you can eat experience is perfect for this restaurant. We like almost everything we ordered and a few of the dishes were spectacular. It’s perfect for a date night because you can get lots of different dishes especially for a rarer cuisine. Our server Matea was excellent and the bus boys and food runners were especially good. The host seemed to be in a bad mood but the service still deserves 5 stars based off everyone else. Highly recommend!
• RB

  Randy Baker

  Dec 26, 2025
  4.0
  We went there for lunch on Christmas Day. None of us had ever been there. Decor was bright and comfortable. First the good stuff. All the food was good to great. I'll cover the things that made some of it just good when I get to the bad stuff below. The whole table got the unlimited tapas menu - everyone at the table must get it or it's not available. Perfectly understandable. We asked our waitress for her favorites and she didn't disappoint. The beef tzatziki and the ajvar (look it up) were great. The pita breads came fresh from the oven and still steaming when they arrived. They were soft, pillowy, and delicious. The fried chicken sliders would have been good, but the slaw on them made them great. The Balkan salad was fresh and tasted great. The hanger steak was topped with chimichuri while the prime rib came without toppings. Both were delicious and were my favorite parts of the meal. The au gratin potatoes were incredible and had a dusting of crispy bacon on them. Now for the not great stuff. Let's be clear- none of the food was bad! It takes a lot for me to give 5's across the board and this was very close to it. First, the shrimp and grits with capers was really very good - except I couldn't get much shrimp flavor. If it had been called creamy grits with capers it would have been a great dish - but when you expect shrimp you should get shrimp flavor. The marinated olives with vegetables were very good but nothing really elevated them. Some smoked paprika would have really put them over the top. The dessert items we ordered were all very good but nothing jumped out as something I'd have to order again. The only real complaints are the beverages. $5.00 for every 10 oz. bottle of soda seems a little too pricey. The coffee was terrible. It was weak and tasted mostly like hot water. Next time I'll just get the unlimited mimosas - yup, you read that right. As I was driving 2 hours right after we ate I didn't drink this time. Next time I'll be having the mimosas and hopefully they can correct the coffee because that seems like an easy fix. We will definitely go back. Addendum: I neglected to highlight the great service from our waitress and the entire staff. Unlimited tapas means you will accumulate a lot of small empty plates on your table. The staff was always ready to take away empty plates before new ones arrived and never seemed intrusive when they did so. You would think they would try to get you out the door since they're serving as much food as you order to save money as well as for turning over the table. But our waitress kept suggesting different items and really wanted us to try everything that sounded good to us. The service was exceptional. I don't remember her name but I think it was Malak - or something reasonably close to that. I wish all servers had her attitude and attention to patrons.