RAMW: Summer Restaurant Week Suggestion #5: Ambar Balkan Restaurant, Capitol Hill - August 14-27

The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington will host Summer Restaurant Week, August 14-20, inviting participating restaurants to offer three-course lunches for $22 and three-course dinners for $35, excluding tax and gratuity at each location. This bi-annual event invites diners to experience Washington’s top restaurants at an affordable price point.

Ambar, DC’s first Balkan restaurant, is also offering guests the opportunity to experience some of the best traditional dishes from the Balkan Peninsula, prepared with a modern twist for Restaurant Week. For lunch, guests can order a Chef’s Platter priced at $22 per person (tax and gratuity not included), which includes a sampling of Veal Soup with root vegetables and crème fraîche; Balkan Salad with arugula, cherry tomato, red and yellow pepper, cucumber, onion, cherry vinaigrette and aged cow cheese; Cheese Pie with crispy phyllo and cucumber yogurt; Balkan Kebab, beef & veal, scallion and paprika; Stuffed Sour Cabbage with potato mash, pork belly, jasmine rice and yogurt. For dessert, guests can select the Panna Cotta with raspberry sorbet, peanut crumble, orange jelly and strawberry yogurt, or the Apple Pie with almond crumble, vanilla ice cream, caramel mousse and apple jelly.

Ambar’s popular lunch menu also offers Restaurant-goers one signature salad from the featured menu along with a glass of house wine, a beer or Ambar signature freshly squeezed lemonade infused with rosemary or mixed berry lemonade for $13, or a choice of any two sandwiches off the featured menu along with a glass of house wine, a beer or Ambar signature freshly squeezed lemonade infused with rosemary or mixed berry lemonade for only $16. Sandwich and salad options include Vienna Schnitzel Sandwich with crispy veal, ajvar emulsion, frisee salad, tartar sauce and sundried tomatoes; Creamy Chicken Salad Sandwich with ajvar emulsion, spinach, lemon vinaigrette and a celery stalk; Marinated Shrimp with ajvar spread, arugula, lemon vinaigrette and blue cheese; Arugula & Slow Cook Steak Salad with diced prunes, roasted sunflower seeds, cherry tomatoes and prune-balsamic vinaigrette; Smoked Trout with beet carpaccio, cucumber, dill, mayo and mayo pickled jalapeño; Wild Forest Mushroom with herb roasted mushrooms, baby arugula, horseradish dressing, hardboiled quail egg and red onion, and Spinach Salad & Fried Chicken with organic baby spinach, celery stalk, carrots, cherry tomato and horseradish dressing.

For dinner, guests will enjoy unlimited small plates from Ambar's popular Balkan Experience menu including meat mezze, kajmak bar, spreads, homemade pies, flatbreads, soups and salads, vegetables, meats and poultry, sausages and seafood priced at $35 per person (tax and gratuity not included). Standout dishes include Spicy Crab Kajmak with ajvar, cilantro and pickled chilies; Urnebes, aged cow cheese with ajvar and chili flakes; Meat Pie with crispy phyllo, yogurt and garlic yogurt; Mushroom Pizza with shitake, crimini, button and oyster mushrooms, arugula and cheese; Balkan Salad with tomato, pepper, cucumber, onion and aged cow cheese; Cabbage Casuela with braised cabbage, dry pepper and yogurt; Leek Croquette with an ajvar emulsion and panko crust; Bacon & Peanut Pork Tenderloin with miso-mustard tarragon and mashed potato; Slow Cooked Pork with Yukon potato smash and cabbage slaw; Grilled Calamari with Gremolata with fresh herbs, diced pepper and lemon, and Rainbow Trout with peas, garlic, spinach and baked tomatoes. For the perfect pairing, guests can enjoy bottomless drinks from the featured menu for an additional $14 per person. Featured beverages include Sarajevo Old Fashioned, Mojito, Pomegranate Collins, Mango Lemonade, Margarita, Berry Daisy, House Sparkling Wine, House Red and White Wine, and Yuengling. 

Ambar Capitol Hill will be extending their Restaurant Week menu from August 14-27. 

The restaurant is located at 523 8th Street, SE, 20003 and open for lunch Monday through Friday, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dinner is served Sunday through Thursday, from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. 

For more information, please call (202) 813-3039 or visit http://www.ambarrestaurant.com/.