Ambassador Dining Room — Restaurant in Baltimore

Before you read the entire review, here are a few disclaimers.

1. This is only a review of Ambassador's lunch buffet and not the a-la-cart menu items.
2. I have been here thrice to try out the buffet, so, it is not a one off experience.

QUICK REVIEW We live nearby and we love to go out and eat, despite that, I would choose to drive many miles for "authentic" Indian food rather than waste my time here. Taste - mediocre and not authentic at all Quality - mediocre Service - mediocre and at times rude Price - Overpriced Ambiance - Good. Posh decorations and good seating. If you value your food to be authentic, this is NOT the place to go for buffet.

DETAILED REVIEW Would I have given this place a lower rating if the website would have allowed me to? No.

I gave it 1 star for a reason.

1. The ambiance is good. The decorations, the food arrangement and the drinks are good (like the mango lassi)
2. The desserts were average. The chocolate cake we had was quite good.
3. Hmmm .... that's it.

QUALITY AND TASTE

1. The quality of the food is mediocre. Considering the price of the food, I would have expected the dishes and the taste to be authentic.
2. Each recipe was highly modified, with sugar added, and spices (by spices, I do NOT mean hot or chillies) diluted to cater to the taste of folks who do not care to have authentic food.
3. The Naan and roti (breads) were not well cooked. So thick on the sides that you would have to leave it.
4. All three time that we have visited, the desserts have been good. The last time we went the gulab jamun were well done, not overly sweet neither bland. The chocolate cake (which I learnt that they buy from else where) was good.
5. The chicken vindaloo was more like a tomato paste and it is a shame that they decided to call it vindaloo.
6. The chicken in each dish was overly cooked and was quite leathery to eat. Not well marinated and not juicy.
7. Fish in tamarind sauce was pathetic. It tasted more like Panda express orange chicken (which I obviously don't like).
8. The mango lassi was decent and they also had some alcohol as self-service. Quite interesting.

SERVICE

1. Quite poor.
2. On our last visit we arrived about an hour before the closing time of the buffet. They had already closed the semi-outdoor seating, although we could see one family already seated there. It was a nice day and so I requested them to allow us to sit there. Our server obliged, but he made it clear that he was doing us a big favor.
3. By, 230, our server, quite rudely told us that they were going to remove all food from the tables and we would miss dessert if we did not help ourselves within 5 minutes. Wow, thanks for allowing us to have dessert!

PRICE Although not very expensive. I would say $$ (but on the higher side of $$) but for the quality and taste it is...

I will begin this post by saying my first and only experience at The Ambassador was on Valentine’s Day. While the restaurant had made every attempt to create a nice ambience and gave each female a red rose and chocolates the customer service was sub par at best. The staff was obviously flustered by the high volume of patrons and by late evening, they had given up on having a successful dinner service. We were told that OpenTable allowed 120 additional people to book reservations over and above the 88 the restaurant had anticipated through the reservation service.

The food was good, but it was not exceptional. While the wine offerings were ok, our waitress was uncertain as to what bottles were available. She made countless trips back to the cellar bringing bottles out while trying to find them on the menu. We ordered both vegetable and meat samosas as appetizers. The presentation was very nice, but to our horror, the waitress picked up each samosa with her bare hands so that she could show us the difference between the two. We were beside ourselves....and it got worse!

Later in the evening we were served the wrong entrees and desserts. Lastly, she made a special nonalcoholic drink for us. The owner of the establishment was at our table and she was explaining to him what she’d put in the drink. She then leans across our table and sticks her nose in the glass to smell it! The owner looked absolutely mortified.

The service was so bad that it...

A very upscale restaurant located on the ground floor of high rise apartment within walking distance of John Hopkins University. Tried their buffet and will be going for dinner with a small group latet. Buffet had both vegetarian and non vegetarian options. I would like to emphasize that it is among the very few places which has decent vegetarian options and in the same number as vegetarian. Veg options were Chana bhature (chuck peas with bread), Pala panned (spinach cheese) navratna korma, baingan bhartha (sautéed baba ganoush ) bhindi ( okra potato) pickle and chutney. Every dish was tasty added worthy of recommendation. Served juice, wine, champagne, bloody mary, mango lassi and juices among beverages. Desert included chocolate cake, rice pudding adndndmnd gulab jamun followed by tea or coffee. Prices higher than usual buffet prices but the buffet itself was special and much more than regular buffet. The manager and staff were great. There is parking space for upto 8 restaurant patrons in the apartment complex and then more on main street. There is no name anywhere on the building. Only thing is a sign A on the entrance. Front door is open. Walk through the entrance and the keep going straight. The restaurant is located in front, few steps and the stairs from yhe main entrance Would highly recommend and would visit again if I am back...