Ambrose — Restaurant in Exeter

Hidden in plain sight, this little gem sits inside (and outside) an old historic building doubling as a hotel right on the gazebo square in Exeter. Inside is very "antiquey," almost formal, but out back behind a tall fence seculding you from downtown, is a pretty little garden where most of the tables are. We had not trouble getting a reservation and, it turns out, all reservations that night were slated to be out back in the garden. That was fine as they had heaters but rain was forecast. Anyhow, we were greeted immediately and seated near a flower bed and an outdoor fireplace (working but not on at the time) and a propane heater. The menu is all small plates with what appears to be a Latin American theme. Everything looked great. We ordered two from the left column (more appetizer-like items) and two from the right (more main course-like). It was sufficient but not a great deal of food. Cocktails were good but their drink menu is nothing special and they didn't have much of a variety of liquors. Still, the service was attentive and the food came promptly and well timed. Everything tasted excellent. Like any small plate restaurant, the bill added up fast and we spend much more on less food than we would have elsewhere. But the garden was a gorgeous setting and with the municipal parking lot right there it was a breeze to come and go. ...

We dined at Ambrose last evening with friends. The overall experience was extremely unsatisfying. We were on time (even a bit early) for our early reservation. No one was at the outdoor hostess stand for some time. After being seated it took some time for our drink order to be taken and even much more time for the drinks to come. From the 4 main dishes on the menu I ordered the steak only for the waitress to come back some time later to say that it was not available. It seemed that the waitress did not know this when we ordered and worse that the restaurant was out of 25% of its main menu items before 7:00. The worst part was yet to come as the main courses were not served until more than 2 hours after we arrived.

The seating area where we were seated was basically a sidewalk that parallels the side of the building. This is not a fault however it seems that in trying to seat more diners the restaurant has overwhelmed its staff and planning abilities.

We were given a free dessert and some apology however it seemed to all unfairly fall on the shoulders of our waitress as she was hostess, waitress and apologist in chief as well.

The quality of the food was quite good however the rest of the experience, especially considering the cost, was...

Food is love and we felt that at Ambrose.

We made a restaurant reservation months in advance at another local chef owned restaurant only to find out it was not in the books and no space was available for my daughter's college graduation dinner. It was recommended that we try Ambrose next door, as an alternative.

You can imagine I was a hot mess mama as I walked up the stairs almost in tears scrambling to find a solution to the failed dinner plan. At Ambrose they bent over backwards to make us feel comfortable and welcome and quickly worked to make room for us. The experience was absolutely delightful. Expensive and not what I had budgeted for this dinner, but truly wonderful and exactly what we had hoped for in our dining experience. I would spend these dollars again anytime because the experience was so special.

So perhaps, this was a happy accident. Food is love and we felt that at Ambrose. Thank you for all you did for our family to make the evening so special. I look forward to sharing such a special experience...