El Ambia Cubano Cuban Restaurant — Restaurant in Melbourne

This is another excellent find in the dwindling retinue of excellent, true and authentic Cuban restos almost anywhere in the country. Don’t get me wrong, there are some good ones out there, but they are becoming harder and harder to find. The El Ambia Cubano Cuban Restaurant in Melbourne stands up as one of the best Cuban Culinary traditionalists we’ve found in a very, very long time. Thanks to my daughter for turning us to this fascinating Cuban tour de force! As a family at the table, we were able to be able to savor quite a few items in their culinary repertoire, finding their dishes superbly prepared and presented. We made a point of starting up with the no brainer Mojitos for thirst quenchers. We then proceeded with appetizers of croquetas de jamon and empanadas – the croquetas were excellent, the empanadas were very OK! In the coming meal, we found how they extraordinarily mimic the genuineness in flavors, textures, aromas, style and presentation. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve been able to discern and appreciate the most traditional of spices in Cuban cuisine like fresh garlic, aromatic cumin, delectable oregano, Bell pepper, Black pepper, Coriander, Onion, virgin Olive Oil and bay/laurel leaves, not to mention saffron (a little known but crucial spice in Cuban Cuisine) in differing quantities and combinations to render each separate dish its mouthwatering flavors. Our samplings included their house specialty, Ambia’s Proprietor’s fave, Hemingway Rice which is a Pearl of the Caribbean Cuban Seafood paella with a decent sized lobster tail on over the yellow rice, along with delicate and tender fish and shrimp prepared together along with sweet juicy plantains and a fresh salad. My Wife’s Puerco Asado and congri and also with Plátanos maduros and salad was beyond excellent. Ambia’s Flan is exquisite, and very Cuban, while wrapping the meal up with a few Cortaditos made the afternoon perfect. They’ve been around since 2009 apparently not only offering great food, but a Cuban atmosphere I’ve not experienced not years. Between their nostalgic décor, furnishings and overall welcoming attitude, excellent food and music, inside and outside seating in very Cuban-setting, Ambia is definitely A-1, 4-Star, y increible! El ambia (a Cuban slang for ‘the friend’) definitively makes them your ‘CFFF’s’ - Cuban food...

I went there for the first time tonight. And the waitress i had was NOTHING but a con.. She knocked over my beer by accident said she was sorry and said she'll get me another and still charged me for it. Then also not tell me she was gonna charge me extra for a strawberry pina cola after telling me it was the same price as the regular one. I told her that i wanted the yuca fritta appetizer and she brought out a chorizo app. That she was a special for the night and charged me $10 for that.. I ended up spending $80 and still not satisfied.. Portions are ridiculously small for the prices.. NEVER AGAIN will i go there again. HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!! In response to owner.. I ordered a regular pina colda she offered the strawberry and said it was the same price like i starred before. And NO i did NOT ask for another beer she said "I'm sorry about that, I'll get you another." So please don't lie to these people. I did NOT get anything free.. I got double rice and a salad because i did NOT get the bananas because i am allergic..and i also did NOT get the frita because i already ordered it as an appetizer... Did you expect me to pay $18 for just a 4oz salmon and 3 shrimp? And also i never said Dawn wasn't nice.. She was nice but highly unfair as a waitress.. I've worked as a waitress for years and I've NEVER con-ed anybody the way she did. I don't want anything out of this except to warn people to watch out when they visit your restaurant. Dawn was very sneaky and unfair.. NEVER again. And btw.. The pon ban bistek was dry and barley had anything on it.. I basically had bread. And that's sad cause that's my favorite dish anytime i go to a Cuban restaurant... I do apologize that looking over your one star reviews that you don't know how to take criticism.. Its a shame how you talked to those people as well. ( another reason i won't be there again, either will anybody else i know) there's plenty of other Cuban restaurants around here.. Yours put a bad taste in my mouth. Note: yes your portions look bigger on the pictures... Maybe you were running out of food that night and decided to give us the leftovers as...

The food here is absolutely fantastic. Everything tastes fresh and is bursting with flavor. I highly recommend that you try the fried yuca and ground beef empanadas. The only thing holding this restaurant back from 5 stars is it's extremely cramped and hot inside the dining room, and the service.

The waitress never checked on us our water was never refilled. The food took quite a while to come out, and it was a chore to flag her down to bring us the check. I also would have liked to seen just a few more things on the menu, choices were relatively limited. By the time we left, I was sweating it had been so hot and humid inside. Definitely dampened the experience, but perhaps on a cooler night we'll turn up again for the delicious food.

EDIT: As you'll see in the owner's replies, he is extremely unfriendly. For that reason, this restaurant will receive 1 star and I will not be returning. I refuse to reward hostility towards paying customers. Food was great, too bad the owner has a fragile ego.

I received a response from the owner asking me if I was reviewing the place or the owner, and the answer is both. You are a representation of your restaurant, so if customers like me see your ugly remarks and your poor reception of criticism that is a red flag. I work in the customer service industry, the damage you're doing to your business by posting these comments for the world to see is far greater than the momentary satisfaction you may feel when replying to a comment that way.

Yes, you lost a star because there is no excuse for going around and leaving nasty replies to negative reviews, it's distasteful. As for the message on the kid's menu, it quite literally says 'not a joke'. I suggest you use your time to engage positively with your clientele rather than daunting new customers who look to see reviews of...