Ambriza — Restaurant in Cypress

This review is for the most recent and previous visit at Ambriza Towne Lake. During my second to last visit, I was the only guest in my party (a party of one). I asked for something light and more specifically the carrot soup (delicious! and affordable). I was treated with respect and seat at the table as a party of one (in a packed restaurant). I'm sorry I do not remember the table's server's name but she was amazing and might have just joined the team some months or weeks prior. On my most recent visit, I was hunting for something simple and filling again. Once again, I arrived in a packed restaurant. I sat in the area managed by Yousef as it was a first come first seated set-up. Not too long afterward, I was greeted by Emily. I asked her the menu items and she helped me make a delicious selection. Once again, the meal was delicious (beef fajitas) and cooked well, generously portioned (enough for two meals and tortilla quantity upon order) and affordable given the portion size. All the while, I watched as Dickerson, Silvio, and Emily efficiently attended to an area packed with patrons. At one point, one of the team members noticed that I had my bag on the floor. They brought a bag stand for me to hang my bag on. I feel that this level of service and consideration speaks to the leadership at the management level (Yousef and beyond) and to leadership at the individual contributor level. Thanks for taking the best care you can of your patrons thus far.

The two pieces of feedback that I shared with the team at different points:

-It would be great to have the carrot soup back on the menu. It's a lighter option and great for brunch and/or lunch. Given the diverse population in Houston, many patrons may lean towards vegetarian options like carrot soup (with no chicken broth) to accommodate a vegetarian diet or a meat diet with specific restrictions. Also, for the carrot soup, the menu noted corn matzah balls. Neither location has these matzah balls on hand, so they've provided rice and comped it instead. It would be great to have the soup/soup with corn matzah balls one day (as noted on the menu). -if there is an upcharge for any sauces, it's great to know in advance (i.e. habanero sauce, etc) of ordering these sauces. -Something I did not share: Given how progressive Ambriza seems to be, would it be impossible to consider biodegradable containers/recyclable containers for packaging and to go bags?

*also, your salsa (green and red) and chips are awesome. The...

Update: My husband and I have come in a couple times before, but this time we brought our kids. This is the first time they had ever been in here. It was okay for them. When we arrived the wait was going to be 45 to 50 minutes, and the lady came back and said they do have a space in the reservation area, but that those people will be there at 8:00, which essentially gave us an hour and 45 minutes, so that was fine, and we were seated almost immediately. They were kind of close to another table in the air, but it ended up being okay for them on a time we were there. Their drinks are always delicious. My husband got the short rib something, and he really enjoyed that. Off looks, I'd say it's probably not worth the $27 or however much it was, because the portion size of the meat is fairly small, but he did say it was delicious. I got the chicken empanadas, which were pretty good. Kids got tacos, which they liked. And the baby's got burgers, which I thought was interesting that it came on a tray, with fries, apples and a churro. I did think it was ridiculous that an apple juice box cost $3 a piece, but it is what it is. Hubby and I will continue to come back here for drinks at night time.

So this isn't where I originally was coming to. Had gone to world of beer wanting a frozen drink, but they don't do any frozen drinks apparently. So my husband suggested that we stop here and try. We came to the door and they said they did frozen drinks so we sat at the bar. I picked the passion fruit habanero and the strawberry cucumber frozen margaritas. Both were PHENOMENAL. The bartender was very nice. She checked on us several times. A young man brought us chips and dip, then the manager, Gabriel, came after he heard it was our first time here, and brought us some corn to try. I think he called it elote. Let me tell you, I never would have come here because I'm not a huge fan of Mexican food, but I will definitely be back. The corn was great, the chips and dips were wonderful and the drinks were superb. The atmosphere is awesome, the inside is very modern and beautiful. Artwork on the wall is nice. And it's somewhere I can see myself coming when I want a drink. Hubby already said we're coming back! If you're around Towne lake, stop here, you...

A Mexican restaurant in Houston… ok you know the drill… OR SO I THOUGHT!!

I was honestly shocked at how good Ambriza was and was completely caught off guard.

This is what we got for 58.42 (before tip).

Street corn (comped) Chicken empanadas Enchiladas Rojas Taquesos de pastor Wellness shot (comped)

The street corn was a very nice elote with all the flavors and spices you would want from it. The manager came and dropped this off at our table as it was our first time. It was incredibly generous gesture and you honestly don’t see this kind of service in Cypress.

The chicken empanadas were delicious. The meat and green sauce worked well together and the crust had just the right crunch.

The taquesos de pastor is where I realized that we weren’t dealing with the run of the mill suburb Mexican joint. I believe, like McDonald’s, Mexican places in Houston bank on familiarity. You can go anywhere and get about the same quality and tastes. This flavor/texture combination was actually different! The pastor meat works with the cilantro lime sauce but it comes inside a roll of crispy cheese which is itself inside a tortilla. If you don’t get it, I don’t blame you, when the waiter explained I told him I didn’t understand but I’d go with it. Glad I did!

The enchiladas Rojas were the closest to standard fare but with one distinguishing characteristic… the barbacoa was tender and moist and not at all chewy. Awesome.

Lastly the manager came back and dropped off these (non alcoholic) digestif shots of ginger, spices, and maybe some pineapple in there. A very nice gesture after having eaten a bunch of spicy food.

So I mean… what other place in Cypress can you try new things and have service that treats you like they actually want you to be there.

I formerly lived in the loop and was formerly an in the loop snob for all the great food they have there. This one gave me a little bit of hope for the future… don’t miss out.

PS I was there on lunch and I’m not on Mad Men so I didn’t partake in the margs and tequila. Looks like a lot of interesting margs and the tequila list was pretty robust. Notably missing my favorite Clase Azul but I won’t...