Restaurant Ambrosía, Santiago, 6/24/17

exterior
exterior

Ambrosía is in an old house, so is a fairly large place divided into several rooms. The good sized tables are of a glossy wood, well spaced and appointed with comfy chairs and lovely large cloth napkins.  Music plays softly in the background and service is attentive, well paced and friendly.  It is a family run restaurant with the dad and his son working the front, his daughter, Carolina Bazán,  is the chef and his wife helps in front but is mainly in charge of their catering business.  I’m guessing it was due to some of her recent commissions that there were so many gorgeous fresh flower arrangements around the restaurant.  The son, Alvaro Bazán recommended our wine which was a good pick and a nice value.  

entering
entering

It is all al a carté for the menu and the waiters were willing to make recommendations.  Tables are quickly given a fresh slice of bread and some tasty butter.  There is a book about the restaurant with some recipes and lots of pictures of the family and the chef daughter also has a cookbook of her own with she and her partner’s recipes and stories.

patio
patio
entrance
entrance
interior
interior
table set up
table set up
interior
interior
service area
service area
Frankie studied the napkin embroidery
Frankie studied the napkin embroidery
flowers
flowers
drink menu
drink menu
menu 1
menu 1
menu 2
menu 2
menu 3
menu 3
son with Frankie
Álvaro Bazán with Frankie
bread
Bread
butter
butter
Frankie and the drink
Frankie and the drink

 

We started with the beef heart served with capers, ungreased toast and a couple sauces.  The heart was nicely chewy and cooked perfectly but the sauces were a bit of a mish-mash of tastes, however it somehow worked. I thought there would be more seasoning on the outside of the meat but it was overall a good starter and perfectly sized to split.

Corazón with salsa huacatay y chimichurri: beef heart with sauce
Corazón with salsa huacatay y chimichurri: beef heart with sauce
closer
closer
toast with heart
toast with heart
wine front
wine front
wine back
wine back
Frankie and chef's cookbook
Frankie and chef’s cookbook

 

For a main course we had the Wagyu beef cooked a nice rare and served with outstanding fries.  The Bernaise tasted more like mayonnaise and the ketchup included some additional seasonings.  The meat was more like a flank steak than the listed skirt cut.  The mustard seeds on top looked good but added little taste.  The meat had been nicely glazed.

Arrachera de Wagyu with papas fritas, salsa bearnaise, kétchup casero
Arrachera de Wagyu with papas fritas, salsa bearnaise, kétchup casero
fries close
fries close
steak close
steak close
Frankie and the restaurant's book
Frankie and the restaurant’s book

 

We ended with a walnut tart served with vanilla ice cream, also recommended by Alvaro.  It had a great crust and was not too sweet but did have plenty of flavor.  It was a fine way to end a nice meal.

Tarta de nuez helado casero de vainilla: nut cake with vanilla ice cream
Tarta de nuez helado casero de vainilla: nut cake with vanilla ice cream
clsoer
closer
peek in the kitchen
peek in the kitchen
some awards hung
some awards hung
Frankie found some friends her size
Frankie found some friends her size
bar area
bar area
side patio
side patio
Frankie and the chef statue
Frankie and the chef statue

 

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