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Amvrosia
Categories: Restaurants Greek Restaurants Mediterranean Greek, Mediterranean [Edit]
43670 Greenway Corporate DrSte 112
Ashburn, VA 20147
(703) 858-2200
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 11 am - 9 pm
Fri 11 am - 10 pm
Sat 8 am - 10 pm
Sun 8 am - 9 pm
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
18 reviews for Amvrosia
18 reviews in English
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Review from Mary L.
VA
12/8/2011
I was going to go to Panera for lunch today but decided to come here instead. There weren't too many people there for lunch. The owner was quite nice and helpful. They had some pretty good lunch specials that are between $6-8. I decided to go with their Chicken Souvlaki today and was not disappointed.
It took awhile for the food to come out, but it was so good! The pita was overstuffed with chicken so you definitely get your money's worth. The chicken was cooked perfectly! It was nice and juicy and the sauce complimented it perfectly. It got a little messy because the wrap had so much in it, but it was pretty good.
I would recommend coming here and trying out a lunch special. -
Review from Julie M.
Ashburn, VA
8/24/2011
Let me first say that we went here really, really wanting to like this place. I love Greek food, but this place really left a LOT to be desired (at least for lunch).
We stopped in at about 1:00pm on a Sunday. The restaurant was pretty dead--only 1-2 other tables had patrons. We were seated and handed menus. As soon as the server walked away we realized we had breakfast menus (not a big deal, it was Sunday, brunch time). A few minutes later we tracked down another server and and asked for lunch menus.
Another request and 5 minutes later (we almost got up and walked over to Panera), we got a lunch menu. We ordered standard souvlaki sandwiches and got our toddler the kids grilled cheese, all with fries.
Service was extremely slow. We waited at least 20 minutes for our food. Not worth the 9-10 bucks per 'sandwich', thats for sure. The pita bread that the souvlaki and veggies was served on was way too small, got soggy, and we had to cut up our food and eat with a fork because it was impossible otherwise. My husband ended up just eating the few pieces of meat (otherwise just lettuce, tomato, a few olives, and onions). French fries were just regular (to be expected). A grilled cheese sandwich for a kid here costs about 6 bucks, just FYI. I didn't leave feeling full, and didnt finish my fries as I felt I had more fries than entree (and the portion wasn't huge...not the ratio I was expecting from a Greek place). I have had souvlaki sandwiches just about anywhere else that have been so much better. Even the souvlaki itself was okay, but I've always had it better.
And lastly, after waiting another 10-15 minutes, my husband had to go up and track down a server to get our bill, and did the same thing when paying. I have no idea what was the hold up with the wait staff.
We may come back again and try for breakfast someday...maybe. Only because we've heard good reviews for it. But I am tempted not to because of the bad, almost nenexistent service we got, and lack of excitement about our lunch entrees. -
Review from Vickey N.
Leesburg, VA
8/20/2011
This review is for breakfast only.
I think Loudoun County is severely lacking in excellent breakfast spots. Your choices are IHOP, Bob Evans, or the new underwhelming Eggspectations. How surprising for me that the best breakfast is at a Greek restaurant. They do not serve anything fancy or too interesting, but what they do serve is outstanding. Pancakes, chipped beef on toast, sausage gravy and biscuits, egg sandwiches, fried potatoes, and French toast.. All great. The eggs benedict looked yummy, too. I'll try that next time. Breakfast is only served on Saturdays and Sundays. -
Review from Kevin L.
11/28/2007
This place is a hidden gem in the 'Burn. If you haven't been here and you like Mediterranean (primarily Italian and Greek) food, go. Now.
Everything about this place is great. The ambiance is warm and inviting. There's easy parking outside. They have both booths and tables. When my ambulance crew went, they had up a decorated Christmas Tree and dangling strings of lights from the sky-painted inset ceiling panels. There's a fascinating mural on the walls of (apparently?) a Greek feast.
Our waiter was incredibly polite, courteous, knowledgeable, and flexible. We requested our meals in to-go containers just in case we got a call, and the staff accommodated us without question.
And the food? Amazing. Reasonable prices - especially for the area. Plus, the portions are HUGE. Both of the other folks on my bus crew took half of their meals home. Their lasagna is giant and looked meaty and filling. Their gyro platter made me drool - tons of meat and fries. I had the traditional Greek salad, which is apparently a tomato base with feta and kalamatas. I had no idea that traditional Greek salads don't have lettuce, and our server was nice enough to explain the difference to me. Either come here hungry or plan to have leftovers for a later meal.
As always, a bonus star goes out for their support of uniformed fire/rescue and law enforcement staff. They're trying to get the word out that they're open, and offered us a generous discount. It was an unexpected surprise at the end of our meal, and as always, we were hugely appreciative.
Too bad I don't live in the 'Burn anymore - this would totally be a local restaurant that I'd love to frequent! -
Review from Kevin Z.
Ashburn, VA
5/31/2010
Hope you like waiting....took us 30 minutes before they took our order on a recent Sunday afternoon....another 25 for food to arrive.
Decent food, but by then....who cares! -
Review from Jeff W.
1/27/2008
I was torn whether to do 4 or 5 stars, but after enjoying my leftovers just now I've decided on 5. Went for dinner last night solely on Kevin L.'s recommendation, so thank you!
The thing I really liked about this place was the atmosphere. Something about it was just very friendly. There was only 1 other table of patrons (sad to see, for such a good place) but it still felt lively. Fun music playing in the background, nice bright lights and decor. Our waitress was really nice and tended to us well and refilled water without me even noticing. I'd go to reach for my glass and suddenly it was full again!
The menu isn't terribly diverse, but it does offer up something for everyone. I opted for Moussaka, one of the greek specialties. Also split a grape leaves appetizers and got a house salad.
Salad was great, with an awesome creamy italian house dressing. Grape leaves were decent, but nothing remarkable, other than how filling they were. My moussaka, however, was unbelievable. It was basically a greek shepherd's pie with a layer of beef, sauce and spices, topped with a very fluffy (and very large) layer of mashed potatoes. Also had a little side of vegetables in a tomato sauce which were delicious as well. Absolutely outstanding. My dining companions both got chicken souvlaki, which they seemed to enjoy despite having somewhat cold and dry pita.
As Kevin mentioned, portions are huge. Be prepared to have leftovers. But according to my reheated Moussaka, it's just as good the next day. -
Review from Mitch R.
Vienna, VA
2/21/2009 1 photo
Wow.
I am absolutely shocked to find such high reviews for this restaurant. I was fully expecting to see a solid three stars for this place. My experience was the exact opposite of everyone's. I have very high standards for Greek food and this place didn't live up to them.
Sub-par sums up my experience and everything that I consumed at Amvrosia. I apologize for the long review but I have a lot to say, so here we go...
My girlfriend and I showed up on Friday night at around 6:30 for dinner. I saw a big sign on the window proclaiming "Kids eat free" and I love it when places do this, but I am not suprised as to why they can do this. More on that later...
The restaurant was not very crowded but it still took a couple of minutes for someone to even acknowledge that we needed to be seated. Upon being seated it took the waiter about five minutes to even make it to us for our drink order. My girlfriend ordered a glass of Retsina which I have had before, but this particular one was not very good and about $6 for a very small pour. After reading through the menu I thought that the prices for many of the items were very steep. I didn't really mind at this point because it looked like a nice restaurant.
My girlfriend was very excited to see that they had egg lemon soup so she ordered a cup. When it arrived the consistency was like thick pudding and was not very appealing. I thought it smelled like dog food and I was incredibly turned off by it. Also, they used rice instead of the traditional orzo which should be used. This is a Greek restaurant, right?
About 10 minutes later our waiter showed back up and took our meal order. My girlfriend had the Greek chicken and I had a gyro with onion rings. If you have read my other reviews you will know that I am a sucker for gyros and I have them almost everywhere where they are offered.
It took almost 25 minutes for our food to arrive and it was certainly not worth the wait. My girlfriends chicken was nothing special, it was a piece of chicken breast that had been pounded out, spiced with spices that you can buy at Giant and thrown on a griddle or in a pan. The potatoes were overly "lemony" and a bit burnt on the top. The garlic bread that came with the meal tasted like the plastic bag it came in.
My gyro was disgusting (please see the attached picture). The meat hadn't been cooked for long enough so it was almost gelatinous in texture and very, very greasy. Gyro meat is very fatty and it should be cooked for long enough for the fat to be cooked out. There were also a lot of bone pieces in the meat. The onions, lettuce and tomato they put on top looked awful and NOT fresh at all. The pita was something straight out of a package. The onion rings were also not made in the restaurant and the grease they were fried in left an awful taste in my mouth that remained for the rest of the night. It is not often that I don't finish a meal, but that picture I took is what was left over and I was starving when I got to the restaurant.
The waiter never really came to check on us, and we saw him a total of four times in the hour and a half that we were at the restaurant. That is completely unacceptable, an hour and a half spend in a restaurant that is not crowded? The waiter was nice when he was at the table, but again, he was barely ever there. Yes, since we were there for so long we got to enjoy the decor of the restaurant and it is nice. I do not want to pay for ambiance, I want to pay for good food. Rays the Steak is kind of dumpy but they have great food and people return for the food, not for what they are surrounded by. Pan Am doesn't have the best ambiance, but they have great food, great portions and great prices and they are always crowded.
So, to sum things up, the service was poor, the food was sub-par (mine was inedible), and the prices were incredibly steep for the quality and quantity of food you receive. They can allow kids to eat free because of the steep prices they charge for mediocre food. I am not fooled by nice decor and I think that why this place is rated so highly is because it is one of a handful of restaurants in Ashburn that is NOT a chain. People think it is a breath of fresh air when it is really not. If you want REAL Greek food go to Pan Am Restaurant in Fairfax/Vienna or Plakka Grill in Vienna. That is great Greek food.
I will not be returning. -
Review from Ryan M.
5/10/2010
I stopped by here for lunch and ordered a gyro sandwich with fries. The gyro was good (but overpriced - $8.75). There was no lunch menu. The fries were bad 'frozen fries'.
The atmosphere was nice, so this restaurant may be better for dinner. But, I wouldn't go back. -
Review from Clif T.
Ashburn, VA
2/13/2011
I had a thoroughly underwhelming dining experience at Amvrosia. There was nothing out and out bad about it, but there was nothing I could call good, either.
Our server was very nice, but the service overall was very slow. (I had to ask 2-3 times to get my drink refilled.) My party was one of 3 in the entire restuarant (At dinner time, on a Friday night...) and yet the food took ages to come out. The sodas were flat. I ordered pizza, and the cheese had a nice taste, but there was something off with the sauce, and the crust was very bland.
In Greek mythology, ambrosia is the food of the gods. Nothing about Amvrosia even comes close to divinity. -
Review from Maria G.
Ashburn, VA
5/23/2011
This is our new go-to restaurant in Ashburn. I cannot say enough good things about this place! It's disappointing to see the average reviews, because this place is really spot on for us. Just about everything is made from scratch.
We went for dinner, started with the Dako. AMAZING. It's like a big crouton covered in diced tomatoes, feta, capers, olive oil and kalamata olives. Seriously, I could have that for my meal! I had the Chicken Souvlaki platter. Chicken, Greek Salad, Pita and Taziki sauce and french fries. The chicken was the best chicken I've ever had. The Greek salad has a great homemade dressing. And the fries, SO GOOD! My husband got the stuffed shells and asked for the meat sauce on top, they had no problem doing that. We also got the chicken and rice soup. WOW. I am looking forward to getting sick and eating this!
THE NEXT DAY we went back for lunch! I promise you, never in my life have I ever went to the same place twice in a row! I got the Gyro Sandwich. Hubby and his mom got the Steak and Cheese. Father in law got the chicken Marsala. Every dish was amazing. Next time I go, I will get the Marsala, it was really tasty.
I will say the service is a bit slow. It sounds like they are understaffed and really need some servers. We had the same server both days, she was so nice. We will continue to go here and try new items. The menu is huge and really has something for everyone. -
Review from Ashley A.
8/5/2008
I didn't even know this shopping center existed til I read the reviews on Yelp! Awesome. Anyway, just tried this place tonight and I give it 3 stars - based solely on the fact that I found the food to be a *tad* bit bland, and the Moussaka (Greek lasagna) I ordered was made with eggplant, which I'm not particularly fond of, and not used to having in Moussaka.
Moving on... the staff was extremely friendly and helpful, the ambiance of the place was great - in fact, it was made up of mostly booth-seating, which I LOVE! The other reviewers aren't kidding, the portion sizes are GINORMOUS. We ordered the Moussaka and the gyro (sliced lamb/beef mixture) platter. Both were very good, and enough to feed probably 3 people. The only downside was that the moussaka was a bit bland, and came with some pretty gross steamed broccoli (also stingy on flavor).
Overall, we really liked the place and will probably be back soon to try more stuff. Plus, the new shopping center it's located in off of LoCo Pkwy is very cute! ...and has lots of other little restaurants we'd like to try (like a Thai place and a Sushi place.. plus Chipotle, always a winner :D )
------------ Edit: I suck at life. I've been confusing the Moussaka with Pasticio (which is actually the Greek lasagna). Pretty sad considering the entire side of my father's family is Greek. I'm worthless. Oh well.. so Moussaka is actually supposed to be made with eggplant. Pasticio is not. I have not tried the pasticio at Amvrosia, but I'll bet it's good. Changing my review to 4 stars and giving a humble apology to Amvrosia staff and/or fans. -
Review from Tim G.
Ashburn, VA
11/13/2011 1 Check-in Here
Yummy!
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Review from Jim p.
Ashburn, VA
2/19/2011
Quite ordinary place. I ordered some of the Greek fare for my family and left unimpressed. Not bad, but not good enough to bring me back given the many other choices in the area. For This kind of food I would recommend Mezza Grill first. Even Mediterranean Breeze is a bit better. In the same shopping center there is a great Taiwanese/Chinese place called Yens Cafe and a good Thai place called Bangrak.
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Review from Mimi C.
12/5/2008
The restaurant was empty at lunchtime on a rainy Thursday except for one larger group celebrating something. I thought it was adorable they had Moira McLaughlin's October 17, 2008 Washington Post article at their counter but I guess that posting good publicity isn't out of the ordinary.
We ordered three appetizers, the saganaki being one of them. In her review, McLaughlin had written, "An interesting appetizer to impress the kids is the saganaki. The waiter douses the fried cheese plate with brandy and then sets it on fire at your table. It's fun to watch and tasty to eat." The three of us were waiting for a fourth member of our party so I asked our waiter if he'd bring out the saganaki after our fourth arrived. My late request may be the reason why the cheese did not alight fantastically when set afire. Even without a big flame, the cheese was tasty with the sliced tomatoes. The other 2 appetizers we ordered were delish but left us too full to make much of a dent to our gyros. The gyro was pretty hefty, and I'm a gyro amateur so I'm not sure how I would've tackled it in a seemly way. A conundrum I dealt with by picking at my meat with my fork and eating my fries. You're given the option of fries or onion rings. My fries were of good thickness and hot so they're a safe bet.
Amvrosia's definitely a fine place for a leisurely meal. We didn't feel rushed at all. The restaurant's decor makes it feel more established than you'd think if you didn't know it opened recently. Definitely has a lot of character. -
Review from Blaire R.
Loudoun County, VA
1/24/2010
Overall, my experience here was great. The food is amazing and the service (once you have their attention) is also very good. I will concede that the service is slow; even though we stopped in for a quick lunch we spent over an hour there and were one of only two couples dining in. I imagine dinner on a Saturday night would take hours but it's definitely worth the wait.
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Review from Kathie H.
Ashburn, VA
11/7/2007
Here's the big draw for Amvrosia: kids under 12 eat free Thurs 4PM-9PM! One child per adult (although they didn't hold us to that rule on 11/7/2007). There were 2 adults (40ish women), 2 male teenagers (14ish), an 11-year-old girl, 8-year-old boy & 6-year-old girl. The boy is an exceedingly picky eater to the point where he will usually only eat pizza & sugar cereal. This restaurant is beautiful. The decor is warm (& it was nice & cozy temperature-wise too) with Grecian murals painted on the walls. Even the restrooms were lovely (& clean). I ordered taramosalata which was good but too salty & not as creamy as I like it. I like Amphora Diner's best (Vienna VA & Herndon VA). The pita bread that came with it was yummy though, nice & bunchy. We ladies ordered pizza with spinach, mushrooms & sausage; the teens each got gyros with fries, as did the pre-teen girl; the picky young man actually ASKED for a cheeseburger & fries from the kids menu; & the youngest member of our group wanted spaghetti & meatballs. The pizza was deelish with a light crust that was trying to be authentic NYC style. It was a little airy & could have been more chewy but it was very good. The sausage was authentic Italian sliced sausage & excellent. The spinach was fresh (as were the mushrooms) & had a great taste. All 3 kids exclaimed over the gyros & fries. For the 11-year-old girl, it was her first gyro, & now she's hooked. She even loved the feta cheese which was liberally sprinkled on top of the gyro. AND... she asked to try the Greek caviar dip (taramosalata) & she loved it! Don't you love kids who have adventurous palates? So we shared the dip. We also ordered mozzarella sticks which looked good but were probably just the standard frozen ones, served with a dish of marinara sauce. The sauce was good but it had a rather strange but not unpleasant flavor (Greek oregano is my guess). The cheese sticks were eaten within 3 minutes of the 2 plates of them landing on the table. The 6-year-old girl ate her meatballs but did not like the spaghetti & left the bowl full. She needed refills on her orange soda though (note to restaurants: please have orange soda for kids! They love it & prefer it to Coke!). The waiter came around with pitchers of soft drinks to give us refills (he was A+). Get this: the picky 8-year-old boy ate all his cheeseburger! The bun looked standard-issue, but the beef patties looked better than fast food. Lots of gooey melted American cheese, too. We wanted dessert (there were the neatest little mountains of chocolate cake in the dessert carousel; each had a face & eyes & sprinkles... how did we resist?) but everyone was full & it was a school night. Our server was absolutely fantastic & courteously solicitous. The restaurant was practically empty which I found surprising. For all 7 of us, the bill was a bit under $80, which I thought was good, but my friend thought a bit high. We split the check in half; my friend left 20% & I left $10. Our server deserved this tip; he was a gem (sorry I didn't get his name). The 6-year-old girl had on Heeleys & the manager invited her to skate on the empty side of the restaurant (you read that right). The 2 teen boys got a separate table so they would seem cooler & not have to hang with the moms. The server took this in stride. I highly recommend this restaurant!
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Review from Liz S.
Ashburn, VA
5/14/2009
Great food, great service. My boyfriend and I went on a Wednesday night and had a great time. We ordered a carafe of wine which was very cheap and they give you A LOT in the carafe- and we are pretty big drinkers. They have a very friendly staff. The server was probably the best server I have had in a long time- he was right there when we needed him, but also let us breathe and enjoy our dinner without interruption. It was almost as if he appeared out of nowhere right when we needed something and was in the background when we didn't. We got an appetizer, wine, and 2 dinners for abut $50. We will be going back soon.
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Review from John L.
Ashburn, VA
3/13/2009
Agree more with the 4-5 star people on this little gem. Been there 5-6x and was always pleasantly pleased. Have ordered more Italian dishes than Greek and have recommened this place to many others, though sometimes ithat s the fastest way to have them come up with an off nite. The pizza was great ...and cheap... also have a nice and inexpensive lunch . Service has consistently been above average. i'll go back in a heartbeat.
