The sign reads: Ambli Global Cuisine.
As we approach the big, beautiful doors, we are greeted kindly and with warmth. We take our place in chairs that swallow us up, inviting us to get comfortable—to stay awhile. We peruse the menu, deciding on the tasting experience—putting our trust in Chef Ricardo Morffin.
World Inspired
It's five courses—each unique to its own part of the world—inspired by the vast travels of co-owners Pariza Mehta, Kelly Morrison and Chef Ricardo. At the discretion of the chef and our server (and accounting for allergies and food sensitivities), our meal’s several courses are decided upon and the plating begins.
No course is rushed, yet we’re never left waiting. Each movement of the fine dining staff is centered around us, their guests. Each of us is consistently at the forethought of their efforts. It’s felt; it adds quality and value to every moment spent in their space—it feels more like our space; and for a time, it is.
Each of the five courses is so perfectly developed that our palates will certainly try to drip saliva throughout the entirety of the evening, our bellies will beg for more and our reflection in days to come will have us booking our next visit soon. In the truest form of Ambli, this food is unlike any other plate placed before us in our city.
The Trifecta
Ambli came to life when Pariza’s dream to open an eatery met the kindness of Kelly over the table at a dinner party. Ironic? Their synergy led to an immediate knowing that this would become. Their travels together began in order to eat more, taste further and experience anything worthy of itself. Things started happening… Shortly after opening their first space, a grab-and-go they so lovingly refer to as Baby Ambli, Chef Ricardo came into the mix. He completed the trifecta of the restauranteur talent that has since opened two additional locations, ours being one.
Investors and developers sought after them after experiencing what they brought to the table. Their art is definitively, undeniably wonderful.
Pariza collaborates with bartender/server, Doug Kazley, to ensure the cocktails are fresh-squeezed delicious and burst with the right balance of flavor or spice. Pariza and Chef routinely labor over the details of courses to be procured with explicit detail in color, shape, size, and flavor combinations that your eyes are sure to consume first. Their knowledge of flavor parallels the staff’s focus on servitude. The attention to what each person wants and needs is the very air we breathe while dining.
Intentional, Creative Menus
Ambli’s team is everywhere and somehow nowhere, all at the right time, every time. With the owners' origins and roots, from a mixture of East African, Indian, and Mexican, Chef Ricardo continues to build menus that are intentional, flavorful, approachable, and creative yet authentic to the country of origin. Together, they have emulsified the strengths acquired throughout their upbringings, their travels, their life stories and folded them into a space that reflects what only passion can create.
After an explanation of the individual layers that make one whole bite most complete, we get to delve in. Upon our palate, it melts, we melt — heaven on earth.
One example is Ambli’s signature bite: the lobster shooter. It appears small but is packed with enormous flavor that encompasses coconut milk, garam masala, lemongrass and housemade red chile paste. It’s a memorable bite that leaves you wanting more.
With a pause between courses, anticipation cleanses my appetite as I prepare for another burst of expert preparation soon to arrive. And each one satisfies. I have yet to leave uncomfortably full or still hungry. It’s always just right.
Things to try another way: Book two seats at the bar for dinner. The experience of sharing bites of food from across oceans somehow feels more intimate when sitting beside the one we love. The glow of the ambiance around their beautiful bar feels even sexier with someone’s warmth close to us.
Ambli... the place where food and culture meet, and the conversation begins.
Website: amblidenver.com/ambli-colorado-springs
Facebook: @AmbliGlobalCuisine
Instagram: @ambli_global_cuisine
