mAmbu

Tonight we are looking for a cozy place to be on a cold night. mAmbu is a long-time favorite of our group. And it is the right choice again.

This big old house with its fun, funky décor welcomes you back from the minute you walk in the door. And then, of course, there is Anita, who welcomes you like a long lost friend.

The bar is always the place for a little people watching: twenty-somethings texting, thirty-somethings unwinding, forty-somethings celebrating, fifty-somethings happy to be on the program. All of us glad to be in out of the cold.

A few moments in the bar (with a martini served in the correct-sized glass—a discussion for another time) and it is on to a table in one of the high-ceilinged front rooms, and to a menu that offers something for every taste.

Ann and I start with the well-composed house salad: greens, cucumber, beets complemented by a housemade black pepper cracker. We order dressings on the side—hers Green Goddess (what a wonderful throwback that is) and lime cilantro vinaigrette, respectively. Grey starts with the calamari with tomato coulis. It’s our favorite calamari in town: crisp, well-seasoned breading covering tender seafood. Hamilton begins with a spicy, flavorful lobster roll. Both calamari and lobster roll appetizers are large enough to encourage sharing. In fact, either appetizer would be perfect for a small, shared dinner if accompanied by a salad per person.

Hamilton and Grey order the pasta special: shrimp and mahi mahi in a cream sauce —man-sized portions. Ann orders what to us is a mAmbu staple: delicious sesame-crusted tuna served with jasmine rice and bok choy in Thai basil ginger sauce. Sallie orders the fish special: pan-seared sea bass with seasoned jasmine rice and a substitution of steamed bok choy for tempura battered. Great dish: well-flavored, an ideal-sized serving.

mAmbu is really paying attention to diners’ budgets. They offer a full-range of desserts AND a delightful new choice: a few truffles with chocolate and caramel for that little touch of sweet to follow a meal. All the pleasure of dessert with only a morsel of the guilt at a miniscule price. We always leave mAmbu in good spirits.

Anita runs the front of house like she's inviting you into her home. And, if our mothers had cooked like Corey, we never would have left home.

Dinner for four excluding wine, two glasses of port, tax and tip: $132

FourTop Rating (1-4)
Ann: 4
Sallie: 4
Hamilton: 3.876955432
Gray: 4

FourTop Clip
mAmbu
1806 Hayes Street
Nashville, Tennessee 37203
615.329.1293
www.eatdrinkmambu.com