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Amba

4.4 (271 reviews)
PriceyIndian
Closed • 4:00 pm - 11:00 PM

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AMBA ATMOSPHERE

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Trendy
Intimate
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Classy

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Recommended Reviews - Amba

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Chickpea fritters Lentil donuts Roasted Eggplant
Jillian S.

Amba is a fancy Indian-inspired cuisine establishment with rather fancy vibes. Felt a tad underdressed, but it didn't matter--cause this place is very dark. Our waitress was attentive and double-checked if we had any allergies to avoid any cross-contamination. The food was delicious - I especially liked the chickpea fitters and warm cashews. Will pin this place in my mind for future "date nights" or "special occasions." Whether you are just visiting or a Cleveland-er-- this place is definitely one to check out!

Debra V.

A foodie recommended. Delicious Indian food. Cat was our waitress. She was knowledgeable of the dishes. She recommended nine tapas style dishes for five people, plus Nan. We all agreed that we really liked the lamb sloppy joes. We had the advantage of having an Indian gentleman with us who explained the dishes and ordered for us. Tikki masala was not on the menu. This is the real deal, according to our friend. The room has black walls, and is very dark so use your flash light. Noisy, too, when we sat down at 7:30 p.m. The noise level got better as people were leaving. We would have liked more light to see our food. In Ohio City. Small sign. Big place. Go early or late. No reservations. On weekends we heard the wait is out the door. On street parking. Handicapped accessible.

Samosas
Tejaswini L.

Amazing experience! Think high-end Indian Tapas with a fine dine-ish atmosphere. What an incredible find in Cleveland! Our hosts raved about this spot, and while we were initially apprehensive, the beautiful (yes really dark) ambiance immediately put us at ease. It's essentially an Indian shareable small plates place which perfect for groups. We were a party of 5, which allowed us to sample a wide variety of the menu. By the way, don't let the crowd fool you... the food is a total flavor bomb. I expected the heat to be toned down, but the spice levels were authentic and impressive! The Chili Oil ( I ate with flatbread) and roasted Cashews, Smashed Samosaa are must-tries. Their gluten-free flatbreads are excellent too. Very creative fusion cocktail menu. Made us very happy! Special shoutout to Wally, who was incredibly helpful with allergy information and gave us spot-on recommendations. We'll definitely be back next time we're in town

lamb kofta kohlrabi, pickled shallot, quinoa-carrot pilau, parsley (GF)
Eugene T.

Our daughter has been raving about this restaurant for a long time and we finally were able to make it. On a Saturday night, we had to wait about an hour for a table of 4, which is typical for Doug Kats's restaurants. The restaurant itself is Indian-American fusion. Room is dark and a bit loud. We had to wait a long time for our food but the server had apologized because there was some kind of mix up in the kitchen. We tried 6 shareable plates and all 3 desserts - everything we tried was excellent. This is considered one of the top Cleveland restaurants and one of Doug Kats's flagship location and you can see why. Excellent exoerience

The amba
Aria J.

9.999999/10 This is my favorite spot in Cleveland. It's always on my list of recommendations. The vibe is sleek and sexy. It feels like you're in NYC not cleveland. The wait is going to be long if you go on the weekend, but I promise it's worth it. Drinks are delicious and strong. The food is Indian inspired tapas. Meaning it's meant to be shared and adored. My recommendation, start with the clay bread and spinach dip. If you don't, did you really go?

Jacqueline T.

We came here with my family for my dad's retirement dinner. It was great to come with a group because we got to try a lot of the menu. We all shared: - Crispy Puris - Spicy Cauliflower - Paneer - Pilau - Turkish Fried Eggs - Chickpea Fritters - Beet Root Raita - Popcorn Chicken - Spicy Sloppy Joe Keema - Clay Bread - Ghee Basted Shrimps - Lentil Donuts Every single dish was fantastic. My favorite was the Beet Root Raita, but you really can't go wrong with anything you get. The flavors are fantastic and they're putting a great spin on traditional Indian flavors. If you're used to Indian dishes, the menu is a little different to navigate because they try to Americanize some of the names. Our service was great. This is one of my favorite restaurants in the Cleveland area.

Inside
Nirmal R.

Gotta love a gem you find last minute right before closing! (Some pictures are missing as we had to get it to go as it was closing time) The place is the definition of don't judge a book by its cover! The inside is so cozy and a vibe for sure! Nothing like the outside ! They were kind enough to let us dine in last minute right before closing and we felt bad that they would have to wait till we were done and our waitress assured us that it's not a problem but we didn't want to be those ppl so we had our appetizers and took the rest to go. The food was delicious! (Being Indian the menu was kind of funny to me cause they had each ingredient at a high level spelled out which is kinda cool tbh) Their modern twist to Indian dishes was definitely rad! I wanted to try every dish on the menu cause !!! My wife wasn't too excited about my over excitement lol. But the food was amazing and each dish has its own vibe! We will definitely be back here for sure! If you like Indian food you HAVE to try this place and it's not spicy so don't worry about it and even if you don't know any of the dishes it's fine as long as you are fine with the ingredients on the menu go for it ! It will not disappoint!

Christina P.

There's a reason this place is popular. I finally stopped by with a friend midweek for dinner and thankfully there was no waiting. If you come on a weekend or during peak dinner you may have to wait. The ambiance is legit. I will say it's quite dark and sound does carry but I'd say thats part of the experience. Their menu does change but when we were their we ordered their amba pickles (very tarte and tangy which paired well with our other dishes as it cut through them), fritters, ghee based shrimp and a mango ice cream dessert. The food is curated, the tastes are interesting and the atmosphere is different for Cleveland. But don't let me inspire you to come here, you just have to give a skim of the reviews and see that they're saying the same thing.

Cocktails delight
Jacqueline P.

Where do people go who go everywhere? AMBA I mean...it's cool Hingetown in Ohio City. They take No reservations, have no Happy Hour or parking. You will be okay. It's the dimmest lit place in Cleveland... Definitely not for the visually impared or unsteady on you feet...but you will survive on the quaint outside, side patio. Wally is a sweet server who gives great recommendations! Service was personable, friendly and sincere. I would happily sit with him again! The food was bursting with fresh and layered flavors. The lil puris balls are handheld with a crispy 1st bite and then a creamy cool potato filling. Pair them with the house chutney and spicy chili paste! The string beans are a bit salty for my taste but tender, not soft with a few black beans and chopped choy braised and tossed in for textures. Lastly, the chicken tikka was tender and moist with lovely crispy ends. The marsala sauce was perfect with a cool yogurt and chive topping. They tell you to order 2 or 3 plates to share... not even necessary. The 3 of us shared these 3 and were very satisfied.

view of the restaurant from one of the booths along the wall.
Em B.

Dined here for the first time and WOW! The food was delicious!! The only thing I didn't like was the papaya slaw, but I'm not a fan of slaw in general so that wasn't a surprise. I was very pleased to see so many vegan and vegetarian options! The music was a little loud for me personally (I'm sensitive to noise), but at least the playlist was good. And as someone who's very sensitive to bright light, I loved that it was relatively dark inside. We got there a little after opening, which I would definitely recommend as it can fill up quickly!

Menu
Aja G.

My bestie took me on a date here and my goodness. This place is huge it looks small from outside. We sat at the bar momentarily while waiting for a table. Once seated we orders and the food came out fast. The lace is cozy and cute.

Shrimp with coconut

Both the service and food were excellent and the ambiance of the restaurant was very pleasant with a sort of resort vibe.

Raita and popcorn chicken
Amy L.

Fantastic! My kiddo and I shared the chef's curated option for Amba favorites, and it hit all the right notes. We chose to sit outside on the patio just because the interior was so dark. It'd be great and romantic for a date night inside. I'm glad we could see because the food was beautiful. And such interesting flavors. Our meal included the potato salad pani puri - so unusual we agreed we'd never tasted anything quite like it, excellent flatbread and raita, delicious popcorn chicken with fried basil, fragrant ghee-basted coconut shrimp, and savory string beans with sesame and radish. It was all so tasty. Just keep in mind, this is more Indian-inspired sharable small plates than traditional Indian food. A unique, fresh dining experience overall.

Wok fired string beans

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This is the most unsuspecting place from the outside but hipster ambiance inside. Amazing Indian food. Can't wait to go back.

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Amba Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - Amba

Hello, I'm allergic to MSG(monosodium glutamate) a preservative usually found in prepackaged seasonings. Do you use that in your food?

We don’t add MSG to our cooking. That said, glutamates occur naturally in many foods like tomatoes, mushrooms, aged cheeses, and fermented ingredients, which naturally create the savory umami flavors in our dishes. We do use some of these… Read more

Traveling for work- is this a good place to go by yourself?

Yes!

Is there parking nearby?

Yes! mostly street taking, but there is a garage on church (between 28th and 29th) and a parking lot at the Transformer Station.

Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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Jefferson

Stopped here for dinner on a cross country road trip. Extremely satisfied with the food and…read moreservice. The food was delicious and our server was notably cheerful, kind and accommodating. 10/10 recommend!!

The exterior of the place is unassuming, but the decor inside is lovely, and the tables are covered…read morewith white tablecloths. And most importantly, the food is DELICIOUS. For lunch, my friend and I split a pani poori appetizer, thali with goat, and chicken jhol momo. Before our appetizer arrived, the server presented us with complimentary bowls of lentil soup. The soup was warm, flavorful, and comforting, perfect for January weather. Next came the pani poori. The little crispy balls were served cold and made for refreshing & tasty treats. They were great on their own and even better when dipped into the accompanying "sour water," which was a bit spicy and equally refreshing (FYI - the sour water is heavy on the cilantro, so if you don't like cilantro, just be aware!). The thali came with an abundance of food, and we enjoyed almost everything on it. The platter came with a few different curries that were all delicious and well-spiced. One of them had a good portion of tender goat, and another had fried cauliflower and potatoes I couldn't get enough of. The thali also came with a scoop of rice. When we were done with the scoop of rice but only halfway done with the curries, the staff was sweet enough to bring us an extra plate of rice to soak up the rest of the curries. The platter also came with a piece of gulab jamun, which was sweet and rich. In addition, the thali came with a small serving of mango achar. I took a bite, and the pickled mango took my tongue on a journey, LOL. First, I got hit with the super saltiness, then the super sourness, and finally the lingering, intense spiciness. I can't say the mango achar was to my liking, but I don't regret trying it! The chicken jhol momo was fantastic as well, and I couldn't get enough of the tender steamed dumplings and that excellent broth!

Amba - indpak - Updated May 2026

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