Ambrosia Cafe & Catering

I always eat outside and take in the view of the Cathedral and Capitol building! Best food. Quaint place and good service. If you can get there before noon, it’s quicker!

For $ 10 I got a small coffee with almond milk, and a tuna melt. The sandwich was just right it had capers, olives, and was not swimming in mayonnaise, the bread was toasted just right and not smothered in butter. Service is quick coffee is hot. Sitting in this café facing the Cathedral gives one the feeling that you are in Europe, pretty neat.

This place was pretty busy for breakfast but the line went quick.
I had a Wheat English muffin with egg and spinach and it was ok, nothing special.
My Chai tea was on the light side.
Perhaps I’ll try their pastries and smoothies next time!

They are great to work with. With all the vendors for my daughters wedding, they were by far one of the most responsive and helpful.
We wanted to have a brunch the day after my daughter’s wedding and we were staying in downtown Sac. We just happened to walk past this little café and thought, well let’s stop in and check. They have catering and an outdoor patio that worked well for our group.
We kept calling Nick because the headcount went from 50 to over 100. It was never a problem for him and he would send me a new quote and make helpful suggestions. All of our guests had a great time and what a wonderful (stress-​free) way to end the weekend. The service staff was excellent and a special thanks to Jesse for the wonderful service.
Lori

I’ll tell you what, if you want fabulous food, and service that is out of the ordinary, Meander on down to Ambrosia. Our food was delectable, and even though there was a huge unexpected crowd, the staff was cheerful and helpful and went out of their way to make sure everyone was served and contented. The food alone was worth the trip even if the staff had been grumpy! (Which they were not in the least.) We loved it and will be going back tomorrow. Jeffy was helpful and accommodating. We went on a Saturday, and it was perfect for a quick lunch between convention sessions.

I had the chicken with pesto sandwich. I would say, the sandwich was decent for the price. But I loved the ambiance of the big windows and people carrying coffee cups around. These are not small coffee cups. They are pretty big. Next time, I’ll come here for coffee and bakery.

Came here on Sunday of Labor Day weekend for a convention. Ran out of most of their food by 11:30. They only had salad and one panini left with maybe a bagel and yogurt. Seriously, keep track of the events of the convention a few blocks from you and prepare accordingly, because not informing your huge line of customers who’ve been waiting 15+ minutes that you’re out of basically everything is incredibly discouraging.

Despite it’s close proximity to my job at the Capitol, I can never muster up an ounce of enthusiasm for this tired café.
Starting with the menu: this place is all sugar and carbs. So if you aren’t into carbo loading on croissants with a side of paninis and cookies on top, go elsewhere. The food is neither indulgent nor inventive. The best word I can think of to describe their cuisine is «plain.» A plain sandwich. A plain salad. Tasteless, dry food. I’ve had my share of complaints about Ambrosia which I’ve mostly already covered on Unilocal via tip or photo: the «asparagus salad with Meyer lemon dressing» which was actually just a box of cold, limp asparagus and a side of dressing that tasted like mayonnaise. A Caesar salad with «tri tip» that looks and tastes like cold, unseasoned roast beef and dressed with a goo more closely resembling Best Foods than anything Caesar would have eaten. The «Express Lunch» line that’s longer than the line for walk-​ins. A «garden salad,» with no description of what’s in it, dressed with hardly enough vinaigrette to moisten the limp lettuce leaves, topped with bland and tasteless chicken breast. Does Ambrosia have something against salt? The prices are right, but the portions are never quite enough to satisfy you, which must be their strategy to sell cookies.
I will admit, I once enjoyed their breakfast burrito, and my boss likes the organic hot dog for lunch (by all means, order that if you have a strong desire to pay $ 6 for what is mostly an enormous, dry-​looking roll). The spinach salad is fine, but again, it’s not really enough food for someone who is eating but a mere salad for their meal.
On the plus side, this location has a lovely patio where you’ll often see legislators and Capitol staffers alike meeting over coffee. Ambrosia sometimes offer smoothies or juices for the detoxer in your life, but I wouldn’t say there is anything I would really characterize as «healthy» on their regular menu. I know, because I keep searching their menu for a healthy and satisfying lunch option, and for every one I’ve tried I’ve never ordered any of them twice.
I’ll hold out hope that this strategically-​located space is someday occupied by something more tempting than Ambrosia.

Nothing to write home about. I had the tri-​tip on ciabatta bread and a cup of cannelloni bean soup AKA Pasta Fagioli (I guess California has to be different… knowing this state I would not be surprised if the Attorney General banned the use of Fagioli for the fear that maybe one person in the world may be offended by the 1^st half of the word and therefore deem it better to just refrain from its use.
The place is very nice looking and clean. The staff is friendly. The soup was tasteless. I dont use salt. After being quite generous with the salt, I still did not detect a taste coming from the bowl. The tri-​tip was good. I was under the impression that ciabatta bread was hard. I am pretty sure they put it on seedless rye. Either way I liked it.
Also, the sandwich I had was listed under panini but it was a sandwich. It was a sliced, soft bread, which was not grilled. A Panini is a sandwich made from a small single serving sized loaf of bread cut open, filled with whatever, and then grilled. There are no deviations from that. Any deviations, and it isnt a panini. Plain and simple. Just another annoyance. Still, it was a good sandwich.

Found Ambrosia Café on
. Checked it out after a hike with my dog.
Food: I got the Café Panini and my friend got the Marinated Roasted Tri Tip sandwich. I wasn’t overly impressed with either sandwiches. My Café Panini had fresh ingredients and the ciabatta it came on was the perfect combination of crusty and chewy. However, I felt that the combined product was not very flavorful or interesting. The scrambled egg was under seasoned and the cheese wasn’t melted. There was also only two pieces of avocado. The tri tip was more flavorful but I’ve had better.
As far as beverages, they have a wide selection of smoothies and caffeinated drinks as well as some wine and beer. We shared a bottle of sauvignon blanc which was very aromatic and fruit forward. It was probably a little marked up but decent for the price.
Service: You order at the counter and sit where ever you want. The server was friendly but informed us that they might be closing early since it was slow. Despite that they did let us stay until we were ready to leave.
Location: I think the location is the biggest draw to this café. It’s conveniently located on K street and next to the cathedral. The patio is dog friendly. They even have water bowls. There is plenty of seating inside and if you sit outside it’s a great place to people watch.
Overall, very average food but may be a good choice if you’re looking for a lunch spot with your pup.

This is our second visit. We came when they first opened and they were friendly and accommodating — even at 8am on a Sunday. The service was warm and the breakfast sandwich delicious (Perfect Morning Panini). The location alone is worth the visit (across from a cathedral on the K St. Mall and near the Capitol). We’ll be back whenever we spend the night in Downtown Sac.

It was so hot in sac! The café was very close to the state capitol. I had a combo of blt and clam chowder soup, not enough for my stomach…

I tried their Chicken Ceasar salad today and it was totally worth the $ 8.95. The salad was fresh, the chicken was seasoned well, the crutons were nice and crunchy and the aged parm was delish. I enjoyed the dressing as well. I have never been to their café, but both items I have purchased from the farmers market near the capitol have been great.
Their staff is very friendly too.
Previous review: Best.Lemonade.Ever! I ordered a lemonade from their stand at the Capitol Farmer’s Market today. It was tangy and not overly sweet. I love a good homemade lemonade. I will have to check out their café…

Stopped by here on lunch with my boss during a training. We both had previously though this was a super fancy full service restaurant but were pleasantly surprised when we entered. The selection was good for lunch and the customer service was nice. The place was clean as well. It just took forever for my boss to get his tuna salad sandwich which was odd since usually tuna salad is pre-​made and when it was brought there was no apology or recognition for how long it took.

There are a million places to eat downtown, especially surrounding the state Capitol… one of the places you’ll find is this place.
Now…just like most of the other places nearby prices can get a bit on the high side but the food is pretty damn good and justified.
Since I’ve started working down the street from Ambrosia I’ve gone here several times… it’s sort of become a ritual of mine. My favorite menu item so far? Their Tuna Melt! Not sure why I’ve become such a fan of it… prior to this place I NEVER cared for tuna.
Their Tuna salad paired with the grilled sourdough bread is just amazing… full of flavor in each bite. The sandwich alone is a little over $ 8 which is expensive in my book but it’s worth the money.
Try to call ahead and order if you can, this place can get busy during lunch hours. Enjoy!

Fast, easy, convenient. Just the small, healthy meal we wanted. Garden salad was chock full of veggies with tasty balsamic dressing. Nice! The half turkey sandwich was also very good. Definitely would come here again.

I was starving so I got half a tri tip sandwich with minestrone soup and Mexican Mocha. Tri tip sandwich sucked. Minestrone could do with out the lumpy cheese. Mexican Mocha was disappointing, I though it would have a stronger chocolate and coffee flavors. It simply tasted like hot chocolate.

I have friends who are anti-​chain coffee shops. I am a Starbucks lover and I’m not afraid to show it, but I’m willing to branch out to see if other local cafes serve good stuff. So, I’ve recently been walking around Downtown on my way to work and stopping at non-​chain stores to try their drinks.
Ambrosia Café was my most recent stop. The interior is great. I love the fact that it has a lot of windows, an array of tables, and I’m a big fan of wood interiors. So, they get points there. There were a number of people in line and a couple enjoying the breakfasts served here. However, I was there for a drink.
I chose something fairly simple, hot chocolate with peppermint. Seems pretty basic, right? Make it hot, minty, and chocolatey. That’s all I ask. Ambrosia couldn’t do it. My drink was luke warm, barely minty, and must have been more of a white chocolate taste because I wasn’t getting the chocolate flavor in there. Did they use chocolate milk instead of chocolate sauce? Whatever they did, it wasn’t right. So, Ambrosia failed my test. I won’t be going back there for a hot beverage. Maybe I’ll try their breakfast in the future. We’ll see.

This was a great little place that, while it was in the middle of everything, seemed a bit off the beaten track. It was great venturing off of J street to discover some of these nice little restaurants and coffee shops on streets that had beautiful shading from trees on the sidewalk. A friend and I stopped here to do a little work before heading over to the convention center. It has a ton of character, and their coffee was good. I will admit that my friend didn’t like the food very much, but I didn’t order anything other than a cup o Jo.

Trip two to Ambrosia made up my mind that this is one of the best lunch spots for the Capitol work crowd. Located off of the slowly revitalizing K Street, they offer a wide range of healthier but still tasty and tempting menu items that will have you returning weekly with a new choice to try each time.
During my latest noontime visit, I was pleasantly surprised to find we could walk right up to the counter. It was closer to 12:30, so apparently all the seated customers had hit the line right at the noon bell. I opted for their BLT along with a bowl of chicken noodle soup. Clearly my eyes were too big for my stomach. When it came out to me on the patio, it was enough for two and I started eating fast to make it look a little less embarrassing. The soup bowl was filled to the brim with noodles and meaty goodness and backed with a side of thick-​cut whole wheat bread. The sammy was piled high with perfectly-​cooked crispy bacon, lettuce and fresh tomatoes on wheat bread. I personally dislike a BLT with too much mayo, but this one had the perfectly spread amount.
Each visit is a new culinary experience. Avoid the right-​at-​noon crowd and I can almost guarantee you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.