Best Bottomless & All-Inclusive Brunch Spots In DC
Where to get the best deals on brunch plates and (almost) never-ending mimosas in Washington, D.C.
Ambar In The News
Make Every Seat a Good One
Most customers give very little thought to the seating in a restaurant but it’s one of the most important elements. Good seating should be comfortable, should define certain areas, add to the ambiance and work practically.
Too often it doesn’t.
Ivan Iricanin Made Balkan Cuisine Go Viral America
Ivan Iricanin Made Balkan Cuisine Go Viral in America
The Best New Restaurants in Chicago, July 2025
Ambar, a D.C.-area favorite, debuted its first Chicago location in April. The chain is noted for elevated Balkan cuisine, which should perk up Chicago’s sizable population from the Balkan diaspora.
Ambar now open in Chicago’s River North
Experience the bold flavors of the Balkans without limits. Sample a wide variety of savory dishes from across the Balkan Peninsula — all for one flat price.
Ambar Brings Balkan Flavors to River North
The Washington, D.C. import offers an all-you-can-eat menu. “The idea came from the way we eat in the Balkans,” explains Ivan Iricanin, owner of the newly opened Ambar, a Balkan spot in River North (700 N. Clark St.). “Food is always on the table; as soon as you come, there are appetizers, cheese, cold cuts, and the table is never empty. If the table is empty, the host is doing something wrong and people are not happy!” That’s how Iricanin wants guests to feel at Ambar.
Positive Representation of the Region River North
When Ivan Iričanin came to Washington, D.C. from his native Serbia in 2005, he was shocked at the lack of Balkan restaurants in the area. “I would like to eat my food, and it was not available,” he recalls. So he opened Ambar to showcase the cuisine of his corner of southeastern Europe and to provide a positive connotation for the Balkans instead of the “wars, bombing, and revolution” that he always found people thought of in connection with the area.
Michelin-Recognized Ambar
Signature dishes at Ambar, including smoked sausage, sujuk flatbread and sarma (pork belly-stuffed cabbage leaves).
A new Balkan eatery is headed to River North—and it’s bringing Michelin-
recognized fare and its signature “unlimited” dining experience to locals.
Ambar, Now Open, Brings Cevapi & Other Dishes
The popular D.C.-based mini-chain has opened its first Chicago location, featuring its signature unlimited experiences.
River North welcomes Ambar
Chicago’s River North neighborhood just got a bold new addition to its culinary scene. Ambar, the highly anticipated Balkan-inspired restaurant from Street Guys Hospitality, officially opened its doors this week, April 1.
Wins OpenTable Diners’ Choice Award!
We are excited to announce that Ambar Restaurant has consistently won the OpenTable Diners’ Choice Award since 2017, a recognition that reaffirms our commitment to excellence. This achievement only strengthens our determination to continue bringing you the best traditional Balkan dishes, crafted with authentic flavors, fresh ingredients, and a passion for hospitality.
The 10 Most Anticipated Chicago Restaurant 2025
Ambar, the Michelin-recognized restaurant from Street Guys Hospitality, is set to arrive in River North this spring, bringing fresh interpretations of classic Balkan dishes to the local dining scene.
A New Balkan restaurant
A new hospitality group is entering Chicago in 2025 and bringing the taste and flavors of the Balkans with them.
Ambar Clarendon Scares Up Halloween With Cocktails
Ambar Clarendon is celebrating Halloween with a costume contest, speciality cocktails and Top 40 tunes on Thursday, Oct. 26. Ambar Clarendon is inviting all of Arington’s ghouls and goblins to help celebrate Halloween on Thursday, Oct. 31.
Ambar Clarendon Halloween Costume Party
Celebrate Halloween at Ambar Clarendon with a spooky costume party, ghostly decorations, and specialty cocktails. On October 31, 9:00 PM – 1:00 AM
2024 Arlington Restaurant Week kicks off on Monday
Ambar has an unlimited lunch of small plates for $25 or lunch plus dessert for $29.99. The restaurant has a number of Balkan cuisine options from kebabs to slow-cooked pork belly stuffed cabbage.
What to Eat During Summer Restaurant Week
This Clarendon outpost of the Michelin-starred Capitol Hill location has already gotten a head start on Restaurant Week, with specials running for two weeks, through Sept. 10.
Summer Restaurant Week in Arlington
Ambar Clarendon, a small-plates restaurant celebrating Balkan cuisine, will serve lunches and dinners with spreads, charcuterie, flatbreads and slow-roasted meats and dessert.
Outstanding D.C. Restaurants That Open on Mondays
Balkan cuisine is available at lunch and dinner on Mondays at Ambar on Capitol Hill’s Barracks Row
Find bottomless mimosas all weekend in nova
You don’t often hear Balkan and brunch paired together, but at Ambar, you can experience the rich, savory food of the Balkan peninsula alongside your sparkling morning drink.
Best Summer Dishes
Taste the Season 2023: Try 14 of D.C.’s Best Summer Dishes.
At Ambar, D.C.’s only Balkan restaurant, their summer menu includes a doughy flatbread with meaty cremini mushrooms, sautéed leeks and loads of fresh arugula.
Bottomless Brunches
Bottomless Brunches That Will Turn Your Weekend Into a Blur.
Ambar’s Balkan brunch is one of the loveliest deals in town.
Memorial Day Brunch Around DC
Where to Find Memorial Day Brunch Around DC ?
Looking to find breakfast carbs and bottomless mimosas on Memorial Day? These restaurants are serving brunch.
Washingtonian Reader Picks
Washingtonian Reader Picks, BEST BRUNCH – Ambar Restaurant
We proudly invite our guests at Ambar to enjoy the first Dining without Limits Experience in the United States.
Best New Restaurants Washington DC
Washington, DC’s dining scene is one of the country’s most diverse, and its most exciting new entrants stand out for being ambassadors to cuisines that don’t usually get the spotlight.
Wood-fired kebabs—Ambar’s newest edition is turning heads for a bar that turns into a late-night lounge on Fridays and Saturdays.
Mother’s Day Press Release OpenTable
Mother’s Day Planning Made Easy: OpenTable Releases its Annual List of 100 Most Popular Brunch Spots for 2023 .
Ambar – Arlington
The Hottest New Bars in D.C. Right Now
To embrace its new nightlife neighborhood in Shaw, all-you-can-eat Balkan brand Ambar turns its upstairs level into a lounge-y, garden-like space with a retractable roof, lots of greenery, and pink touches during cherry blossom season.
Cherry Blossom Specials in March
To honor the cherry blossoms, all three locations of the “next level” Balkan restaurant chain, including the newly opened Ambar Shaw, will be furnished in cherry blossom decor and special menus.
Cherry blossom-themed Menus
Along with cherry blossom-enhanced interiors, Ambar’s many locations will also offer delights, such as the Shumadija Iced Tea cocktail, which includes cherry-infused rakia, bourbon, housemade cherry purée, fresh lemon juice, and a berry-mint tea blend.
Cherry Blossom-Inspired Cocktail & Dessert
Ambar, the nation’s capital’s first Balkan restaurant, its sister restaurant, Ambar Clarendon, and the newly opened Ambar Shaw, will offer a cherry blossom-inspired cocktail to commemorate the anniversary of the National Cherry Blossom Festival.
Balkan Favorite Ambar Blooms
To embrace its new nightlife neighborhood in Shaw, the upstairs level is a lounge-y, garden-like space with a retractable roof, lots of greenery, and pink touches during cherry blossom season.
Ambar Brings Bottomless
At most restaurants, bottomless is a brunch thing. But Ambar restaurateur Ivan Iricanin views limitless food and drinks as an anytime affair.
20 restaurants that define dining in Washington
Most people associate the phrase “all you can eat” with quantity over quality. Ambar Capitol Hill challenges that assumption, offering limitless, made-to-order Balkan dishes for lunch, brunch, and dinner.
Where to Find President’s Day Brunch Around DC
The sister Balkan restaurants are all-you-can-eat, all the time. Menus for lunch and brunch vary slightly between the Capitol Hill and Clarendon locations, but you can expect a ton of options at both—soups, salads, baked egg dishes, sweet and savory pastries, and more. There are bottomless options, too.
Best European Restaurants in Northern Virginia
Indeed, this Eastern European spot aims to please, with a kitchen adept at bestowing modern-day nuances on grandmotherly comfort food. Not the least of its winning strategies is a set-price menu that lets diners order all they can eat from its extensive list of small plates.
Best of Arlington 2023: Food & Drink
Top Restaurants and Bars in Arlington – Best of Arlington 2023. Ambar Clarendon is among the top vote-getters.
Serbian Dishes You Need To Try At Least Once
In recent years, rakija has even become a bit trendy in the U.S., with San Antonio-based Dorcol Distilling making small-batch craft rakija out of apricots and Washington, D.C.’s Ambar offering a wide range of rakija made from apples, apricots, cherries, honey, pears, plums, quinces, and raspberries.
DC Restaurants That Have Christmas Covered
Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring because they skipped out on the stress of cooking their own holiday meal at home. Genius!
What’s open on Christmas weekend in the DC area
The Balkan restaurant’s locations in D.C. and VA are offering a brunch feast on Christmas featuring a spread of kebabs, beet tzatziki and fresh-baked pita.
Restaurants open on Christmas
Schedule Christmas Day brunch at Ambar this year and enjoy Balkan cuisine like Sudzuk beef flatbread, potato hash or charcuterie. The all-you-can-eat brunch costs $34.99 per person, and guests can pay an additional $8.99 to enjoy unlimited selected cocktails.
Where to Order Christmas Dinner Around D.C.
Prepared by executive chef Dejan Pilovic, Ambar’s Christmas Eve dinner includes festive dishes like beef schnitzel with dry porcini mushrooms, mashed potato, white wine and slow cooked root vegetables; black sea bass with lentil stew, moravska salsa, red pepper and tomato; and Istrian pasta with wild mushrooms, truffle and parmesan.
Where to Eat on Christmas Day Around DC
The Capital Hill location will serve brunch from 10 AM to 3:30 PM on Christmas, while the Clarendon location will be open from 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM. Both menus feature an all-you-eat array of mezze, soups, salads, sandwiches, pastries, and sweets. Favorites on the menu include a strawberry waffle with Nutella, shrimp omelet, and prosciutto Benedict.
10 Bottomless Brunches
Among the many topics D.C.-area residents take seriously, brunch outshines them all once the sun rises over the weekend morning, with Baltic fare from Ambar, bottomless oysters at Brine, dim sum from Woodley Park’s new Han Palace, all alongside plenty of that liquid sunshine known as mimosas for the bleary-eyed. There’s something for everyone between bottomless deals, those tried-and-true essential brunch spots, sunny, portable breakfast sandwiches, and the hottest new brunches landing region.
15 Picks for a Celebratory Night Out in D.C.
Finding time for a night out with friends, whether it be a quiet dinner or dancing the night away at a club, can be tricky. Once a date is selected that works for everyone’s hectic schedules, the next challenge is finding a location to match the desired vibe of the evening. Luckily, D.C. is home to plenty of places for every party size, palate, appetite, and mood.
Summer Restaurant Week Deals
Both the Capitol Hill and Clarendon locations of the Balkan restaurant will offer lunch and dinner deals throughout the week. For $25, you can enjoy unlimited small plates for lunch, and for $55, you can have unlimited small plates for dinner, plus dessert. Try their lamb lasagna, charcuterie meats, short rib goulash, and more.
Where to Find the Best Brunch in Washington, DC
If steak is your thing, look no further than medium rare. For less than $30, you can start your day with their award-winning culotte steaks and unlimited Bloody Marys or mimosas. Swap out the traditional eggs and bacon for Ambar’s $39 bottomless Balkan brunch.
Where to Brunch on Labor Day Around DC
Brunch at this Balkan restaurant’s DC location is $34.99 per person or $43.98 with unlimited drinks, and brunch at the Clarendon location is $39.99 per person. Find strawberry waffles with Nutella, lobster flatbread, a truffle risotto, and more share plates at both locations.
Could the Balkan Spirit Rakia Be the Next Big ?
Liquor stores and drinks menus are stocked with an ever-increasing selection of new brands of tequila, mezcal and bourbon. But an under-the-radar beverage in another category may be slowly gaining traction among spirits fans.
100 best brunch restaurants in America for 2021
OpenTable, the popular restaurant reservations platform, just released its first 100-strong user-generated list since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic that practically decimated hospitality in 2020: The 100 Best Brunch Restaurants in America.
The Washingtonian Readers Have Spoken !
It’s awesome to know you are loved, and thanks to you – the love never stops coming. Ambar DC and our sister restaurant in Arlington have been selected among the Washingtonian readers favourite dining places in the DMV area. Check out this great article and once again – thank you for supporting us all these years!
Thank you for recommending us for this award!
What is one of the best places for everyday dining around Washington DC? Well, according to Trip Advisor’s Travelers’ Choice, and for second year in a row – it’s Ambar DC! This is a rare recognition that is bestowed upon less than 1% of restaurants in the USA. Check it out on the link!
This is our second year in a row!
Bib Gourmand restaurants are selected by MICHELIN’s inspectors because they serve high-quality food available at a reasonable price. Check out more info on the link!
We won a RAMMY for Best Service
We can’t be stopped! After last year’s success, Ambar won another award at the 2019. RAMMY’s. Our Clarendon location topped the category for Service Program of the Year and yet again brought pride to the entire Street Guys Hospitality franchize.
Ambar won multiple WCP’s annual Best Of awards
After last years’ success, we won again! This year it’s Best Brunch and Best Restaurant When You Pay cathegories, and we snatched the second place in Best Small Plates and were runner ups for Best Happy Hour!
Washingtonian Readers Favorite Restaurants in 2018
For the 41st year, readers name their top places to eat. We are proud to announce that Ambar Capitol Hill was listed as No 1. in “Best Brunch” category
Ambar Clarendon one of the 50 Best Restaurants
“Arlington Balkan restaurant, Ambar Clarendon, one of the members of Street Guys Hospitality Group, is included in Northern VA magazine’s 50 Best Restaurants of 2018. ”
Best bottomless brunch in Best of D.C. 2018
One of the great things about D.C. is that everyone ends up here for different reasons. Some are born here. Some grow up — or still live — nearby in Maryland or Virginia. Some move here for college and never leave. Some stay for a little while and then move on. Some come here because of politics. Some don’t want anything to do with politics. That’s part of what makes our annual Best of D.C. issue so fascinating: Much like D.C. itself, it’s always changing, even as certain things stay the same.
Prestigious Michelin Bib Gourmand Selection
“In the inaugural edition of the Guide, our team found 19 restaurants that really impressed,” says Michael Ellis, international director of the MICHELIN Guide. “After two years, these restaurants were consistently impressive, and we uncovered nearly twice as many to join their ranks. Our inspectors recognize these as their favorite restaurants.”
Ambar Capitoll Hill won a RAMMY best brunch in DC
The restaurant industry in the Greater Washington, D.C. market has shown exceptional wisdom, courage, perseverance and raw talent in achieving its status as a food destination. This is years in the making and the best and brightest in foodservice leadership, business acumen and creativity were gathered the evening of June 10th to celebrate this achievement and usher in new kings and queens in the D.C. culinary landscape.
Ambar Capitol Hill in Michelin guide
Don’t balk at trying something new, since Ambar rewards rookies with a lineup of enticing offerings at appealing prices. This two-story restaurant’s rustic-country décor is as well suited to groups as it is to solo diners. Come with a gang and eat to your heart’s content with the Balkan Experience, which is a litany of delightful small plates. Don’t fret if you’re sans friends though, as everyone is guaranteed a good time.
New members of Street Guys Hospitality
Balkan restaurateur Ivan Iricanin, who’s diving into Mexican fare this year with the two-part Tacos, Tortas and Tequila, and Buena Vida restaurant coming soon to Silver Spring, Maryland, now plans to potentially plant a second Ambar in D.C. next year.
Best restaurants in Capitoll Hill
Restaurateur Ivan Iricanin’s flagship restaurant serves Balkan cuisine out of a rustically decorated rowhouse. In addition to its flavorful kebabs and creamy kajmak cheese plates, Ambar is known for its weekday happy hour ($5 food and drink specials from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday) and unlimited weekend brunch service ($39 per person for endless food and drink).
Ambar – a “must” brunching spot
A decadent long weekend deserves a brunch to match. Enter Ambar’s boundless small plates ($34 to $39) and unlimited brunch drinks (DC) and .25 cent beverages (VA). Cocktails include mango, peach and berry riffs on the traditional mimosa, all made with Balkan sparkling wine
Best brunch & Happy Hour Washington City Paper
Every January, Washington City Paper give their readers a list of categories and ask them to name the best restaurants, dry cleaners, hospitals, and music venues. The first Ambar restaurant, located in Capitoll Hill, is named for “Best brunch” and “Best Happy Hour”. Check the list of all winners.
