Ambassador Dining Room

The best Indian food in Baltimore. During the weekend they have an awesome buffet with bottomless Sangria included. It’s one of my favorites whenever I’m in town.

New Year’s Eve. 10 adults who are family and friends go there and it is their fifth year going there. One adult asks if the sauce can be left on the side. The Maitre D goes ballistic and insists that person leave the restaurant and threatens to throw the entire group out. Ballistic over asking nicely if the sauce can be left on the side. He explains that all the food is pre-​prepared on new year’s eve and is reheated as it is ordered. No sauce can be left on the side, it is already on the the pre-​prepared food. I guess this is the nice way of telling everyone that they are eating leftovers,.And the person who asked that the sauce be left on the side had to leave the restaurant upon the repeated demands of the Maitre D. Do you have any idea what it is like to get a taxi on New Year’s Eve? And the Maitre D refused any information on calling a taxi. Fortunately, the person had use of an Iphone to find a taxi through it. This was the most extreme situation terrible behavior by waitstaff ever experienced.

So… I really wanted to give Ambassador Dining Room three stars since the food is decent but ultimately, the questionable service ethics and outrageous prices overshadowed everything else.
While visiting last week, I took my friend and my brother and his family out for dinner here. We started our meal with a round of delicious mango Sriracha cocktails while I selected a bottle of wine for the table. To eat we shared orders of the appetizer platter, the tandoori shrimp, the tandoori chicken, and a couple of vegetable dishes, accompanied by two orders of the garlic naan.
The appetizer platter, while tasty, was meager in size, and we soon discovered that all orders would be so. The tandoori shrimp and chicken, separate menu items, were served combined on one plate, and consisted of three pieces of shrimp and three pieces of chicken. I found it hard to believe that ~$ 20 orders were comprised of so little, and wondered if they took advantage of the fact that we ordered two tandoori dishes. Furthermore, since there were four adults at the table, they at least could have given us four of each. The vegetable dishes were comparably small compared to their cost as well.
Finally, even though we placed two orders of the naan, we were presented with a basket of four small, somewhat stale, pieces. I then told one of the servers that we had placed two orders and without further comment, another basket was brought out.
At last I asked for the bill, only to be presented with one from another table, and considerably higher than ours. Returning it and shortly thereafter receiving our own, I saw that we had been charged for three orders of the naan. When I mentioned this to the main server and saw that he was about to dispute it, I added that it was the only «discrepancy» with the tab. And perhaps because he thought better of it, he agreed to take one off.
On a final note, the basmati rice and spinach were bizarrely served on each plate instead of in bowls.
In light of the above and the fact that there are hundreds of delicious Indian restaurants between Baltimore and New York, I never plan on returning. And that is unfortunate, because Ambassador Dining Room has a lot of potential.

This place is a disgrace to Indian food. I never had such a bad Indian food in USA. I bought 12 items from menu and none of it was good and everything tasted like tomato/​tamarind sauce. Garlic naan was bad. Samosa was oily and had no taste. Briyani tasted like pulav. Lamb chops was sub par in taste. Shrimp was not good. They filled half portion with lentil gravy and it was very bad in taste. Meat naan was bad. Malai kofta was bad. Reshmi kabob was cooked but had no flavor/​taste at all. I normally keep the left overs in fridge. This time I had to throw all of it to trash. Never ever buy from here…

First, the good news. The outdoor dining area is fantastic. I’ve been here several times over the years. The quality of the service has varied, ranging from inferior to competent but never excellent. The food is another matter. On each of my last two visits the entrees were overcooked, dry and bland. I have fond memories of this establishment from years ago but over the course of the past several years things have deteriorated. I’ll categorize this as another venerable Baltimore restaurant that has taken a turn for the worse.

My lower-​rated reviews on Unilocal are far and few between, but I had a dining experience at the Ambassador Dining Room that’s the worst in recent memory. I feel like potential customers need know about it so that you can save yourself from a poor meal at a fairly high price.
«Extremely expensive Indian food?» you may be wondering as you spy the dollar signs on Unilocal.I was OK with this, after all, you can’t deny the allure of their atmosphere. It’s really lovely, especially if you can eat outside overlooking the Ambassador gardens. If only you were eating in a high quality restaurant that lived up to its décor.
Some of the best Indian food I’ve had cost no more than $ 8 to $ 12 a plate. I realize not everywhere in the US can be Jackson Heights, Queens but come on. A plate of vegetable curry that costs an average of $ 18.95 per plate (online menu is not up to date on prices) should be exquisite. Unfortunately, the bhindi pyaaz was anything but. I ordered it extra spicy and what was delivered tasted akin to a frozen entrée. Bland, tasteless, overcooked. Another bizarre thing, plates come out with a scoop of your entrée, a tiny scoop of plain basmati rice (is there a rice shortage I don’t know about?) and a side of either dal or saag (you don’t get to pick). I’ve eaten Indian food all over the world and this was a first for me.
None of this would really be a big deal if one could express their dissatisfaction with the food without getting an argument. I rarely if ever send food back to the kitchen, but I just couldn’t eat what was placed in front of me. I explained to our waiter that I didn’t like the food and could I send it back. He explained that it came out exactly as described on the menu (FYI «Okra, dry-​cooked with onions and spices»). A young woman who might have been a manager came over to me and stated without apology, «That’s how it’s described on the menu.» As you can see above, it’s barely described on the menu. Besides, I’ve ordered okra countless times in Indian restaurants and never have I received it looking and tasting the way the Ambassador serves it. I was pretty stunned and didn’t even know what to say. I guess I sounded dissatisfied and might have looked a bit annoyed (my bitch face wasn’t resting) so she reluctantly offered me something else. At this point I figured that wouldn’t be a good idea. Anyway, I was so frustrated that I had lost my appetite.
It gets better and by «better» you know I mean worse. After my dining partners finished their food, the first waiter came up to our table and asked my friend’s boyfriend, «Can I wrap this up for you?» meaning *my* barely touched plate of food! Before I could even think, I stated, «that’s OK. I’m sitting right here. You can talk to me.» I realize that was rude and normally I’m anything but, but god was I pissed off. I knew I’d be paying almost 20 bucks for a plate of food that I only had tasted (and all but spat out).
Other weirdness: waiters walk over to the table with opened bottles of sparkling wine as if you’re being served a complimentary glass (they ask you if you would like another glass. It’s just odd). Not to mention, that stuff gets warm fast on a hot summer evening, so it should not be paraded around the patio. Finally, it just gives the wrong impression and is not customary in a higher end restaurant as this one is *pretending* to be.
Let’s also keep in mind, in a high end restaurant, they’d never argue with you about your food. Or take away a full plate of food and see fit to charge you without apology. Yep. Not a thing comped on the very hefty bill.
What an utter sham. «Avoid» is all I can say.

Love the outdoor seating area, and the buffet was delectable! Let me just say, it was very hard to find the Ambassador Dining Room. We went in from the back on accident and almost (nearly) decided to climb into the garden to get to the dining room. (good thing we didn’t!)
The dining room is very ornate (honestly a little dark) and has plenty of seating. My friend and I chose to sit right next to the garden on the patio. We came for the lunch buffet which is around $ 20. I found the buffet very satisfying, as it had everything I would normally find in my favorite Indian buffet back home, but what I enjoyed the most were the chickpeas! They were really well-​cooked and weren’t overly seasoned (which brought out the natural taste of chickpeas). Although I am not an expert with Indian food, I think that this restaurant really stuck with a more «home-​made» approach to the food because they didn’t add any heavy creams like other Indian restaurants typically do. The lunch buffet satisfied my taste buds and didn’t leave me with the heavy/​sick feeling I normally get after eating Indian food.
I think the dinner prices are definitely more expensive, so I would suggest coming for the lunch buffet, and you will also have a nice, brightly lit view of the beautiful gardens.

Amazing Indian restaurant! Food is different from other typical Indian restaurants. I highly recommend the lunch buffet! The naan is soft and delicious, as are the chicken, fish, and chick pea curries. The chocolate cake is also very decadent.
The best part is the ambiance of the outdoor seating near the beautiful garden. I highly recommend this place.

Found this lovely restaurant on the recommendation of a local, and was not disappointed! Sat out on the lovely patio, the food was amazing, and the service was a quick and attentive!
Thanks for the great evening!

Great atmosphere. Main course of chicken curry was tasty. The spinach was so-​so. Triple chocolate cake was average but the cardamom ice cream was the bomb. Service was prompt. Enjoyed eating with view of garden and outdoor atmosphere.

Downgrading my review due to lack of consistency. Really bad service on one occasion, which was a huge surprise. I think they forgot about us completely. We just sat there, no water, no drinks, no one came to take our drink or appetizer order, so we left.
On several occasions, dinner has been just OK. Tried the buffet again this month and not only was the food not fresh-​tasting, but my chai had a skin on top, so had been sitting for AWHILE (?) and was barely warm. Yuck. The buffet food is sitting, that’s one thing, but my drink should be freshly prepared. It’s just too expensive for them to not pay attention to these things.
Lovely patio. Hope they get it together.

I moved out of Baltimore for several years. This was one place that I really missed and in 7 years they still have great food. The atmosphere is also elegant and the service is great. I would like if they had a vegetarian sample type plate. So I could taste a little bit of everything.

So, I use to really enjoy this place, it always seemed like a treat when I came here in the past, not anymore. Let me explain.
I ordered my meal with a medium spice level which had NO spice at all, just bland and it did not even taste good, just edible.
So, I explained this to the waitstaff and they got the manager immediately and apologized that my food did not come the way I had wanted.
The only good part of that evening was the waitstaff. They were wonderful, but that’s about the only nice thing I can say about this restaurant.
After a long exhausting work week, I really didn’t want to be confrontational and I wasn’t until I met the manager. The manager was not pleasant and rude. His excuse as to why my meal came out the way it did, was that his staff in the kitchen doesn’t know when the peppers they use will be spicy when they put it in a dish. WTH?!
So, that’s telling me that his staff in the kitchen does not taste their product before they send it out to their customers. Are you kidding me?! That’s a BS excuse and then on top of this, he offers me hot sauce if I want any spice to my meal! WTH! Are you for real?! That was a first at an indian restaurant! I explained I did NOT want any hot sauce and asked him why at any other Indian restaurant when I order my food the same way, it always comes out the way I want.
The only things he offered to do was to take my meal back, but explained to me that it would come out the same way, so why would I want to do that?! Plus, I think he would have done something unethical with my food if I had sent it back.
This was the WORST service from management I have ever received! You offer me hot sauce, apologize but not really. Super rude and defensive! Never coming back here again! And another minus, they gave us even less food then they already did!
I would highly recommend NOT eating here!
If you want Good Indian food with Great service– Akbar on Charles street or Royal Taj in Columbia! Both much better customer service and they actually know how to cook their food with the spice level you desire!

I was close to writing a lengthy review about why I gave the Ambassador 2 stars, but honestly, it’s too much to address.
This kitchen has to get their act together. Somebody needs to tell the owner, this is not Baltimore circa 1990, when «Indian» food was a novelty and the customer didn’t know better.
Bottom line, this is the worst Indian food in Baltimore-​this includes the carryouts. The food is dreck.
I’ll grudgingly give 2 stars because the ambiance and service is excellent. You can have a good experience so long as you overlook the food and the bill afterward (high) because the dining room/​patio arguably is the nicest in Baltimore.
The best thing I can say is the Kingfishers were cold and the naan was very good.
Décor/​restaurant 5 stars
Service 4+ stars
Food 0 – 1 stars
Price/​Value 2 stars

Very disappointing buffet. Over the years I have developed a criteria on Indian buffet and here is how this place ranks:
Atmosphere 5
Selection 2
Quality/​freshness 2
Naan 1
Service 2
Considering that for 2 people we paid about $ 40 for the buffet I can safely say that this place is way overpriced for the experience. Don’t waste your time or money.

My sister introduced me to this FANTABULOUS restaurant! Must try: samosas, chicken tikka, garlic naan, spinach anything!!, the chai tea is to DIE FOR! And the toasted coconut ice cream!
Ambience and service is stellar! I’d eat here every month! :)

This Über Indian restaurant is nestled in a quiet street with an additional closed patio (more like a verandah) dining area that opens into a beautiful garden. We went for the lunch around 2:00 pm on a Saturday and enjoyed a quite family meal in a great ambience.
Buffet selections are biased for the non-​vegetarians — an indication that the place caters for the western palate. Don’t expect authentic curry flavors here; however, If you enjoy muted spices then you would like their preparations.
Lack of veggie choices on the Buffett was more than made up by very attentive service. The staff offered to augment the Buffet with additional veggie entries from the menu for us. We took up their offer and ordered Kadai Paneer. For breads they offered a good selection of freshly cooked choices. To top it, they also served a couple of freshly fried Samosas. Rice pudding and chocolate cake were the two dessert choices that day. Buffet also included an excellent eliachi (cardamom) tea.
Around $ 17 per person ($ 25 with unlimited drinks) for weekend buffet appeared fair for what they to offer.

Quality has waned significantly in the past few years.
Prior favorites are now very difficult to recognize.

This would be a five-​star restaurant if a) their lunch buffet didn’t suck and b) the service wasn’t so snarky. (I went there for years as a special occasion dinner place.)
I have loved some of their dinner entrees, but the service was so rude it was tough to enjoy. On one occasion, three of us were seated at a tiny table, likely for two. When we inquired about a slightly larger table nearby, we were told simply «no.» They actually argued with us – and they weren’t even full!
The portions are also rather small. Nearby Masala Kitchen is new, and I hope word spreads. The food is just as good with bigger portions and a lot less snark and snobbery. Not to mention cheaper.
When the food is good, it’s hands-​down the best in Baltimore. But it just feels bad to be treated so rudely. And the lunch buffet is not even close to the calibre of the dinner. Some items were merely bland, but the korma tasted like it had gone bad. Check out Masala Kitchen or Mughal Gardens – you’ll leave happier.

Ambassador Dining Room has the most upscale, beautiful settings found in an Indian restaurant (in Baltimore… or anywhere). Wonderful garden with open airiness in the summers, and closed off with cozy fireplace in the winters… this is a great place for formal dinners or even romantic date nights. Ambience really reminds me of colonial British clubs that are found throughout India and their staff are always courteous and helpful. The food tends to be on the milder spice level, their buffet has a wide spread which is usually quite delicious. I go to Ambassador for their ambience as much as their food.