Amba is an all-day East Mediterranean café in Cambridge, part of Cambridge Street Hospitality Group. The room pairs tufted pink booths with a run of bar seats along the street-level windows, and orders are placed at the counter.
The kitchen's signature is a rotisserie chicken brined in citrus, peppercorn and herb, rubbed with shawarma spice, slow-cooked on the rotisserie, and finished with a garnish of dried rose petals. A mezze spread pairs hummus with green feta dip, muhammara, baba ghanoush and marinated olives, served with pita. Arayes — spiced lamb-stuffed pita with zhoug, Greek yogurt and tomato jam — and shawarma fries tossed with ras el hanout and pickles round out the savory side, while breakfast brings avocado toast on toasted challah and Greek yogurt with dukkah granola.
The name comes from amba, a pickled mango sauce that originated in India and traveled through the Middle East, a nod to how the menu ranges across the eastern Mediterranean and beyond.
The kitchen's signature is a rotisserie chicken brined in citrus, peppercorn and herb, rubbed with shawarma spice, slow-cooked on the rotisserie, and finished with a garnish of dried rose petals. A mezze spread pairs hummus with green feta dip, muhammara, baba ghanoush and marinated olives, served with pita. Arayes — spiced lamb-stuffed pita with zhoug, Greek yogurt and tomato jam — and shawarma fries tossed with ras el hanout and pickles round out the savory side, while breakfast brings avocado toast on toasted challah and Greek yogurt with dukkah granola.
The name comes from amba, a pickled mango sauce that originated in India and traveled through the Middle East, a nod to how the menu ranges across the eastern Mediterranean and beyond.