Skip to content
  • X

Subscribe

Magazine | Newsletters
  • Food & Drink
  • News
  • Culture
  • Style
  • Home
  • Family
  • Wellness
  • Things to Do
  • Travel
  • Best of NoVA
  • Best Restaurants
  • Top High Schools
  • NoVA Wars: BBQ
  • In This Issue
  • Home
    • Food News
  • The Balkan restaurant Ambar opens tonight in Clarendon
Northern Virginia Magazine's Foodie Gift Guide
  • Food News

The Balkan restaurant Ambar opens tonight in Clarendon

Besides Balkan food, get into Balkan wine and Raika, a fruit brandy.

By Editorial October 5, 2016 at 2:13 pm

The best way to enjoy this Balkan Experience all at once is to book your private event! Get 20% off your event booking until the end of July! Thanks @yooeee

A photo posted by Ambar (@ambar_restaurant) on Jul 28, 2016 at 8:56am PDT

By Tonya Stewart

After almost four years on Capitol Hill, Ambar opens a third location in Clarendon tonight. The modern Balkan restaurant also has a location in Belgrade, Serbia.

The menu includes a beet tzatziki spread; slow-cooked sweet cabbage with lamb stew; suckling pig; wild boar burger with pesto; and a traditional dish of roasted bell peppers stuffed with cheese, breaded, fried and served with kalamata olive jam. There’s also the never-ending small plates feast dubbed The Balkan Experience, which is discounted to $25 for the opening.

Executive chef Dejan Pilovic joins Ambar from Serbia, and chef de cuisine Chris Hawkins, a Mississippi native, is moving from the Capitol Hill location. Also new in Clarendon: rotisserie chicken, pork and lamb, wood-fired grilled meats and in-house made-to-order breads. The wine list sources from Serbia, Macedonia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia, and there will also be a Rakia bar highlighting several varieties of the brandy indigenous to the Balkan region.

Moving into the corner location formerly occupied by Boulevard Woodgrill, the space was designed and decorated by owner Ivan Iricanin‘s wife, Nya Gill, a recent graduate of the interior architecture and design MFA program at George Washington University. Dinner service starts tonight with breakfast, lunch, brunch and late-night service to come. // Ambar: 2901 Wilson Blvd., Arlington

Trending in NoVA

JD Vance Leases Middleburg Property from Chuck Kuhn

Vote for Northern Virginia’s Best Barbecue Spot in the 2026 NoVA Wars: Barbecue Edition

Warrenton Winery Is Closing After Nearly 20 Years in Business

3 Northern Virginia Wineries Hit the Market

7 State and County Fairs to Visit This Year in Virginia 

things to do newsletter

Our Top Stories In Your Inbox

Our newsletters delivered weekly.

Subscribe

Feeds

RSS Feed Follow in Feedly

You May Also Like

3 bottles of wine with blue ribbon medals from Granite Heights Winery

Warrenton Winery Is Closing After Nearly 20 Years in Business

Rendering of King Arthur Baking Company Alexandria storefront

King Arthur Baking Company to Open in Alexandria

a bartender pours a glass of red wine

Northern Virginia Restaurants Awarded for Wine Programs

  • X

Company

  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Writer’s Guidelines
  • Internships
  • Terms of Use

Magazine

  • Magazine
  • Subscription
  • Newsletter
  • Back Issues

Talk to Us

  • Contact Us
  • Submit an Event
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Shopping

  • Subscription
  • Back Issues
  • Plaques
  • Realtor Client Gift Subscriptions

On Newsstands Now

NoVA 250 - July 2026 cover image

Copyright © 2026 Northern Virginia Magazine

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Hey AI.