A Monterey Indian food favorite has made its way to Los Gatos.
Ambrosia India Bistro opened its fifth location along Santa Cruz Avenue March 22, replacing Vietnamese restaurant North, which closed after 10 years in business on Jan 6. The Indian restaurant has two locations in Monterey, one in Aptos, one in Scotts Valley and, now, one in Los Gatos. Ambrosia’s tagline is “nothing less than our best,” and Monterey County Weekly has listed it as the best Indian restaurant in the county continuously for the last 16 years.
“We want to make sure that everybody who comes into the restaurant has a smile when they walk out,” owner Sam Khanal said.
The menu features appetizers like samosas, chicken drumette delight (deep-fried bone-in chicken wings with Ambrosia’s cocktail sauce) and shrimp cocktail; mains like tikka masala, butter chicken, palak paneer and okra delight (okra and onions with tomatoes and dried mango powder); a variety of lamb dishes like rogan josh and lamb korma; desserts like gulab jamun truffles (cheese balls enveloped in chocolate syrup) and gajar ka halwa al mode (carrot pudding topped with vanilla ice cream); and drinks like chai and mango lassi.
“Everybody can make butter chicken, everybody can make palak paneer, but the difference is how you prepare it, how fresh it is, the freshness of the spices,” Khanal said.
Khanal began his career in the food and beverage industry as a dishwasher in Redwood City. He then worked at Amber India for about a decade before opening the first Ambrosia India Bistro in 2007 in Monterey.
“If I wasn’t a dishwasher back then maybe I would not own five restaurants by now,” Khanal said. “It gave me all the challenges, it gave me all the experience. I learned every detail, so maybe that’s why in 15 years I have five restaurants.”
After opening Ambrosia in Scotts Valley in 2016 he noticed a lot of customers were coming from Los Gatos, so he decided to bring Ambrosia to them.
When asked what he aims to achieve with Ambrosia India, Khanal said, “of course, a satisfied customer… I want to take our Indian restaurant to the next level and satisfy customers from Los Gatos.”
Khanal said while he likely won’t open a sixth location soon, he hopes to continue to expand the brand over time.
“You never know; if we see a good opportunity, why not?” he said.
Ambrosia India Bistro, 133 N Santa Cruz Ave, Los Gatos; 408-827-4339. Open Sunday through Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. and 4-9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. and 4-9:30 p.m.