Ambrogia
Open Tuesday - Sunday
10 am - 11:30 am - Coffee and Biscotti
11:30 am - 3 pm - Lunch
5 pm - close - Dinner
Home-made pasta and bread, herbs and vegetables grown in a garden out back, buttery scallops and other seafood fresh off the boat, Ambrogia Caffé and Enoteca offers authentic northern Italian cuisine in a casual chic atmosphere that embraces you like a long lost family member. As is the case with many Italian restaurants, owners Cristina and Marina actively manage Ambrogia, working long hours so we can experience a bit of Milan.
Italian-born Cristina has reinvented herself after a career as a scientist. Doctor Cristina Carollo spent the last 15 years of her life as a physical oceanographer in academia, doing research in labs from Florida to Texas. Marina Goerner is originally from the Ukraine, but has worked for 20 years in New York city in the restaurant world, specifically Esca Italian restaurant on 43rd street. Deciding to relocate, after six months of an RV odyssey with her amiable boyfriend, she happily settled in Cape Charles.
Sometimes the most successful endeavors seem to happen of their own volition. The two partners met by happenstance in 2017 at Gull Hummock, where both were appreciating an especially esoteric type of gorgonzola. Kindred spirits, Marina was preparing to leave for her annual tango dancing trip (seriously) to Argentina when Cristina showed her the available property that is now Ambrogia Caffè and Enoteca, and the enterprise was born.
The food they've created together is some of the freshest you'll find in the region. This author requested a small salad that was not on the menu and Marina literally picked a tomato from their garden to fulfill my wish. Expect an Italian wine list, Italian coffee and biscotti, Italian meats, a limited menu that changes daily, delightful hospitality, and European-sized portions which are perfectly fulfilling but don't make you feel gorged. If you've never been to Italy but want to feel transported, enjoy a coffee but especially a meal at Ambrogia, it's the next best thing.
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