Eats & Beats: Ambler

Lower Downtown Denver is full of hustle and bustle, but on the “trackside” of Union Station lies a more relaxing setting in the form of a new restaurant Ambler. Serving samplers, small plates, and full entrees, Ambler aims for a more laid-back atmosphere that celebrates “Denver's rich cultural heritage and embodies the free-spirited, bohemian vibes that (writer Jack) Kerouac epitomized.” Manager John Martinez brought a couple of dishes to sample on The Morning Set: Bison Chili with jalapeno cornbread, and a Philly Cheese Steak egg roll that Steve described as “dangerous.”

Steve Chavis: Good to have you on The Morning Set, man, and you brought good things with you to eat - we'll discover those in a minute. But first, you're in this pretty happening spot in downtown called Union Station, you could have named the place Hustle and Bustle, but no, they named it Ambler. We're just going to amble on through. What's the vibe in there, man? What's the story?

John Martinez: So, you pretty much nailed it with that description there. So, think easy, laid back, calm, cool, collected, not too stuffy, no frills. You want to come in and just be a regular, come in, be a local, or you're traveling, you're staying at the hotel. At Hotel Indigo, we're attached to that. So, we have all the 180 rooms with them. But that's the goal is that whenever you come in, you're getting genuine, real hospitality and no matter what you're up to, you feel welcome and it's a spot you want to continue to go back to over and over again.

Abi Clark: I got a chance to pop in last week and the view, was amazing. So, you're on the other side of Union Station, facing all those historic buildings, the trains passing through, your windows are like ceiling to floor... So, the vibe was really open and airy. I popped in during your happy hour and I had your Snack-aritas. So, you do a daily happy hour and one on Sunday too?

JM: Yep. So, every day happy hour, four to 6:00 PM, and then all day on Sunday we offer that happy hour. So, what you were talking about the Snaquaris, so think like mini cocktails, so like baby martinis, you're not really sure what you want to drink. Why don't you just get one of those while you're deciding? And then sometimes people just go for a whole flight of them.

SC: See there's an idea!

AC: Right?

JM: Yeah, they're great. And then you did the Philly Egg Rolls, which we'll talk about in a little bit. But like you said, the view's great. So, we're on that west side of Union Station on Wewatta Street. So, in the section that we actually had you in, floor-to-ceiling windows, whenever I seat someone there, you have the city view and then you have the judging the people view. So, if you're on the booth side, you get to sit there and then judge all the bar patrons. So, depending on whatever you want! You want to see the city?

Carlos Lando: Great people watching!

JM: People watching's great in a restaurant.

CL: Oh yeah. Anytime you're around a big commuter station like that, that's the best part.

SC: There is some movement, there's coming and going there, but how long you guys been there at Union Station? 

JM: So, we opened the first week of August this past year, so not very long. So, we're just getting our feet underneath us.

SC: See the Union Station vibe had already started to come back. It was a little rough in there for a period of time, but you're catching it on its rebound.

JM: And I love that about on that west side of Union Station. On the east side, it's great. You have Wyncoop and everything's over there so it's hustling and bustling. It's very busy. It's a lot going on. But what I like about the Wewatta side is it's a little bit more for the locals and it's a little bit more laid back. So, let's say you're going to a game: you're catching the Rockies, the Broncos, or the Nuggets or the Aves, it's a perfect side of town to be on where you're not going to be rushing around with everybody else where you’re five six deep at the bar waiting forever just to get a snack or a drink. You can come in there and you got it.