Amboy Quality Meats & Delicious Burgers
Hamburger restaurant · Chinatown
727 N Broadway No. 117, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Highlights
Thick pub-style burgers, smash burgers, and great fries.
Thick pub-style burgers, smash burgers, and great fries.
"Though it's only been open since 2020, Amboy has already made a name for itself as one of the heaviest hitters in the LA burger game. Run by the chef who founded Eggslut, this tiny restaurant/butcher shop in the Far East Plaza serves juicy, near-perfect smashburgers, thick bar-style burgers, and the best fries in the city. Yes, you heard that right. Golden and crispy, skinny (but not too skinny), they’re served piping hot and taste like they were touched by Midas. Amboy doesn’t have any official tables, but there are a few seats scattered around the plaza, if you’re able to snag them." - sylvio martins, brant cox, cathy park
"This counter-service spot in Chinatown is a burger operation first, but the sleeper hit of the menu is their eye-catching hot dog. The signature Amboy Dog looks like a Viking warship, with a long blistered beef frank pointing upward on the ends. The smoked sausage is custom-made for the restaurant and has the satisfying snap of a meat stick but remains juicy inside, and the griddled bun is generously buttered like texas toast. On top is a delicious sweet-spicy combo of jammy onions, mayo, and pickled peppers." - garrett snyder, sylvio martins, brant cox, cathy park, andrew ryce
"Amboy is a tiny meat shop in Chinatown that’s home to some tremendous burgers and our favorite fries in LA. But for this week only, chef Alvin Cailan is putting a special Emilia-Romagna burger on the menu. Named for the region in Northern Italy, it comes with two blended patties that have been coated with grated parmesan and then smashed into the grill, balsamic aioli, diced onions, and pesto all on a toasted squishy bun. Pre-orders are available here." - brant cox
"In the land of smash burger ubiquity, it’s nice to see native son Alvin Cailan return to LA with a thick pub-style burger at Amboy Quality Meats and Delicious Burgers, tucked inside the former Chinatown home of Chego. The Amboy Classic offers thin smashed patties, while the Slim Thicc comes with a hefty third-pounder patty tucked between American cheese, pickles, and caramelized onions. For something that goes outside of the usual burger spot options, try the Truffle Slim Thicc with a patty encrusted in 24-month aged Parmigiano and black truffle aioli. There are a handful of seats inside, but the majority of seating is in the outdoor plaza. What to order: The Slim Thicc is one of the better thick burgers in all of Los Angeles" - Eater Staff
"In Los Angeles’s peak smash burger era, it’s sometimes nice to veer away from trendy, razor-thin patties and dig into thick, dripping, two-hands-required specimens like the 10-ounce Amboy DH. The slightly smaller line of Slim Thicc burgers includes a one-third-pound patty, while the classic smashed double cheeseburger rivals anything in the region. Beef hot dog provides a nice change of pace. Former Petite Peso chef Ria Dolly Barbosa leads the kitchen, prepping bold specials like steak frites with a creamy Hennessy mushroom sauce, caviar, chives, and crispy french fries, along with a bone-in tomahawk steak with spicy smashed cucumbers and a Korean ssamjang demi-glace. Whether ordering a burger, chili cheese fries, an unexpected daily special, or a specific cut of meat to prepare at home, this Far East Plaza restaurant is the place to be. Bring a group to try everything that Barbosa and Amboy founder Alvin Cailan are cooking up. — Mona Holmes, reporter" - Eater Staff
