Here is the latest newsletter.

3rd April 2009

Easter Opening & Offers

With the Easter holiday period just around the corner and some recent sightings of the sun we have decided that it's time to make ourselves even more accessible. For the next fortnight therefore, from Monday 6th April, we will be opening all afternoon (from noon right through to around 9.30pm) to help you make the most of the Easter break. So if you fancy a bit of shopping in Malton or a trip to the town's fabulous Palace Cinema (click here for listings) to check out the latest releases, be sure to combine it with a visit to Ambiente for a drink or a bite to eat.

What's more, from Sundays to Thursdays during this period, we will be extending our Early Bird offer (15% discount off all tapas) to run from 3pm to 6.30pm, or .......... if you just fancy relaxing with a glass or two of wine, we will be offering a bottle of house red, white or rose with a bowl of olives for just £10 between 3pm & 6pm. If the weather is really good we might even tempt you with a rebujito - which the Spanish drink like we drink Pimms!

Free Raffle for Wheel of Malton

As part of the "We love Malton" Easter Eggstravaganza, there is currently a free raffle being held for a £200 luxury food hamper featuring many locally sourced treats. To enter couldn't be simpler - just fill in your details on an entry form and pop it into the specially provided box in any participating shop, bar, restaurant etc in town. There are runners up prizes too, and the draw will take place on the afternoon of Easter Saturday.

The Girl Next Door

We are delighted to announce that we now have a new next door neighbour who is skilled in the art of helping us to dye! No, it's not a local franchise for Dignitas, nor a Ryedale branch of Assassins-R-Us, in fact quite the opposite, after spending an hour with Andrea Dukes you are likely to come out a new woman, ...... or man ..... or child! Andrea has now completed the transformation of an unremarkable shop unit into "Hairbox", a smart, stylish & funky hair salon which opened this week. It's great to see another new trader taking the plunge in town and a fantastic addition to the "Ambiente Quarter". Call Andrea on 01653 699827 to make an appointment or drop in at 18 Market Street (right next door to Ambiente).

Easy Access

In case you hadn't heard already, we thought it worth reiterating here that at long last we will soon have the benefit of Free Parking (for up to two hours) in Malton's Market Place. At considerable expense, the Fitzwilliam Estate have bought back the remainder of the lease from Ryedale District Council (who currently operate this car park and sets its fees) and will, from May 15th, take control of this area of the town. The Estate's view is that in order to encourage residents to shop, eat & use Malton's leisure facilities the hassle and expense involved paying to park has to be removed. As a trader in the town, Ambiente is fully supportive of this initiative and would urge all existing visitors to continue support Malton. For those who are less familiar with what the town has to offer we would encourage you to take a closer look, and in doing so discover Malton's variety, individuality, economy, quality, and hospitality ..... all delivered with some great customer service.

Ambiente Events

We have been getting a few requests for some extra-curricula activities recently & we can announce that over the next few weeks we are planning the following (some dates to be confirmed)

Salsa Dancing & Buffet evening - date TBC.

Pudding Club - Wednesday 13th May

Spanish Wine Tasting - date TBC

"All you can eat" Buffet Tuesday evenings from 21st April

Ambiente Bookclub - Third Monday of every month starting 20th April (still a few places left if anyone would like to read with us)

Art Exhibition - 4th to 11th July

We will of course keep you informed as these events approach but if you would like to book your place for any event now just drop us a line.

Guitarmongers

Once again we are shortly to be subjected to the cruel & unusual punishment of the Yorkshire Guitar Fair (Milton Rooms, Malton, Sunday April 26th). Anyone with a weakness for mishapen pieces of wood with strings attached (Andy Murray?) would be well advised to give the place a wide berth if they wish to avoid marital disharmony, bankruptcy and/or an unattractive display of dribbling in public! The range & quality of the equipment that traders bring along to these events is outstanding, so whether you are a beginner or a seasoned pro there is always something to tempt you. You have been warned!!

Reviewer Veggie Places

We have received this response from Ambiente Tapas regarding their policy on children:

"Ambiente's policy regarding children under 12 is that they are welcome any time between 10.00am and 6pm on Saturday & Sunday, but the rest of the week they are not admitted. We realise that this is a contentious policy, but our priority is to create a relaxed & comfortable environment in which our diners can enjoy their visit, and this may be compromised by the presence of unruly young children. As it is impossible to legislate between well behaved and badly behaved children, our only alternative is to restrict the admittance of all under 12s. We do attempt to make this clear when telephone bookings are taken, thus minimising the disappointment of families travelling specially to visit us, but for families calling in off the street we apreciate that this can sometimes be a problem. Our regular customers, however, many with young families of their own, are aware of our policy and have commented that they approve - with their own kids at home with the babysitter they know that they can come to us to enjoy a relaxed evening uncompromised by other youngsters.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused to this reviewer & acknowledge the fact that this policy was not made clear on our website. This has now been addressed with the policy added to the "welcome" page of our website."

Reviewer Veggie Places

Can't comment on the food because the restaurant's stupid policy of not allowing children under 12 to eat there meant that we were turned away at the door. Very disappointing.

Reviewer Tim P has written 2 reviews

This place is veggie friendly with a good choice of dishes on the tapas menu, but we found it by chance on a weekend when they also serve a brunch menu. And what a find! There were several dishes on here of interest including the usual omelettes, pancakes etc but we had a mexican dish with tortillas, eggs, salsa & refried beans (cant remember the name), and a "tostado" - halloumi, garlic & tomato on toast. Both were excellent, and far tastier than their description makes them sound.

The place is nice too, with a very relaxed atmosphere, fantastic tables made of real wood that looks like it is still growing, and really friendly & attentive staff. Fairtrade coffee too!

Reviewer j c w has written 3 reviews

The food is excellent - imaginative, fresh, well presented with great veggie options.

Beautiful setting, friendly staff and good value for money.

Definitely worth numerous repeat visits.

Reviewer Fiona H has written no other reviews

Good selection of veggie tapas & veggie wines, even better selection of veggie options from around the world on the Sunday brunch menu including Heuvos Rancheros & Tostatos.

Reviewer Zoe P (North Yorkshire) (connected with place) has written no other reviews