Ambeli welcomes you to our house!

This is a Mediterranean restaurant whose staff have hard-earned their awards, and the nick-name “The Home of Welcome”.
A fresh-faced team serving the cuisine of a diverse and dynamic heritage with heartfelt care and contemporary flair.
Legendary American restaurant critic Ruth Reichl summed the Ambeli experience in a word. “Gorgeous!”

Shaebodine Moleta
Proprietor: or more accurately… Delighted to meet you.

You’ll know him on sight: Shae Moleta, winner of the Cuisine Magazine’s Restaurant Personality of the Year, whose heartfelt presence is deeply reassuring.
There is something very alive at the heart of what Shae is doing. A man on a mission it would seem, perhaps in the endeavour to pay forward how idyllic his childhood was in the Marlborough Sounds; the patience and generosity of the men and women he has seen as his masters and peers; the kindness and warmth of his many thousands of guests.
Underpinning his approach is a thorough knowledge of his menu, his wine list and his guests. Capable of melding his animated manner “the horns aren’t there just to keep the halo up!” with a knowledge and respect for going out to dinner, be it in celebration or consolation. He is a true host, using his passion positively to add a generous extra serving of restfulness and enjoyment to your visit.

Eli Moleta
Proprietress and Shae’s better half

From the beautiful Elisavet Ambeli inherits it’s Greek-Cypriot heritage. When you meet her you will see how she lights the heart of Ambeli, with careful gestures and kind words. To watch Eli at work is to see where so much of Ambeli’s integrity is derived. She was brave (or fool-hardy) enough to marry Ambeli’s illustrious leader and open Ambeli in the same year! Six years later she not only has her own career as a national sales manager of WORLD, she also spares time to ensure all the finer details of Ambeli are just right.

Josh “Daygo” Evans
Executive Chef

Over the last four years the Ambeli has relished the presence and influence of a very special man, whose unrepentantly hangdog demeanour belies a creative flair and hilarious charisma. Josh is the guiding force of the Ambeli kitchen team & cuisine.

After working at Ambeli for 3 years, Josh decided it was time to stretch his legs and left New Zealand’s beautiful isles for Canada, where in the tutelage of the Canadian Young Businessman of the Year, Josh refined his skills at preparing and curing his own charcuterie, returning home with a renewed love of all things epicurean.

Now over a year in his role as Executive Chef, Josh has definitely stamped his mark, with a new menu and a refurbished kitchen to boot. His passion for cooking and meticulous attention to detail makes his food a pleasure to serve and an even greater pleasure to eat. Ambeli earned its FIVE STARS serving Josh’s menu (Wellington’s only venue awarded this prestige) and took the RUNNER UP in the Metropolitan Smart Dining of the New Zealand Restaurant of the Year Awards.

Dion Smiler
Sous Chef – Father, musician, Sous Chef. Another gently spoken member of the kitchen team,  Dion’s hale-stallion wealth of experience helps to round out the vigour of the colts. The Sous-Chef role can sometimes be the least glamorous; but someone has to double check the facts in a space where the magic of ideas and ingredients is a constant whirl-wind.

Jonathan Pashby
Chef  de Partie – Another returning star, Jonathan was last with us as a Commis Chef. However after 7 years in the Wellington Restaurant scene, including a year with us at Ambeli, Jonathan decided to put his skills to the test in the smouldering heat of the world’s fastest growing city, Dubai. For two years Jono worked through some hectic services in one of Dubai’s largest hotel resorts, and came through unscathed and with an impressive beard. Hhe even learned to shave with a credit-card sharpened against a concrete wall. Upon his return Jono was immediately contacted by Shae and Josh, with an offer of the Chef de Partie position which he snapped up immediately. His state of the art ice-cream churn Stella purrs like a cat in his presence, but don’t call him (for all of his obvious talent and flair in the prepapration of all things sugared) a pastry chef – at least not to his face. He is a Grill Chef! …

Morgan Smarch
Commis Chef – You will note a recurring theme by now: Morgan was once our trusty kitchen-hand (The Dread Pirate running the ship of our highly regarded Dessert Service).
Morgan is a native of the Canadian Far North, and brings the love and knowledge of beaver-liver pate and a cool-hand approach to the meticulous self-discipline of the cooking profession. Having returned from the seasonal work of his ancestral homeland and  having learned a position in his beloved kitchen was available we were only too glad to welcome him back. In his new role he has put aside the apron and the brush of the scullery, laying down the quinelle spoons and scoops of the dessert menu;  in favour of the jacket and the razor-sharp knives of the Prep Service and the Dinner Service Crew.

The Creamery & Scullery
The house-elves of the kitchen

TJ Collins
Teejay is a man of music. Dishes by night, student by day, he is a disciple of the school of Jazz. When he’s not playing his guitar, saxophone or perfecting his singing voice, Teej is a vital part of the Ambeli kitchen. Although he may not have the most glamorous job, TJ never complains and never relents! He is our ever-ready battery that keeps going and going, always a kind word in his back pocket. He is also the hands and eyes of our Jono during service -deputised to plate and present the desserts of which Ambeli is so proud.

Serving you, Front of House
The men (and Women) in Bow-Ties
at Ambeli, you are not granted the prestige of “The Bow-Tie” until Shae is happy you can speak for him in any situation.

Edy Bourke
Head Waiter

Edy has come home after fifteen years of working the hard-core of the Sydney Bar and Fine-dining scene; and for all his time “over the ditch” Edy has lost none of his beloved Rotorua-raised “Raro-pean” generosity, humour and wit. Belying a nature where loving attention and heartfelt thought is the motivation of all that he does. Having a desire to see Edy relaxed and happy, the team needs no more motivation to rise to every challenge during service, and to see Edy’s guests leave complete and happy; in this way through Edy Ambeli has inherited the sense of concentration, and the need for structure that further enables the Crew Ambeli to meet the standard of the cuisine in terms of service. In the words of the man himself “IIIIIIIIII love it!”

Damian Aherne
Les Fruitières (lit trans. Cheese Waiter)

Damo is a man of many roles: Ambeli encourages that!
Starting off here over two years ago as a diligent kitchen-hand he has spent many an hour doing whatever was required for the chefs. However after his homecoming trip to England last Christmas he returned with a fire in his belly, and that fire was to become a part of our front of house team.
Since then Damian has rose to the challenge and now stands with the Men in Bow Ties. He hasn’t forgotten his roots, though, and this is especially true when it comes to time for desserts and cheese. After a year of working alongside the dessert chef, Damian knows more than anybody the passion that goes into these post-dinner treats, and he works just as hard making sure our cheese selection is just as memorable. It’s hard to believe we found him washing dishes. So too you’ll find him bent over the planning that goes into the least of marketing efforts, and has been a big part of the drive to get Ambeli on the internet at last. Diligence and meticulousness does not always come with such a warm and energetic character, as is the case with Damo and he’s not bad looking either!

Ashleigh
Section-Waiter

recently engaged Ashleigh and her fiancée Evan relocated from Dunedin at the start of last year. We were looking for someone with passion, drive and the intuition of an Ambeli waiter, and in Ashleigh we found it.  Her delicate manner belies a remarkable stamina and service-standard that embodies some fierce core values, and during the hectic weekends she works she takes on every challenge easily while keeping a constant aura of calm.

Jae
Operations Manager & Senior Waiter

Jae started life in Wellington hospitality as an expert cocktail mixologist. The opportunity opened at Ambeli at the start of last year and Jae was welcomed into the fold. Since then Jae has shown himself to not only be a master of spirits, but also utterly at home with fine food and wine. He glides through every service with warmth and a cheeky smile, still bubbling with the same enthusiasm we saw when he first stepped though our doors. As with all of Ambeli’s staff, Jae has also embraced the proprietorial and entrepreneurial spirit – broadening the spectrum of his work within the team so that he now works closely with the heads of staff to advise on all matters financial and strategical: the glamourous champion of all things data-entry, the muscle pumping the organisational blood of Ambeli’s heart.