Olive ciabatta has been a long time coming to Lanjaron, but it's here at last, sharing a menu with oatmeal and fresh fruit, bacon and cream cheese bagels, and pasta with a feta, sundried tomato and pine nut sauce. Ambienza, the café-bar that's been taking shape since summer 2005, unfurled its first brown paper tablecover last week - a plain but poignant victory banner for a long campaign fought with patience, determination and good humour.
Martin McNally and Astra Barton came to Lanjarón in 2005. They 
had a dream: to transform a shabby warehouse overlooking the town's new variante (bypass) into a modern family home and internet café. The vision slowly took shape as allegations, acts of God and the ayuntamiento (local authority) tested them at every turn. At least they had a couple of house moves and baby Zak, who came along in 2008, to distract them.
There was the time the scaffolding company casually asked for a €160,000 deposit...the freak hailstorm that hit Granada hours after huge pits had been dug in 
front of the café for new foundations.....the day they went to collect their long-awaited opening licence, only to find that a hostile neighbour had filed a complaint, setting them back another four months. In the end, even the UK magazine for which we were serialising the Ambienza story folded, while Martin and Astra kept going.
Anyway, all that's history now. In fact, after my second watermelon smoothie with vodka, it seemed as though Ambienza had always been here, with Astra and her team in their smart black baseball caps and aprons, the bubbling fountain in the courtyard, the pastas and pestos and pastries and panini.
"Soon we'll be overweight and broke, and you'll be responsible," I tell Astra as sternly as I can through a mouthful of filo pastry with feta cheese. She just smiles her inscrutable Astra smile. "Carrot cake or chocolate brownie?" she asks.
Ambienza is at C/Señor de la Expiración, 31, opposite the bypass at the Orgiva end of town. You can call them on 958 771381 (they offer a takeaway service too) but don't worry unduly as the carrot cake is pretty much always available. Just come and work your way through the menu on the mist-cooled sun terrace. See you there!
Thanks for that great tip - Ill be tapping melons all over Carrefour next time!
Regards, Arpi
Posted by: Arpi Shively | April 23, 2010 at 07:37 PM
Knock on the melon - if you hear a hollow sound it is ready. Works most every time.
Posted by: buy propecia | April 23, 2010 at 12:10 AM
Thanks Arpi, Gosh what a story! Ambienza sounds like heaven- hope to see you there. James
Posted by: James (Gorin von Grozny) | March 21, 2010 at 06:45 PM
Sure Michelle, there's that urgent...you know...have to work through together....watermelon smoothie essential to thinking process...get down here.
Posted by: Arpi Shively | August 09, 2009 at 07:03 PM
it sounds fantastic Arpi - I must concoct some sort of urgent business matter that just can't be discussed with you via Skype, and then it's a date -
Good Wishes to Martin and Astra and Zak - it's always great to hear an Andalucian building project survival/success story
Q - are the watermelon-vodka smoothies always available too?
Posted by: Michelle Rumney | August 09, 2009 at 04:39 PM