Former Top Chef Returns To West Village With 'Ambra': Report

WEST VILLAGE, NY — A decade after defeat, a chef rises from the ashes a new man — and with a new restaurant, according to reports.

Chef John DeLucie, former celeb magnet at the Waverly Inn, is now delving into his roots with back-to-basics cooking focused on Italian mainstays at his new spot, Ambra, he told the New York Post.

“I really wanted to delve into the Italian part of my culture. I just returned from Puglia — we go to Italy every year — and I’m really excited to cook Italian," the chef told the city tabloid.

DeLucie, who ran the uber-exclusive Waverly Inn with longtime Vanity Fair editor, Canadian Graydon Cater, is ditching the $55 mac and cheese for dishes a bit more grounded.

Instead, according to the new eatery's menu, diners can chow down on pappardelle with a short rib ragu for a more pedestrian $32, or a lemon, butter and cheese tagliatelle for $24.

The most expensive item is a fairly reasonable $45 NY Strip Steak.

DeLucie was once a top restaurateurs and a a partner at a number of restaurants as part of Crown Group Hospitality, a group that went up in flames over a $575,000 payout following a class action suit over stiffed tips and a nefarious Wall Street business partner who was stealing investor money.

That experience and the pandemic, when the iconic refrigerated morgue trucks were visible from his Village apartment window, has humbled him, DeLucie told The Post.

“I was probably very judgmental about what I wanted to do," he told The Post, "only cooking in a certain place, and when it gets all taken away, you become very humble. You do what you have to do. I’d fold t-shirts at the Gap if I had to in order to support my family.”

Despite his move to avoid the celeb scene, they seem to have already found him, with Justin Timberlake, Christian Siriano, Janet Jackson, Alicia Silverson and Laverne Cox, according to The Post.

“It’s been really fun and the response has been incredible. People are loving the food, decor, and location,” DeLucie told The Post.

To learn more, click here for Ambra's website.