From the hearth
June 2026
June 2026
Why we cook everything over oak
Gas is convenient. Oak is honest. A note on live fire, patience, and the smoke ring we chase every night.
Read the note →Wood-fired kitchen · Downtown Asheville
Everything
touches fire.
A wood-fired room in downtown Asheville, built around a single open hearth. Oak and hickory coals, mountain produce, and a cellar worth lingering over.
Ember & Oak
Lighting the fire
Scene 01 / 06
The coals
Oak and hickory, burned down to embers before a single plate is fired.
The Fire
One hearth. Oak and hickory. Nothing to hide behind.
Gas is convenient. Oak is honest. Every plate that leaves our kitchen has met live flame — seared on the plancha, buried in the coals, or hung over the fire until it’s exactly right.
We cook with what the mountains give us that week, from farms you could drive to before the coals go cold. The result tastes like a place, not a recipe.
Since 2016
on this block
One
open hearth
~1000°
oak & hickory coals
From the hearth
Whole wood-fired trout
In the room
A night at Ember & Oak.
The grate
45-day dry-aged ribeye, straight over the coals.
The hearth
Oak and hickory, burned down before service.
The catch
Whole trout, brown butter, charred lemon.
The room
Low light, a long counter, and the fire in view.
The cellar
Four hundred bottles, weighted to the Rhône and the Douro.
The bar
Smoked old fashioned, oak chip, orange oil over the top.
Drag to explore
“The best argument for cooking with fire in western North Carolina.”Asheville Table
“A room you settle into and don't want to leave.”Blue Ridge Dined
“The ribeye alone is worth the drive over the mountains.”Southern Embers
The Room
Low light, a long counter facing the flames, and the sound of oak settling into coals. Come hungry. Stay late.
The Journal
Notes from the hearth.
Sourcing
May 2026
May 2026
The farms within an hour of the fire
Beets from Madison County, trout from the Davidson, honey from a rooftop three blocks away.
Read the note →Cellar
April 2026
April 2026
An Appalachian wine list, explained
You won't find these bottles on many lists. Here's how to read ours — and what to pour with the ribeye.
Read the note →Ember & Oak
Lighting the fire
Scene 01 / 06
Dusk
Candles lit, doors not yet open.
Reserve
Come sit by the fire.
Weekend tables go quickly. Send a request and someone from Ember & Oak will be in touch to confirm — or ask Della, our host, anything at the bottom of your screen.
(828) 555-0164- Tue – Thu5:00 – 10:00 pm
- Fri – Sat5:00 – 11:00 pm
- Sunday5:00 – 9:00 pm
- Weekend brunchSat – Sun · 10 – 2
- MondayClosed
Downtown Asheville, NC · walk-ins welcome at the bar