Ember & Oak at Downtown Melbourne Review

There’s a new Downtown Melbourne spot that we can’t get enough of! Ember & Oak just moved in and has brought some amazing food with it. We have been here multiple times since it opened a few months ago and are already loving it.

One of the best things about Ember & Oak are it’s unique theme nights. I’ll get more into this, but basically there are a variety of offerings on the menu throughout the week. It is mainly a foodie spot focused on family style sharing, but you can still find whatever suits your cravings here. There’s even a self-serve wine room for those looking for a drink! I’ll cover everything I love about this wonderful restaurant in the review below.

Location and Atmosphere

Ember & Oak is located on the Downtown Melbourne strip right across from Mainstreet Pub and La Crepe. La Vela used to occupy this space, but never really took off. Now Ember & Oak is utilizing the restaurant to its full potential!

There’s first an indoor eating area that is spacious and even features a partially opening kitchen. However, I prefer sitting outside under the lit up palm trees. Behind the courtyard seating, there is a bar, some couches for those just drinking and the wine room. This is a one of a kind offering for the Space Coast, as it features dozens of different wines that you can try any amount of! In this self service wine room, you pay by the ounce. They often have the prices marked down for Happy Hour too. I have tried so many wines that I never would have thanks to the Wine Room!

The Menu at Ember & Oak

The standard menu at Ember & Oak is divided into Share Plates, Share Boards, and Sides and Potatoes. The Share Plates have a variety of appetizers from $8 to $36 per plate. You could definitely make a meal out of these if you like. I have only had smaller options like the Wood Oven Roasted Fresh Chorizo and Potatoes that we loved. However, the $36 Sous Vide Flat Iron Steak Frites is basically a meal.

As for boards, the options vary significantly. More typical board like the Roasted Vegetable or the Cheese and Charcuterie are your standard board with a variety of bites. For a full meal though, you can get the Pork Duo Board or the Steakhouse Board. These vary a bit but both come with sides of potatoes and veggies. They are a steep price of $55 and $90 respectively, but can be shared by at least two people and feature the highest quality meats.

The sides and potatoes offered are not a ton different than the share plates. They would be a lovely addition to any meal though, especially the Baked Ham Mac and Cheese and the Wood Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts. Ember & Oak also offers Raclette as one of their specialties. I have yet to try this, but the baby potatoes smothered in broiled alpine cheese and prosciutto look to die for!

Specials at Ember & Oak

The menu mentioned above is available every night, but there are also special features throughout the week. Ember & Oak starts it off with Monday Night Burgers. We went to this and it was a savory delight! There are five sandwich options ranging from $15 to $30 with some extravagant toppings! This includes a specialty burger, a fried chicken sandwich or a lobster roll. You can even get a boozy milkshake to go with it!

Then on Tuesdays, there is Endless Charcuterie Night. For $20 per person you get unlimited charcuterie boards brought out to you. This includes exotic chorizos, Northern Italian Hams and a Uruguayan Beef Jerky. The one catch is that the board doesn’t come with cheese, which is $10 per plate. But it still comes out as a deal, especially since you can bring home a board for leftovers!

The rest of the week is mainly drink deal nights. On Wednesday, wine bottles are 50% off and on Thursday cocktails are buy one, get one half off. The exception is Sunday, where there is a special menu as well. For Sunday Supper, there are more Family Style options! This is usually around $40 per person and includes either a roast meat, fried chicken or scallops and lobster. With this board, you get a bunch of sides like crispy shallot spinach, baby potatoes, jalapeño cornbread (with the fried chicken) and roasted vegetables! Everything looks so tasty and I’m hoping to try this out soon.

Our Experience

We’ve been here three times now and thoroughly enjoyed each experience. The first time we went was for unlimited charcuterie night. Andrew and I each got a cocktail and they brought us some complimentary truffle fries as a starter that were so tasty.

We ended up tackling a little over two boards and then bringing home the rest for lunch. With two plates of cheese, this ended up costing us around $60. Considering one regular cheese and charcuterie board costs $45, this seemed like a good deal for all the extra food! We were extremely full after, so make sure to bring your appetite!

The next time we went was for an Orange Theory event at the Wine Room. We have actually been to just the wine room a few other times, but at this little party, we got a couple appetizers. I really wanted the raclette, but the wine room only offers a limited menu. We went with Chorizo and Shaved Manchego Over Baby Buttered Potatoes and a Prosciutto and Burrata Flatbread.

Both appetizers were melt in your mouth delicious! I especially liked the cheeses used, including the creamy burrata. We spent a while in the wine room, and were impressed with the variety of wine we tried. Even better, it’s half off from 4-6:30 on the weekends!

The last time we went was for burger night a few weeks ago. The burger special of the night was a Philly Cheeseteak burger with a pile of sous vide prime rib, mushrooms and raclette cheese on the top. It looked gigantic, so we decided to split it, a side of Mac and Cheese and a side of Roasted Cauliflower. This still ended up being a ton of food, but everything was delectable!

I definitely recommend splitting the burger, because it’s so rich. And you may not need such a heavy side like Mac and Cheese, but I couldn’t resist it! It was the closest I’ve seen to Trend Kitchen’s, but their Mac is still the best on the Space Coast.

You can easily spend over $100 at Ember & Oak, but all our meals have been under that so far, and we have still been very impressed. The menu changes frequently and the nightly specials really make for a fun, one-of-a-kind experience. We plan to be back often in the future and hopefully soon for either Sunday supper or the newly announced brunch!

Know Before You Go: Ember & Oak

Of all the restaurants to open this year, Ember & Oak is probably my favorite! We are constantly surprised by the unique and ever changing menu items. You really can enjoy any occasion at Ember & Oak, so be sure to check it out soon!

• Ember & Oak is open for dinner 5-10 PM Monday through Saturday, and 4 PM to 9 PM on Sunday. They also serve brunch from 11 AM to 2 PM on Saturday and Sunday.
• Reservations are recommended and can be made here.
• Seating is inside only and pets cannot be brought in.
• There is no dress code, but you won’t look out of place if you want to dress up a little on a weekend night.
• Many of the sides are vegetarian, but due to the addition of cheese, few are vegan. You may want to call ahead with dietary restrictions.
• There is no kids menu, but you can probably find a few sides that kids would like.
• Check Facebook for updates on their nightly specials.

I am thinking my 10 Best Melbourne Florida Restaurants post might need an update now that Ember & Oak has opened! What is your favorite Melbourne, FL restaurant?