Brooklyn, NY — Est. 2009
A single tasting cooked entirely over hardwood embers, served at a counter the length of the kitchen. No second seating. No à la carte. The night moves at the pace of the fire.
Reservations open the 1st of each month — 30 days in advance
Why we built it this way
We've spent two careers eating at the world's most decorated restaurants. Most of them forgot what they were for. Ash & Ember is the answer to three frustrations we couldn't shake.
Captains who recite the provenance of every olive while the food cools. Sommeliers who correct your pronunciation. A whispered theatre that puts guests on edge instead of at ease. Hospitality is not a script. It's reading the room.
Tweezed dots, foam, gels, leaves picked with surgical gloves. Most of it tastes like effort, not food. When a dish needs a paragraph to explain, the cooking failed. We trust three good ingredients over twenty showy ones.
Tasting menus that test endurance instead of feeding people. We serve nine courses in two hours and twenty minutes — not because we're rushed, but because that's how long you're hungry for. The fire decides the rhythm. We just keep up with it.
Our philosophy
Every cook we know got into this trade because they were obsessed with a fire pit, a grandmother's stove, a single dish at a roadside stand. Then we trained in kitchens that taught us to apologize for that obsession.
Ash & Ember is the apology, rewritten. One menu. One hearth. One seating.
We cook every course over white oak and apple wood, two hands' length from where you sit. There is no induction burner hidden behind a wall. There is no dish that didn't pass through smoke. If you've eaten at a hundred tasting menus, we promise this one will feel different — quieter, hotter, more honest. That's the whole pitch.
Every protein, vegetable, sauce, and bread touches embers. No induction, no gas burners, no sous-vide. Wood is delivered weekly from a single Hudson Valley supplier.
Nine courses, one menu, every guest. The menu changes weekly based on what arrives from our farms. No substitutions outside of allergies and dietary restrictions.
The fourteen-seat counter wraps the kitchen. You watch every dish you eat being cooked. We pass plates by hand, not through a service window.
No memorized scripts. Our cooks introduce their own courses. We answer questions. We laugh. The night should feel like dinner at a friend's, with better firewood.
A different kind of fine dining
Reservations
Every guest receives the nine-course menu. Wine pairings are optional and added at the table.
Nine courses · 2h 20m at the counter
$245per guest
Nine courses · six pours
$430per guest
Nine courses · rare and reserve pours
$555per guest
Reservations open the 1st of each month — 30 days in advance · 10:00 AM Eastern
It is the rare counter where the food, the fire, and the people behind it all feel like the same thing. Two hours and twenty minutes — and one of the most quietly moving meals in the city.Ryan Sutton — Eater NY, December 2024
Sourced from
The kitchen
Chef & Co-Owner
Marcus grew up cooking on a wood stove in rural Vermont and has spent the twenty-six years since chasing the same heat in restaurant kitchens that no longer used it. He trained at Le Bernardin and Asador Etxebarri, returning to New York with a single idea: a counter where every plate had been touched by fire.
He opened Ash & Ember in 2009 with no investors and twenty-three tables of silverware borrowed from family. The dining room has not grown since.
Co-Chef & Pastry
Imani runs the cold and dessert side of the counter — courses one, three, eight, and nine — and is the reason the menu is allowed to end on a single bite. She trained at Tartine and Noma's fermentation lab before joining Ash & Ember in 2014 as pastry sous, becoming partner in 2019.
Her work has been called "the rare pastry program that knows when to disappear." We agree.
What you can count on
Cancel by 6 PM two days before service for a full refund. Inside 48 hours we hold the deposit; we'll re-list your seat first and refund if it's filled.
Tell us by 72 hours before service and we'll build a full nine-course parallel menu. No surcharge. We don't believe in a "vegetarian alternative" tucked into the corner of a meat menu.
Every dish is mapped against the top fourteen allergens. A printed list of the night's allergens is available before you sit. Our kitchen is not nut-free or shellfish-free, but we manage both daily.
The number on the menu is the number on the bill, before drinks. Service is included. Our team earns a salaried living wage with full health benefits. Additional gratuity is welcomed but never expected.
Frequently asked
Smart casual or semi-formal. We do not require jackets, but most guests dress for a special occasion. Hats and athletic wear are discouraged at the counter. The fire runs hot — heavy layers are a poor choice.
Quick personal photos at your seat are fine. We ask that flash, tripods, ring lights, and extended photography sessions stay outside the dining room so the counter experience remains intimate for the other twelve guests. If you're working — a critic, a media booking — please let us know in your reservation so we can plan.
Guests must be 12 years or older to be seated at the counter. The pacing and length of the menu, the late hour, and the open fire directly in front of every seat make it unsuitable for younger diners. We adore children. This room is not built for them.
Reservations open at 10:00 AM Eastern on the first of every month, releasing every seat for the 30 days ahead. Tables hold for two minutes in your cart before being released to the next waitlist guest. A $100 per-person deposit is required to confirm. The deposit applies to your final bill.
Yes. We prepare full vegetarian and vegan tasting menus nightly with the same nine-course structure and the same pacing. Kosher and halal modifications require 72 hours notice so we can source proteins from our partner producers. We do not charge a premium for any of these menus.
We accommodate all common allergens — tree nuts, peanuts, dairy, eggs, soy, gluten, shellfish, fish, sesame. Note allergies in your reservation at least 72 hours before service and our chef de cuisine will reach out directly to confirm the night's plan. A printed allergen list for the night's menu is available on request at the counter.
We do not have private parking. Street parking on Fulton Lane is metered until 7 PM and free after. The nearest paid garage is at 211 Bedford Avenue, a four-minute walk. The Bedford Avenue subway (L train) is five minutes on foot. We recommend the subway — the neighborhood holds traffic late.
Service is included in the menu price. Our team is paid a salaried living wage with health benefits, regardless of how the night goes. Additional gratuity is welcomed but never expected, and is shared equally among the entire team — kitchen, floor, and dish.
Reserve
Fourteen seats. One menu. One fire. We open the next thirty days on the first of every month.
Request a seatWednesday — Saturday · One seating at 7:00 PM