Embers grill and burger — Restaurant in Melbourne

The food here has always been tasty, and pretty healthy for take-away style food. My most recent visit however raised a few concerns as to how this business is run. I ordered a Chargrilled Mediterranean Calamari meal after asking about the country of origin of their calamari. I refuse to eat products originating in china whenever possible, and made that quite clear to the young male and female staff members serving me. They said they use a local, Australian supplier, which I told them doesn't always mean the product is locally sourced, and that a huge amount of businesses within the hospitality industry use frozen seafood originating from china. Instead of actually going to check, and allaying my concerns as a customer by being able to give me a confident answer, or actually show me the packaging, they didn't bother to take that extra step, despite not being busy at the time of my visit. Whilst my CHARGRILLED calamari was being prepared, I noted this was just being done on an ordinary hotplate. The term CHAR(COAL) GRILLED means exactly that, as the process imparts a distinct flavour, and if you're saying something is grilled on charcoal, then if nothing else, the Australian Consumer Law dictates that this description should be accurate! It's not like they don't have a char grill, they cook their meats on it and they taste great! I raised this with the fellow once my food was provided to me and the response was very disappointing. He simply said that's how they've always done it, to which I responded that this doesn't make it OK, just because they've gotten away with it for so long. I mean, I was hungry and didn't want to take this too far, but when I asked what they were going to do about it, the bloke didn't even say a word. He just became a brick wall. My friend, who worked in the hospitality industry for many years and who witnessed my interaction, was very surprised at how staff handled my concerns. Their attitude, while not rude or impolite, was essentially one of "DILLIGAF?!" Anyway, when I ate my calamari, I was actually pretty sure they were processed in china judging by the texture and appearance, and I would really like management to prove otherwise. You might think I'm being picky, but as a paying customer I have the right to make an informed decision and be picky, because I work hard for my money and I still have expectations of a minimum service standard in Australia that I don't think is unreasonable. Additionally, this isn't maccas, but a small business that staff should be proud of working at, and who should know about the products they're serving to their customers. If I'd known all this prior to ordering, I would have just got the beef skewers! So, to summarise, don't misdescribe the calamari as chargrilled when it's not, and bother to know about the things you're putting inside your customers! I'd also suggest a hot'n'spicy burger option, like with your spicy sauce and jalapeños, or chipotle chilli mayo.... Just a thought! Anyway the basted chargrilled meats that Embers have, especially on a bed of brown rice, are delicious, but if you want a 5 star review from me, you have to lift your game with the finer details, that starts with not lying to customers. Good luck for the future...

Embers Grill is a great addition to the Heathmont food scene. Serving up a build your own menu of grilled meat and seafood, burgers and salads, it’s a great place for locals who looking for a fresh feed that’s reasonably priced!

Protein options include salmon, chicken, beef or lamb skewers, pork chops and calamari. The basting sauces are all made in-house and you can watch while they flame grill your dishes. Who doesn’t love a bit of drama with their meal? You can select from several different salads, plus white or brown rice, fries, or upgrade to sweet potato fries for a couple of extra bucks. They also offer family packs, a good selection of burgers (with a falafel veggie option) and loaded fries. There really is something for everyone. Gluten free catered for on request.

We had the Grilled Salmon with lemon, garlic and thyme basting sauce & the quinoa & roasted pumpkin salad. The serving is a really good size with a huge pile of fresh salad (just the right amount of dressing) a good portion of salmon, fresh and succulent. I loved the zesty lemon baste, a really good accompaniment to the salmon and nice and light and fresh. We upgraded to the sweet potato chips which were soft and fluffy with a lovely sweet flavour.

We also had the Embers Signature burger 15 + side of fries for 3.2 Good quality beef patty, nice fresh ingredients. We loved the house-made smokey bbq sauce, a gentle smokiness, not too sweet as some bbq sauces can be, a really great compliment to this burger. The salad was crispy and the tasty onion rings giving a nice crunch. The bacon was flavoursome and cooked perfectly. This is another generous serve and in retrospect we actually didn’t need to order the fries on top, however this would still be decent value at $18.20 for a home made, freshly grilled burger with the lot + fries.

We found the service to be welcoming and friendly and the food came out pretty quickly. It was nice to be able to see it being cooked over the bbq flame, and we loved all the home made basting sauces. They currently don’t serve alcohol but the liquor license should be in place in time for the end of April. We would definitely recommend Embers for a great, fresh, casual meal if you're...

@embers_grill_and_burger Is the best spot to grab yummy burgers, loaded fries and grilled chicken with salad where each and every dish is freshly prepared with utmost perfection, thereby ensuring it's high quality and unmatched taste in everything they have to offer.

Not only that, each meal is packed and so filling with a big portion size. So it's totally a value for money dining @embers_grill_and_burger Moreover, the staff and the owner are such amazing folks who are kind, welcoming and friendly and will serve you with their warmth and so much cheer.

What we had:

1/4 Grilled chicken with Peruvian spice rub with brown rice and shredded sumac carrots salad, the chicken is so juicy, mouth melting and tender, grilled to perfection along with that special spice mix, makes it such an addictive and a delectable meal combined with that fantastic carrots salad with chickpeas, currants, fresh herbs, pomegranate and vinaigrette. Definitely a must try.

Embers Signature Burger is the crown of their menu, strongly recommended and it's nothing like you've tasted before. Made of grain feed beef patty, cheddar, egg, bacon, fried onion rings, tomatoes, lettuce, pickled cucumbers, mustard and embers Bbq sauce. This flavorful burger is incredibly delicious. The burst of myriad and awesome flavors will hit you right from the very first bite of it. Trust me, you don't wanna share this massive burger with anyone.

Sister South Loaded Fries, creamy, crispy, crunchy fried chicken and fries will make you crave for this one, long after you finsihed one bowl of this goodness. Too many flavors making it an irresistible combination.

They also offer Gluten free options for each and every dish, so you can still enjoy their brilliant and flavorsome dishes based on your eating preferences as well. The food here is so yummilicious that you will definitely wanna come back to this restaurant...