Ember — Restaurant in The Municipal District of Kilkenny City

We came here for dinner on a Friday night. They were somewhat busy, but we were able to be sat immediately without having a reservation.

The restaurant is nicely decorated.

There were a lot of tables with young people in their 20’s. They were quite loud and made it very difficult to speak or hear one another. It’s not the restaurant’s fault, but just a heads up to anyone going.

We didn’t order any appetizers as we wanted a light meal. My husband ordered the prawns (grilled on a stick) and a glass of Cabernet. I ordered the roasted chicken and a glass of Sauvignon blanc. The chicken was cooked to perfection and came with a little sauce on the side. It was like a very light, thin gravy. It came with a side so I ordered the roasted broccoli and carrots. The vegetables were not hot when they came out, but they were warm enough and tender. My husband’s prawns still had the shells on, so it took a long time for him to peel them and then put them in the flour tortillas to eat. I think they should have the prawns pre peeled for the convenience of the customers. They did, however, give him a wet washcloth to clean his hands after having to peel the shrimp. He also had a side of chips and they were good.

We didn’t have dessert, so altogether our bill was fairly low.

We parked in a paid parking lot down the street and it was €8 for just the one hour! Perhaps the larger lot, right across the street is cheaper?

I’m not sure if we would return again. With the noise level and expensive parking, and lack of light/healthy options...

Me and 5 others were in Ember today for Mother’s Day. Great refurb on the restaurant, staff were quick and efficient plus we had a lovely table.

I ordered the Tiger Prawn Espetada - maybe it was my own ignorance to not knowing how the dish was going to be presented but it was definitely not visually appealing. Prawns came fully shelled, extremely messy and really struggled to even get any of the prawns out of the shell. Opening the prawns, they were fully black on the inside and honestly they looked disgusting.

The two tortilla’s on the side were a bit pathetic, no sauces, vegetables, or anything to go inside. And randomly a half head of lettuce with Parmesan which was rock hard.

I called the waitress and informed her that this was definitely not what I expected the dish to be, she informed me it was all about the experience. What experience I was supposed to have i don’t know. And also said it was the chef having fun. I told her I thought it was disgusting.

And if I could have another look at the menu. I ordered the popcorn chicken from the starter menu that maybe I could put that into the tortillas. And lo and behold … it was LITERALLY a bag of truffle popcorn on top of strips of rubbery chicken.

The other guests ordered three burgers, and all left the fat from the chicken thigh on the side and had very little chicken left. Another guest ordered the vegetable tacos, which she enjoyed. And we all agreed, thank God the chips were nice. We ordered desserts also, which were standard but nice.

Overall, we probably...

We had dinner at Ember in Kilkenny recently and it was honestly one of the best meals we’ve had in a long time. The atmosphere is friendly and the restaurant is very stylish with a relaxed atmosphere and vibe. The open fire grill where you can see the chefs cooking the food is great too!

We tried a mix of dishes and everything was cooked perfectly and packed with flavour. Would 100% recommend the chicken pop corn as a starter and the pork belly burnt ends.

You can really taste that smoky, open fire touch which we absolutely loved! The tomahawk steak was incredible and it’s definitely the best steak we’ve ever eaten! The sharing platter was such good value as it was loaded with different meats, all cooked to perfection!

The staff were brilliant too so friendly, attentive, and happy to chat about the menu and recommend drinks. The cocktails were delicious especially the mango daiquiri! The chef even sent out a dessert for my birthday which was so good too.

It’s not just a great meal, it’s a full experience in Ember. Can’t wait to go back soon! Would recommend anyone visiting Kilkenny or looking for a restaurant that’s perfect for a date night or a treat with...