Ember — Restaurant in Sunderland

Excuse me Ember, but wow wow WOW! To say I haven’t stopped thinking about our meal is an understatement!

We were celebrating our first wedding anniversary this weekend & due to me absolutely stalking their socials 👀 I booked in, & I am so glad we did as we ended up having one of the best meals we’ve ever had.

It’s soup season so I started with the French onion soup, a generous serving & just absolutely delicious, I’ve genuinely been daydreaming about it since. My husband had the mackerel with the sweet soy glaze which he loved, the perfect starters to lead into the main event. It had to be said that I’m always so indecisive when ordering at a restaurant (I know I’m one of those 👀) so I would like to say a big thank you to the staff who were absolutely lovely, patient, super attentive & helped hugely by making recommendations. Our brill waitresses (I’m so sorry I’ve forgotten your name!🫣) mentioned the ribs which Drew ordered & devoured with delight 👏 I had the 35 day aged fillet, honestly cooked to perfection (medium rare) with peppercorn sauce with a side of fries & tender stem served with hoisin & crispy onions. We had wine with the meal (an Australian Malbec named the Listening Station) that was regularly topped up by the considerate staff & went really well with the steak.

We mentioned it was our wedding anniversary so the lovely Denis (such a lush person, I yapped the poor man’s ear off) arranged a dessert (my fave as well) a perfect crème brûlée! An absolutely perfect end to the perfect meal.

I’m absolutely going back again, they have a menu that changes so I can’t wait to get back & try the other dishes - the steaks being a permanent fixture (thank goodness!)

If you want beautiful food, a great atmosphere, lovely staff & another open kitchen (which I love to see) then this is the place for you. Also, a huge fan of the crockery used 👏 think I would love a set for myself 👏♥️ Thanks again for having us - we can’t wait to come back!

Five stars! So glad to have a place like this on...

Beautiful food but a bit of a language barrier. I ordered beef cheeks stew and queried if it was a stew and what it came with (supposedly polish bread and dill butter) What we got was a lump of beef cheeks which in fairness was extremely tender and tasty, but very little sauce and 2 small mushrooms. I had to ask for the bread which came dry and then asked for butter which came so cold I could slice it. By far the better choice that my sons gf chose, was the Lamb neck served with roast potatoes. Devine and plenty of food. The staff were very friendly and quick to serve considering how busy it was, but we had prebooked and were led straight to our table. For 4 mains, 3 deserts and a bottle of wine, the bill came to just under £180 which considering the quality of the food was very reasonable. I forgot to check if a gratuity had been added and assumed it had, but totting it up now I'm home, but sadly it wasn't. We thoroughly enjoyed the meal and atmosphere, so I would have given a tip, but will make amends on our next trip. We will be back, the food is heaven on a plate. I gave 4* for the food just for the lack of clarity on my dish coming as a chunk of meat without any semblence of stew, but probably lost in translation. They are dog friendly too and brought a bowl of fresh water for our Yorkie who was no bother to us or other diners! Ours was the only dog I saw and no-one batted an eyelid when we...

Ember was absolutely fantastic, from the moment we walked through the door, all members of our party including two young children were welcomed by incredibly enthusiastic and happy staff. Everybody had a smile on their face and they easily accommodated us and our pram, finding a suitable table. Little touches such as giving our four year old an etch-a-sketch and playing games such as peekaboo with our seven month old really solidified what a family friendly restaurant they truly are.

In our party we do have a dairy allergy which can make eating out stressful at times, however for one of the first times ever instead of being met with a resistance, the chef and waiter were able to come up with a similar option which was dairy free instead of simply telling us “this isn’t available”. The food myself and partner ate was part of the Rio menu and we were both astounded by the quality and presentation, even our seven month old enjoyed stealing a bit of the steak! The price of the food was absolutely worth it and for a two course meal for £22 on a Saturday I would say this is completely fair!

We all left with a huge smiles on our faces and it was easily one of, if not, the best dining experiences we have ever had. Thank you so much to you all,...