Ember at We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort — Restaurant in Four Corners States

Ember at We-Ko-Pa resort and casino is by NO MEANS a “restaurant in a casino”. My wife and I have traveled the world enjoying fine dining experiences of every type.

Those establishments cannot touch what Ember “brings to the table”, literally and figuratively. This means something because I’m the most “specific diner” (some may say picky), that any restaurant will ever encounter. In reality, I know what I like and what I do not like and will modify my dish EVERY SINGLE TIME. Typically, this behavior is frowned upon, snubbed and outright refused.

This philosophy DOES NOT EXIST HERE. From the minute we were introduced to General Manager Brent Rumph (to address a minor, menu change oversight), we knew we were in for something unique for our 35th. To us, an excellent dining experience blends incredible food with amazing staff. This establishment has those qualities in spades.

To begin with, Brent solves problems, while thinking outside of the proverbial box, addressing needs with utmost class and style. Old school enough that he just exudes COOL. In a nutshell, he is a sophisticated straight shooting, gentleman who immediately puts you at ease. Not an easy task with me.

For our anniversary we were treated to a few surprises early on and I will just tell you their wagyu meatballs and pork fat are decadent. Must have experiences.

Our server Alyssa…what a treat. Personality, charisma and a smile that could disarm the feistiest of curmudgeonly old diners, like myself. Just a very sweet young lady with a great sense of humor, natural grasp of people skills relative to a serving environment and clearly happy to be part of the entire dining experience

On to the food and Chef Richard Pelz. I judge a restaurant by its veal. Period. I’m Italian, from Chicago. I know good veal. Anyone can make a good steak but veal…. You must have otherworldly culinary skills to treat veal as it should be treated. So that it just melts invitingly into your anxiously awaiting maw. I often say “it’s the desperation that makes veal taste so good”. In this case…that is not the case.

I’ve eaten at Sinatra ‘s favorite places for veal and chef Pelz would easily “bury them all in the desert”. It was the most incredible veal dining experience I’ve ever had the privilege to partake in. From the homemade Focaccia that could have flowed non-stop to our table like it was an element needed for human survival, to my wife’s perfectly seasoned and cooked filet, melting with perfection as she took each bite.. He is a master, while still reserved and humble enough to share his enjoyment of a good pizza from our hometown Chicago favorite place. He visited our table more than once and we loved every minute of his engaging conversations.

Dessert… my favorite dessert as a kid was when my father would bring out the ice cream, rum, cherries and other ingredients, and make everyone’s favorite “flaming cherries jubilee”. Ember has created their own take on this favorite from the past and kicked it up 5 or 10 notches. I won’t spoil the experience by giving away the ingredients but…you must experience this dessert. Sadly, I lost my father this past year, but while the flames were igniting the dish, I swear I saw his face making that half smirk-smile he always made when he was sharing special magic with his children. This magic is here, at Ember.

Brent and company visited and commiserated with us several times throughout our 1.5 hour blissful escape from the always unpleasant typical “casino hotel” experience. Ember was like an oasis away from the usual dry walk through a casino desert. I sure hope the powers that be are aware of the incredible team assembled at Ember.

The sweetest touch was that we were given an anniversary card that was hand signed by front of house staff.

I can’t speak highly enough about this restaurant and the entire dining experience. Thank you all so very much.

We live in the Biltmore area of Phoenix, but will make this drive regularly to dine at Ember.

William and...

My dad, wife & myself were here for dinner just last night and it was an experience we will never forget! My wife and myself have been here once before(we live out of state), and my dad has been going here for last 7 years and this will be one of his most memorable moments yet! This is because he has been sick with multiple issues over the last 10-11 months and this was his first time back since then and the fellas at the bar (Jacob & Kavon), welcomed him with open arms whereas they actually noticed he had not been there for sometime now, and were genuinely concerned, and so happy to see him again! Jacob, (the head/chief bartender),is not only the most knowledgeable bartender I have ever met, but also knows all the details & history of each and every dish you folks serve there as well. He is very detail orientated and sure knows his stuff!! Jacob, as well as Kavon are the nicest, kindest & most attentive bartenders we all have ever met...drinks, food, conversation & education... they made our night and my dad's night extremely special with even a couple of unexpected & special surprise treats during our 2+ hour stay! I had never tried Bison before tonight and I am sure glad I waited to try it here for the first time...just mind-blowing...so delicious! I would give these guys 10 Stars if I could...they are serious assets to your team!

now the only disappointing thing I need to state, is that the lady, (host or greeter) outside the restaurant (older w/dark hair), needs to smile and be more friendly...she was a grump with no personality and also told us there were no tables available when we got there @ 5:00. I looked inside and saw not one person at any table and thought she was joking and chuckled at her and said really (in a humorous manor). she then stated with a straight face, ' we have a couple large parties tonight'. so we asked if the bar was avail and she stated 'yes'. Well, we were there for 2.5 hours at the bar and never saw more than 6-8 tables full the entire time. Why would she tell us you had no tables while we witnessed the total opposite? She really needs to step up her game and at least 'act' like she wants to be there...she is the first person your customers experience before entering the restaurant ...and unfortunately, its not a pleasant one. You need someone smiling; sweet, with a nice personality and disposition, to initially greet your wonderful customers....not a Debbie Downer lol! (but regardless of her, we...

We decided to go to the new We-Ko-Pa casino and really enjoyed ourselves. The casino is a huge step up from the old Fort McDowell days. Well done. After playing some table games we were told that Ember was a most try restaurant so we went. We ordered the oysters and shrimp cocktail which were delicious. For our entree we ordered the Snake River Farms Wagyu filet and a Prime filet, both Oscar style and medium rare. We also ordered an an order of their King Crab kegs to accompany our meal. We were curious if the flavor difference between the 2 steaks. My fiancé’s steak came out cooked perfectly but it didn’t come Oscar style as ordered. My medium rare steak came out dry and medium well and not Oscar style either. Our attentive waitress came by and asked how our meals were and I voiced my complaints. Mine was medium well and we didn’t receive the our Oscar enhancements. She took my steak away to get re-made but my fiancée and I were forced to eat at separate times. About 5 minutes the crab oscar came out for my fiancée and about 10 minutes my meal arrived. For a meal as expensive as this not to mention that Ember is trying to be an upscale restaurant, this meal was not enjoyable. My fiancée had already almost finished her meal and I was just starting mine. Our server felt bad and came by with 2 glasses of champagne which was a nice gesture but we really don’t like champagne. She then brought our bill and she mentioned that she had removed one of the Oscar sides ($21). I am hoping that this isn’t the norm for this restaurant. Maybe because we came here on a Tuesday, I don’t know but one thing is for sure that if you are expecting a great meal at 5 star prices then you should go elsewhere. My expectation of getting our order right, cooked properly and eating both of our meals at the same time shouldn’t be to...