Embur Fire Fusion — Restaurant in Greensboro

Update: it’s a true shame that this review is getting a negative update. I’ll start by saying this: the food is absolutely GREAT! Today I had the unfortunate experience of dealing with a person in management who has no business working in a restaurant. Let me also be clear, the other manager who spoke with me and assisted me in resolving the issue was very professional and polite. After placing my order over the phone, I waited in the parking lot until it had been about 20 min (I was advised the food would be ready in about 20-25 min) before calling to let them know that I was there for my pick up whenever it was ready. They acknowledged me and told me they would let them know. I then waited for another 10-15 before going inside to check on the status and get an estimate on how much longer of a wait it would be. I noticed two bags on the counter, sitting there unattended under the AC, one of which was mine. I waited a bit longer because nobody had acknowledged me or approached to assist me. I figured I’d wait and be patient. Employees walk past me and not a single person bothered asking me what I’m there for or if they can assist me; so I finally decided to interrupt the expeditor and let him know I was there for a pick up and that I was pretty sure my order was one of the two unattended bags. After handing me my order, I asked the server if I could bother her for 3 small red sauces (1 for each entrée). She then came back with a receipt for $2.40 for the sauces. I told her that I would’ve saved her the trouble had she told me I would have to pay because I wasn’t going to pay after that wait (especially considering the fact that I was ignored. I understand being busy but a simple “we’ll be with you in a second” would’ve sufficed). The manager then came up to me explaining that they have to charge for the sauces so I explained that I would’ve saved them the trouble if I was told that beforehand. He then interrupts me mid sentence as I’m explaining myself, so I politely ask him to grant me the respect I gave him by not interrupting him when he was talking. His response was a cheeky “okay, thank you man” with an arrogant chuckle and walked away from me. I approached him and asked if I could speak with him, politely, trying to keep my cool, despite my frustration and distaste for his attitude. He then pulls the second manager to come deal with me and walks away, again! I explained the situation to the polite, apologetic manager who agreed that that is no way to treat a customer. As someone who managed a retail store for several years, especially in a time where businesses are very aware of the importance of customers (especially restaurants) due to the current global pandemic, I don’t understand how you can allow yourself to hurt your business, that pays your bills by acting in such a crude and disrespectful way. I expressed my frustration and explained that I no longer wanted the food and would like a refund. The manager obliged, took the food and gave me my receipt for the return. It’s a shame because as I told the second manager, we truly enjoy the food, the chefs do an excellent job and he was friendly and handled the situation professionally, but we will not be coming back. It’s a shame that an employee who should be part of management, and who should set an example for the rest of the crew, would hurt the business by wasting food, lose a significant order, and loyal customers. I wish the owner the best and hope that they can get their management...

This is my fifth time eating at Ember in Greensboro, NC. The food is so good that I never had to ask for salt or pepper each time. It's just amazing!!! The atmosphere is nice, and for the most part, the staff is cool--especially the bartender. He's a cool guy. Having only been there four times, he remembered us every time we came in to eat and, without fail, came to our table to speak to us and make sure we were good.

However, I went to this establishment and one of the servers greeted us, and I stated that we needed a table for two. She looked around and then told me they didn't have any indoor available tables for two unless we wanted to sit at the bar or outside, where there were plenty of tables for two people. I was not about to do that because it was hot, and we had somewhere to be after we ate, which would've made us sweaty to sit out there, so I told her no. Her response took me aback because I quickly recognized the empty tables, although they were busy. I'd never seen it so busy there, mostly because I've only eaten there on weekdays vs. weekends. Long story short, I looked around and asked her why we couldn't sit at any of the open tables that were inside. Get this: five tables sat four with nobody sitting at them, and two tables of six had nobody sitting at them. She then stated those tables are if larger groups come in. I then looked behind me, and no groups of any size were behind me. I told her we would only be there for less than an hour and couldn't understand why we couldn't sit indoors to eat. She stuck to what she said. I then asked to speak to the manager, and it was at that point she had a change of heart and sat us down at one of the empty tables that sat four.

Now, I have to say that our actual server, Allie (sp?), who served us once we were seated, was absolutely phenomenal. She apologized and stated she wasn't sure why the other server told us we couldn't sit at any of the larger tables. While we were eating, the restaurant actually started emptying out, and the majority of the tables were now empty, but no larger parties of four or more ever came in the entire time we were there.

So far, I have eaten five items on the menu, and they were all great. If you are a beverage drinker while eating, this might not be the place for you because they DO NOT offer refills. So, if you want another glass of sweet tea, soda, lemonade, etc., you must pay for every drink. I didn't care for that and don't recall them doing that during my previous three visits. Usually, when I go out to eat, I never drink more than one glass of whatever, but that day, I was thirsty and asked for one refill, and that's when I was told it was not free and that I'd have to pay for a refill of sweet tea. That's ridiculous, but it's their policy, so what can you do? Take tiny sips so your drink can last during your meal. Aside from this isolated incident, I still recommend this establishment....

We were excited to find a somewhat authentic Peruvian restaurant in Greensboro but unfortunately the experience was not up to par. I may be bias being actually Peruvian but it was simple things that could have been changed to make the experience at least thoughtful. The server was nice and professional for the most part. We came specifically to have chicha morada and inca cola, where neither authentic peruvian beverage was available. This could have been something they could have covered/blocked off on their menu. Same with the wines that were on their menu but had not been available for 2 months per the waiter. The sweet tea they have tasted like syrup, it was so sweet and did not taste like it was freshly brewed. We mentioned this to the waiter and asked how it was made. He insisted it was brewed black tea that was sweetened but the pictures I will post will show how dark it originally and how much we tried to water it down with no avail to make it drinkable. He did not offer to replace the beverages since he mentioned there were no refills even as he saw us struggle to water it down at our tables with 3 cups of water. No matter how much we watered it down it was just awful and none of us could really drink it. Thank goodness we had atleast the water to drink. I had the skirt steak medium rare which our server did recommend and it was very delicious and juicy but the house rice was not authentic peruvian chaufa rice. The server did advise it was without egg but the taste of it with fried rice and veggies in it that were soggy so I would recommend to go with the other option of their house salad and grilled potatoes, although it will cost extra to getting any sauce for your potato. Normally at other restaurants the peruvian picante comes at no cost so heads up.They had only 2 servers with about 15 tables full, if not more, so our server was not as attentive. I had to ask him twice for small plates for the pizza my kids were eating and had to look for him to get our check and to go boxes. I don't blame this experience on the server persay, management really needs to step up and update their policies so the server can be able to be flexible and deliver a better experience. Because we understand the limitations our server was faced with we still tipped him 20%. It's cute and trendy if you're looking for that ambience or want to eat outdoors but they do have many fomlys and fruit flies interrupting your meal so we ate fast and left. They have their fresh basil plants by the seating area which would be why there are...