Wood-fire steakhouse · Est. 2014

Ember & Oak

Dry-aged beef over oak coals, in a room that keeps its voice down.

Tuesday to Sunday, from the evening12 Hearth Street, Chicago

Meat cooking on a steel grill grate over a bed of embers in a stone hearth
The coals go on at five.Library photograph
  • Dry-aged in house
  • Oak coals only
  • Hand-cut
  • Closed Mondays
  • Last seating, one hour before close
  • Private rooms upstairs
A dining room with a large stone fireplace and a hanging lantern
The dining room. Library photograph
A split roasted marrow bone with cabbage leaves and orange nasturtium flowers on a plate
Marrow, roasted, with the grilled sourdough. Library photograph

The house

Built around the fire, not the other way around.

The dining room is dark on purpose. You should see the hearth before you see the person across from you. Beef is dry-aged downstairs, between thirty and forty-five days, and the oak is split in the alley each morning.

We keep the menu short. If it is not better over coals, it does not stay.

Read about the house

45
Days
The longest age on the board
Oak
Only
The single wood we burn
62
Covers
The whole room, counter included
A raw seasoned ribeye steak on a wooden board
A ribeye over the heat. Library photograph

On the board

Ribeye, sixteen ounces.

Forty-five days on the bone. A hard sear, a warm center, salt from the fire. We will not cover it unless you ask — peppercorn, marrow, or chimichurri.

7216 oz, bone-in

See it on the menu
The coals go on at five. They stay lit until the last plate leaves.
Library photograph

Reservations

Ask for a table. We call to confirm.

Nothing is held until you hear from the house. Parties of nine or more belong in a private room.

Tuesday – Thursday
5:00 – 10:00 PM
Friday & Saturday
5:00 – 11:00 PM
Sunday
4:00 – 9:00 PM
Monday
Closed

Last seating is one hour before close.

Tuesday to Sunday, from the evening

Find a seating

Or call (312) 555-0148.

Private dining

Rooms that close the door.

Three rooms. No playlists, no projectors. Tell us the night and how many places to set. The host replies with a menu and a figure.

A small dining room with laid tables, a chandelier and tall windows

The Ember Loft

Seats 16–28

Upstairs, with its own bar and a view of the alley oaks.

Enquire

A cook in an apron and gloves carving a roast at a board

The Counter

Seats 4–8

Eight seats facing the coals. The cook is three feet away.

Enquire