Ember & Iron, a St. Johns County restaurant that offers “rustic American fare” prepared on an 8-foot-long custom, oak-burning grill, announced it will open at 4 p.m. Feb. 22.
Ember & Iron is at 60 Shops Blvd., Suite 80, in the Shoppes of St. Johns Parkway.
Chef Mike Cooney and his wife, Brittany, own the restaurant.
“I’ve been dreaming of my own restaurant since I was a teenager. The idea for Ember & Iron came from my memories of cooking around a grill or fire with my family,” Mike Cooney said in a news release.
“Cooking over an oak-burning grill produces flavors that you can’t get from a gas grill. Combined with fresh, seasonal ingredients, live fire cooking allows us to offer a menu unlike any other in the area.”
The menu features “ember roasted” dishes including half buttermilk chicken with grilled lemon and roasted pepper salsa verde; ribeye and frites with beef dripping fries; and lemon and herb whole roasted fish.
Some dishes are served in cast iron frying pans, including cornmeal fried flounder with Logan Turnpike Mill grits, and lobster mac and cheese.
Ember & Iron serves appetizers, soups, salads, pastas, sandwiches and it has a kids menu. Desserts include a warm cookie plate, seasonal cobbler and more.
The restaurant will be open only for dinner to start, later adding lunch and weekend brunch.
Hours are 4-10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 4-10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Cooney has been in the restaurant business for 17 years. He was the chef de cuisine at Restaurant Medure. Brittany Cooney also has been in the restaurant business for the past eight years, the news release said.
The restaurant has a full bar with a specialty Bourbon selection and liquors and beers from local and regional providers including Palace Pale Ale from Dog Rose Brewing Co., and spirits from the Manifest and St. Augustine distilleries.
The 4,598-square-foot restaurant seats 161 indoors and 34 on an outdoor patio. The restaurant build-out cost was $1.5 million and was designed by Brittany Cooney.
“We designed Ember & Iron to be a warm, inviting atmosphere where you can gather and celebrate with friends and family while we prepare ember roasted dishes that comfort you,” co-owner Brittany Cooney said in the news release. “We’ve all had good days and bad days over the last year, and we want our guests to walk in and feel welcome, and know that when they are with us, they will be treated like family.”
The restaurant features a reservation-only horseshoe booth for parties of four to six. A communal table allows neighbors to dine without a reservation and enjoy a front-row seat to the live fire kitchen.
For more information and reservations, visit emberandiron.com. Takeout and online ordering will be added after the grand-opening week.
