Travelling D.
Google
Ember No. 5 has been open for around 15 months. The layout features a marble bar with the kitchen located at the far end of the restaurant.
The ambience is unfortunately let down by excessively loud background music—mainly 90s R&B played at a very high volume. Everyone ends up shouting across the table, which makes conversation uncomfortable. Staying for an hour is enough to give you a headache. Turning the music down would significantly improve the dining experience.
We had a 7:30 pm booking and called ahead to push it back by an hour, which the restaurant confirmed was fine. However, on arrival at 8:30 pm sharp, our table was not available. We were placed at the bar with no indication of how long the wait would be. I ordered a spicy margarita while waiting—quite good overall, nicely spicy with herb oil on top, though slightly watered down.
Ox Heart Skewers with Aioli & Fermented Chilli
The dish was visually appealing, presented with three neat lines of herb sauce, aioli, and fermented chilli. Unfortunately, the ox heart itself was tough and lacked flavour. Overall, a very average dish.
Strozzapreti with Pork & Fennel Ragù
This was the better of the two dishes. The pasta was al dente with a crispy topping and good flavour. However, the portion was small, despite being described as the same size as a main.
Service was acceptable but clearly understaffed. There appeared to be one bartender, two servers, and one person doubling as maître d’. Given this, the automatic 12.5% service charge is not justified.