Chef Josh Boutwood goes back to basic with new standalone restaurant Ember

Published June 03, 2022 01:04 PM By HERMES JOY TUNAC,GMA News

There are times when you crave a quiet, fine dining experience. Other times, you only have patience and bandwidth for a casual, laid-back restaurant.

Rising in the middle of the spectrum is Ember, a new standalone concept by Josh Boutwood, one of Manila's most celebrated chefs.

Poised as a sophisticated evolution of Savage

, Ember is all about accessible, relaxed, and simple food. It's named after a lump of glowing coal in a dying fire, which according to Boutwood, is "the best to cook on."

Located in Greenbelt, Ember has no room for complications. The 110-sq.m. restaurant at the ground floor of newly reopened Greenbelt 3 has a total seating capacity of 75 pax—35 people can fit in the alfresco dining while the indoors can fit 40.

It boasts midcentury modern silhouettes, beginning with its curved bar that gives a great view of an open kitchen, a fixture to all of Boutwood's four concepts.

One of Ember's piece de resistance, designed by Headroom, is a suspended mezzanine level, a yellow glass-encased private area floating above the main dining room, giving a 360 bird's-eye view of the restaurant.

Sheltering Ember's specialty wines, the mezzanine has plush sofa seatings where you can enjoy a glass of wine or cup of coffee, whichever you fancy more. For a consumable rate of P15,000, you can have the entire room to yourselves, accommodating up to eight guests for two hours.

"You can dine up there, but it's not the most comfortable area to eat because the tables are low. So one can eat at dinner downstairs and then take the rest of the conversation upstairs if it's something that they want to do in privacy," Boutwood advised.

In contrast to its white-tiled walls and porcelain terrazzo floors, Ember's slate blue, and wood-textured headrests offer a "homey" vibe. Think: Sunday brunch with your family, where you enjoy a long, relaxing meal. 

In Boutwood's own words, Ember enjoys being on the "slow side" of things.

"We don't require a particular dress code. But neither do we aspire to be a fast-food restaurant. We want to take things slower," Boutwood told GMA News Online.

"You have to take time to savor [the food] and converse with whoever you're dining with. And this is the perfect restaurant," the 30-something chef added.

Ember isn't of a specific cuisine as Boutwood shies away from limitations and focuses instead on gathering inspiration from multiple cultures.

In Ember's case, nothing spectacular, no mind-blowing ingredient is used. Instead, at the heart of the restaurant, are raw, quality ingredients, such as ribeye, striploin, and turbot cooked in various cooking methods—convection, ovens, and stovetops hearth— to produce their best flavors.

According to Boutwood, having a foundation of top-tier ingredients brings out the best flavors and textures to satisfaction, even to simple dishes like tomato and feta cheese salad.

"All of my restaurants are positioned to create memories, the warm feeling of enjoying good food in a great atmosphere. Our aim is that every meal at Ember is logged as a beautiful memory," Boutwood concluded. — LA, GMA News

Ember is located at Greenbelt 3, Makati City. 

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