Central location, delicious local fare with artful preparation and nice variety of menu. Delicious seafood and very fresh local vegetables. Friendly and polite waitstaff. We arrived early and they were able to accommodate us without any fuss. read more

Wonderful food, drinks, and service. If you are in town this is a must stop! Highly recommend the clam chowder! read more

Oak to Ember - The Livie (Oct 2024) - Seafood Near Me - Gloucester, Massachusetts

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Went for Sunday Brunch today on this gloomy rainy morning . Our spirits were immediately lifted as we were warmly greeted by Abby! Next came the atmosphere with the gorgeous lighting, spectacular floral arrangement at the service desk, and of course the small individual fresh flower arrangement along with the warm glowing center candle holder. We started off with the best brunch Bloody Mary's that were perfectly spiced ! Ok, to our brunch selections; we ordered avacado toast with 2 poached eggs and a side of bacon and smoked salmon on sourdough bread with a side salad . My smoked salmon was served on delicious sourdough bread, made in house and was so tender and delicious ( they must be using a great starter !) , their own smoked salmon was superb along with their own smoked bacon , the micro greens were local and fresh and the side salad was deliciously dressed. Quality throughout could not be more superb ! Our recommendation if you are looking for a great Sunday Brunch , Oak to Ember will not disappoint! A bonus to consider, the deck on the harbor will be open for additional seating as warm weather soon arrives! read more

My wife had dinner at the Oak and Ember the other night. The food was terrific. The baked haddock and sauce was delicious. We had clam chowder that was also very good. Great service ( Thx Danielle) The night could not have been better! read more

Excellent lunch today. Tess and Lyla were on top of things today being extremely attentive. We enjoy their French onion soup, smash burger, pastrami sandwich and the enticing smoked Beef Cheek taco ! All so flavorful ! Their Margarita and pale ale went so well with the food. 3 cheers to Neal & staff. Lou Scarpa. read more

Great food! It has such a unique and great flavor. The salads were not my favorite but anything with meat they do not fail to impress! The service is pretty good, some servers aren't too friendly but they are cordial and have fairly good response time. Nice and clean place to eat but there were one or two flies that buzzed around us at one point of our meal, I blame the coastal location for that however. Overall some fine cuisine food in a family friendly location. read more

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Hands down the best pork chop I've ever had. I had the Steak Frites (delicious!) but had a few bites of my wife's pork chop. We're already planning a return visit for my pork chop. Fortunately it's on the regular menu and not a special. There are at least four other dishes that caught our eye so it's safe to say we already feel like regulars after one visit. Daniel was our server and he effortlessly redefined customer service. Never hovered but was always available and responsive. Got to know him a bit since it wasn't too busy on a Wednesday night. Atmosphere was perfect for us locals looking for a place to eat where conversation was still possible without yelling over the din or the game. Oh, did I mention the pork chops? read more

Had a really delicious dinner here, great seafood! Our table had a shrimp+pasta dish, fish and chips as well as a couple of appetizers. Everything was a step above the usual. Great cocktails, as well. Special shoutout to the fish and chips, the most crispy fish I've had! read more

Great experience! Friendly bartenders, delicious food and drinks. We will make it a regular stop!

First time there. Great experience.... friendly and welcoming bartenders.. John was great and the food was amazing. We had the scallops Risotto and it was excellent. The atmosphere is relaxing and great waterfront views. May be our new favorite restaurant! read more

Gloucester is a great place to visit . Oak and Ember is a beautiful creative restaurant with great staff and atmosphere . The food is creative and delicious . Unexpected flavor combinations are wonderful !! read more

Oak to Ember - Bar area - Seafood Near Me - Gloucester, Massachusetts

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Three stars for the waiter who kindly took my wife's entree off the bill as it was, we all agreed, a complete miss. Shrimp and grits submerged in pool of butter. Three stars because Oak to Ember is new, and stuff happens when you're new and my burger was really pretty good. Three stars because I want them to succeed. Everyone I've talked to in town does. That said, a fire roasted lobster for $50 and a $90 steak are for 'Summer folk.' Set that bar in the off-season and after a couple weeks Gloustafarians will retreat to comfort food nearby till Talise opens in the Spring. read more

Love this restaurant! Hostess, waitstaff so friendly and nice. Very professional. The food is terrific as are the NA drinks we tried. Their smashburger is the best I've had. It's our new favorite place to eat. Relaxing fun atmosphere too. read more

Really impressed with our first experience here. Great atmosphere; food, drinks and service all excellent too.

Great food, great service and a nice choice of inside or outside dining. The food is something different. They specialize in smoked and grilled food and the flavors are amazing! We had Smoked Monkfish Burnt Ends. I know, it wasn't something I would normally try but I wanted to experience their specialties. It was delicious, flavorful and accompanied by cole slaw like I've never had (quite yummy). I had haddock for my main course and, again, wonderful flavor and so different from all other haddock dishes. Michael, our waiter was attentive, informed and charming. Will definitely go back and plan to tell others, too. read more

Menu has plenty of options. We had the peppers appetizer, scallop dinner and a burger. Food is good, but a bit overpriced in my opinion. Service was good. The tables and seating are really tight, like about a foot away from eachother so you end up feeling like your having dinner with strangers. Overall good restaurant, but the tight seating was off putting enough i probably won't return. read more

Delicious wood fired food. Try the grilled calamari appetizer in romesco and the yummy mussels in coconut. There were 4 of us and 2 enjoyed the scallops while one had the pork chop. Service was friendly and drinks were generous. We sat outside and enjoyed the view of the harbor. A great new addition to Gloucester. read more

We reserved a table with a note that it was our anniversary, got two amazing cocktails and was waited on by two great employees. One was our server and we assume the other was a manager type. Both were tentative, timely and very kind. It was great getting to experience this place when it was not mobbed. And not complaining that it was ever "too busy". Busy is a good sign. However, we ordered the $95 steak cooked medium rare...it was very well done. I hate being put in a position where I have to send something back or ask for it to be cooked differently. Our server came to check on us after food got to our table and she noticed right away that the steak was no where near med-rare, promptly asked if I wanted another and got that going so fairly painless. It did throw off our entire meal unfortunately. We weren't able to eat our meals at the same time and by the time the steak came back out, we were both full from the absolute delicious other food that was on our table. It was a bummer to see that no compensation whatsoever was given for the $95 meal that wasn't cooked properly or served to us in a way that we could eat together. A drink, a reduced price, or how about knock off that, after dinner coffee from our bill? It's not about getting free stuff, it would have just been nice for some accountability to be taken for one of our meals being so expensive but cooked so poorly. Everyone was very kind, just seemed like it was more of a priority to NOT lose a big ticket item, rather than making sure the customer was comfortable paying for something that was not eaten read more

This is an update to a previous review from a couple of months back. My wife and I decided to try Oak and Ember again and it was absolutely fantastic! First, I want to acknowledge Shannon, the bartender, who gave us great service, and made us fantastic drinks like the martini that you see in the picture here. I ordered a wedge salad that was delicious (see pic) and the Steak LeGrande which was cooked perfectly and absolutely yummy! Ambiance was electric. We will be back! 5 stars! read more

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Have been vacationing in Gloucester for 20+ years and it's always nice to see a new restaurant to try! Oak to Ember was very busy, but they managed to move things around to fit our party of 7 quickly! They also had plenty of staff to keep up with the rush. Food was all enjoyable and they accommodated many food sensitivities and allergies and a table full of eclectic palates was satisfied. It was also very modern and clean inside with really nice interior design. It was also very fun being able to see the cooks! read more

Service was great. Food, Urgh. Gorgeous piece of tuna served rare but the delicate flavor of the fish was blown out by wood and I mean WOOD SMOKE. Yuck. Took my son for ice cream to get the taste out of my mouth. read more

Very nice bar! Had the clams and oysters with a Bloody Mary and beer, bartender was attentive and pricing was on par. Will definitely return. read more

Freshest ingredients expertly prepared. Mains bit pricey but worth it and plenty of starters and salads that can make a meal at lower price. I had panzanella salad with beets, bouchon and steak for $30. Apple crisp cheesecake with candied walnuts one of best desserts I've had. Waitstaff great. read more

Very disappointed in my Crispy Eggplant hoagie with housemade chips. Other than the bread, the sandwich fixings were meager.....about 4 round slices of eggplant that were anything but crispy. Also included were a few pieces of chopped un-ripe tomato, a bit of roasted red pepper, and a minimal amount of cheese. The housemade chips were equally disappointing. They were undercooked and greasy. All in all, noteworthy the $22. read more

Food A+ Atmosphere A Cocktails A Gloucester's newest sophisticated restaurant doesn't disappoint. Call ahead if you want a table! read more

After reading through several of the reviews here on Yelp, Chef Maver and his team have taken the feedback from the early opening days to heart as my recent experience sitting at the bar on a recent rainy Sunday afternoon was simply excellent! We had fantastic service, tall drinks, and just perfectly prepared apps and dinner: --the beef tartar is outrageously delicious with an unexpected lime crema --there's a gorgeous and generous hunk of perfectly cooked cod hovering in a surprisingly light coconut curry "stew" --the mussels with crusty bread and buttery broth are fantastic with a tarty, "mineral-ly" white wine, just ask the efficient and gracious servers for their recommendations Save room for dessert, the chocolate checkerboard pie was decadent and although it comes with peanut brittle (my personal favorite) I spoke with the Chef about food allergies (my daughter manages five...). He and his team totally get it and have special cards at the hostess station for guests and servers to fill out to ensure meals are safe and inclusive for everyone dining together. Definitely my new go-to spot on the North Shore. Can't wait for a sunny day to eat the zippy wings with their killer homemade ranch out on the deck and watch the ships come in. Get there before the tourists do! Kudos on a fantastic addition to the Gloucester waterfront. read more

Oak to Ember - Checker board pie with PERFECT peanut brittle and a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream - Seafood Near Me - Gloucester, Massachusetts

Great place with delicious food. They were very accommodating for our large party with a little one.

Excellent menu prepared perfectly. Large contemporary, comfortable space. The waitstaff were attentive, and answered all of our questions. Friendly folk. The bar is large and a fu spot of drinks or a meal. read more

The service has now caught up to the food, and at the moment, I doubt there's a better restaurant in Gloucester OR Rockport than Oak to Ember. Fresh, imaginative, and wonderful cocktails. We ordered a range of apps, seafood, and steak ... all top notch. read more

What a treat it was to dine here! First off, it is beautiful and I felt comfortable and welcome. We had the rose, which was exceptional. For starters we had the tuna tar tar, a must try! For my main I had the scallops, that dish was well balanced, filling but still light and just about one of the best things I have ever eaten. Can't wait to go back! What a gem! read more

The food was great. Expensive but worth it. Perfect portions. I had the duck leg and they gave me the thigh too. With potatos and Brussel sprouts on a splendidly delicious cream sauce. You've got to go if you haven't been yet. read more

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Really wanted to like this place but the food was just ok. My wife liked her Caesar salad appetizer but the mushroom ricotta bread spread was a real miss for me, it tasted like cream cheese, very odd tasting. And the grilled bread had kind of a fishy taste to it. My steak frites was good but somewhat bland and my wife's pasta brisket dish was really really bland. They should give you salt and pepper on the table if they're going to serve under seasoned dishes. Waitress was very nice and attentive but the food just didn't make me want to return read more

Nice modern interior with a fun vibe but very noisy. Smaller tables (for two) are very close together. My party of six had a nice roomy both with a view of the open kitchen which was fun (the chef at the grilling station was very professional). The noise level made it hard for people at opposite ends of the table to talk. Our server was very friendly and knowledgeable, but stretched way to thin given the tables she was responsible for covering. This resulted in very slow, almost inattentive service. Again, this was a management issue not her fault. The food was excellent, drinks were good. Both expensive for the area. Tourists will carry this restaurant but the price point may be high for the average Gloucester / Cape Ann residents. [Special shout out to a server named Sean. Though he was not assigned to our station, he was very helpful and kind to me. I am slightly disabled and need to use a walker. Sean saw me coming in the front door, assisted me to the table, took care of my walker and at the end of the meal escorted me to the handicapped exit at the rear of the building. All of this without even being asked.] read more

Fun restaurant. Great staff. Delicious food. I got the grilled lobster my first time in... took me back to my childhood when my dad did real clam bakes on the rocks at our beach house; nice smoky grilled flavor in every bite. Next time I had the burger. Yum. read more

Honestly, this place should have a 5 star review, but the horrible service has resulted in this being a 3 star, and if I could give 2.5 star I would because the service was really that bad. I have been here 2 times and both times the food was absolutely phenomenal, some of the best in Gloucester, but the first time the service was below average, and this time it was outright horrible. Firstly, our server Davya, didn't even tell us her name, a bare minimum in food service, how do I know this, I've worked in restaurants for the past 2 years. Secondly, all she did was bring me a lemonade and pack up our food other than taking out order. Her attitude was horrible the entire time and honestly it ruined the entire experience for me. She should've gotten a bare minimum of a $40 tip, we didn't even feel it justified to tip $15, honestly I've gotten better service at McDonald's. I have never tipped this low before, me and my mother both ordered steak, she didn't even bring us steak knives nor clear our dirty plates, the support staff honestly did more for us than the server, this service was horrible and it really makes me think twice about going here again. read more

Visiting from NC with friends on Cape Ann. Wonderful, authentic and creative menu in a setting without pretense or stuffiness. The Brisket Ragu was superb. Our server, Lyla (sp?), was very attentive and knowledgeable. Highly recommend Oak to Ember. So happy to see Gloucester growing this way. read more

Went in for a cocktail and appetizer and was made to feel unwelcome - so uncomfortable that we left

Food, drinks, service... it couldn't be better! Great for date night or casual cocktails and an app. This is the best food you'll find in the area hands down. read more

Quality menu with many different options. We tried a couple of different appetizers and entrees at our table. Everything was delicious. Fresh seafood and perfectly grilled meats. Cocktails delicious and wine list a good range of options. Everyone in your party will be pleased. Great location with access to parking and friendly knowledgeable staff. read more

Good food, good ambience... grilled oysters are super tasty... whole crispy rockfish is good but work to eat... overall, worth the time.