Nestled inside the iconic 42 Fore Street, this dimly lit restaurant provides a unique venue combining the rustic charm of ember-cooked cuisine with the vibrant energy of a vintage listening bar.
Dining areas
Additional information
Dining style
Casual Dining
Price
£26 to £40
Cuisines
European, Speakeasy, Bar / Lounge / Bottle Service
Hours of Operation
Lunch
Fri 12:00 pm–2:30 pm
Sat 12:00 pm–3:00 pm
Sun 12:00 pm–4:30 pm
Dinner
Wed, Thu 6:00 pm–9:00 pm
Fri, Sat 5:00 pm–9:00 pm
Day Boat Monkfish, Wild Garlic Velouté, Pickled Shallot & Radicchio£62.00
Serves 2
Day Boat Lemon Sole, Chicken Butter Sauce & Sea Herbs£58.00
Serves 2
400g Lamb Rump, Mojo Rojo & Samphire£68.00
Serves 2
400g Dry Aged Belted Galloway Sirloin£69.00
Serves 2
700g Dry Aged Belted Galloway Rib£79.00
Serves 2/3
1kg Dry Aged Belted Galloway Rib£112.00
Serves 2-4
Sides
Koffmann Fries & Kombu Seasoning£6.00
Purple Sprouting Broccoli & Satay£7.00
English Kale & Fermented Chilli£6.00
First Harvest Asparagus & Chimichurri£11.00
What 57 people are saying
Overall ratings and reviews
Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant
4.7
4.7 based on recent ratings
4.7Food
4.8Service
4.6Ambience
4.2Value
Noise • Moderate
Loved For
Hertfordshire
Innovative
Hertfordshire
Hot spot
Hertfordshire
Great for fine wines
Hertfordshire
Romantic
Hertfordshire
Lively
Review summary
AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Ember in Hertford offers an "excellent atmosphere" with "fabulous food" and "great service." Diners appreciate the "superb" food and lively ambiance, highlighted by a DJ spinning soulful vinyl tunes. While the menu is on the pricier side, patrons find it worth it for "amazing food" and a "fantastic" dining experience. The restaurant's unique sharing plates and standout dishes, such as the "Ember fried chicken" and "Galloway sirloin," make it a memorable choice for special occasions. Despite some noise at peak times, the "social dining" concept and "friendly staff" create a warm and inviting atmosphere, making Ember a must-visit for food enthusiasts.
57 Reviews
l
leigh
Essex22 reviews
5.0
Dined 5 days ago
Overall 5
Food 5
Service 5
Ambience 5
Excellent atmosphere, fabulous food and great service. The music was good quite loud but not too loud to drown conversation. The more expensive end of the scale for Hertford but that was justified
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B
Barbara
London11 reviews
4.0
Dined 6 days ago
Overall 4
Food 4
Service 5
Ambience 5
Very nice food BUT sharing plates won't suit everyone. Probably best for diners for 3 or4+.
Excellent service at Hertford Ember, music great but with the difficult acoustics after 7pm because of other tables, it's hard to hear what your fellow diner on your own table is saying... but overall a really different and very pleasant experience. DJ's choice of music was outstanding.
Turbot was pricey but worth it (just).
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f
franco
London1 review
5.0
Dined on March 30, 2025
Overall 5
Food 5
Service 5
Ambience 5
Fist time at ember with the family love the dj playing classic 80s soul funk we all had the roast it’s the best roast everything was cooked to perfection and tasted so good definitely recommend
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S
Sam
Hertfordshire5 reviews
5.0
Dined on March 30, 2025
Overall 5
Food 5
Service 5
Ambience 2
My Mother & I enjoyed the food very much, but my husband found it much too salty, for his taste.
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L
Lisa
London2 reviews
5.0
Dined on March 28, 2025
Overall 5
Food 5
Service 5
Ambience 5
The food was amazing albeit limited choose of main for a vegetarian. Service was exceptional, my only bugbear was lack of Tequila selection in the bar downstairs.
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E
Emma
Hertfordshire4 reviews
5.0
Dined on March 28, 2025
Overall 5
Food 5
Service 5
Ambience 5
Just a very chilled experience with superb food and ambience
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D
Diana VIP
Hertfordshire4 reviews
5.0
Dined on March 21, 2025
Overall 5
Food 5
Service 5
Ambience 5
Great food and ambience,ma first class dining experience
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D
Deb
London3 reviews
5.0
Dined on March 15, 2025
Overall 5
Food 5
Service 5
Ambience 5
Had a wonderful evening at Ember with friends, we had the round table in the corner the six of us picked different dishes which we all shared a particular favourite of mine was the Ember fried chicken and Galloway sirloin cooked to perfection, the DJ playing vinyls created a nice ambiance. My favourite restaurant in Hertford.
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OT
OpenTable Diner
London1 review
3.0
Dined on March 15, 2025
Overall 3
Food 5
Service 1
Ambience 4
The food and atmosphere and ember was fantastic. We were let down by the speed of service. We only received our drinks after a number of courses were served and the wine was just plonked on the table. For a small plates restaurant we had expected the dishes to come at the same time but instead they came one after the other, one never arrived and at one point we waited an hour between plates. I would go back as the food was so lovely, to see if the service had improved.
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S
Sam
Hertfordshire1 review
5.0
Dined on March 2, 2025
Overall 5
Food 5
Service 5
Ambience 5
Amazing food, highly recommend. Staff were attentative and polite.
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FAQs
Ember is rated 4.7 stars by 57 OpenTable diners.
Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.
