Rooted nearby
We buy first from small farms, ranches, mills, and fisheries across the Pacific Northwest.
Our story
Built around a living fire.
Ember & Oak began with one conviction: the best meals are elemental, generous, and shared.
Where it began
A restaurant forged by patience.
Chef Mara Bell learned to cook beside her grandfather’s cast-iron stove in eastern Oregon, where dinner followed the garden and nothing good was rushed. Years in kitchens from San Francisco to Copenhagen refined her technique but never changed that early instinct.
In 2019, Mara returned home to open Ember & Oak. The brick hearth at the center of our kitchen is both tool and teacher—asking us to watch closely, respond to the moment, and trust simple ingredients.
Meet the chef-owner
Mara Bell
Chef · Farmer’s daughter · Fire keeper
Mara’s cooking is precise without being precious. After fifteen years in acclaimed kitchens, she built Ember & Oak to feel like the dinner parties she loves most: an open kitchen, an easy rhythm, and food that keeps finding its way to the middle of the table.
Join us for dinnerWhat guides us
Our table, our values
Led by the season
The menu moves with what is ripe, abundant, and at its most expressive right now.
Open-hearted
Generous plates, thoughtful service, and a table where everyone is treated like a regular.