Dinner at Ember Korean Steakhouse in Fort Myers

Stevan Stanisic
Dec 19, 2018
3 min read

Ember Korean Steakhouse

is a restaurant that serves sushi, sashimi, Korean dishes in addition to Korean BBQ. What is Korean BBQ you may ask? This is a BBQ grill incorporated into your dining table where you can prepare, or have prepared your own meats, poultry and seafood. The restaurant had been open for only 2 days on this visit.

In table Korean BBQ

The restaurant’s dining areas are well thought out, and are sectioned into three areas. The first is the main dining area. The emphasis here is on BBQ but you can also order negiri, temaki, sushi rolls and sashimi in addition to other creations from the sushi bar.

Main dining area, Ember Korean Steakhouse

There is also a sushi bar that seems more geared to production than seating, at least at this visit.

Sushi bar, Ember Korean Steakhouse

There is a bar that serves more than just your usual bar food (gastropub) but sushi can also be ordered here as well. Entertainment is here also.


Gastropub, Ember Korean Steakhouse

With the exception of the menu for the main dining area which focuses on Korean BBQ, here are the sushi and gastropub menus.

Sushi menu-rolls

Nigiri, sashimi and tamaki menu

Gastropub snack menu

Gastropub entree menu

My dining companion and I were really here for the BBQ. There are a few different scenarios offered here.

One can order a la carte, with beef, pork, chicken, seafood and veggie options. Of note here are the varying cuts of Wagyu beef at market price. For those that do not know, Wagyu refers to a select number of Japanese beef breeds prized for the marbling of their fat, tenderness and flavor.

There are also a couple of all you can eat (AYCE) options, which are quite a bargain. One option has 6 types of BBQ, brisket, pork belly, spicy pork belly, chicken bulgogi, spicy chicken and calamari. Bulgogi are thin, marinated strips of meat or chicken meant to be barbecued. This option is priced at $30.00/pp.

The other AYCE option includes all the above and beef bulgogi in addition to pork shoulder. The pricing here is $35.00/pp.

Both options come with unlimited salad, soup, rice and banchan, those small plates meant to be shared with Korean BBQ.

Banchan, Ember Korean Steakhouse

The banchan served were soy-braised potato, onion salad in a sweet soy sauce, napa and radish kimchi, salted squid, Korean potato salad and pickled daikon radish. There were also dipping sauces of salted sesame oil, ssamjang paste (a sweet and spicy sauce) in addition to a sweetened soy sauce.

All of our barbecue was excellent, from the calamari, brisket, spicy pork belly to spicy chicken.

Brisket and spicy pork belly

The servings of salad, banchan and BBQ were quite generous which were a bargain for $30.00/pp. Not able to resist, we also ordered one of the offerings from the sushi bar, the Japanese nachos.

Japanese nachos

This was a delicious amalgam of salmon, tuna, kani (krab), avocado, jalapeno, tomatoes and wanton strips. It was very good.

After our meal we went to hear the entertainment at the gastropub and was pleased to learn it was none other than Josh Rowand and friends. Josh is a good part of the creative force behind the Pitbull of Blues band locally, and is extremely talented. Here are some licks with his father, which I thought was very cool. I have heard he plans to play here solo once a week. What a treat!

The food at Ember was very good and the service exceptional. They really try here to give you the best dining experience possible. As Korean BBQ is very hands on for the diner and meant to be shared, it is perfect for either a date or family night. There are a couples caveats, the first being BBQ items that are sweetened with sugar. These should be saved for last, as grilling these meats causes some burning of the grill grates due to the sugar caramelizing and makes a mess of the grill. At least for me, our grilling experience would have been a bit more smoother saving these items for last. Other than that Ember was a great experience and comes highly recommended. With that comes the second caveat, if you order the AYCE be sure to come hungry! I think Fort Myers has another culinary “winner” with good food, great service and good entertainment in store.

It’s a wrap for another post on Forks.

Ember Korean Steakhouse

7091 College Parkway

Fort Myers, FL 33907

(239)771-8818

Ember Korean Steakhouse Facebook Page

Open daily 5-11PM for dinner, lunch hours soon. For the AYCE menu, children 6-10 years old, $15.00, 5 years old and younger, complimentary