Herb & Ember, a high-end modern American restaurant, recently opened in Garland.
Photo by Mission Neupane
Herb & Ember, a new restaurant in Garland, offers modern American cuisine in a moody, speakeasy-like atmosphere.
“We’ve gotten a lot of comments about how great the food is. People love the ambience — how they’ve never seen anything like this in Garland,” said Stephanie Özcan, co-founder of Ferah Hospitality Group, which owns the restaurant.
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Herb & Ember is the newest concept from Ferah Hospitality Group, a food and beverage company run by two husband and wife teams: Stephanie and Burak Özcan and Heidi and Jeremy Berlin. The group has three other restaurants across the Dallas-Fort Worth area: Ferah Smokehouse & Cantina in Wylie and Ferah Tex-Med Kitchen in Southlake and Garland.
But Herb & Ember is different. It offers new American cuisine with a global influence, while Ferah Smokehouse & Cantina offers barbecue fused with Tex-Mex and Ferah Tex-Med Kitchen has “Tex-Med,” which is modern Mediterranean food with a Texan twist.
On Herb & Ember’s menu, you’ll find a range of entrees and sharable items that can satisfy every tastebud, from a double smashburger and bison short rib to poke nachos, Italian caprice shortbread, lobster bisque, creole linguine pasta, ahi tuna and more.
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Burak Özcan is the mastermind behind Herb & Ember’s menu, for which he says he uses 12 fresh herbs — hence the first half of the restaurant’s name. The second half of the name, “ember,” speaks to the smokiness that can be found in the restaurant’s 18 signature cocktails.
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Jeremy and Heidi Berlin and Stephanie and Burak Özcan.
Mission Neupane
One highlight on Herb & Ember’s craft cocktail list is the White Linen, which includes bombay dry gin, St. Germain elderflower, cucumber, agave and lemon.
Another feature that sets Herb & Ember apart from its sister restaurants is its ambience. It’s more like a social spot with a lounge setting, Stephanie Özcan said, great for date night, family celebrations and other special occasions.
“So the cocktails absolutely enhance and go right along with the vibe,” said Jeremy Berlin, who described that vibe as high-end yet approachable.
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As people who live in the suburbs, the founders believe those areas should have good food options, which is why all of their locations are in suburban communities.
“We are foodies. There was not any good food around here,” Burak Özcan said. “We said, ‘Let’s open in our neighborhood versus going to an urban area.’”
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The group does have plans to bring one of their restaurants, Ferah Tex-Med Kitchen, to Dallas, specifically on the Dallas and Plano border, Burak Özcan said. He said they also plan to expand Herb & Ember, but they haven’t picked a place yet.
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“I would say we’re bringing bougie to the burbs,” Jeremy Berlin said, jokingly. “And I think that there’s just been this real nice dichotomy between wanting to provide a space that’s approachable for everybody but delivering on food.”
Herb & Ember officially opened on April 9 and is at 365 Coneflower Drive, Garland, in Firewheel Town Center. Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday. www.theherbandember.com.