Ember & Vine aims to create ‘gathering’ experience at globally inspired restaurant

While restaurateurs Eddie and Christina Pozzuoli already had plans to open another eatery in Coral Springs, it wasn’t until they took a trip to Napa Valley that the concept for Ember & Vine took shape.

“We knew we wanted to do something that’s different, and that you don’t see often,” Eddie Pozzuoli told the Coral Springs News.

Pozzuoli said while lots of restaurants in the area cater to a specific type of cuisine, Ember & Vine, scheduled to open July 27, will serve globally minded dishes. The restaurant will serve an “approachable” breakfast in addition to standard lunch and dinner service, plus a weekday happy hour.

Think lamb chops, scallops with a warm, corn-shaped corn souffle, miso black cod with seaweed salad, lobster rigatoni alla vodka, and gnocchi with asparagus and maitake mushrooms.

The restaurant will offer 2-ounce, 4-ounce and 6-ounce wine pours, as well as a cocktail list. Drinks include a cherry vanilla-infused bourbon old fashioned and the house cocktail, a martini-style mango and mint vodka drink.

For breakfast, diners can order one of about eight items from a barista at the counter, plus matcha, berry hibiscus iced tea or coffee made in partnership with 360F Specialty Coffee Roasters in Coral Springs.

“We have to look forward in things because a lot of dining habits have changed over the years,” Pozzuoli said. “They want to go out and they want to have an experience when it comes to dining. They’re not just going out to eat.”

The restaurant is replacing Angelo Elia Pizza, Bar & Tapas in the Sawgrass Center on Coral Ridge Drive near Heron Bay. The Italian restaurant closed in December after 11 years.

The Pozzuoli’s business, P Hospitality Management, also owns Eddie and Vinny’s in Coral Springs and Dear Olivia in Parkland, in addition to a suite of restaurants in Palm Beach County.

Eddie Pozzuoli, who grew up in Coral Springs, said every opening has taught them a different lesson, including what modern diners are looking for.

“Whether it’s making sure that we don’t use any seed oils or refined sugars or anything like that, or just adjusting portion sizes to what the guest likes,” he said. “Not overfilling a plate when somebody’s just going to only eat half of it. And what we’re able to do with that is also provide a better price.”

Pozzuoli said he and his wife noticed a gap in the restaurant experience in northwest Broward, with diners thinking they have to go to Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale or Delray Beach for an elevated experience. But he said with Ember & Vine, they’re looking to give diners that type of experience while also offering the intimacy of a “community restaurant.”

Chef Jeff Tunks echoed a similar sentiment.

“This is in their backyard now,” he said. “So they can get a Fort Lauderdale-style night out on the town without having to go and drive 45 minutes, pay for valet parking, and the whole thing.”

Both said with the addition of a more casual breakfast and the intention of creating a gathering space, the restaurant is as much for people on the go who just want to grab a coffee and a pastry as it is a date night spot.

“We really don’t want to become the Friday, Saturday, just the special occasion restaurant,” Tunks said. “It’s fun. It’s communal, and I think we expand our approachability between having those three meal periods and the style of service and the shareability of the food at that time.”

The chef said the menu will be health conscious, with the opportunity to indulge for those who wish. For instance, he said he’s excited about a colorful crudite with raw and blanched vegetables and dips, as well as spicy tuna bombs served in Indian semolina puffs.

“The menu that we developed here for the full service piece is really made around kind of everybody at the table sharing and gathering and trying a little bit of everything,” Pozzuoli said.

When the restaurant opens July 27, it will have the full menu and regular hours, rather than a phased soft opening.

“Me and Christina, we hold ourselves to an extremely high standard, and I think our guests also have come to expect a certain level from us too, at least the ones that frequent our restaurants,” Pozzuoli said. “So we want to make sure we deliver for them, and that everything is what it should be.”