Dinner at the hearth
Start with bread from the oven and a few mezze, then let the fire do the rest. Everything is built to share.
About dinner
Dinner is the heart of Olive & Ember. Our 14-foot hearth is lit at 2 pm with split Colorado oak and a few logs of cherry, and by service it has settled into the steady, glowing bed of coals that every main on this page is cooked over.
The menu moves with the Front Range seasons. Spring brings Palisade asparagus and lamb from Rocky Mountain Ranch in Craig; late summer is all Olathe corn, peppers and peaches; winter leans on braises that spend the night in the cooling oven. Plan on two or three mezze and one main per person, or order the feast and let the kitchen choose.
What's on the dinner menu
Prices are sample figures for this demo. Menus change with the season. Flame marks dishes cooked over the wood fire.
Mezze
Served with warm oven bread. Add extra bread for $4.
From the fire
Sides
How the kitchen makes it
The fire sets the rhythm of every service. Here is what happens before your plate reaches the pass.
Light the oak at 2 pm
Split Colorado scrub oak and a few pieces of cherry burn down for three hours before the first ticket so the heat is even, not flaring.
Rake the coals into zones
The cooks work three zones: roaring for searing fish skin, medium for skewers, and a banked corner where the lamb rests.
Cook on the grate or in the embers
Proteins go on a hand-cranked Santa Maria grate that raises and lowers. Eggplant, onions and cauliflower go straight into the coals.
Finish with acid and herbs
Every plate leaves the pass with something bright: sumac, charred lemon, salsa verde or a spoon of toum.
Why guests come back for it
Built to share
Plates land in the middle of the table as they are ready, so conversation keeps moving.
Sourced within 300 miles
Lamb from Craig, vegetables from Boulder County farms and wheat milled in Alamosa.
Allergy aware
Most of the menu is naturally gluten free, and the kitchen keeps a dedicated fryer for pita.
A room made for long dinners
Low light, deep booths and a playlist that never drowns you out.
What to expect to spend
Sample price ranges before tax and gratuity. A 20 percent service charge is added for parties of seven or more.
- Mezze
- $11 - $38
- Mains from the fire
- $24 - $64
- Sides
- $9 - $12
- Chef's feast (whole table)
- $68 per guest
- Typical dinner with a drink
- $70 - $95 per guest
Dinner questions
More answers on our FAQ page.
Most couples order three mezze and one main from the fire, or the lamb shoulder for two with a side. Your server will tell you if it looks like too much.
The kitchen sends out bread, four mezze, two mains and dessert for the whole table at $68 per guest. The full table needs to take part, and we can work around allergies.
About two thirds of dinner is gluten free as written. We swap oven bread for crisp vegetables and grilled polenta on request. We are not a gluten-free kitchen, so please tell us about celiac disease.
Yes. We hold the bar, the patio in season and about a quarter of the dining room for walk-ins every night.
