Located within the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort in Carlsbad, California, is Richard Blais’ latest endeavor Ember & Rye, a vintage California-style restaurant that boasts a modern twist on the classic steakhouse. Taking over the resort’s 30-year-old Argyle Steakhouse, Ember & Rye’s design is credited to award-winning firm GrizForm Design Architects in Washington, D.C.
The venue houses approximately 6,800 square feet of indoor dining space, plus a spacious outdoor terrace, measuring 3,853 square feet, overlooking the resort’s famed golf course and the Batiquitos lagoon. When approaching the restaurant’s design, the GrizForm team wanted to conceptualize a space that would offer resort guests a space to relax and enjoy and a space that gives locals a sense of west coast nostalgia. Ember & Rye’s design employs clever, modern, and colorful elements juxtaposed with the traditional details within the existing space, including trim work, crown molding, and chair rails. A color palette of various teals, whites, and creams mixed with accents such as burnished brass and black accents was chosen for the establishment.
Upon entering Ember & Rye at the porte-cochère, appointed with wood beams at the ceiling tray, guests are welcomed into the restaurant’s entryway, which sparkles under a custom burnished brass and glass chandelier. The entry also features bold peacock-hued walls and new hardwood floors with a custom decorative stone inlay showcasing the restaurant’s name and branding. From the entrance, visitors have a full view of the resort’s former library that has been transformed into Ember & Rye’s circular bar area, outfitted with elaborate crown and wainscoting trim. The bar, offering a mix of aqua and leather upholstered bar stools and lounge chairs with tea height tables, highlights a bar top with a marine blue leather diamond-embossed facade and an eye-level fireplace on a tiled accent wall that resembles California’s popular clay roof tiles. Any seat inside the bar offers Ember & Rye’s open terrace views filled with outdoor seating and fire pits overlooking the golf course.
Passing through the bar, guests find a black wood and glass barn door that opens into one of the restaurant’s dining rooms featuring intimate seating arrangements of two and four-top tables. This space offers diners expansive views of the resort’s outdoor areas and features a golf-inspired gallery wall. Through a second set of black wood and glass barn doors, Ember & Rye’s second dining room also comes into view, inclusive of a large double-sided banquette bathed in natural light from wraparound, full-height windows. Within this room, guests have the opportunity to see the Ember & Rye culinary concept come to life with views of the custom outdoor wood-fired grill where steaks are made to order. An antique brass metal framed chandelier, hanging from a deep teal and gold accented ceiling, illuminates the dining room’s cream upholstered seating once the sun sets.
Entering into the corridor, on the right, is another black wood and glass barn door that leads to an enclosed private dining room. Within the space, guests find a glass window featuring a decorative film of tee-time-inspired patterns and a golden metal wall sculpture. On the left, guests pass the restaurant’s Whiskey Library featuring a custom-designed J-shaped bar with a built-in snack counter. Vintage glassware and unique whiskey bottles are also on display. Curated design elements such as a custom turquoise and navy wall covering featuring micro patterns of golf carts, 9-irons, golf bags, and palm trees offer a clever nod to the resort’s golf course and the former ‘golf club’ identity of the previous restaurant. This corridor also provides guest access to the refreshed restrooms.
For those looking for expansive views of the Park Hyatt Avaria’s golf course and Carlsbad’s beautiful landscape, Ember & Rye’s large terrace, including 108 seats, is the perfect spot. Umbrella covered tables, outdoor sofa arrangements, and various fire pits offer sanctuary for those sampling wood-fired grilled steaks and Carlsbad oysters.
