The Black Market didn’t last long. Perhaps it was the communal tables, which turned out to be more alienating than convivial for many guests. But Christian Puccio, best known as the founder of Loudoun County staple Puccio’s New York Deli, had his sights on the black-painted building, the former Aldie Country Store, even before the previous restaurant closed. He signed the turnkey lease on the establishment in November and opened in January.
His new restaurant, Oak & Ember Tasting Room and Market, has only 50 seats — and most are usually full. Reservations at prime times are booked weeks in advance, and it’s easy to see why. Puccio and his crew have quickly built a following through a wine club (the restaurateur is a sommelier who most recently plied his trade at Brambleton’s Ahso), and by serving lunches popular with guests visiting area wineries and breweries.
In this part of bustling Loudoun County, there is a need for a high-quality restaurant with creative food and a casual vibe. Oak & Ember is filling it.
The Vibe
TVs at a pair of bars are typically tuned to sports games or the Food Network, depending on the day’s programming, making this a sometimes boisterous scene for locals looking for somewhere to be social. Most diners come in some version of casual-but-stylish dress, often in large groups.
The well-trained service staff is passionate about the cuisine here, making it easy to get into a conversation that facilitates choosing the best dishes. Even on the crowded Saturday night of one of my visits, my water glass was never empty, and my attentive server, as well as Puccio, checked in regularly.
The Food
I visited Oak & Ember at the height of peach season in mid-August and was treated to a seasonal bounty that simply can’t be replicated in colder months. But what can be repeated night upon night is the skill in the kitchen.
Led by German-bred head chef Tarek Kipriy and his executive sous-chef Chris Barette, the team turns out house pastas served exquisitely al dente, charcuterie made from local animals, and rib-eyes that are dry-aged in the restaurant’s own refrigerator dedicated to the task. See a theme? Everything is made from scratch, including the $5 plates of warm focaccia, as airy as a cumulonimbus cloud, which also serves as the base for sandwiches at lunchtime.
At dinnertime, start with a highly seasonal salad or the Spring burrata. The stracciatella-filled mozzarella isn’t made in-house yet, but Puccio and his chefs have ambitions to turn out their own cheeses, too. For now, just enjoy it with its unusual topping of sun-dried tomato chile crisp and tangy balsamic shallots, paired with more of that focaccia.
For those dining à deux, I recommend ordering a pasta and a protein to share. Tortelli filled with braised beef neck is unabashedly rich, even more filling than ordering the rib-eye. The pasta is buried in grated Parmesan and presented in a buttery beef-and-garlic sauce. The steak is served with a crusty sear with seasonal sides that include a creamy Chilly Hollow Farm pomme purée, sauce au poivre, and crispy onions. Crisp-skinned Pennsylvania-born duck breast is bisected and laid atop charred-corn-dotted chèvre polenta with Swiss chard and a sweet-and-tangy local peach gastrique.
It’s a good idea to share more than one dessert. Sturdy bread pudding is dotted with boozy Luxardo cherries and bathed in Bourbon syrup for a grown-up treat, but among the three desserts on the menu, I was most charmed by the Appalachian tiramisu, a tres-leches-like concoction of lemon pound cake and macerated peaches in sweet zabaglione. 39285 Little River Tpk., Aldie
Oak & Ember
Eat This: Spring burrata, dry-aged rib-eye, Appalachian tiramisu
Shared Plates: $16–$25
Entrées: $27–$69
Desserts: $11
Parking: A large lot behind the restaurant
Dress: Upscale casual
Seating: A sizable bar and 20-seat patio add to the tables that are sized for groups both large and small.
Reservations: Recommended, available on Tock
Hours: Open for lunch Tuesday through Sunday; dinner and happy hour are served Wednesday through Sunday.
This story originally ran in our October 2026 issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
