Ernest (San Francisco, CA)

Ernest
1890 Bryant St
San Francisco, CA 94110
Dining date: 2/10/22

Ernest was one of the most anticipated SF restaurant openings last year and has been one of the toughest reservations in town ever since. The chef here is Brandon Rice, who decided to open his own restaurant after his tenure as the chef de cuisine of Rich Table. It’s tough to categorize what type of cuisine is served at Ernest as Rice’s menu appears to be inspired by flavors all across the world.

The a la carte dinner menu is separated into 4 sections – raw bar, snacks, sales & vegetables, and meat & seafood. To make ordering easy for our party of 4 we decided to get the fixed price menu ($95pp) which offered a sampling of dishes off the a la carte.

Beef Tartare Sushi Rice, Ikura, Toasted Nori

Hiramasa Ponzu, Roasted Kombu

Mexican Shrimp Coctel Avocado, Saltines
Albacore Tataki Passionfruit, Sesame, Jalapeno
Assorted Oysters

Parker House Rolls House Cultured Butter & Its Milk

Aged Beef & Bone Marrow Dumplings Sauce Au Poivre

Grilled Avocado Smoked Trout Roe, Sprouts, Everything Seed

Koshihikari Fried Rice Crispy Sunchokes, Asian Pear

Lo Mein Sea Urchin ‘Carbonara’ Olivier’s Bacon

Monterey Bay Squid Broccoli di Ciccio, Calabrian Chili

Aged Duck Breast Smoked Date, Maitake, Peking Vinaigrette

Medium Rare Basque Cheesecake

Soft Serve Sundae

Ernest was one of the better meals I’ve had in San Francisco in recent memory. The flavors were so varied sometimes it felt like they would clash, but that was never the case. The food was executed very well and the food was generally delicious. My favorites on this evening were the lo mein, the dumplings and all of the raw fish preparations, but nothing disappointed. I look forward to returning.