Ernest opened in March 2021 in the lofty, two-tiered, industrial space that formerly housed Coffee Bar. One year into the pandemic — which means they were in planning mode well before — was one of the worst times to open a restaurant, especially an ambitious one. Next door to legendary Heath Ceramics, and in a neighborhood lined with nationally lauded restaurants and bars, Ernest entered seamlessly into that tier.
In fact, when chef/owner Brandon Rice’s fully loaded, ever-changing pork schnitzel/tonkatsu dish comes out, you might have flashbacks of that epic dish at Michelin-starred Rich Table, where, in fact, chef Rice was chef de cuisine for five ½ years. He’s evolved his signature dish here — but there are already numerous new “signatures” that have come to the fore at Ernest. Flavors from his international travels infuse local ingredient-driven dishes. A CIA-grad (The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY) and Virginia native, Rice staged at kitchens across Europe, including Quique Dacosta in Spain and Noma in Copenhagen, coming to SF to work at Daniel Patterson’s Coi.
His tight team of chefs — including sous chefs Te’Sean Glass and James McCall III — work in full view of the upstairs dining room, its cool neutrality punctuated by pendant lights, soft blue tiles and blue-gray panels. Gazing over the bar below, an enclosed front patio has at times offered additional dining in peak pandemic but was not in operation on my latest visit.
Not long after they opened in 2021, I visited and reviewed, indulging in Ernest’s (generous) $95 tasting menu, which allowed a tour of most of the dishes. The menu didn’t read overly exciting to me (let’s face it: over 12,000 restaurants around the world later, I’ve tasted hundreds of thousands of dishes). But it all was more exciting and gratifying than it read.
At first visit, I felt similar about Ernest to the way I did about Rich Table (and State Bird Provisions) upon first visits, reviewing them as then SF Bay Guardian restaurant critic. I sensed these were slated to become modern SF classics, with all the necessities for a Michelin star, James Beard awards, The World’s 50 Best Discovery, and beyond, which both went on to garner, and then some.
But a few months would pass and I’d question my initial instincts at Ernest. Until each return. One time with my parents, again with my husband, The Renaissance Man, Dan. I’d order a la carte each subsequent visit, trying new dishes, revisiting evolving ones, and eat all of their desserts every visit, despite not being a “sweet tooth.” Thoughtful, tight — even playful — service, a vibrant natural wine list, and few but well-made cocktails, all hit the right notes each visit.
After much wrestling, I named them #1 in my 12 new restaurants of the year here at The Bold Italic. Visiting again four weeks ago, I am reminded as to why I made that call amid a sea of excellent 2021 newcomers. One year and three months in, they feel like that “staple” I sensed they’d be. An oh-so-SF restaurant where chef Rice shows off our incomparable local produce, seafood and meats from nearby farms… with creative technique and global flavor combinations.
Early on, DIY handroll beef tartare (a striking, layered round of sushi rice, beef tartare and ikura roe with nori wraps), aged beef dumplings in a fried “skirt” or sea urchin “carbonara” lo mein dotted with Olivier’s Bacon, were immediate standouts — some remaining on menu in various forms. Not to mention those revert-to-childhood desserts, like towering shave ice in flavors like pineapple upside-down cake, blissfully doused in rum.
Last month, we settled into a banquette table, starting with cocktails. Drink offerings are managed by bar director Max Alexander (formerly The Progress, Nopa). The seven-cocktail menu hasn’t evolved much in over a year, although that means my initial standout remains: Makrut Lime Fizz of gin and cachaça, sour cream, egg white and soda. Standard classics include a variation on a Paper Plane (with watermelon this summer) or a ubiquitous Negroni variation with preserved cherry leaf. Another early longtimer — the Alpine Colada of Génépy, douglas fir liqueur, pineapple, coconut — is subtle but pleasing, as was Milk & Honey, a clarified milk punch of tequila, riesling wine and chamomile, given texture from whey.
All this (or a sparkling wine, like natural NV Faccia di Vino Lambrusco in the crisp Lambrusco di Sorbara rosé style) pairs beautifully with signature tater tots and crème fraîche, decadent in kaluga caviar. Grilled wedges of avocado arrive shaped like a little “wreath” under a round of sprouts and smoked trout roe, dusted in “everything seeds,” with lush oil in the middle. Again, beyond the straightforward menu read, this ain’t your typical avocado dish.
Ditto a silky California King Salmon crudo given crispy-funky contrast from a dusting of fermented black beans, pakora bread crumbs and micro greens, dotted with bright yellow Coachella Valley corn sauce. It tastes like California summer on the Pacific with a touch of edible glories from India and China.
Coachella Valley yellow corn tempura also surprised. Instead of the Indonesian-esque bakwan jagung-style of corn fritters I was expecting, each individual kernel of corn is fried, doused in cotija cheese, chili aioli and lime. Every bite started with a popcorn-esque crisp, followed by a burst of juicy sweetness. Wow. Thousands of corn dishes around the world and never have I had one quite like this.
The Tomahawk pork tonkatsu remains a chef Rice signature, recently in Japanese curry and shaved cabbage, or in past visits in green goddess dressing, heirloom tomatoes and a mound of fresh herbs. But don’t let that keep you from other meat entrees. Recently, a generous eight meaty slices of tender BBQ pork neck oozed unctuous sweet-savory notes in barhi date sauce with contrasting hot mustard. A “side” (or rather another entree) of prawn fried rice marked by yellow corn, Thai basil and jidori egg, makes for one happy meal.
We could already call this a feast and be done, but the “fogetaboutit” moment was a hefty Miyazaki Wagyu katsu sando in Alabama white sauce. Yes, it’s a $73 sandwich, but it’s wagyu in sheer high-low decadence, doused in one of the South’s underrated BBQ sauce styles. Fogetaboutit.
As ever, their playful natural wine pairings are on-point, some slightly funkier options mingling with balanced beauties, heavy on California, France and Austria producers (oh, and the delightful option of Asahi ‘Super Dry’ rice lager from Japan on draft). A couple recent California natural wine highlights included fruity-oxidative 2021 Wonderwerk ‘Free Your Body’ Chenin Blanc/Pinot Gris from Clarksburg, and the berry-licorice-herbaceousness of 2021 Scar of the Sea ‘Vino de los Rancheros’ Pinot Noir from Santa Maria Valley.
After this spread, I’d be tempted to skip dessert. But in a meal rife with highlights, desserts are one of Ernest’s strongest strong points. That medium-rare Basque cheesecake. I already adore the Spanish classic of not-sweet, slightly tangy, fluffy-yet-dense cheesecake with a charred top. Here, it’s given medium-rare cheese treatment, so that it runs, oozing out like soft camembert or brie from its charred exterior. Yes, please.
Visually, their towering changing soft serve sundae in house “magic shell” transports to childhood in all the right ways (recently, it was caramel drizzled over vanilla soft serve in that chocolate shell — formerly, I was crazy about a hazelnut praline version). But their shave ice renditions are childhood if it was in Hawaii, like late May/June’s strawberry shortcake shave ice, going full-on Hawaii with a dusting of li hing mui (Chinese salted plum) powder on top of its creamy crown. Sigh.
The Renaissance Man and I rolled out into the night stuffed, yes, with leftovers in hand. But we slept with smiles on our faces that night, aglow with yet another one of San Francisco’s consummate restaurants, from a chef and team delivering precise vision with inspired lightheartedness.
// 1890 Bryant Street, Suite 100; www.ernestsf.com
