RESTAURANTS • FOUND Table
Ernest was one of the only restaurants with “hotly anticipated” status to open during the doldrums of the pandemic, first for takeout only, and then in March 2021 in its permanent digs at the Potrero edge of the Mission District. No one was doing “best new restaurants” lists that year, and the national food press wasn’t touring the country compiling their best-ofs either — if they were, Ernest would have made the cut.
Three years later, chef Brandon Rice is still turning out playful, deeply flavorful food to an in-the-know crowd. Rice’s team includes some of the staff from the award-laden kitchen he led at Rich Table, and the menu reflects the global/Japanese influence and creativity with seafood that restaurant is known for. And in an era when many SF restaurants force a prix fixe, Ernest offers both an eclectic à la carte menu and a generously portioned prix fixe with two tiers — basically, one with caviar and uni toast ($139 per), and one without ($99).
That caviar and uni toast is part of Ernest’s parade of opening snack courses, a signature since the restaurant’s opening. A recent array included bluefin tuna carpaccio with Asian pear and miso, scallop sashimi in a Peru-meets-Thailand tom kha leche de tigre), and the house signature beef tartare that comes topped with salmon roe and is served with nori sheets for DIY handrolls. The uni toast with Jidori egg yolk and brioche, as well as the brown-butter cornbread madeleines with kaluga caviar, are sneakily high-end omakase touches. Later in the meal, there’s also uni lo mein carbonara — a twist on the smoked uni spaghetti that Rice served at Rich Table.
Ernest’s food feels like the kind chefs serve other chefs when they visit from out of town and there’s a walk-in full of luxurious leftover ingredients. Other memorable dishes over the years have included soft-shell crab tacos, ramen-inspired tomato salad, and caviar service with tater tots and seaweed-dusted mini doughnuts. And the party always ends with a dessert that’s every bit as playful — like, currently, a jasmine milk tea and peach kakigori, a mountain of sweet shaved ice. –Jay Barmann
→ Ernest (Mission) • 1890 Bryant St • Wed-Thur 530-9p, Fri-Sun 5-9p • Reserve.