Hands down-my current favorite spot to go for a great tasting experience. By far the best bang for the buck. You leave happy. You leave stuffed. You leave totally satiated. Go crazy and get the upgraded tasting menu and pairing. It will still be cheaper than most places in the city. The ambiance at Ernest is super chill. All the staff are friendly, efficient, and fast. They have a shelf full of waving lucky cat dolls on the wall. Very cute. Speaking of fast - the first few dishes come out and load the table all at once. There's uni, caviar, crab, oysters. Tbh it's overwhelming and totally exciting at the same time. Every dish is tasty and a contrast of hot, cold, spicy, sweet. Hot things come out hot and fresh. Cold dishes are cold. Everything is good. The second wave of courses that follow up the staters are just as good. Heirloom tomatoes with anchovy. Sautéed broccolini with squid. Bread service. Whatever space is left in your stomach gets steak, mushrooms, fried rice, and an awesome chawanmushi for the final round of savory dishes. Hopefully you get the soft serve for dessert. It looks simple but totally worth saving a little time for. All in all- come to Ernest. Def worth it. read more

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I made a last minute reservation for Ernest on a Friday and was able to grab a spot for 2 at 5pm which was clutch. I've heard my friends talk about this place for months now so definitely needed to come try it myself. To start, I got the cheri Negroni which was crafted well - quite Campari heavy but the gin balanced it quite well. For food, we ordered the sushi rice, Parker house rolls, koshihikari fried rice, and the brown butter spaetzle. Everything was very delicious! The sushi rice was my favorite - I typically don't consume raw beef but this dish was done especially well. The fried rice was unlike any fried rice I've ever had before; it was an explosion of flavors. And the house rolls were to die for - super buttery and soft! The side of butter that it comes with is extremely rich and creamy. Honestly a bit too much for me but it's a good option for those who want that extra butter and cheesy flavor. We noted on the reservation that we were celebrating a birthday actually, so there was actually a birthday card on the table when we were seated. Then at the end of the meal, they brought out a dessert on the house for us! It was their hazelnut soft serve which was the perfect end to our meal. They pour a chocolate syrup on top of the ice cream which hardens the chocolate. The hazelnuts were crunchy and sweet, highly recommend this dessert. A great experience and would definitely come back as the menu is constantly rotating! read more

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Came here to celebrate my friend's birthday on a Saturday night. We decided to go with the $99 tasting menu which included about ten different dishes. A lot of the dishes were very unique and blended interesting flavors that surprisingly worked well together. I thought the chicories dish was quite refreshing and enjoyed the crispy texture, the pork neck tonkatsu had an nice kick to it with the numbing mala spice, and the hamachi tartare seems to be a staple dish. As for drinks, we ordered the shiso gimlet and alpine colada which we both enjoyed. Overall, I enjoyed most of the dishes presented throughout the tasting course and it was surprisingly quite filling. Service was quick and our waiter was great at refilling our water. The only thing that I didn't like was how rushed we felt throughout the course of our meal. We made reservations for 5pm at the lounge table right in front of the bar near the entrance but didn't arrive until about 5:07pm and immediately felt rushed by the person who checked us in as well as our server who mentioned that we were running a bit behind schedule and would need to get started if we wanted the option for the kitchen to cook for us. They weren't rude but it did make us feel bad when our server would come by to take our plates away but we weren't finished with the dish; this happened multiple times throughout our dinner. Despite this, we still enjoyed our meal and would come back to try their other dishes. read more

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Came here with a group of 4 because I've heard so many good things about this restaurant!! The service is very considerate and great ambiance as well! We ordered the following: - Parker house rolls - oysters - avocado tostada - sushi rice - lamb shoulder - spring vegetables - basque cheesecake - kakigori Overall, I really liked the lamb shoulder, spring vegetables and both the desserts. The appetizers were good but none of them really wowed me. I was especially excited about the sushi rice since I see it everywhere on social media and it was great but would've been cool to have more unique seasoning. Overall really liked this place and would recommend for date night or girls night out :) read more

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I'll come again soon for the other tartare, oysters or maybe fries, and the house rolls. Much of the menu really works for my palate. I hope an evening maybe mid week is quieter than Friday night. Ernest, if you notice this review, please reply with potentially the most quiet evening. read more

Ernest - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Very cool experience. Tucked away on a corner of Bryant St in the industrial Mission/SoMa area, this modern michelin-y spot is definitely worth a try! I know what others may say but that $27 uni toast was divine and worth the splurge. Honestly, I slightly regret even ordering any main courses because the starters were filling enough for 2! Sushi rice was killer and those Parker house rolls were so tasty buttery fresh. The fried rice was definitely unique and paired perfectly with the crispy crab cake and aioli and lemon. The cocktails were fun but food was definitely the star here. The ambiance was surprisingly lively and perfect for smaller parties! Service was also outstanding and even seated us when we arrived 30 min before our reservation time. read more

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Had an amazing dinner at Ernest to celebrate my friends birthday dinner. We opted in for the pre rice menu that let the kitchen cook for us and it was totally worth it. To start my meal I got the makrut lime fizz cocktail and it was so good. I didn't know how I would like it since it had egg white and sour cream as ingredients but it was delicious. The dishes here had such a nice variety and I was impressed at the flavor and unique profile of each dish. Definitely recommend doing the pre fixe option. Appreciated how nice the service was as well and for sharing what each dish was as it was a lot. Truly an amazing dining experience. read more

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The Parker house rolls! Get them!! I was skeptical but they were the best thing we ate. The other highlights included the beef tartare w fish roe ("sushi rice" on the menu) and the katsu w pesto. Also enjoyed the scallion pancake and pate. The soft serve sundae was also surprisingly good, we got it as part of a bday celebration but probably would not pay $13 for it. I thought the garlic fried rice and tuna tostada was just fine. Our server was soooooo nice and awesome at explaining all the dishes in detail. I wish I got her name so I could give her a shoutout here read more

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My boyfriend and I came here last Friday. I loved the overall vibes of this restaurant. It has a modern industrial-esque interior. We went with the chef menu, which included 3 courses and dessert. For drinks, we ordered the Strawberry Paloma and Makrut Lime Fizz. The paloma had a smokiness to it. The taste really reminded me of bonito flakes on takoyaki. The lime fizz was delicious and my favorite out of the two. In my boyfriend's words, it was like a "key lime sorbet." It wasn't overly sour or sweet; it was perfect. For the first course, we had a variety of items from the raw bar and seafood categories. As someone who loves raw fish, the Bluefin Tuna Tostada was really good. The tuna tasted fresh and flavorful. The base provided a nice crunchy texture. The Uni Toast was quite different and unique. The toast itself was crispy and warm. The uni gave a nice contrasting texture and lightness to the heaviness of the buttery toast. Everything else (Aonori Doughnuts, Jamon Iberico Croquettes, Hog Island Oyster, Sushi Rice, and Mexican Shrimp Coctel) from the first course was delicious. If I had to choose my least favorite from this course, it'd be the coctel. Although still good, it just didn't stand out as much as the others. For the second course, we had the Parker House Rolls, Spring Vegetables, and Hawaiian Hearts of Palm. The rolls were warm, soft, slightly salty, and buttery. The vegetables looked, smelled, and tasted like a garden. When I put the artichoke in my mouth, I was greeted with different textures. It was crunchy, crispy, and soft. The hearts of palm, unfortunately, were not a hit for us. We are not fans of the numbing and tingling sensation from certain peppers, and this dish had sansyo. I really wanted to like this dish, especially given the sweetness from the strawberries and subtle nuttiness from the black sesame. However, all I tasted was the sansyo. This just came down to personal preference. For the third course, we had the Grilled Hanger Steak and Koshihikari Fried Rice. My favorite from this course were the fries. They were crispy and well seasoned. No need for any additional sauce. Just perfect. The steak also came with sansyo. Our server was so considerate and put the sauce on the side since she knew we weren't a fan of it. The sansyo in this dish was milder compared to the one in the hearts of palm. My boyfriend didn't mind it, but I was still not a fan. The rice was interesting and different. I love fried rice, and I love cheese. I don't think I ever had those two together until now. I was a little unsure of it at first (most likely because I was so full at this point), but I enjoyed it. For the grand finale, the Hazelnut Soft Serve Sundae. This was so, so yummy. It was sweet and a great end to our meal. Our server, Courtney, was amazing. Overall, we had a delicious dinner and a great experience! read more

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When we got a notification for an opening at 5 PM we were so excited and snagged it immediately. We went with a group of 4, so we got to try a lot of different apps and entrees as well as dessers from the menu! My favorite was the croquettes and the pate, especially with the scallion pancakes! The tonkatsu was crunchy and flavorful. The only thing was we felt really pressed to order the drinks and food, and we weren't told that the sparkling water was 7 dollars per bottle, yikes- and we were poured 3 bottles in total. The food was still amazing and I can't wait to come back! read more

Ernest - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Sorry to say this was probably one of my more disappointing fine dining experiences in sf Great service and cute space, but this menu was an unfortunate example of how Asian ingredients are being shoehorned into dishes by western chefs just because its the new fad.. In our opinion, dishes felt consistently overseasoned/salted and the expensive featured ingredient didn't really stand out. e.g. uni toast was soaked in a sweet sauce - good flavor but uni was overpowered & was served at room temp, beef tartare was salted despite being paired with ikura (already salted), etc. Best part of the meal was the oyster! read more

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Friend made a reservation for dinner on a weeknight. Overall, I felt like a lot of the items have interesting takes that I've never really had but I personally didn't enjoy it. Everything has like a fusion take on it. We went with the a la carte menu. uni toast - one of the long standing items on their menu, obviously the uni was good but doesn't need that much toast sushi rice - the rice seemed too basic, not enough vinegar if they are trying to mimic actual sushi rice fried onions - I actually quite enjoyed this specific dish. Onions were not too stringy and every bite was consistent. basque cheesecake here is definitely not my style. It's really thick, heavy, and creamy in a unsatisfying way that doesn't remind me of what I had in Spain. read more

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There are so many wonderful things I could say about Ernest. It's a beautiful establishment, the service is amazing and the food is phenomenal! I had a solo dinner on a Saturday and I loved my experience. The best onion rings I've ever had! Definitely looking to visit again. read more

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Came here for the boyfriend and i's annual holiday dinner before checking out the Christmas tree in union square. My boyfriend found the place by googling "holiday dinner menu in sf" and this was one of the options. My boyfriend found a last min reservation for 2 bar seats the day of which was great! Luckily parking is plenty and we got to the restaurant 10 mins early. When we got there, we were greeted right away. We asked if there was a table available but unfortunately not that time and we didn't wanna wait. We sat at the bar and we were offered water right away. We looked at the menu - they have a la cart options and also chef's choice. We were curious about the chef's choice so asked more info but the bartender/server was v soft spoken and couldn't really understand what he was saying. We could have asked for clarification but ended up just ordering a la cart. We got a bunch of stuff from the menu and were really excited to eat. We got our drinks and a couple items from the raw bar - tuna crudo and scallop - both were tasty! I thought they were gonna keep serving the rest of our items but there was a huge gap between the next course - probably 20 mins. And the bartender/server never once checked on us. They were pretty busy, but also was expecting just for them to check in. 30 mins later we got our small snacks which was the salmon roe and sushi house and the beef cheek. Then 20 mins after we finished those they finally served our main course - the tonkatsu pork, halibut and cabbage. They also never offered if we wanted dessert, we had to flag someone to ask for dessert. The food was good - ngl but man that service was very very slow. It made us miss our reservation for a holiday pop up bar. Would I comeback? Maybe. And really would hope for a quicker service read more

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Love the restaurant and enjoyed the tasting menu. Very good amount of food and felt the quality was there. The base price point of $139 was great value for the amount of food and quality received. Overall, don't hesitate to try if you haven't already read more

My view at dinner was the kitchen. I kept seeing them make their delicious desserts. Even before our food arrived all I wanted was the soft serve and shaved ice. It was quite the spectacle. Every item that we ordered on the menu was delicious. Great ambience, delicious food but our female server had a lot of attitude. It took away from the entire dining experience because the food was fantastic. Come for the food and if you're lucky you won't get the server we had. Oh, the soft serve was amazing! read more

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The most value for money prix fixe menu in SF! Either $99 or $139 (for caviar and extra uni), I have never been so stuffed after a set menu before!! Staff were really welcoming and explained the chef's menu experience to us. I love anything Asian inspired / fusion so this was the perfect menu for me. The vibe was nice and spread out with 2 levels - if you don't manage to get a reservation, you can walk-in and sit at the bar. We started off with oysters, their signature sushi rice with ikura and beef tartar, Mexican inspired shrimp avocado salad, duck confit spring roll, Tom kha with tuna and onion, Japanese egg salad croquette, Uni toast with glazed ham and caviar with tater tots. I would say the sushi rice with ikura was a bit too much ikura but I absolutely loved the uni toast with glazed ham as it melted in your mouth with every bite. We also really liked the egg salad croquette and tom kha. The second course was a carbonara with uni (loveeee), French roll (so soft), and carrots with scallop ceviche. You'd think that'd be enough but the third course then came with fried rice with mango, cheese, brussel sprouts as well as a mala rub pork cutlet. The Mala pork cutlet was a bit of a disappointment as I felt there was too much spice on it for my liking (and I normally love Mala / the spice). Last but not least, our favorite part of the meal was their signature Vanilla icecream with praline, salted caramel and chocolate. This was perhaps our favorite part of the meal even though we were STUFFED by then - we still had to finish this icecream. Would recommend getting their set menu (which does change regularly) but be prepared to be FULL by the end of it! read more

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My friend and fiancé took me here for dinner to celebrate my birthday, and overall, it was a great experience. We'll likely be back again! Although my friend arrived quite late due to work, the staff was very accommodating and never made us feel uncomfortable. I don't recall having any dishes I didn't enjoy ~ everything was tasty. As a nice surprise, I received a complimentary cheesecake for my birthday, which was such a thoughtful gesture, though it wasn't exactly my favorite. The atmosphere was a bit noisy, but I really appreciate how spacious and open the dining area feels. read more

Ernest - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

Good food, but weird SF mandate fee (7%)? Waiter never checked in on us - just delivered food.

Delicious food, attentive service (fresh plates before each set of dishes), modern setting. Appreciated the Asian-leaning elements of the menu and how they served our dishes in what appeared to be complementary pairs. Pair #1: Uni toast - in past experiences, all of my toasts (whether they be avocado or uni) has a level of toughness that makes it difficult to divide with my husband. This one however was precise and delicate in a way that made the bread texture sing with the brininess of the uni Oeufs Mayonnaise - interesting combination of poached eggs with sardines and mayonnaise - reminded me of a deconstructed deviled eggs dish Pair #2: Shrimp Tostada - bright flavors with a great crunch Sushi Rice - generous helping of ikura and beef to make your own little handrolls with sheets of seaweed Pair #3: Shio Koji Steak - tender, flavorful steak and perfectly crisp onion rings Parker House Rolls - soft & buttery Recommend! read more

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truly one of the best dining experiences i've had in sf! i came here for my friend's birthday dinner with a group of 4. he made sure to book ~1 month in advance. we did the "let the kitchen cook for you" ($139 option) which basically let us sample everything on the menu. the main difference between the $139 option and the $99 option was the caviar with banana bread. it was good, but i don't think it was worth the extra $40 pp especially given that there was so much food already. the first course of raw bar was stellar, loved the way raw fish paired with bread. second course was vegetables and third was meat and seafood. we were all pretty full by the third course so i'm not sure if that was the optimal positioning for meat. they're known for their soft serve ice cream which definitely lived up to the hype - it tasted like a ferrero rocher. i really enjoyed the variety of food that we got to try. the service was really nice and was super patient with all the videos that my friend was taking, and explained all the menu items well. they explained that the menu changes frequently so it'll be a new experience each time, so i would totally come here multiple times. probably only for special occasions though, my wallet couldn't handle it otherwise :,) read more

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I had been looking forward to trying Ernest for quite some time. Largely because of the Infatuation's particularly high rating (in the upper 9s!). With Japanese background and a love of wine, it really was the ideal spot for me. Opted for a glass of the orange (they only have one orange by the glass). It wasn't my favorite, rather mild, whereas I prefer a more full-bodied beverage. We really contemplated the tasting menu, but also knew the dishes we really wanted to try so instead opted for a la carte. Started with the uni toast and sushi rice. THe sushi rice was great. The ikura was very high quality, as was the beef and it paired wonderfully with the nori. I don't think there was any seasoning to the beef, so the saltiness from the roe is what carried the flavors here. Uni toast was interesting. The quality of the uni was great, super fresh and indulgent, and the base was nice and crunchy on the outside but pillowy on the inside. I wasn't sure how I felt about the sauce?? Perhaps I was just unaccustomed, but it was a flavor bomb regardless. And in a good way. For mains we split the katsu and the squid. Everything here is a bit on the saltier side, but pairs wonderfully with a drink. The katsu is spicy so if you don't handle spice well I wouldn't recommend it. The spices were reminiscent of shin-ramen packets. It also came with a ranch dipping sauce which was quite pleasant. Squid was great, again a bit salty, but I appreciated the brocollini in there, as often when I have dinner at an institution like this I find myself missing vegetables. I don't recall the name of the wine that I enjoyed with my entree as it was a recommendation from the server, but it was a delicious red. It may have been a natural wine. For those curious, the wine list by the glass is all organic, but only some are categorized as natural wines. read more

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I've been meaning to write this review for a while now -- but came here for my birthday dinner back in August. Our friend had came here for their birthday dinner and recommended it so we had to try it ourselves. The food was so good hear! I've been trying to find times to stop by and have a few bites. We chose the option to let the kitchen cook for you, which is a fixed menu for $99 not including drinks. For cocktails we had the market lime fizz and a milk punch drink, both were good. The fixed menu included the following: - Mexican Shrimp Coctel (4/5) - Oysters (4/5) - Sushi Rice (5/5) - Heirloom Tomatoes (5/5) - Parker rolls (5/5) who doesn't like fresh baked bread! - Fried Rice (5/5) this rice was so good, it had a kick it but paired well with he tonkatsu - Tonkatsu (5/5) this was served with a side of ranch and pickles. Still think about this! - Uni Carbonara (3/5) this was good, but not my favorite, it was a bit on the fishy side because of the uni - Soft Serve (4/5) this was good but want to come back and try the shaved ice next time Everything was so good and really flavorful. I definitely want to go back! The restaurant itself was really nice and busy. Recommend making a reservation, although they do take some walk ins. read more

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Wonderful place to celebrate a special occasion! Restaurant interior is nicely decorated and feels very bright and inviting. The surrounding area is a bit empty though -- definitely not a place to take a stroll around after dinner. Service was top notch; servers are very attentive and refilled my water so often without me asking, which was a pleasant surprise. Feels like a team effort because we had different servers taking care of us the whole night. Food itself is a unique take on Asian flavors, and the menu has a lot of options and rotates often. Some classics -- the Parker house rolls especially -- are definitely worth a try. The house rolls are the most buttery delectable and soft rolls you'll ever have. Some other favorite dishes were the fried rice and the pork neck tonkatsu -- they felt very comforting and had familiar flavors of home style Asian cooking. The Maine lobster salad dish with house made buns was also phenomenal. I wish it was a staple on their menu!! Save room for dessert, because you have to try the hazelnut soft serve they're known for. It's a very strong salty and sweet dessert, and we paired it with the more subtle flavored sesame kakigori (shaved ice) which was the perfect pairing. The flavors here are on the bolder side -- definitely an SF restaurant not to be missed! read more

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the service was incredible, so attentive! I loved how interesting and well thought out their cocktails and mocktails were, I ended up getting a shiso & tonic which was so unique and delicious! I also loved the fact that they did have several vegetarian options, but they were mostly similar vegetable dishes which got a bit repetitive. The avocado salad was 10/10! read more

Ernest - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Wow! Love this place. You must get the "Let the kitchen cook for you." It's probably one of the best family style tasting menus you will ever experience for the price. You get to try everything on the menu. The food was well executed and super delicious, the hospitality and service warm and inviting, and the interior stylish and beautifully designed. Just all around good vibes and I can't wait to return! read more

I'm not sure if it was an off day but I came with a group of 5 and ordered the $99 menu. More than a handful of our dishes were ridiculously salty which was disappointing. So for that, I'm knocking down a star. Also, I'm knocking an additional star because the service is rushed to the point where they take away your plates with food on it. At that point it feels like they're wanting you to get on and out. Didn't like my last experience there and I'm not sure I'd go back after that. read more

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Ernest was delicious and I'd absolutely go back again. Reservations took some planning to get, but I'm so glad we were able to get them! The layout of the restaurant is open and spacious. The area around the restaurant isn't the best, but there's plenty of parking. We got around 8 dishes to share between the 4 of us and it was enough to keep us satisfied. My favorite dish was definitely the Beef Tartare. I still dream about it to this day. Service was fantastic. They checked in multiple times despite being really busy with the dinner crowd. Highly recommend stopping by! read more

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My mom and I put an early reservation for 2 here and with some difficulty finding the entrance, we were sat pretty quickly. For food we had the Sushi Rice, Parker House Rolls, Hanger Steak, and the Soft Serve Sundae, the latter two items being my favorite. For drinks, we had the non-alcoholic drinks, the Ostrich, and the Shiso and Tonic - we highly preferred the Shiso and Tonic which was incredible unique and refreshing because of the perilla leaf flavor. The ambience was decent, just a little too loud and not as relaxing of a fine dining restaurant. Service was great as expected. Overall, we had a pleasant dining experience and I would consider coming here again if I had more money. read more

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Getting to Ernest is easy as it is located in an area of the mission where there is plenty of parking! I was really excited to try Ernest after hearing so many things about this place, however, it turned out to be a huge letdown. Tasting menu - The tasting menu consisted of 3 courses and dessert, featuring a variety of dishes such as oysters, beef tartare, fried rice, a mushroom creation, bluefin tuna tostada, tonkatsu with pickles, house rolls, and soft serve. Unfortunately, apart from the oysters and tostadas, which were decent, the rest of the dishes were overly salty to the point where it was challenging to consume more than a bit or two of each dish. We couldn't even taste anything except an overwhelming wave of salt. Even the soft serve left a salty and unpleasant taste. Uni toast - Regrettably, the uni toast did not live up to expectations. Msg martini - On a positive note, the martini was enjoyable, and I would consider ordering it again! While we may have had an unlucky one-off experience, the food was a major disappointment, and I cannot recommend this place at all. read more

Ernest - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

More style than substance but a few amazing dishes. The tostada is the best! Smoky, spicy, crunchy, amazing. The soft serve is also great so sweet, creamy, and crunchy. Ribs are terrible. Bland, tough, and dry. I can overcook and underseason meat at home for much less money. The servers have some attitude. We ordered the soft serve and the server replied "...and four spoons right? One soft serve and four spoons?" I mean why??? Are we not allowed to share one dessert? We also asked for a group photo and the server looked soooo inconvenienced when we asked if she could try to get everyone in the photo. She would try her best but no guarantees. read more

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Incredible meal and wonderful service. Highly recommend the "let the kitchen cook for you" option, in which you'll try a huge variety of dishes. This is the first fine dining restaurant where I was so stuffed I had to take some leftovers home. Cocktails are also interesting and excellent. You can tell lots of creativity and care has gone into this restaurant. I look forward to coming back. read more

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There are many stellar things about Ernest. 1) Service is top notch. From entering the restaurant, ordering our food, getting refills on drinks/water, and eventually leaving, the staff was extremely friendly, knowledgeable, and professional. The restaurant is a well-oiled machine that matches some Michelin star restaurants I've been to. Hats off to the staff for putting their heart and soul into Ernest. 2) Ambiance was AMAZING. Right when I entered the restaurant I remarked how beautiful the finishes and interior of the restaurant were -- so much to the point where I wanted the same interior designer to re-do my apartment. This is the perfect place to take a date or catch up with a good friend. 3) The overall execution and thought into all the dishes were stellar. The modern takes on so many Chinese cuisine staples felt like a Time Machine back to childhood. The duck confit was a modern take on beef rolls. The pork neck was an up scale version of BBQ pork -- the type you see hanging on hooks at your neighborhood Chinese BBQ. And the wagyu dumplings were a solid homage to all the dumplings I had while growing up. My personal favorite dishes were the duck confit and the dumplings. That's being said, I find myself having a hard time giving this place a solid 5 stars. Yes, the night went amazing but I wasn't blown away by any one dish. I appreciated the fun takes on traditional Chinese and Taiwanese dishes, but I didn't have my socks knocked off for the price of the meal. My friend mentioned that the quality of the menu is heavily dependent on the season you go, so I'm willing to give this place another try since it's so close to being perfect. read more

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Still excellent and creative, although perhaps not as mindblowing as my initial visit. We started with the staples of sushi rice and parker house rolls. At first I was contemplating skipping the sushi rice, but I'm glad we got it again. For some reason, I always seem to forget how good the sushi rice is, but it is really good. Probably my favorite bite of the meal. In addition to the staples, from the snack section, we got the tempura romano beans, which were fine, but not memorable. From the salads & vegetables, we got the koshikari fried rice (good, but not a must get, this was the dish we had the most of left at the end) and the chawanmushi (I was not a fan, it was way more liquidy than normal chawanmushi, and had a creamy/cheesy flavor). The pork belly confit with fried oysters & heirloom tomato green goddess was okay (not sure if I loved the pairing of the fried oysters with green goddess), but the shio koji marinated hanger steak and beer battered onions was solid. We ended with the basque cheesecake and the soft serve. I found the basque cheesecake too cheesecake-y for me this time, and soft serve is nice but I found it a bit too milky / sweet. I would probably skip the desserts next time. read more

Top 3 favorite restaurant and meal of all time. I will dream about that fried rice, nothing else could ever compare. Made me want to order everything on the menu, it was all deliciously memorable. The ambiance was comfortable and service top notch. read more

Ernest - Best fried rice you'll ever eat, no question. - New American Near Me - San Francisco, California

The $97 "Cook for me" prix fixe menu is a good deal, comes with a lot of food! You get some special off-menu items, and also get to try all different types of things. We liked the 1st course the most because of its variety of sweet/salty/sour/spicy combinations. Here's the breakdown: Course 1 - Appetizers Oysters, figs, ikura tartare with nori, Mexican shrimp coctel, octopus tostada, gougeres Course 2 - Mains Char siu BBQ pork neck, koshihikari fried rice (kind of like biryani) Course 2 - Dessert Vanilla soft serve with chocolate and hazelnuts read more

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My boyfriend and I decided to do the prefix menu $139. The $139 option gives you uni toast and banana bread with miso butter and caviar. Starting with the positives, the service was amazing. They offer to replace your plates and silverware. This 4 course menu gives you a lot to try from their menu and price wise is good in that case. It's a lottt of food and you will not leave hungry. The restaurant also has nice vibes visually but a bit noisy. Cons: The cocktails (strawberry Paloma and beer/sake) were quite strong so that's nice for the price, and wasn't amazing. Maybe the MSG cocktail would've been better per reviews. I really enjoyed the first course, however the uni toast and caviar option felt underwhelming. The toast and the banana bread overpower both items. It's better to eat the banana bread and miso butter by itself and just have the caviar as a bump on the side. The toast for the uni felt a little greasy. The second course were variations of some sort of greens. I really enjoy salads and veggies but I had a hard time with these dishes. I can't say what was wrong but it felt like something wasn't clicking right. The milk bread was the highlight, but nothing you can't get at an Asian bakery imo. I was hoping the main course would make up for the previous items, it was a lamb dish. The lamb tasted gamey and the spicy mustard didn't sit right with me as a pairing. The fried rice was just too much food after all the previous items so I couldn't eat it. The soft serve dessert was the best outside of the first course, which shouldn't be the case when paying this much. The food felt a bit basic, just presented in a fancy manner. The combinations were either bad or didn't stick out. The service was indeed impeccable except they opened another spring water bottle for us without asking and charged us for it. Also the bill includes a 7% SF charge which is weird and feels a bit greedy when the meal is already so much. I would not recommend this place sadly. I had high expectations as a rising restaurant but it fell short. I strongly recommend visiting Mr.Pollo for an amazing experience with a wonderful tasting menu for half the price. The ambiance is intimate and classy as well. read more

Love love love. We did the "Let the Kitchen Cook For You" which is $97 per person. Everything was amazing and we left the restaurant super full and super happy. We did have a reservation and were about 15 minutes late. Because each table only has a set amount of time (1.5 hours I think), we were told we may have to eat a lil faster. It was our fault so just a fyi! Don't be late! You'll definitely want to enjoy every minute here. I enjoyed the ambiance, the food, our waiter, everything! Will be back. read more

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I've been to Ernest three times now and I've been wowed every time. If someone in your party is allergic to seafood, I would say... just go somewhere else. Yes, you could figure out a great meal without seafood, but SHOULD YOU? My vote is no. The seafood is the star of the show here and they execute it perfectly. The staff are brilliant and so incredibly helpful - if they tell you it's too little/much food or make a recommendation, listen to them! The tasting menu is great but a bit too much food for me when in a party of 2. I highly recommend ordering a la carte to get everything you really want in a party of 2 or 4 - you may find it's a bit cheaper that way, and you'll be just as full! I wouldn't recommend the uni toast, but I generally am not wowed by uni toast. And for ~$30 per piece? I'll pass on it. The oysters, porcini pasta, tartare, house Parker rolls, and steak are to die for. Everything is meant to be shared, so keep that in mind. We got one of everything for dessert and have zero regrets. Everything is full of flavor and so, so well done. Bravo, Ernest. read more

Had dinner with friends and had an amazing night! Food was delicious. You can tell the kitchen takes pride in what they make. The service was just as impressive, friendly, and attentive. The staff made sure we had everything we needed and checked in at just the right times. Overall, a really pleasant dining experience. Highly recommend if you're looking for great food and genuinely nice service! read more

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