Ernesto’s Italian Restaurant

I was a little apprehensive about this place after reading some of the reviews, but couldn’t have been more pleased by my meal, the atmosphere, and the service. The menu is extensive and so appealing that it was hard to decide. I finally went with a linguini with prawns special that was out of this world, and so large that the left-​overs made a complete meal the next night at home. The five friends I was with loved their meals as well. The atmosphere was warm, cozy, comfortable, and charming. It’s a small space but not at all cramped, and the acoustics make it easily possible to hear each person at the table. I also loved our waiter (Doug?), who was funny, charming, and very sharp. A wonderful experience at a lovely place.

Not the best Italian food, the vegetables were stale and bland. The chicken sauce was also as bland. I had a
coupon to use but the waiter refused to accept any coupons for the restaurant. I would not go here again nor recommend it to anyone.

Oh how sad it makes me to give Ernesto’s this low rating. I used to be a regular in the 80’s when I lived in the neighborhood. It was such a great little place to get old school Italian food — the kind that reminded me of the places in Boston’s North End — there was even an old grandma cleaning green beans and helping in the kitchen!
I visited tonight for a little nostalgia and was sooo disappointed. There were only 3 other people in the entire place the whole time we were there. There is a strong musty smell, so different from the days when it smelled like garlic and yummy Italian food. In fact, there was no food smell at all. My chicken parmesan was okay and my daughter’s gnocchi was good. I do have to say the service was great, but Ernesto’s time has passed. Too bad because this neighborhood needs a good Italian spot.

Best Italian in the neighborhood! Consistent, good food in a lovely atmosphere. And I can’t get enough of the poached salmon special! Amazing and such a great place for a date night!

Ernesto’s delights for dinner! The old school ambiance makes it a warm, welcoming neighborhood spot (our waiter greeted the regulars by name but was every bit as kindly & engaging to our first time there familiia). The pasta rocked, including the (off-​menu) garlicky seafood spaghetti arraibiata. Wine wonderful too. In between, our girls got schooled on classical music. Ernesto’s saved the best for last, with the tiramisu which was beyond divine (plan accordingly)! We will certainly be back, it was well worth a trip across the City, in the pouring rain. In a word; BRAVO!

34 years strong. If you like wonderful, classic Italian cuisine with portions so generous that it is typically unlikely that you will have room for dessert then give Ernesto’s a try. Their musical selections are usually most engaging adding that special touch to the dining experience. If this was in a downtown location your price tag could easily be two to three times higher. I’m a bit sad that pizza has recently been taken off the menu — not really. Their veal and chicken complete meals as well as their wonderfully prepared daily specials are outstanding. Opening at 4:00 P.M. makes it convenient to dine early. Closed Mondays.

Loved the veal! The service was excellent and I’ve told my friends to have their birthday party there!

Sunday, Nov. 22, six of us, first time customers for a birthday dinner. Everyone had a different entrée and each said theirs was just OK. I had the rib eye on special with peppercorn sauce. It was not good. I’ve never had my steak with gravy and did not enjoy my meal yesterday. Service was good. We won’t be going back.

Ernesto’s is a hidden gem in San. Francisco. You won’t leave disappointed but definitely leave quite full. I had an amazing ribeye for half the price of other establishments. Great quality, atmosphere & taste. Good vino as well!

Ernesto’s is the perfect little Italian restaurant. It was delicious and not expensive. We got so much food for the price. They have delicious fettuccini Alfredo. For sure worth order. Order with extra sauce though.

We were in the mood for italian and decided to give this place a try without checking Unilocal (unfortunately). I decided on the calzone with sausage, spinach and ricotta and my girlfriend had the chicken marsala. One word can describe it all — bland and flavorless. Actually, that is two words. haha. I usually rate a restaurant by whether I can cook better than them. I definitely could open an italian restaurant if these guys can stay in business. Won’t be returning on my next trip to SF.

If it weren’t for the great service I’d give them one star
The food was horrible, I believe the artichokes used in their dishes and appetizers are canned. They use to be pretty good now they are worse than those premade frozen Italian dinners you get at safeway. I had their seafood pasta which tasted more like ceviche than a seafood pasta in a buttery white wine sauce. They need an actual chef not some kid.

We were in the mood for some Italian in the neighborhood and our usual place Mescolanza had closed. It’s now reopened under Luna Rossa, but that’s a different review.
We waited about 45 minutes before our food arrived due to some sort of mix up with the orders. I was really okay with that as sometimes things happened. However, we thought the food was mediocre at best.
We started off with a couple salads and the house salad with their red wine vinaigrette dressing was good. The Caesar salad my daughter ordered was flat and tasted like they used bottled dressing.
For entrees, I ordered the Veal Saltimbocca; it was just not flavorful at all. My wife ordered the Chicken Picatta and the picatta butter sauce was very granular and tasted as if it had been thickened like a gravy using cornstarch. Not good either. My daughter’s rigatoni with chicken order was completely flavorless. Not sure what is up, as it’s still the same old guy in the kitchen doing the cooking. I don’t think we’ll go back.

I thought this place was excellent. The linguini and clams… perfect. Great service. I’d absolutely go back. I don’t understand some of the negative reviews of this place. Based on my dinner, it was just fantastic.

What a marvelous experience! Very nice environment with crisp white linen and Vivaldi playing on NPR in the background. Ed had tortellini and I had a magnificent Italian sausage, spinach, time to & feta pizza. For dessert… house made chocolate mousse.

My stomach is about to explode with happiness. The only bad part of the meal is that my boyfriend is leaving me for Ernesto’s. Doug was the perfect waiter; friendly, funny, informative and attentive. We only got the cappuccino to appease Doug. Wonderful. Wonderful. Wonderful.

Ugh.
That little sound, with so few letters, rather fully sums up my one and mercifully only experience at Ernesto’s.
Italian food, when done well, can be one of life’s greatest joys. It should be shared and enthused over, savored, appreciated. When it is done like Ernesto’s does it, you should just go to McDonald’s.
The garlic bread tastes like what you get from Albertson’s, in the foil wrapper, the day after you warmed it and opened the container for the first time. Hard, uninspired, greasy, and not even close to garlicky.
The calamari was uninteresting, and greasy. The salads were … well, okay. Thank god it is pretty hard to screw up a green salad. My date and I ordered the Manilla clams over linguine and the pasta was undercooked and hard. The garlic and white wine sauce was flat and boring. The clams were okay, although several of mine were grossly overcooked.
Frankly, we could not wait to get out of there.

I’m usually not compelled to write a review unless my experience was transcendent or subpar. Unfortunately for Ernesto’s Italian, this review is for the latter reason.
First off let me say that I love Italian food; it’s one of my favorite cuisines. I’ve been to many great Italian restaurants in SF, and even had the pleasure of dining in Italy. My aunt recently took my family to Ernesto’s to celebrate a birthday. She was treating and Ernesto’s is a place I’ve never been so win win — I’m always game for trying new restaurants!
We ordered the following:
Appetizers
— Side of meatballs
— Sauté calamari
— Artichoke hearts
Starter
— Minestrone soup
Main
— Prawn and artichoke heart fettuccine special
I’ve been told I have a sharp palette and my palette that night was telling me that most of the food was not fresh, but rather the canned or frozen variety. I’ve had fresh homemade meatballs from my good Sicilian friends and Ernesto’s tasted nothing like fresh or homemade. Same goes for the calamari. The artichoke hearts were definitely from a can.
What I’m most disappointed about is the minestrone soup they served wasn’t homemade, but rather from Progresso. I’ve had enough Progresso soup over the years to remember its distinct taste and how thirsty I get afterwards because of all sodium. My main course tasted fine, but the prawns were frozen vs. fresh.
The only good marks Ernesto’s deserves are due to its service staff and portion sizes. Their servings are substantial. As I looked around the restaurant, I noticed 80% of the patrons were Asians and it suddenly clicked how a place like Ernesto’s manages to stay in business. We just love getting the most bang for our buck… it’s no wonder my aunt loves Ernesto’s! =)
If you favor quantity over quality, and don’t mind that your food isn’t freshly prepared, then Ernesto’s is the place for you.

I used to go here all the time with my family (actually at the location next door which was so small that the windows would steam up from the open kitchen and you’d have to get up to let people get by behind you). They moved next door to the bigger and more relaxed location about 10 years ago.
We went for an early dinner before a movie on a Friday night, so the place was empty. We sat in the corner next to the window. Maybe it was the curtains in the window, but the place smelled musty. Anybody who loves Ernesto’s lives the garlic smell, but they hadn’t really gotten that smell going. There were also a couple gnats and flies that bothered us all during dinner so we looked Italian talking to each other and waving our hands about.
The great thing is all their classics are still in the menu and although it had been several years, I quickly recognized 4 – 5 items I wanted choose from. The complimentary garlic bread arrived and overtook my senses and reminded me why it used to be my favorite and suddenly I didn’t smell the musty smell anymore.
We started with the calamari and we each ordered drinks and a pasta dish. $ 7 for a glass of house Nebbiolo for a neighborhood Italian restaurant felt steep but what the heck.
Dinner was fine. We all finished our dishes and everyone seemed satisfied, but nobody raved and said we needed to come back. We all agreed that the smell and bugs were really annoying and as a neighborhood restaurant would be more attractive if it felt more like a bustling Italian kitchen than a formal dining room. It works well for the neighborhood feel, but as we don’t live in that area any more. There are other neighborhood Italian restaurants that are closer to us that $ 90 for a family of four could at least keep flies off of our plate.
Service was fine and friendly. Refills were offered and we did not have to ask. My recommendation is to keep the doors closed, change any carpeting, drapes, wallpaper that might be holding a mildewy smell, and throw out the potted plants. My sense is they put the plants out during open hours and they attract insects. At night they bring in the plants and then the insects are trapped in the restaurant.
I’ll come back just for their garlic bread and nostalgia of my childhood family dinners when they make those changes, but til then there are tons more restaurants in the City that need to be visited.

Let’s begin:
We ordered the Sole special — baked; stuffed with dungeness crab & shrimp as main course, with a calamari sauté as appetizer. Bottle of the house Pinot Grigio (–Gabbiano -$ 22) was quite good.
Garlic Bread — very nice (complimentary).
Calamari Sauté ($ 9.95) — Very good. Properly balanced with garlic, lemon & onions. Good value.
Minestrone Soup — this is a side dish option with the main course. Fresh vegetables, good, tomato based minestrone.
Stuffed Sole — this was a REAL treat! Served on a bed of steamed spinach with polenta smothered in tomato purée, this dish was reminiscent of a trip to the amalfi coast. But better, since it was stuffed with Dungeness crab!
Atmosphere– nice choral music with classical violin resonating throughout the restaurant at a moderate volume (I. E. We could easily carry on our conversation.
Value: Very Good for the $. This is classical Italian food at a very good price. I have found my new goto place for Italian cuisine.
NOTE: I am a critical reviewer with demanding standards. Better food can be found at North Beach Restaurant, but not at this price!