Ernesto’s, an ambitious restaurant featuring the cuisine of Spain’s Basque region, opened just before the new year at 259 East Broadway.
It’s the first solo project from Ryan Bartlow, a Lower East Side resident who previously worked in the kitchens at Frenchette and Quality Eats. Ernesto’s has been years in the making. We first told you about this project in October of 2017.
The space, formerly home to a bodega and Chinese takeout joint, has been dramatically transformed. There’s a wall of windows along Montgomery Street, a gorgeous marble bar stretching the length of the restaurant and high-end design elements throughout the dining room.
For the menu, Bartlow drew inspiration from his time in San Sebastián, Spain, where he cooked shortly after graduating from culinary school in his early 20s. Entrees range in price from a batter fried hake with roasted peppers for $18 to a 60-day dry-aged beef chop for $120. But the menu also features many small plates, including a selection of Spanish bar snacks for $10, and an array of somewhat larger appetizers ($14-24). See the full menu below.
The New York Times reported that an adjacent all-day cafe will be opening soon, offering Spanish pastries and coffee in the morning, sandwiches and pintxos in the evening. For the moment, Ernesto’s is serving natural wines and beer; the owners are awaiting a full liquor license. Reservations are available via Resy.
