Ernesto's — Restaurant in New York

This restaurant is responsible for one of the most ridiculously bad dining experiences I have had in my two decades of living and dining in New York City. Their inexplicably hostile, rude, sanctimonious attitude ruined my anniversary dinner, and my entire evening unfolded as if the restaurant (by this I mean the hostess and a woman who claimed to be the owner) was actively trying to make the experience as unenjoyable as possible. They were unable to accommodate my request to be moved indoors because of frigid weather--fine. I pleaded with them, explained that it was a special occasion, but instead I was given a lecture on how paradoxically the restaurant was both completely overbooked and yet simultaneously had too many cancellations for them to relax their strict policy of charging $40 per person for a cancelled table. Fine. I was also given a lecture about how other people dined outdoors in significantly colder weather and didn't complain. Literally. Then, despite there being some relatively cozy intimate-looking outdoor tables, we were seated at the far edge of the sidewalk, at a respectable distance from any proper source of heat, and our request to be moved was rebuffed yet again.

Even that would have been tolerable, however, had they then gone on to make any gesture, however tiny, to make us feel welcomed. I don't recall a single time I have gone to a restaurant having indicated that I was celebrating a special occasion and not be given some small thoughtful token--they could have offered us a complimentary glass of cheap cava, an inscription on the dessert plate, perhaps a smile from the rude "owner" and a "congratulations." Nothing! Nobody bothered to offer us so much as a wine list. I had to ask for a condiment three times to receive it. I don't even know what made my evening more miserable, the cold weather or the even colder attitude. And, to cap off the evening, they presumptuously added a 20% gratuity to our bill without telling us, and had I not checked the itemized receipt below the signature copy, I wouldn't have even known!

I genuinely do not understand how this attitude of a restaurant doing its patrons a favor by allowing them to eat there can persist. I have never written a google review, but I find it necessary to share this experience--there are plenty of restaurants with equally good food and incomparably better service that deserve to be supported in these...

Every year I try to hit at least one NYT 100 Best restaurants of the year and time and again, I keep going to the same kind of restaurants. This year though however, prompted by an article that popped up about the famous Gilda, I was able to narrow it down to Spanish cuisine from the Basque region. I’ve never had much Spanish food but w Josè Andres all over CNN promoting foods from his country, and w the glorious Gilda skewer that looked right up my alley, I said to myself “why not?” So venture I did on a 40 min ride to Ernesto’s in NYC heavy traffic and lord all mighty, traffic is a biatch in this city. Anyhoo, I get into Ernesto’s and immediately, I’m struck at their unpretentious exterior, so much so I accidentally entered via the side door. Once I recomposed myself, I was sat in front of the bartender per my reservations of 1 at the bar. I have to admit. Being seated right in front of the mixologist was quite felt nice about the whole thing. Soon as I was ready, I ordered the Gilda. An amazing concoction of anchovies, olives, and pickled intense looking banana peppers ish thing(?). What I didn’t realize was that the Gilda is not a drink, but rather an appetizer, lol. Take 2, I got me the Pintoxito, a floral gin w olive brine that comes w a Gilda. It was BEYOND divine. New fav drink alert! Now unto the food. This place had great relishes. It comes w the Gilda and the grilled shrimp skewers. The relish topping these items adds an intensely deliciousness to the items, I tried hard not to eat too fast. Then I got the crab dip. It’s something like the regular crab dip, but Spanish style. Imagine crab dip baked in tomato and herbs w an abundance of olive oil that comes with charred sourdough bread. That’s the thing about Spanish food from this region, it is HEAVY w olive oil. I also had the peppers stuffed w braised meat stewed to perfection, doused in olive oil. And for last meal, I ordered the sheets of Iberico ham, glisteningly oily accompanied with almost wet olive oil chips. Maybe a bit heavy on the olive oil? Who’s to say? Once I make it to Basque,...

I'm afraid I'm going to jump on the over-priced, under-whelmed bandwagon here. I knew it was too soon to have Spanish - specifically Basque-inspired - food since our vacation there last month. This was not fair to the restaurant, but a part of me was hoping for a surprise, maybe a chance to find a hidden gem. Nope, not this place! Guess I'll have to keep digging!

My biggest disappointment was the pricing!! Followed by my entree and an espresso so horrible I asked for it to be removed from my bill!! Our dinner was about $350 and included 2 cocktails, 3 pintxos, 2 entradas, 1 entree, 1 bottle of wine and a slice of cheesecake, tax & 20% tip. The only reason my review has a 2nd star is because the staff was great. We had such a nice conversation with the Sommelier!

The tortilla had a nice flavor but lacked sufficient egg to make it more substantial, therefore not making it worth the $10 price tag! And, as another reviewer wrote: "no bread!!!" The chicken croquettes were fine, but not for $6 a piece!! I did really enjoy the anchovy pintxos on the puff pastry cracker; too bad it was missing a slice of red pepper!

The entrees were probably the worst offenders. My oxtail stuffed peppers were over-salted and seemed re-heated. DO NOT GET THE TUNA!!! I've seen more tuna in Supermarket sushi than what was served to my wife!!! Ridiculous!

And finally, I was served the WORST espresso in my entire life! It was so sour rendering it undrinkable!! How do you f*-up coffee???!!!

I have at least a dozen bookmarks where I could've gotten a much better meal for what we paid for. This town has A LOT of competition. If Ernesto's hopes to be around for a while, they better fix things. If not, it will be no loss to the LES and a win for customers looking to get value for...