If you have never been to a Basque restaurant then you have missed something special. In the United States, these are little- known places that you will have to seek out, but the delicious food is well worth the effort. It is hoped that this list will help you find one near you or make it possible for you to visit one on a future trip. Help keep these restaurants in business! Note: It is strongly recommended that you telephone before planning a visit to verify current hours and days of operation, and to confirm that they are still in fact serving Basque dinners.

Meals are typically served family style. Occasionally you may be seated at a long table with others; this is most likely to occur at the historic hotels. Dinner will be delivered in courses: soup and bread, salad, beans, french fries, and a meat entree. Lamb is popular, but so are beef, pork, and chicken, and occasionally seafood is available. Sometimes you will have a choice among two or three entrees, but everything else will just arrive at your table. A dessert of ice cream will probably be included.

There will be plenty of food; this is not a light meal. The meal check will be moderate, but you will be full! You may find that the hearty food at typical Basque restaurants reminds you somewhat of other southern European cuisines. It should be mentioned that a very few Basque restaurants in urban areas of the West Coast may serve meals more resembling that of fancy French restaurants.

A house red table wine usually accompanies the meal, typically chilled and slightly off-dry. To sample the national drink, order a picon punch before or after dinner.

Basque restaurants are most likely to be located in areas where many sheep were once grazed on the open range. This is generally the Great Basin of northern Nevada, the Central Valley of California, and the Snake River Plain of Idaho. Early Basque immigrants to America were for the most part single men who came seeking sheepherding work. Many arrived by railroad, with little or no English language skills. For this reason Basque hotels and their restaurants were frequently located near the train station, and some of them still are.

With thanks to Deke Castleman (Nevada Handbook, Moon Publications, Inc.), Sunset Magazine, the late California Magazine, and the Winnemucca Hotel.

This list is also available on the Internet. I am grateful to Blas Pedro Uberuaga for posting it on his Basque page on the World Wide Web at:

http://www.buber.net/Basque/

The restaurants are listed by state and city. Please help keep this list up-to-date by sending all additions, corrections, or deletions to: Charles L. Shaffer, 3120 N.E. 80th St., Seattle, WA 98115-4740.

A note from Blas: several of these restaurants have closed since originally being listed on this page. I'm keeping them listed here for their "historical" value. It should be evident which restaurants are closed by the coloring.

Arizona
City	Restaurant	Address	Contact	Hours	Note
Tacna (40 mi. E. of Yuma on I-8)	Basque Etchea	8575 S. Avenue 40 E. (Exit 42 from I-8)	(520) 785-4027	11a-10p Tu-Sa 12 Noon-10p Sn	Limited Basque menu
Yuma	Chateau Basque	4340 E. U.S. Hwy. 80	(520) 341-9776	4-10 Tu-Sn	CLOSED
California
City	Restaurant	Address	Contact	Hours	Note
Alturas (Modoc County, 42 mi. S. of Oregon border on U.S. 395)	Brass Rail	Lakeview Hwy. (N. end of town on E. side of U.S. 395)	(916) 233-2906	5:30-10 Tu-Sn
Bakersfield	Benji's	4001 Rosedale Hwy.	(661) 328-0400	11:30-2 W-M 5:30-9:30 W-M
Bakersfield	Chalet Basque	200 Oak St. (1 blk. E. of Hwy. 99 between Brundage & California)	(661) 327-2915	11:30-2:30 Tu-Sa 5:30-9:30 Tu-Sa	Now owned by Asians; food not so Basque now.
Bakersfield	Chateau Basque	101 Union Ave. (1 blk. N. of Hwy. 58 Fwy.)	(661) 325-1316 (805) 395-9323	11:30-2 Tu-Sa 5:30-9:30 Tu-Th 5:30-10 F-Sa 1-9:30 Sn & Hol	CLOSED
Bakersfield	Maitia's Basque Cafe	4420 Coffee Rd Ste A	(661) 587-9055.		CLOSED
Bakersfield	Narduccis Cafe	622 E. 21st St	(661) 324-2961	Monday through Saturday 5 to 9 p.m.
Bakersfield	Noriega's	525 Sumner St.	(661) 322-8419	7a-9a Tu-Sn 12 Noon sharp only Tu-Sn 7:00p sharp only Tu-Sn	Reservations highly recommended
Bakersfield	Pyrenees Cafe	601 Sumner St. (E. of Union at Kern & 21st)	(661) 323-0053	11:30-1:30 M-Sa 6:30-8 M-Th 6:30-8:30 F-Sa
Bakersfield	Wool Growers	620 E. 19th St. (1/2 blk. W. of Baker)	(661) 327-9584	11-2 M-Sa 6-9:30 M-Sa
Chico (Butte County, 41 mi. S. of Red Bluff on Hwy. 99)	Basque Norte	3355 Esplanade	(530) 891-5205	5:30-? W-Sa, 5-9 Sn
Chino (San Bernardino County, 5 mi. S.E. of Pomona)	Centro Basco	13432 Central Ave. (between Chino Ave. & Schaefer)	(909) 628-9014 (909) 628-1331	11-2 Tu-F 5-9:30 Tu-Sa 4-9 Sn
Chino	Pyrenees	13390 Central Ave.	(909) 628-6500	11-2 M-Sa 5-9:30 M-Sa	CLOSED
Firebaugh (Fresno County, 30 mi. S.E. of Los Banos on Hwy. 33)	Leku Ona	1641 N St.	(209) 659-3994	11a-9p M-Sn
Fresno	Basque Hotel	1102 F St.	(209) 233-2286	11:30-2 Tu-Sn 4:30-9 Tu-Sn
Fresno	Santa Fe Basque Restaurant and Bar	3011 N Maroa Ave	Phone 559.226.7499 Cell 559.226.3646	Lunch served everyday 11:00 - 2:00 Dinner served 5-9 Mon.-Sat. 4:30 - 8 on Sunday	Web Site
Hanford (Kings County, 34 mi. S. of Fresno)	Justo's	129 W. 7th St.	(209) 583-7713	11-2 M-Sa 5-9 M-Th & Sn, 5-10 F-Sa also "to go"	CLOSED
La Puente (Los Angeles County, 12 mi. W. of Pomona)	Le Chalet Basque	119 S. 2nd St.	(626) 330-9033	Lunch & Dinner M-Sa
Los Banos (Merced County)	Chalet Basque	1639 E. Pacheco Blvd. (Hwy. 152)	(209) 826-1400	11:30-2 M-Sn 5:30-9:30 M-Th 5:30-10 F-Sa 4:30-9 Sn	CLOSED
Los Banos	Wool Growers	609 H St.	(209) 826-4593	11:30-2 Tu-Sn 5-9 Tu-S
Maxwell (Colusa County, 11 mi. N. of Williams on I-5)	Chateau Basque	Hwy. 99W & Oak	(916) 438-2800	Breakfast Sa-Sn 10a-10p W-Su	CLOSED
Northstar-at-Tahoe (Placer County, 6 mi. S.E. of Truckee on Hwy. 267)	Basque Club	Hwy. 267 & Northstar Dr. (near golf course)	(916) 562-2460 (916) 587-0	Dinner - ski season only
Rosamond (Kern County, 12 mi. N. of Lancaster)	Villa Basque	4417 W. Rosamond Blvd.	(805) 256-4182	11:30-1:30 Tu-Sa 6-9:30 Tu-Sa, 5-9:30 Sn	CLOSED
San Francisco	Iluna Basque	701 Union Street (at Powell)	415-402-0011	Sunday to Thursday, 5:30pm - 10:30pm Friday to Saturday, 5:30pm - 11:30pm	website
San Francisco	Piperade	1015 Battery St	415-391-2555	Lunch hours: Monday to Friday, 11:30am - 3:00pm Dinner hours: Monday to Saturday, 5:30pm - 10:30pm Closed on Sunday	website
San Francisco	Basque Hotel	15 Romolo Pl. (uphill alley off Broadway between Columbus & Kearny)	(415) 788-9404	5-9:30 Tu-F 5-10 Sa-Sn	CLOSED
San Francisco	Des Alpes	732 Broadway	(415) 391-4249 (415) 788-9900	5:30-10 Tu-Sn	CLOSED
San Juan Bautista	Matxain Etxea	206 4th St	(831)623-4472 1-888-4basque		website
San Miguel	Tenth Street Cafe				Fixed price meals at $25
San Rafael (Marin County)	Cafe Villa Basque	1600 Lincoln Ave.	(415) 459-6161	11-2 M-Sa 5-9:30 M-Sa
San Rafael	Le Chalet Basque	405 N. San Pedro Rd.	(415) 479-1070	11:30-2 Tu-F & Sn 5-10 Tu-Sn
Sausalito (Marin County)	Guernica	2009 Bridgeway	(415) 332-1512	5-9 M-Th & Sn 5-9:30 F-Sa
South San Francisco (San Mateo County)	Basque Cultural Center	599 Railroad Ave.	(650) 583-8091	11:30-2 Tu-F 5:30-9:15 Tu-Sa 5-9 Sn
Winters (Yolo County, 13 mi. N. of Vacaville on I-505, near Lake Berryessa)	Arnaud's	1123 Grant Ave. (Hwy. 128)	(916) 795-3404	5-9 F-Sn	NO LONGER BASQUE
Idaho
City	Restaurant	Address	Contact	Hours	Note
Boise	Gernika	202 S. Capitol Blvd.	???	???	Owned by Dan Ansotegui
Boise	Leku Ona	117 S. 6th St	(208) 345-6665		In the heart of Boise's Basque Block! Owned by Joe and Miren Artiach
Garden City (suburb of Boise)	Onati (attached to Ranch Club)	3544 Chinden Blvd. (Exit 49 from I-84, then follow signs to Garden City)	(208) 343-6464	11:30-2 M-F 5:30-10 M-Sa	CLOSED
Gooding	The Gooding Idaho Basque Association	???	???	Has a dinner open to the public on the first Friday of each month, 6:00 to 9:00 PM.	website
Meridian	Epi's Basque Restaurant	1115 N. Main St.	(208) 884-0142	???	Owned by Chris Ansotegui and Gina Urquidi
Mountain Home	Joe's Club	185 S. 2nd E.	(208) 587-5055	11-2 W-F 5-10 M-Sa	CLOSED
Twin Falls	The Basque Kitchen	360 Main Avenue North	(208)733-9231	12-10 m-F 7-10 Sa	CLOSED
Nevada
City	Restaurant	Address	Contact	Hours	Note
Elko	Biltoki	405 Silver St.	(775) 738-9691	4:30-10 Th-Tu
Elko	Nevada Dinner House	351 Silver St.	(775) 738-8485	5-10 Tu-Sn
Elko	Star Hotel	246 Silver St.	(775) 738-9925 (775) 753-8696	11:30-2 M-F 5-9:30 M-Sa
Elko	Toki Ona	1550 Idaho St.	(775) 738-3214	6a-9:30p M-Sn
Fallon	Brenda's Basque Dining	125 E. Center Street	775-423-8987	4:00 - 9:00 Tuesday-Saturday	Open for special occasions and parties any day or time.
Fallon	Overland Hotel	125 E. Center Street	(775) 423-2719		website
Gardnerville (18 mi. S. of Carson City on U.S. 395)	Carson Valley Country Club	1029 Riverview Dr. (2 mi. S. of town on U.S. 395)	(775) 265-3715	6-9 M & W-F 5:30-9 Sa 5-8 Sn
Gardnerville	J & T	1426 S. Main St.	(775) 782-2074	11:30-2 M-Sa 5:30-9 M-Sa
Gardnerville	Overland Hotel	691 S. Main St. (U.S. 395)	(775) 782-2138	12-2 Tu-Sn 4:45-9:30 Tu-Sn
Reno	Louis' Basque Corner	301 E. 4th St.	(775) 323-7203	11-2 Tu-Sa 5-9:30 M-Sn
Reno	Santa Fe Hotel	235 N. Lake St.	(775) 323-1891	12:30-2 W-F 6-9 M-Sn
Winnemucca	Martin Hotel	W. Railroad & Melarkey	(775) 623-3197	11-2 M-F 5-9:30 M-Sn
Winnemucca	Ormachea's Dinner House	180 Melarkey	(775) 623-3455	4:30-10 Tu-Sn
Winnemucca	Restaurante San Fermin	485 W. Winnemucca Blvd.	(775) 625-2555	5-10 Th-Tu
Winnemucca	Winnemucca Hotel "Since 1863"	95 Bridge St.	(775) 623-2908	12-1 M-Sa 6:15-9 M-Sa	"Since 1863"
New Jersey
City	Restaurant	Address	Contact	Hours	Note
Dover	Jai-Alai	73 W Blackwell St	Tel:(973) 989-0916		website
Newark	Casa Vasca	141 Elm St	Tel:(973) 465-1350	Mon-Sat: 11:00 AM-10:00 PM Sun: 11:00 AM-11:00 PM
New York
City	Restaurant	Address	Contact	Hours	Note
New York City	Marichu	342 east 46th street (between 1st and 2nd avenues) Of course, right around the corner from The United Nations	Tel:(212)370-1866	???	CLOSED
New York City	Pintxos	510 Greenwich St	Tel:(212) 343-9923	Lunch: M-F 11:30-3:30 Dinner: M-Th: 11:30AM-10PM, F: 11:30AM-11PM, Sat: 4PM-11PM
Oregon
City	Restaurant	Address	Contact	Hours	Note
Jordan Valley (near Idaho border; 60 mi. S. of Caldwell, Idaho on U.S. 95)	The Old Basque Inn	306 W. Wroten St. (on W. side of U.S. Hwy. 95 just N. of right-angle turn)	(541) 586-2800 FAX: 541-586-2899 email: basqueinn@m-hip.com	4pm to 10pm, Wed thru Sun	Now Open Owners: Boco & Robin Henry website

User Contributed Notes /Basque/Food/charley.html	add a note
Total number of notes for this page: 104 Currently viewing page 1 of 6 pages of notes next page
Juddmail at yahoo dot com 19-Jul-2011 1:44 #12195 Hey all!! Just got home (Las Vegas) from Elko from a two day trade show...ate basque both dinners there...first was BilToki which was the best Lamb I've ever had the honor to put into my gullet...service was the best I'd seen in forever and food was truly top shelf!! Next was the Star which was great food as well but came in short on their steak.. I ordered medium rare and got completely white inside and dry, luckily the company made up for it. Overall both experiences were awesome and I enjoy'd the atmosphere in both places. I only wish we had a place in Vegas to fill the bill.
storman113 at gmail dot com 07-Jul-2011 2:35 #12183 Noted last time at Louis in Reno that the regulars spooned their beans on the salad. At WoolGrowers, they spoon it into the soup. Both are great ways to add extra flavor to the food. Give it a try, you'll love both ways!
storman113 at gmail dot com 07-Jul-2011 2:30 #12182 Dinner tonite at Leku Ona in Boise. If they have the cabbage/sausage soup, skip the dinner and just get the biggest bowl you can! I had the lamb loin chops, just excellent! The waitress Katie put the left over soup in a go box for me, plus she made sure it was full to the top. What a good girl. Not the cheapest place for dinner, but worth it. Owner Joe was in the bar where I had dinner(was 100 outside), he came over and thanked me for coming to his place. Don't get that very often. BTW: A little Tabasco in the soup makes it more than perfect!
marymckercher at gmail dot com 13-Jun-2011 10:44 #12162 I live in Idaho and know that Epi's in Meridian opens at 5PM and is T-SA only...I do not remenber the closing time. Bar Gernika is open for lunch (and has excellent croquetta's!) it hours are: Monday: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday: 11 a.m.-12 a.m. Friday: 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Saturday: 11:30 a.m.-1 a.m.  and has excellend tongue on Sat!
nevadachuck at aol dot com 12-Feb-2011 21:44 #11946 Superbowl weekend was sheer delight and gluttony. Four of us started off at The Star in Elko for HUGE lobster tail and all the trimmings. Picon's too. If that wasn't enough we all did steaks at Ormachea's in Winnemucca Saturday night. Picon's again. We attended Ormachea's Superbowl party Sunday for the 10th or 11th time. Great fun, great people, excellent food. Gotta hit the diet now so I can go back for more!!!
michaelabuck at live dot com 06-Nov-2010 9:25 #11679 Can anyone tell me who the waitresses are at the Sante Fe in Reno ...it was a weekly stop when I lived there.
storman113 at msn dot com 03-Oct-2010 1:31 #11561 Was at Louis' Basque Corner in Reno last Thursday for lunch. GREAT food! The gravy on the lamb was to die for! Others at the table had the oxtail and pork chops, there comments were the same as mine. Visit my nephew in Los Banos all the time, he thinks its because I like him! I haven't told him its because of Wool Growers!!!
jenandhermen at yahoo dot com 13-May-2010 22:34 #11127 I wasn't born in Bakersfield, but both my parents were and I have lived there and visisted there all my life. Love Basque food and missing it like crazy. What I wouldn't give for pickled tongue and beans right now. Took my kids to Woolgrower's last year on vacation. Wish Basque food wasn't so hard to find.
shellyquist at yahoo dot com 25-Apr-2010 17:25 #11065 are there any good Basque places in Portland Or.
ibafiregal at AllTel dot BlackBerry dot com 03-Apr-2010 16:31 #10978 I have had the pleasure of dining at the Brass Rail-Alturas (oh so good steak); Onati-Boise (fabulous sponge cake dessert); Louies-Reno (yummy beef tongue); Gerneka-Boise (succulent potato tortillas); Leku Ona-Boise (melt in your mouth croquettes);Epies-Meridian (soloma and rice pudding still make me salivate) Star-Elko (love the salads); Hotel Winnamucca-Winnamucca (everything was delicious) and Santa Fe-Reno (I can taste the soup now). Each of these are places I have and will take friends and family for a wonderful Basque meal!!
tiger_lilly8805 at yahoo dot com 26-Jan-2010 18:20 #10745 Someone should add to the list: Villa Basque Deli & Cafe 730 Basque Way Carson City, NV 89706-7936 (775) 884-4451 My cousin Pete makes the best chorizo!!!
bszim at aol dot com 27-Nov-2009 17:25 #10498 WE'RE GOING TO TRY BISTRO BASQUE in Milford, Ct. The first time trying Basque food
aniknight at turbousa dot com 19-Nov-2009 22:18 #10473 Toki Ona in Elko was excellent. Converted my non-lamb loving boyfriend into a fan of lamb chops.
dinamasu At gmail Dot com 24-Aug-2009 23:07 #10094 Toki Ona has reopened in Elko, NV
dinamasu at gmail dot com 18-Jun-2009 19:18 #9795 The Leku Ona in Firebaugh, CA is now a Mexican Restaurant
maui9bill at yahoo dot com 15-May-2009 21:39 #9602 Just ate at Epi's in Meridian. Typical expierence, really great people having really great fun eating really really great Basque food.
heather_westenzweig at yahoo dot com 10-May-2009 14:12 #9567 Leku Ona in Boise is a fabulous restaurant - food is fantastic and service is superb! Ordered the squid in ink; wait staff gave me the full story of the harvesting and making of the squid dish, along with family tales of visiting the Basque Region. Entrance is through a bar; visited the bar with spouse and other family on another occassion- had a great time! Highly recommend.
eggrub at yahoo dot com 08-Apr-2009 16:44 #9411 Carson City, Nevada has the Villa Basque Deli. I have never eaten at the restaurant but I have driven from Reno several times to buy their chorizo - 30 pounds at a time - and will say it's well worth the drive.
nevadachuck at aol dot com 27-Jan-2009 21:05 #9049 I would love to hear of any first hand experiences at the Brass Rail in Alturas, CA. Good, bad, or indifferent, any comments are appreciated. I may be spending some time there. Thanks all.
aenglema at yahoo dot com 20-Jan-2009 21:31 #9017 The Star in Elko Nevada. The Fillet Mignon there is the best. I have eaten at other basque resturaunts in Nevada (Elko, Winnemucca, Reno, Gardnerville) many times and they are all great, but the fillet at the Star is by far the best. Lots of garlic. The soup, salad and fries are also great.
add a note
Last updated: Sun, 30 Oct 2011 - 0:03:13

This page is part of Buber's Basque Page and is maintained by Blas Uberuaga. Please report any problems or suggestions to Blas. Eskerrik asko!