Basque Cultural Center

A month ago, I came here again. Customer service was great. Food was delicious. This place has improved since last time I visited.

Hidden Gem in SSF. The Basque Cultural Center blew me away. I tried their duck legs and enjoyed every bite. Waiters full of information about the Basque culture and how the food is prepared. It was very pleasurable. Recommended lunch or dinner.

I’ve been here twice. I could’ve sworn I wrote a review before. Anyway… honestly, I wasn’t even aware this place existed. It looks more like a banquet hall more than anything with a restaurant&bar room. The first time I was there we were seated in the regular dining room whereas this last visit we had a reserved room to our party of 10. There is a separate room for larger reservations (I was told you’d need to request it specifically if that’s what you’d want).
Keep in mind that they have daily specials that are to die for. The first trip there I had the Chicken Roulade & Boneless Beef Short Rib. This more recent trip I had the Braised Oxtail Stew & Roasted Pork Shoulder. Both times accompanied by soup & dessert. I think I had a split pea soup & a cauliflower soup. Both extremely creamy which is different for me; however, incredibly tasty. Basque was where I first learned to love escargot. I’ve heard of it, I’ve had other variations of other snails, but never escargot. Here, I learned to try and love. The chicken roulade & boneless beef short rib were too long ago for me to remember clearly, so here’s what I do have written down.
ESCARGOT: Buttery goodness that will bring you back over and over. Try not to be too crazily excited when it first comes out! It’s really hot and you’ll burn your mouth like I did but. it’s so worth it.
BRAISED OXTAIL STEW: A delicious hearty stew just perfectly savory especially when accompanied by the bread! Dip dip away!
ROASTED PORK SHOULDER: Accompanied by veggies and potatoes. I loved the sauce/​gravy on the pork shoulder but I would’ve preferred to have a double serving of the braised oxtail stew.
PORT WINE SABAYON GLACE — This beautiful frozen custard like dessert made from port wine… I’m probably not even describing it correctly but it’s this perfect level of sweetness and just right proportion. It’s not overfilling after dinner and doesn’t leave you leaning for more like it doesn’t hit the spot.
SORBET — I’m not sure if the sorbets here are made here but they definitely are extremely refreshing after a warm, hearty meal. You can’t go wrong with a sorbet if you want something cool and refreshing to lighten up and end a meal.
Not once have I received questionable service here. It’s always been spectacular and genuinely sincere. I’ve read recent reviews time and time again (in between the two visits and since then) and it makes me want to come every single day to try all of the specials listed as well as just about everything else on the menu.

My husband and I went there Tuesday, I had reservations for 2 at 5:30 pm. the Restuarant is very clean, the service is excellent and the hostess that walked us to our table was very nice too. The food was great my husband had the braised short ribs and I had the rack of lamb both were cooked to perfection, the soup and salad were great and the dessert Port Wine Savayon was so delicious, you should try it if you go there I highly recommend the great
husband and I will be
I give this Restuarant 5 stars plus an A+. There is also great parking.

tucked away on railroad ave… large parking lot for easy parking… large building with multiple spaces for private events small and large… a restaurant section for the public… finding the building aged, kept well… old fashion interiors… meals served in courses… soup being first and spinach… bit salty and watery creamy broth… a whole large crusty bread loaf given to each person… some basic butter, but using the soup to dip… an overdressed soggy salad next… way too much dressing. salty and tangy… the entrée actually fine… a filet mignon steak smothered in brown sauce cooked to a medium-well…tasted decent… served with basic steamed vegetables and scalloped potatoes. coffee served… basic vanilla bean ice cream with sugar cone waffler cookie stuck on top to end the meal… poor soup and salad, but finding the entrees decent… expect a long meal with everything coming out in courses with large time gaps between…

Didn’t have any trouble with getting seated. Everyone in our party enjoyed their food. The bus boy was ON TOP of it and was constantly checking our table and handling our requests. The waitress wasn’t all that great, however it was a busy night and I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt. Other than that, it was a great night with great food.

Very disappointed this time both service and food. The greatgrandma like hostess gave away our table when we arrived on time at 7 pm and told us to go to the bar have a drink. When we told her we do not drink and she made a nasty remark that you only want water for your dinner.
Waited 40 mins and she sat us at a side table and added one more chair in the middle of the road. Through out the whole meal my friend was hit many times when people pass by.
The leg of lamb was unremarkable and the vegetables hard and not fresh.
Over all the old grumpy hostess ruined my friend’s birthday totally, she should not be allow to work in the front line. The owner should retire and remove her from the premises, she belongs in the museum.

Don’t bother. You can’t get a table. We’ve gone twice and denied but the tables are empty. Too bad because the food is really good.

I never knew such a place existed until a relative suggested to come here for an early family Christmas dinner. This is not a young and hip place, rather seems more for the elders. Food tastes slightly below mediocre with prices ranging $ 15−30+, which I regret spending that much at a place like this. The servers at this place tries to be professional, but they are still lacking. Overall, I wouldn’t come back… maybe when I’m old and my taste buds are not as great then I might start thinking the food is good here.
There are many more tastier restaurants in the Bay Area with nice décor for the $ 15-​$ 30+ price range.

Setting Expectations for Dinner @ the Basque Cultural Center Restaurant:
1) Expect easy parking.
2) Expect a mix of Basque and non-​Basque dishes at reasonable prices (and for your father-​in-​law to love it).
3) Expect a 1950’s Reno diner meets banquet hall vibe. (e.g. Date night? No way. Dinner with the parents? OK.)
4) Expect a clueless hostess.
5) Unless you come early, expect the quality of service and food to slip.
6) Expect leftovers. In addition to big portions, entrées come with bread, an overdressed salad and soup of the day (e.g. a surprisingly good split pea).
7) If you like Prime Rib, go on Sunday for the daily special ($ 21.95).
8) If you don’t like Prime Rib, there are plenty of other options. I’ve tried a Shrimp Dish and the Half Duck à L’Orange ($ 24.95) and both were solid. Skip the thin, overcooked Grilled Pork Chops ($ 20.95). All dishes come with the same veggies and a starch, like rice or an unappetizing rendition of scalloped potatoes.
9) Expect ice cream for dessert since it comes with your meal. Or better yet, order the Frozen Almond Nougat and know that you had the best dish of the night.
10/​2015, ¹²⁄₂₀₁₅

Decent amount of parking spaces. First impression is that this place is actually quite nice. Doesn’t look like your car will be getting broken into with the gated off parking lot and facility. There’s a huge dinning hall and two bars I believe. Overall nice place.

Food was meh. Bland and pretty boring. Nothing exciting about it.
Good price if on a budget and portions are pretty large.

We went to the Basque Cultural center for a family gathering for a 75^th birthday. It was an incredible venue with amazing food, top notch, friendly service and great French wine. It is a lovely venue tucked amidst a residential neighborhood easily accessible from the freeway and just minutes from San Francisco, SFO and Silicon Valley. It had ample parking and was extremely clean with spacious banquet rooms. There was a DJ with excellent acoustics and large dance floor. I would consider this venue for future personal and business events.

Don’t think I’ll be coming back ever again. First of all, came here on a Sunday for their prime rib and lamb cheek meal, but turns out they ran out of prime rib, so everyone was disappointed. We tried asking if they could substitute it for something else, but they just told us no. Which was fine, but they didn’t seem a bit concerned about how disappointing this was, seeing that our whole table was looking forward to ordering that. I ended up ordering the veal forestiere, which came with salad and soup. Soup was just basic vegetable soup, and the salad was simple. When the veal came out, it unfortunately looked like a heated up frozen TV dinner. Three small thin slices of meat drowned in a mushroom sauce, with some scalloped potatoes on the side and mixed vegetables.
My experience might have been a bit better if they handled the situation better or if the service was decent, but I can’t say that about my visit this time. I definitely don’t think it was worth the $ 24 I spent for my meal.

First experience was not too great.
Second experience I left happy. Our waitress was very kind, on top of everything and the food was better prepared.
The vegetable soup was delicious. Good mix of vegetables, cooked down rice so it was thick and flavorful. It complimented the baguette/​loaf well.
My tomato pasta was nice and simple. I saw other tables have sides of potato gratin and our waitress kindly brought it over. I will admit, the potatoes were a little under cooked and the dish needed more flavor but the service was so nice I cant complain.
My fathers filet mignon looked tender, the rack of lamb looked like they had cooked it nicely too.
If you dont finish your meal, they bring take out boxes for you, even during a banquet.

Everything was perfect from our entering the center to the very last bite of dinner.
We did not have a reservation but were seated immediately. Then sliced bread and butter were served. Nothing exceptional but good since we were hungry.
We would have liked the family style dinner but we did not want the one choice for that evening. So we each ordered seperate items.
The soup for the evening was a mushroom soup that was delicious. My husband doesnt like mushrooms so he was deprived of this course since no alternative was offered… thus the four rather than five star rating.
Then came a fabulous salad with a light dressing on it. It was great. There was just enough dressing to coat and flavor the lettuce and not be too heavy and overwhelmingly flavorful.
Then came the main dishes. I got the grilled prawns which were quite large and very flavorful. The rabbit grand mere dish looked great and was tasted by everyone at the table since none of us had ever eaten rabbit. And the cassoulet looked great and was thoroughly enjoyed. No complaints about the food, it was all wonderful.
The restaurant itself is plain with a little décor inside the Cultural Center. There is alot of parking available. The wait staff were very good and attentive to our needs.
The only negative would be that we did not know what kind of soup was being offered that night. Also that each night there are specials. I would recommend you call in to confirm the soup and special of the day so you know ahead of time what is being offered. The food was sooo good that the type of soup didn’t matter for us but might affect your decision to eat here or not for that day.
Overall it was a great restaurant and I recommend it highly.

I loved my experience here. I came here on a Saturday evening with friends and we had reservations so did not have to wait to get a table. The staff was very friendly and nice. I loved their family style meals.
I ordered the special for the day which comes with appetizer and dessert. My friends tried rabbit and veal. All the food was great. We were served with soup first which came in a large pot and then salad, followed by the entrée. The Saturday special came with an appetizer — Bacalao Croquette which was really good too.
Portions are quite large so come with a good appetite to enjoy the meal. Will definitely come back here again.

This is not Basque cuisine, and I have been to both Spanish and French Basque countries and Basque Navarre.
It is a lot of electric and mostly mismatched food, though mostly edible.

I have never met a hostess as rude as the one I encountered this evening. I was brought up to respect my elders, but oh my goodness after the third time this woman was rude to my family I had to speak up.
Who am I talking about? The ancient white haired woman barking behind the hostess stand that is pushing 100 years old.
Our party had reserved a private back room for 30 people. When we got there we discovered that not only were we sharing a room, our table was short 6 place settings.
Strike 1. As my husband and I approached the door to the restaurant with our 1 year old sleeping in a stroller — she yelled at us that strollers were not allowed. Not a polite request to leave it in the car, she full on YELLED at us like we were bringing an unleashed pit bull into the restaurant.
Strike 2. She snapped at and berated our guests who were sitting at a table which was set up late to accommodate the places that our party was shorted. She treated them as if they did not belong in the restaurant.
Strike 3. She made snide comments at where our 1 year old had been sitting because our daughter had dropped some food in the floor. We were not treated as customers, but as rude guests invading her home. I wish we didn’t have to pay, but we were customers.
It’s just shocking to me that someone in a hostess position who should be the epitome of customer service was this rude. My husband even said that he was having a great Father’s Day before he encountered this woman.
I will not return to dine at this restaurant. No matter your age or position in life you should still respect other people. We all have our baggage in life but a restaurant should never treat paying patrons the way we were treated.
The food was actually good, but this woman soured our evening so much that I couldn’t even enjoy it and have to give this restaurant a 1 star rating.

Literally, by the time we got to our entrée, my family was stuffed…
…the portion sizes are a little out of control here at Basque, which could be a good or bad thing depending on who you ask. But if you are big on how food appears, then be forewarned: you do give up plating appearance for the portion size.
Each entrée comes with soup and salad… which can be misleading. Soup is scooped generously into your bowl and the extra portion is left at your table. Each person can literally have 2 – 3 bowls if they wanted. This was followed by a full plate of Caesar-​tossed greens (no choice on the dressing).
Then you get to your appetizer… if you ordered one. We tried the pâté. It was delivered as two large slices, not a paste. Paired with the baguettes, it was fragrant, creamy, and delightful overall. Yum.
If any one orders the family dinner, the first appetizer is then followed by a second. (By the way, when they say «two entrees» the first listed is actually an appetizer, the second is a full entrée.) Mom was given 3 pieces of lamb cheek. She shared. The meat was fork tender, crisp (not gummy), and full of flavor. And the sauce was made for dipping.
Finally, we got to the entrees! Mom had a prime rib, which wasn’t very juicy cause it was missing the au jus — definitely have had better. Dad had the rabbit. Definitely a little gamey, but cooked just perfectly. I ordered the duck l’orange. Classic dish and it did it justice… duck was super tender, so yummy… sauce was full of orange flavor. Rabbit and duck definitely recommended. But I felt kind of bad just poking at it cause I was so full already.
Finished off our meal with the frozen nougat and a scoop of spumoni ice cream — of course we had room for this, as dessert is always reserved for stomach #2.
Dinner came in at just over $ 90 for 3… for 5 – 6 courses, that’s a steal!
Do make reservations. And give yourself at least 2.5 hours to eat. Each course comes separately and service is a little sporadic at high time.