This was our first experience with Basque food. We were taken here by friends who like good food and unique dinning experiences. They nailed it. Eating family style with a fixed menu did not disappoint. The food, service, and friendly atmosphere all added to a great dinning experience. If you ask why not 5 stars? This place is not over the top, but a great solid dinning experience. I will be back. read more

Hearty comfort food and lots of it. Starting with soup and ending with flan, everything was excellent. They have a unique sausage that they make in-house, lukina that doesn't disappoint. Also loved the veal roast and lamb shanks. We will return! read more

Luv this place & have been enjoying it for years w/ my family! Sat night is the best = split pea soup! My husband luv's the beef tongue & special order blue cheese- & I luv the family style soup, salad, roasted chicken, green beans, spaghetti, & french fries= all of it = yummy! read more

THE BAR ROCKS! Clean, Quick service, and very good drinks. They have a jukebox and tvs. It carries a older atmosphere that makes you feel at home. Full open bar with many drinks to choose from. If your in the area you definitely want to check in. read more

Love this place!! It's a hidden jewel in Chino, Ca. Who would have guessed it? I mostly go on Sunday, that's when they have family style dinning at 12:00. You get seated with people you don't know but by the end on the lunch you know them like your own family. It's a 5 course meal that keeps you full the entire day. I normally don't need to eat dinner after cause I'm so full. My favorite is their soups and steaks. Oh, how I love there garlic steaks. Yumm.. read more

Great food! Not expensive. The Pecan Punch is the best. Don't let the ordinary exterior fool you, the food is exceptional and the help is friendly. read more

Excellent food! The meatloaf sandwich is my fav thing on the menu & ive turned a lot of friends onto this great spot!

We went to Centro Basco with the family to celebrate my Grandma's birthday this past Saturday, and it was great as always! They won't take reservations for parties under 10 people (and there were only 6 of us), but we arrived at 7 on Saturday night, and there were two tables open, and we sat right down. My grandparents and parents have been coming to Centro Basco for years; when my Dad was in college they said they would come to late lunch (because lunch is cheaper, especially back then) and fill up, and then not have to eat dinner! The atmosphere is very old school; paneling on the walls, dark wood, dim lights, it's pretty much the same as is has been since my first time going as a little kid. It's definately not trendy, but it's classy in an old fashioned way (does that make sense?) Dinner is served in courses, and all of the entrees come with the full spread (or you can have just the other courses without and entree if you like). First, they start out with soup, served in a big bowl for the whole table. The waitress told us: "Tonight the soup is split pea", but I think the last 5 or 6 times we've been there it's been split pea, I thought it was always split pea :-) There is plenty of soup for everyone to have as much as they want, I usually have 2 bowls even though I know there's still a lot of food to come! They have delicious sheapherder bread, kind of a mix between french bread and sourdough. The next course is salad: romaine and iceberg tossed in a caser-like vinnagarette with marinated tomatoes and the best part - thinly sliced beef tongue! It's awesome, and the best tongue you'll ever have! It's sliced thin and marinated in olive oil and vinegar and herbs, and served cold. Don't think about it being tongue, if that turns you off of it, and at least try it, it's delicious! The next course is spaghetti, and I've never really understood why French-Basque (and Spanish-Basque as I understand) have spaghetti as a standard, but it's delicious too! The final course is your entree with the sides served family style, usually a vegetable like green beans, and your choice of french fries or au gratin potatos. I had the Entrecote (Ribeye steak) with gravy ($26), and you have to get french fries! Gravy on your fries with a perfectly cooked ribeye, still red in the middle, just the way I like it, awesome! My wife had the lamb chops, which were also delicious, and they served three good size chops ($30). The prices seem somewhat expensive, but it is worth if for the nice ambiance, the amount of food you get, and the attentiveness of the staff. Everyone in the restaurant is friendly, and they keep the food coming! Centro Basco provides a nice dining experience, something totally different from your average restaurant, but to them it's been the same for 50 years! Centro Basco has been a strong go-to for my family for 30+ years. read more

The waitress we got was horrible. She had an attitude the whole time and had one of the worse cases of resting bitch face I've ever seen. On top of that there is zero ambiance in this place. They need a major renovation. The inside is I believe modeled after what purgatory would look like in real life. There are no windows and it just has that overwhelming dank feeling. Avoid this place unless you like feeling depressed and over paying for your meal. read more

First you have to understand what family style is... It just plain fun. They serve you so much food and it is all real home cooking. The Lamb chops with mint jelly are to die for, soup, bread, a really cool side dish comes with every meal, you'll have to experience it for yourself. Really I have come here for years and have never been disappointed. Hey what's cool is they have free wifi, I guess old meets new in a really satisfying way. read more

while out playing around this weekend, my wife and I made a detour through the Centro Basco just on a whim. Never heard anything about it, couldn't even say where it was excactly..... I just knew that I had seen it at some point in my travels. We called them to see if we needed reservations, and they said that Saturdays they served a Family Meal where all guest would be seated at 12:30 sharp, and then served the meal of the day... or as they call it in Spain "El Menu". What an awesome suprise! we found ourselves seated at a long table with 30 or so other diners, passing salad bowls, soups, blue cheese plates, scalloped potato plates around as if we'd known each other our entire lives. It felt like a warm up session for Thanksgiving! Such warm conversations, good home-style food, really worth going back to do again. read more

I had gone there for a wedding dinner, I was looking at pictures of the food and it looked pretty good. That's the only good thing I have to say about this place, I had the Roasted Chicken, which was overcooked and dry and flavorless. Mash Potatoes that were ok, nothing special and green beens that tasted so bland, I think they just openned up a can warmed it and tossed it on a plate. Needless to say that I would never go back again AND to top it off I bought a 4 drinks and the bill came to $26, once I asked them why so much.. they reviewed bill and said it was $14 not $26. Sure it was a mistake... read more

This is the best place ever. I love love coming her e. Bomb ass Food. Oxtail , steak , lamb . Hot Damn. Customer service fabulous. I mean they treat you like you the mayor. My favorite waitress is Bernadette beautiful inside and out . Best family Restaurant ever. If you want great food, awesome old school customer service,and friendly fun environment. Come on down . Step outside the box. A gem of a place. read more

Horribly loud, rude, and dismissive service by our female server. How sad is it to come out to support the arts by attending the local theater and plan to have a meal at a family owned and ran restaurant next to theater and have this kind of treatment by the female server we had. This is not our first time here but it will definitely be our last. The food was fine except the pâté' was rather dry. The young tall male bus boy was very nice to us however and we appreciated him. read more

Best family style Basque dining in the area.. One Sunday a month, the offer an Oxtail brunch.. I recommend this restaurant to any who likes to try something new. The staff are welcoming and makes you feel as though you are family.. read more

The food varied depending on what you ordered. Fettuchini Alfredo very good. Lamb one of there specialties excellent. The dish I ordered the Veal Parmagian first arrived burned. Yes Burned on the bottom. Inedible. They re-did it for me but it was too salty, don't know if the Chef just wanted to get back at me. My gripe was with the service, I don't blame a waitress when the kitchen messes up an order, but I expect them to try to make up for it afterwards. Totally inattentive service. When I was done I had to have another Waitress get my waitress to bring me the bill. The waitress didn't come to our table for over 20 minutes. You'd think after the bad experience I had with the burnt dish, she'd bring it promptly. But I was a last priority for her. She took care of another party, then she took the order for a new pair that sat down. That was the straw that broke the camels back. I went to the other waitress and complained. I was with my daughter and didn't ask to see the manager, which I should have. Finally she brought the check and by the way my daughter saw the waitress roll her eyes. The good news is that I saved the $10.00 tip that I normally would have left on a meal that size. Yes I stiffed her, not for the burned dish, but for the lousy service. I'm the type that it really has to be very bad for me not to leave a 15% tip. In my younger days I was a Busboy and a waiter, so I know when it's the Waitresses fault [Amount of Tables] or just bad attitude. I won't' be going back.. The shame is that I used a Groupon Coupon and the Restaurant spending that money to attract a potential new customer lost me due to the poor service. read more

Cool restaurant! Excellent food. Order the "set up". For $16 you get plenty of authentic food. And don't forget the Pecan Punch read more

Second time for Sunday 12:30 feast. Great bountiful food. The menu changes. Remember it is family style and this is all part of the experience. So much delicious food for $22 which includes the wine. read more

I took my wife here for our nine year Anniversary & I was not impressed. The place smells like a nursing home. Portions are very good& the lamb was ok. The green beans were very bland & the potatoes au gratin tasted like they were out of a box. The service however was great. read more

Excellent. They give you so much food it's crazy. It reminds me of good home cooked food. I love lamb and veal so couldn't decide what to order. This is a fine establishment that is a nice change of pace from the franchise restaurants. read more

Yuuummmmm! I love this place so much! The atmosphere is a little outdated but once you meet the owners and eat their food, you forget all about the atmosphere. We go for the family style dinner. If you are shy and reserved, this is not for you. If you like meeting cool, interesting people, do this for sure! You get to enjoy really good food with people from all over the world. Last time I was there I sat next to a man from South Africa and his Mexican wife. The man across from me was from France and his friends were all from Basque country. The conversations were amazing and since there are so many regulars, you feel like you are sitting with a very large, very interesting family. This place is not just a restaurant, it's an experience! read more

Excellent family style dining!! Nothing fancy, just good food!! I have been to the Basque country and it is my ALL time favorite vacation spot! Everytime I'm at the restaurant, I see a beautiful painting on the wall done by a local artist and it brings me back to one of the most beautiful countrysides in the world! The people are friendly and down to earth. What a great way to enjoy a Sunday afternoon as well. read more

The best Basque restaurant south of Bakersfield. The food is to die for. The family dining is a different experience each time. Where else can one find Oxtail Stew, Tongue, Rabbit, Blood Sausage, or Chicken Gizzards? Of course in the resturant section, their regular menu is equally tastefull. Give it a try. The family dining is a new experience you will come back for, time and time again. read more

Have been here many times love it. It's good portions great service. Brought my whole family and they loved it. I strongly recommend it.

I found my experience confusing. There is a bar with food and then the restaurant. I ordered rack of lamb and it was not seasoned. Boring food. I need not go back. read more

We've been going to the Centro Basco for many years and have generally enjoyed the Family Dining evenings. Most nights we have a party of 10-15 musicians, who enjoy the meal and end up playing polkas in the bar afterwards, with four or five of us playing for a couple of hours. The food is reliable, with great soups and pommes frites, not to mention the endless flow of mind-numbing local wines. All ijn all, the Centro Basco represents a wholesome choice and great value. read more

This is a must if your ever come to the area.... wait let me rephrase this is a must and you must travel to the area to experience the food. Make sure to order a slice of the Blue Cheesse and you have to try the beef tounge, tomato with cheese. You'll enjoy any meal here and I'm sure you'll want to bring some friends with you the next time. read more

Came here today with the boyfriend. They start you off with endless sourdough bread, some house Manhattan clam chowder, salad, jack cheese, beans and water. We were seriously full before the main course! My boyfriend got the tilapia and it was really good. I got the calamari .... It was kind of weird. But I decided not to waste it. Our server Nina honored our groupon and she still gave us great service! :) this place is a bit old but it is definitely a family restaurant and you will leaving stuffed for a good price! read more

The first thing to note is this is French style Basque food, NOT Spanish as the restaurant category currently says. This is one of the stranger dining experiences I have had. I think we did this place wrong -- we ate in the dining room, instead of in the family style dining hall. If we went back, we would try that. I got the white roughy with garlic sauce and it was fantastic. I did not like my wife's veal parmesan, though, but I find that dish to be mediocre wherever you go. Nor did I like the trout, but I don't like trout in general either. The atmosphere of the dining room was extremely strange -- the music stopped playing half way through, and the room was eerily empty and quiet. It smelled somewhat musty as well. I was on the fence between 3 and 4 stars for this place. I would go back, but I don't think anyone else I went with would. read more

Decent food but insanely overpriced and overrated. Maybe we came on an off day, but the lamb was nearly raw and small portions... The staff was friendly but for $150 I expect a lot more than I got. Such a disappointment. read more

Tried family style dinner for the first time tonight. The food was very good and unlimited wine was the cherry on top. It's $18 a person which is a fair price for all that you get. Coffee and dessert is an extra charge but it was worth it. We had this almond flavored dessert, i forget the name, but it was divine! The only bad part was that we were seated next to some other diners that were kinda rude, but there wasn't anything we could do about that. The service was very good! Everyone should give this place a try. read more

RUDE!! The food is not that great to come back to. Waitress was so rude and so was the woman owner. We were almost thrown out after are dinner since it was past 9:00 pm!! This place should be shut down! read more

So, how do you give a review of a place that you would not go back to, yet had it's strong points (and some big weaknesses for us, but maybe not to others)...... so I will give it a try. Came here on a Tuesday evening for dinner and were great right away (were told they would be right with us)... we were seated and offered drinks, and given menus to look at (all good so far)! Here is the good..... I can not say enough positives about our service... the staff (2 waitresses too care of us), were as good as it gets when it came to service. As service is important and I would give it 5 stars without hesitation... but service can't make up for food which for us was really disappointing. I know some reviews talk about this being pricy, but when you look at it as a complete dinner (Bread, soup, potato, veggie) all are included in the price, the cost would not be a big issue if it were good.... But sadly, for us, it was not. Here is the issue with Centro Basco....This is what an old school restaurant is all about.... The meal looks like it came right out the 60's dinning options. Even thought the bread was good, it was served with ice cold butter (yes in foil packets) so it was not spread able on the good sourdough bread. The soup came out next and it was a nice touch to have the pinto beans come out n a separate dish to be able to add them to the soup (this was they were not mushy)... the soup was hot, and really, not to bad (once you added salt and pepper).... But from there is went downhill. The rest of the meal had NO flavor... it seems like I said, nothing creative, not herbs, spices, seasonings of any discernable recognition and as bland as it gets (as I said, like food was done 50 years ago)... My wife (as she wanted to try "something special) had the homemade sausage on butter noodles.... The noodles were out of the 50's, and were what seemed to be boxed noodles with some butter, but again, No seasoning (no salt, no pepper, no nothing... reminded my wife of her childhood with Mon who did not cook, so just boiled noodles and threw butter on them)...and the two sausages which were hard and also flavorless (an looked like to turds on the noodles... sorry for that) I had the Rack of Lamb and thank goodness I asked for the garlic option as it was also the only seasoning on the lamb and the only thing with any flavor (it was cooked to my request of medium rare though)... the sides were also so bland (green beans) Fries for my wife, and Au Graten potatoes for me... had to laugh at the Au Graten's as this could have been kraft mac and cheese boxed food for all that mattered..... All the food came out warm (not hot), and really, for us, it was just not very good... So, 5 stars for service, but 1 star for food, and food takes precedent and that's why I could not go to 3 stars. To finish, none of the food tasted bad, just was not hot, not seasoned, and just did not have any flavor)..... So, if you like OLD SCHOOL bland food, sort of family style table service, this may not be a bad place for you... but we will not be returning. read more

This place needs remodeling. Walked in and can smell dust. the food wasn't great. I was upset to eat in old plates and silverware and our tablecloth was slightly dirty I can't believe this place is still open, I think an inspector needs to go in a Check this place out. If our area is dirty I can only imagine the kitchen. read more

Still best Basque food in the Inland Empire. Roughy, Flat Iron Steak, and house special were still as best ever. Come and enjoy.

Came for their first Thanksgiving. Food was great, staff was prepared, and the environment was nice and comfortable. Family style make it easy to serve and their was plenty for everyone. Overall great experience. read more

This was not spanish food like I was told. It was decent but nothing remarkable. I have to say I won't be returning here.

I used to come here when I was a child and I always loved the soup, salad, bread and beef tongue. Now, 30 some years later the food is still great. I wish I lived closer because I would go here all the time. Lunch was just like I remembered it. read more

Hmm where to start - it reminds me of being in a Midwestern dive restaurant - decor could be updated from a dark cafeteria interior. The food also - cafeteria - maybe we needed to come for the family style seating for actual food not straight from a can - and a bad one at that. The wait staff was polite and is the reason for the 3rd star. A return trip to Chino for the place is probably not going to happen as I looked at the gelatinous sauce on the husbands lamb- he liked it but ick glad it wasn't mine. read more

Pea soup was outstanding, the best I've ever had. The service alone is worth coming back to.