Great place for a group due to the family style sides and included dessert. You can get additional servings of the sides for no additional charge -- which we took full advantage of because we all loved the soup so much! It could've been a meal in itself, many agreed. We could have happily stuffed ourselves on just the soup! Fortunately, we saved room for our entrees, all of which were delicious. Word from the table was: the chicken was very crispy (in a good way). The steak was not as tender as hoped for some (though that may have had to do with the requested temperature) although the calamari steak was perfectly tender, some lemon and/or a Romanesco sauce would have been a nice accompaniment. The artwork and overall ambiance was like being in a Basque lodge. I just wish we had been there during a time when they had a cultural performance going on. read more

Came in on Saturday night and was very pleased!! Our server and the other servers were so kind and they checked on us a lot. The meals come with tons of things. We opted out of the potato salad and ice cream and still got soup, salad, bread, rice and beans on top of our meals. I got pork chops with mashed potatoes and he got the fried chicken. All items were delicious and I would for sure come back again. read more

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This review is very over due, been back several times since. I absolutely LOVE this place!! A very unique dining experience. My favorite part is the set up which includes soup, crusty bread, salad, 2 sides and a scoop of ice-cream. It's always enough to fill you up. The turkey sandwich and chicken dishes were delicious. My friend said the pork chops were also really good. The ambiance is again, very unique (see pics) and service was exceptional. Trust me, go! read more

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In Fresno for work. Strong recommendation from good friend who used to live in Fresno area,so saw it was 5 minutes from where were meeting and showed up for lunch. What an incredible lunch! Something called the "set up" comes your way before entree. Soup then potato salad bow tie pasta green salad and green beans. What green beans? Yup amazing. The setup--amazing. What here comes my entree---the most tender lamb shank with rice. Delicious! Dessert too? Yup creamy salted caramel ice cream. So good. Want a bucket of that. So yes, without question or hesitation make your way there. Open like noon to 7p. Yup. Don't complain about the hours. Get there when they open and don't be late. read more

Santa Fe Basque Restaurant & Bar - Super tender and delicious lamb shank. - Basque Near Me - Fresno, California

Service and food excellent! Enjoyed the best lunch and it was all I remembered in basque foods

I have been eating here for years and recently recommended it to a friend . I was embarrassed by the food, the portions and the price and won't be going back. My friend had hamburger steak which was ok got very plain food. I had the set up. Zit just the side dishes. The portions were tiny and very plain. Lentils?, a stew of some kind. Meat was not identifiable. A lot of lettuce and some bread, A large tablespoon of potato salad Bill was nearly fifty dollars. The waitress was nice but should have told us what the set up consisted of. I hadn't really had any food so i asked for the crème brule they advertised. They were already out she said. it was 530 pm and we were the only diners. Avoid this restaurant. Sadly, It has gone seriously downhill. read more

Had the most amazing experience at this establishment. I would definitely give them a ten out of five if I could. From the minute we walked in the door it was like being transported back to the old country. Live Basque music, traditional dancing and singing. We brought in a large group and had a wonderful dinner, everything cooked to perfection and at a great price. This restaurant alone would make any trip to Fresno worthwhile. read more

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Santa Fe Basque has been around decades, even being at this location on Maroa for about 25 years. Before the Santa Fe moved from downtown to this location, the restaurant was Casa Canales. The Santa Fe Basque, as with most Basque restaurants, got it start as a boarding house for the Basque sheepherders. Not only did they get a room, they got "board," usually two meals a day, and a place for camaraderie. Meals were served "family style" then and they are still served family style. My visit to Santa Fe Basque was for a large luncheon to celebrate the life of a co-worker. We had a large room, well appointed, and service was very attentive. It was a traditional meal, served family style. Lentil soup. Green salad, potato salad. Chicken/potato stew. Basque style bread. Fried chicken. Ice cream for dessert. Plenty of iced tea. It's sort of like going to your grandma's house for dinner. Comfortable. Good food. Kind service. There is a bar should you be so inclined. Lunch and dinner. read more

Love the endless amounts of delicious food! It is all homemade, nothing served out of a package here! You are usually full before the main entree! Great service, friendly, family own restaurant! You will not be disappointed! read more

Food is amazing our waitress was such a sweet heart and it feels like home and again the food was AMAZING will be back

I love Basque food and have been known to drive to Woolgrowers in Los Banos to eat. Maybe they spoiled me. I found the food at Santa Fe just mediocre. They substituted pasta for the French fries and had a second pasta with the sides. I'll have to give them another try. read more

Felt like trying something different and decided on basque. Service was pretty slow but our waiter acknowledged it and even offered us a free drink, so that was nice. Really love the idea of this type of dining. The sides they had was some garbanzo dish and spaghetti and meatballs, and vegetable soup. We ordered calamari piccata and pork chops for mains. Garbanzo dish was good and so was spaghetti and meatballs. Not sure if the meatballs are house made but the flavor was alright. The vegetable soup had good flavor although a little on the salty end for my tastes. But there weren't much vegetables in it.. it was mostly broth and onions. Calamari was too pounded out for me, so the breading ended up being thicker than the calamari itself for each bite. The piccata sauce with capers was good though. The pork chops were a bit overdone, but good overall. Tried the crème brûlée for dessert, which was actually my favorite part of our dinner - definitely worth that. Our waiter also still served us both the ice cream that comes with the entire meal. Overall a good experience. Definitely needs some decoration upgrades inside, and we were actually kind of cold while having our meal. But definitely Would love to try again since I like the idea of there being different kinds of meals and foods. And portions are more than enough. I think our meal set up might have just been a little plain for us this time. Its worth trying, and of course, we love supporting local businesses. read more

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Okay so...let's start with the most important aspect of a restaurant.....the people!! Everyone of the employees were amazing. Second the food was absolutely delicious . I cannot wait to go back. read more

Santa Fe Basque Restaurant & Bar - Fried chicken reminds me of my Grandma's. - Basque Near Me - Fresno, California

Amazing food and service and lots of extras and hospitality!!! Wow...coworkers and I went on a Wednesday and they were busy but organized and excellent service!!! We will be back for the food (lamb shank special was delicious) and maybe to use their back patio for a work event? Thanks!!! read more

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Just amazing food and service. I love basque food. This place in Fresno is amazing. Split pea soup was so good. The potato salad with shrimp is awesome. read more

This was my first time at the Santa Fe Basque restaurant. I must say our server Amina I totally spelt it wrong. She was the best. Great smile love her hair and she has an amazing past. She made it a great time. The food was delicious. read more

This creme brulee is unbelievable. I took two bites and put down my fork to wrote this review. I can't believe how delicious this is. Ok gotta go the tea is here. read more

Santa Fe Basque Restaurant & Bar - Creme brulee - Basque Near Me - Fresno, California

Amazing food! Amazing atmosphere! Must try! The Basque experience is alive and well! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

So beautiful to go here during the holiday season, it was well decorated with enchanting nutcrackers and Christmas lights and garlands. On Fridays they have clam chowder and they had a number of other specials, one of them being pork chops with Pimentos and roasted garlic. Santa Fe is I think the only Basque restaurant still available for dining in Fresno. One has the choice of an entrée with set up or an entrée and no set up takeoff a few dollars, or just dining on the set up itself. Now the set up is the most important part of eating at a Basque restaurant. The set up are all the side dishes which come with the meal. It's soup first, which rotates. When we went, it was barley soup and being Friday, you could also add on clam chowder for two dollars. My companion had the barley soup and I had the clam chowder. Both were excellent. After the soup course you have all the family style dishes. These include the following: salad with a Basque vinaigrette, sort of like a champagne vinegar, vinaigrette, pickled beets, potato salad, with Bay shrimp, sliced bread, and butter, bowtie pasta with Italian sausage Bolognese sauce. With your entrée the meat dish you usually receive either mashed potatoes and gravy or rice pilaf. The night we went, they were serving mashed potatoes. I had ordered the pork chops with a special pimento and garlic sauce and my friend ordered fried chicken. It was either three or four pieces of fried chicken or on the plate and I had two large boneless pork chops that were breaded and sautéed with the peppers and garlic on them and extra garlic was on the side. Oh my goodness it was so delicious. Then finally for dessert, there was ice cream that was included. This was butter pecan topped with whipped cream. Simply divine. In addition, they have a Basque sangria that they make. Sangria is red wine with fruit and a little sugar. Their sangria was not too sweet, so it just kind of whetted your appetite as an aperitif. Very well done. As a sidenote, I don't even care for beets usually, but I could hear my mother's voice telling me to try everything. So I did have some of the beet salad. And I was pleasantly surprised, and I even had a second helping as it went so well with the green salad and vinaigrette. It was very tasty. Well done, Santa Fe! read more

Santa Fe Basque Restaurant & Bar - Pork chops - Basque Near Me - Fresno, California

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2nd date! The restaurant is nice. Cute holiday decorations! We were greeted upon walking in and the workers are very kind. My date started with with an 805 and I ordered their House Pinot Noir. He said the beer was really good and I loved the House Pinot! They have a lot on the menu! I ordered the Parmesan turkey and avocado sandwich with no mayo little to no oil or butter & jalapeños added. That was no problem! My date ordered the special bacon- wrapped filet They both come with the set up. Pretty awesome! That's bread, butter and split pea soup. We started with that. The split pea soup was really fantastic! Even better with hot sauce! My date really liked it too! Fresh bread as well! Salad brought out next. Fresh and tasty! Potato salad too! Really delicious! After that chicken verde and beans. Fantastic chicken verde! Loved! Chicken cooked perfectly and lots of flavor! Great beans too! My date really loved the beans! He said it was some of the best he's had. Chicken verde is pretty amazing too! That stood out to me! Yummy! Plus, workers checked up on us frequently and were happy to bring water. Our orders were brought shortly later! My sandwich was really delicious! Wow! Fresh and tasty! Great parmesan bread too and the fresh jalapeños added to it made it even better! My date said his was great! Meat was great with the bacon. Great mashed potatoes too! He loved the potatoes sauce! He said it had a lot of flavor! LOTS of leftovers too! Many meals! Fantastic, delicious lunch with Great service! Highly recommended! read more

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A couple of Fridays ago I had a hankering for pickled tongue and Basque. We got a table right away and asked if they had pickled tongue, she and server said yes, I asked because the last time we were there they were out of tongue. The maître d' and server were attentive and courteous. 5 Star. The ambiance is what I expect pleasant family dining. 5 Star. After we ordered we were informed that they were out of pickled tongue. My wife had the fried chicken, and I got sirloin steak. My steak was cooked perfect but was swimming in oil and mushrooms I asked my wife how her chicken was her reply it's ok. The potato salad and green salad was good but the rest of the setup just didn't measure up. For us in our later years and on a fixed income "Dinning Out is a Treat." Gonna have to think really hard before spending another $100.00 Bucks on Basque read more

loved the patatas bravas! Restaurant was very busy at lunch and is a neighborhood fav!

It was outstanding. Food was absolutely delicious. Service was above and beyond and the place is very comfortable feeling. Highly recommended. read more

More food than you can eat. The drinks are good and reasonable. The people make this place! The Bartender (Kelly) is super nice. Treats you like family. The customers are engaging eager to share or leave you alone. Your choice. You get back what you give. You could call this a neighborhood bar but it is so much more. It is a way of life proudly serving the the Basque community and our city ! read more

Had an absolutely incredible dinner here tonight! I got the Calamari Almondine, my partner got the Chicken Casador, and we split both. Everything that comes with The Set Up is great too, they give you so much food and I like how they bring it out in stages so you have time to finish each course. The vibe is really relaxed and cozy, and the staff are friendly. It seems like a great place to come with family/friends to spend time together while eating some good comfort food. I'll definitely be back to try the fried chicken. read more

What you order is not what you get. As with most Basque restaurants, you get set up. I ordered our takeout meal by phone. I thought I ordered the pork chops and fried chicken, but, I got much more. When you get set up here, you also get bread, soup of the day, a side dish of the day, which happened to be linguine and meatballs, a house salad, and a potato salad. I could've just had the set up for dinner, but, I also ordered a fried chicken and a pork chop. The fried chicken was good. It was seasoned well and not too crusty. The pork chop was cooked perfectly. The restaurant was good. Just stay away from the characters at the bar or be prepared for a witty comeback if they say something to you. read more

Best basque restaurant in the Fresno valley Took my dad and mom. Had a great time I love this place never a bad meal read more

Why I haven't reviewed is beyond me. I love this place, I feel like family when I come here, and I also feel nostalgic because I remember coming here with my dad back in the day and the food was already stellar! In the recent years I've been sticking to the bar area, every Saturday they have karaoke and Amber the bartender is a sweetheart! If I get hungry I'll order off their special bar menu. I usually get their delicious sweet potato fries or chicken strips they also have good shrimp cocktail. The crowd is pretty diverse which I love , but for the most part it's usually an older more laid back type of crowd and everyone has fun and makes friends with one another. Great atmosphere! Good drinks , wonderful service and old world charm. read more

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Food was delicious, family style, with Bread n Butter soup, green salad, potato salad with shrimp, beans (ok) rice (ok). Main meals were great. Fried chicken , pork coops, lamb chops and rib eye steak all done right!!! Everything at the table was delicious! Dessert scoop of ice cream or a choice of cream brûlée. Waiter and waitress were amazing and fulfilled our needs throughout meal! Great place for family meal or a gathering of friends.... read more

One of our favorite restaurants in the world. My grandpa loved it and I love it, it's been great for a long time

Fabulous atmosphere of Basque emblems and cordial staff. We went in for the Basque Breakfast and it was excellent. They served ample portions with exquisite wine.The food Bacon,sausage and eggs and variety staples. Definitely plans in future to return . read more

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Weird assortment of food, all of it just almost good. Service was a bit uninformed and the interior hasn't been updated in decades. Not ideal read more

This was recommended by a friend for our stop in Fresno. The food was absolutely delicious and ample (we shared a meal). Service was prompt, friendly (thanks, Lorenzo!). Highly recommend! read more

Such great food and generous portions! The people there are also so nice and friendly. I took my parents for a late lunch, nice and quiet mid afternoon meal. read more

I love chicken liver nite second Thursday of every month. I'm 57 now and have probably been 20 times since I was 14.it is always fabulous.

Came to celebrate my Dad's birthday with family. We had the best time! The food was delicious, and the service was great.

Food was delicious and lots of it our waitress was the best she was kind funny and very helpful, we will definitely be going back

Food was great! Perfect portions. Attentive service. Price was reasonable. I'd return again.

Enjoyed a great weeknight dinner. Had the set up and the calamari almandine. It was so light and delicious with the crunch of almonds. It's the perfect entree to go with all the incredible soup, salad, bread and sides. Loved the pickled beets with blue cheese. I really like how the set up changes so you are getting a different meal experience everytime. Definitely going back for the food, friendly service, music on the patio, trivia night and the jukebox. Can't wait! read more

The best Basque eatery I've been to! Fried chicken is the most popular dish, and for a good reason, too. It's crunchy on the outside. The meat's well seasoned. Spaghetti with meat ball was good. Kalimoxie was interesting, to me it almost tasted like sangria. The servers were exceptional, so friendly and helpful. read more