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    Shepherd's Inn

    3.8 (179 reviews)
    ModerateBasque, American

    Shepherd's Inn Photos

    SHEPHERD'S INN ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Dogs allowed
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Shepherd's Inn

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    Closed Coffee Shop :/
    Dave W.

    Saw this place features on Undercover Billionaire. Sad to say but this business is CLOSED. Not sure what happened to this little place but the surrounding area is dead and not the best part of town. I feel bad for the owner who let this lady run this place into the ground.

    Not many places have a bar like this!
    Elk Grove News N.

    As someone who has long appreciated Basque restaurants, especially those in Nevada, it was pleasing to find a good one right here in the Central Valley. For those not familiar with food at a Basque restaurant, let me start by saying if you are foodie looking for some extravagant dining experience, they will not probably fit your bill. If on the other hand, if you enjoy a hearty meal, with generous portions, you'll like these establishments. We came in on a Friday afternoon just as happy hour started and began with two appetizers - warmed pickled beef tongue and fried chicken livers in green bell pepper and onion. The dining room was not yet open, but the ladies behind the bar were more than happy to serve us at the bar. I ask you, where can you find this as an appetizer? Not many places I can think off. They were great. Oh, we enjoyed our appetizers with a few picon punch cocktails - a drink you will not likely find in anyplace other than a Basque restaurant and bar. It is a staple, and the bartenders mixed them perfectly. As for dinner - which after the hearty appetizers meant a lot more food coming was served Basque style, which is family style. We had their garlic fried chicken and Friday fish special which was Cod topped with clams and mussels, and both were fine. Like other Basque restaurants, they offered several types of lamb. We are big lamb fans and often make it at home, so we decided to do something a little different and were pleased with our choices. Along with the clam chowder, salad, bread, beans, and potato salad, we ended up taking home most of our entrees which was fine by us. The staff was really nice. Shepherd's Inn is the type of place where there are a lot of regulars, but the staff and the patrons gave off a good vibe. If we lived nearby, we too would probably become regulars. The location in downtown Fresno was easy to find, and we were lucky to find a meter spot by the restaurant. The restaurant is across from the bus and Amtrak station has some sketchy characters milling around, but we didn't feel unsafe. The building is non-descript, but once inside the bar is unique. If nothing else stop for a drink and look at the bar - they are not made this way anymore. If you have the opportunity to stop for lunch, dinner or even happy hour while going through or visiting Fresno stop by - you will not be disappointed.

    Pickled Tongue appetizer for $6.50. Lightly warmed and absolutely delicious
    Wendy B.

    My heart skipped a beat when I saw Shepherd's Inn for the first time. You will find it in a run down brick building, downtown. The restaurant has probably been its same location for 70 + years. Half bar, half restaurant. No pretense, long family style tables, wait staff and owner all friendly. They make you feel like you have been coming here your whole life. This is REAL Basque hospitality, real Basque food, and a really legitimate Basque hang out. This is Basque land. Our meal entrees for the night (Saturday), a huge rib eye steak (beautifully med rare and tender) and 4 pcs of the best garlic fried chicken you can imagine. But hold on to your seat. And start thinking....to-go boxes.... immediately. Mr. B opted for the Basque style meal. That includes AYCE soup and salad, potato salad, beans, stew, bread and butter, fries, and the entree. Oh yes, and a small cup of ice cream. Wisely, I chose the American style. That means I could choose between soup and salad. I got bread and butter, and a choice of starch (rice or potato). They always excel with french fries, so that was my choice. I knew I could nibble off Mr. B's sides and not even make a dent. We also ordered an appetizer, the pickled beef tongue, and with absolutely no regrets. The tongue came out first. Warm, thinly sliced, drizzled with good olive oil, garlic and herbs, a pile of meat that actually could have been the whole meal for the two of us. That and the AYCE salad and we could have left. But here comes the sides for the day....chicken noodle soup (good not great), the potato salad with small bits of tender shrimp (yummy), the homemade beef stew (loved it), the ranch style beans with chunks of hock. We sampled each, but knew there was much more coming. (P.S., yet another visit yielded a clam chowder that was surprisingly good. But that of course is on Fridays.) The meal, superb. The service, wonderful. The price, well, it doesn't get any better. We lugged home 6 small containers, enough food to feed us for three more days. And we have enjoyed every minute of it. And the bill? $53. This is such a bargain, and such a winner of a meal. You will not regret the experience.

    I cut into the edge of my "well-done" steak -- and this is AFTER I sent it back for more cooking.
    Barbara P.

    Okay, it's a fun and different place to take out of town guests, and sometimes in the past the food has been good. Even tonight, for example, the potato soup, the potato salad, the green salad and the pork stew were all tasty. And the Picon punch was extremely small, but also tasty. But when you order a steak well done (yeah, I know it's not a foodie thing to do, but that is how I like my steak), and it comes back completely raw and red, and then you cheerfully and politely send it back, asking again that it be well done, and then (1) it comes back completely red, still, and (2) you can't bring yourself to eat a bite of it, and (3) you never see the waitress again until she asks you "Would you like a box for that?" ****that's a one-star experience.**** Yes, I'd love to bring this cold, raw steak home, the steak that I ordered well done...TWICE. I leave my $20 steaks uneaten ALL THE TIME. That's how I roll. Really bad experience. The waitress disappearing also meant that we never got to order more drinks either or ask for ketchup for the kids' fries (well, we grabbed some from another table) -- or get any kind of service. My husband, who never complains about food at all, didn't like his leg of lamb, either. The man loves lamb. He got little slices of lamb, not on the bone. He said it tasted like it had been "sitting around" and it wasn't fully warmed up. He said the gravy tasted like canned gravy (and not even canned "lamb" gravy, if there is such a thing) and the dish wasn't heated up enough so that the gravy was fully liquid. It was just glop. In other words, it was a very disappointing meal. There's no excuse for a person receiving a red steak when she ordered it well done -- TWICE -- and then never checking back, or acknowledging "Hey, she never touched this -- maybe it really sucked -- I wonder if I can help make this situation right." Nope. I guess it's much easier to ignore it. I will be adding a picture of my steak -- AFTER it came back from being sent back for additional cooking. And mind you, this is the edge piece I cut into. The center is probably fully raw. Yuck!

    Lamb Steak
    Kevin D.

    I like the no-frills feel of this place, at least the restaurant part (didn't go in the bar). It does look like I imagine a budget Mom and Pop would have in the 50s or before. Some may object, because it's not a low+budget place today. Basque dinners are mostly in the low 20s, and specials in the 30s. I thought the lamb dishes were average, especially the non-special ones: the quality of the meat was not great - this is typical of the shoulder cuts, but perhaps sous vide would have improved it. Chicken dishes, pastas, the lamb stew side dish, all were good, and the European style potato salad was particularly tasty (a lot like Argentinean maionesa). We had a hankering for Basque that night despite not being in Bakersfield, and this place satisfied. Oh, a one word comment: garlic! They did ask if we wanted it.

    Top sirloin
    Michael L.

    I am quite happy with myself for following my gut feeling in picking this restaurant. It is across the street from the greyhound station and it gets dodgy at night but what I like about this joint is that it is unpretentious, from the way it looks to the matter-of-fact attitude of the bartender and servers. This is my kind of place! I got the Boneless pork chop $16.95 and the girlfriend had the Top sirloin $21.95. We went with the basque style, which is a 7 course meal consisting of bread/butter, soup, salad, potato salad, side dish of the day, which happened to be beef stew and ice cream for dessert. For folks who don't want to stuff themselves silly, they offer the Shepherd's meal at $13.95, which gives you all of the basque style items listed above without the main entree. Not bad at all..... I like that they have a Decent Liquor list at very good prices too. For Example, old fashioned cocktail for $9 And a flight of Jim Beam consisting of 4 shots is just $12. Yeah, my kind of place.

    Side salad with vinaigrette blu cheese dressing
    Vanida B.

    What a hidden gem! So I've heard about this place over the years and it never dawned on me to try it just because it definitely has mixed reviews in my circle of friends. I happened to go with a regular and there are special signature cocktails. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to reveal the one I had, so I won't. It was so delicious and part of that is because the bartender squeezed an entire fresh orange into the drink. It's by far THE best cocktail I've had in Fresno, hands down. I've been to lots of places and it seems like most drinks taste watered down or not potent. The cocktails here are delicious and have the perfect blend. You have to try the lamb lollipops! It comes with choice of soup or salad and rice pilaf. The rice pilaf is standard, but the lamb lollipops are incredible!! They are wayyyy better than the lamb I had at The Elderberry House in Oakhurst (which is at least 3 times more expensive). They don't taste gamey at all. Melts in your mouth and has great seasoning. Let's talk about the environment for a little bit. It's right next to the train station so depending on when you go, it might be very tough to find parking. Downtown is a bit sketchy. Just like Forrest Gump says "You never know what you're going to get." I would definitely NOT go alone at night. When you walk in, it is a bar atmosphere and dimly lit. In the 2 times I've been there (once for lunch and once for happy hour) it doesn't appear to be kid friendly, which is fine - it's a bar! An eclectic mix of people for sure come here. I can definitely see this as my go to place when I'm downtown. I'm so happy I was introduced to it!

    Pasta!
    Ritu K.

    Wowwww! The ambiance and food is great here! I felt comfortable here. Everyone looked so happy. The food was so goooooood! The Italian dressing on the salad was amazing! My fettuccini alfredo pasta was great. No complaints! I will definitely come back for more for sure. A nice little plus is the area around the restaurant might look shady but keep walking and you will find that it's actually a verrrrry nice area. It won't feel like Fresno. If you are facing the restaurant, walk west and you will run into the nice area.

    Outside sign

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    11 months ago

    Awesome place, clean, fast service, friendly people working there. I highly recommend visiting atleast once if you are visiting this area.

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    Old coffee inn has some inside seating. Got the honey cinnamon latte which had great taste. Amazing customer service

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    Page 1 of 5

    Shepherd's Inn Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Shepherd's Inn

    Cosmopolitan Tavern

    Cosmopolitan Tavern

    4.0(452 reviews)
    0.3 mi
    $$

    Where do I begin? I hate using the words hidden gem because every social foodie's review is over…read moresaturated with this term. But Cosmopolitan BLEW ME AWAY! I don't go to Fresno ever and I was blessed to be invited to dine with a group of ladies at this OUTSTANDING gem of a restaurant. From the street view the building is very non-descript except for the name across the awning. But once you park in the lot and walk through the doors you discover a beautiful dimly lit restaurant with a fully stocked bar. We sat in the private room since we were a rather large party, so a lot of us really took our time to browse the menu. Our server Felix was extremely courteous and patient not to mention professional. He took our drink orders first, let us gab and then came back for our food orders. He gave us the specials before we decided. When the food came out, our orders were perfect. I was beyond satisfied with my choice. The texture on the salmon was crispy but not dry and the pasta flavor was subtly spicy. Truly sublime! I was sad I was too full to finish my meal. Judy came by our table to refill our water carafe and none of us knew who she was. Quietly returning and very unassuming, we asked her name and began to learn she as the matriarch of the family behind the establishment. What a joy to have met her and she raved about her son Joe, the chef and shared the history about the restaurant. At the end of the meal we all indulged in some tiramisu. When Judy learned that we were there for a PTA convention, she shared she used to teach as well. What a treasure! I was beyond impressed with this restaurant. Everyone was courteous and attentive, cocktails and food were superb! If I ever return to Fresno, this is a MUST! Cannot recommend enough. For now I get to live vicariously through the reviews of all the other recommendations of meals to try. thank you cosmopolitan!

    Rechelle was absolutely hard carrying the floor on her back while providing EXCEPTIONAL service and…read morewas so sweet. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was really nice as well if id ever come down to fresno again id love to come back!

    Photos
    Cosmopolitan Tavern - Dining area and bar

    Dining area and bar

    Cosmopolitan Tavern - Watching my carbs...

    Watching my carbs...

    Cosmopolitan Tavern

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    Libelula - BISCUIT & GRAVY * housemade butter biscuit, house gravy, single

    Libelula

    4.3(417 reviews)
    0.6 mi
    $$

    I will begin by saying that the road work that is being done around the restaurants location is…read moredefinitely a big inconvenience when it comes to finding parking. However, it is definitely worth it! For a while now I have been wanting to try this place and finally for around to it. The staff was great very kind and friendly as soon as we walked in. Our waitress was amazing, she was always checking up on us, making sure we had everything we needed it and that we were comfortable. I ordered the Fried Chicken Biscuit with Tater tots and for my drink I ordered the OG Lemonade. Starting with the sandwich, the chicken was nice and juicy, very crunchy as well. The flavor of the chicken was very good as well. The buscuit added that nice hint of sweetness that just tied the whole thing together. The tater tots were definitely crunchy, which I loved. They give you a very well serving of tater tots. I did not end up finishing mine, but they had great taste and texture. The lemonade was very refreshing, and it just hit that spot so well. It was appealing to the eye and tasted like freshly squeezed lemonade. Overall experience was 10/10, I would come back. The place gives off vintage coffee shop vibes even though it is not a coffee shop. Seating is definitely very limited inside. However, they do have outdoor tables with umbrellas which is a nice touch. Price-wise I would say it is a bit pricier compared to other similar restaurants I have visited. The total came out to $45 for two plates of the chicken biscuit and two lemonades.

    We stopped in to celebrate a birthday as well as support the business as I know they have been…read moredealing with the negative impacts of street closures. But while the food was delicious as usual, everything else was surprisingly mediocre. Despite not being busy when we arrived, we had to wait over an hour for our food and watched while other couples received theirs and ate before us, despite coming in 15-20 minutes later than us. And even though it all tasted great, my food was cold, as if it had been sitting for a while. We were told a couple of large to-go orders came in that disrupted the timing of our food, but in reality, it seems like our order got lost in the mix. It finally came 70 minutes after we arrived, and I was surprised that when my partner asked for a refill of their tea (which they naturally finished well before our food came), they charged them for a second drink and didn't even offer to comp the refill for the long delay. I don't expect freebies when I go out, but it just seemed like we were more of an inconvenience to them than anything. It's unfortunate because their food is always great and I want to see them continue to succeed, especially during this difficult time with road construction outside. But this was a pretty frustrating experience, and will unfortunately make me hesitant to dine-in again in the near future.

    Photos
    Libelula - Decorations

    Decorations

    Libelula - Benedict- Pork- English muffin, sous vide eggs, braised pork, hollandaise $16

    Benedict- Pork- English muffin, sous vide eggs, braised pork, hollandaise $16

    Libelula

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    Mark's Kitchen - Sweet and sour chicken combo

    Mark's Kitchen

    3.7(544 reviews)
    2.8 mi
    $$

    I first discovered Mark's Kitchen from a video that popped up on my fyp on TikTok a few years ago,…read moreand I was like "I got to try this place one day because it does look bomb!" Hahaha I got to visit them last year at end of February. They have plenty of parking in their lot. The place looks nothing special, but it's that animated lady and the food that makes it fantastic! :) When we got there, the place was pretty full. Most people ordered their normal items. You don't see "Bomb Ass Shit" on their menu because it's a secret item, but the lady wears a shirt promoting the "Bomb Ass Shit"! LOL.. We got the Bomb Ass Shit of course along with two drinks. We found a table in the back and waited for our food. Not too long later, our number was called. As we're approaching the counter, she's happily recording with her phone while I was trying to record too, but unfortunately, I forgot to push on the "start" button so I didn't get any footage. Thank goodness that she was filming so I just save her video from her page later that day! :) She's so interactive, funny, and happy! She definitely made the experience fun! She asked if I was Korean, and I was like "No, I'm Chinese." She told me that she's Cambodian. The food was big portioned and very tasty! We'd loved it! We also couldn't finish it all between the two of us even though it was just one order of Bomb Ass Shit. They have a restroom on the side of the place which you have to get a code to enter. It was clean. I would definitely return again the next time I'm passing through the area! :)

    What an experience!!! And a very great first time. I came in being cursed at for waiting in the…read moreparking lot for so long but when it was time to order she wasted no time getting straight to business and ensuring I got what the F*** I wanted. The meal she said I'd like was the " Bomb Ass Shit" and let me tell ya it was packed with some great flavor!!' The fried rice was so good I never been much of a chow mein person, but this fried rice was really savory. I also enjoyed the spicy beef it has some great season and the beef was cooked so well you could till this place took pride in the meats it's served and the fresh produce as well, I killed all my broccoli hahah. I had enough on my plate for two people but I ate as much as I could and brought the rest back home. Pro tip: cook and over medium egg the next morning, warm the rice on a frying pan or Nuke it, place the over medium egg on top of this amazing fried rice and you got yourself a bomb breakfast. The ambiance is spacey, relaxing and clean, before I walked in they were mopping the floors and cleaning all tables so I know how clean it is and how thorough they were to make sure it was prepared for the rush on a Friday evening. Overall I really enjoyed me Experience, people complain about the price but for me that was more than enough food for two people and the quality of meat, produce, chicken and authenticity of style of cooking, and that personality when you first come in is something you can't pay for, and an experience worth trying. I'll be back again and thank you for the amazing food.

    Photos
    Mark's Kitchen - The inside of the restaurant.

    The inside of the restaurant.

    Mark's Kitchen - Teriyaki Chicken

    Teriyaki Chicken

    Mark's Kitchen - Menu board

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    Menu board

    Ho Ho Kafe - Vegetable chow mein

    Ho Ho Kafe

    4.4(155 reviews)
    0.8 mi
    $

    This place is pure nostalgia for me. I've been coming here since I was a kid, and even though it's…read moregone through three different owners, the current owners are doing an amazing job keeping it going strong. The menu is very versatile with so many great options. One thing I really enjoy is being able to watch the cooks prepare the food it adds to the experience. In some cultures, people prefer to see their food being made, and it's honestly nice to sit and watch your meal come together. The gravy here is truly something special. There are times I crave just their gravy and rice it's that good. Their Chinese food is also very flavorful and authentic, and they'll make it just how you like it. The staff has always been great. I've been coming here for years, and they've really built relationships with their customers. When my parents passed, they even extended their condolences, which meant a lot. They've seen generations of people come through, and you can tell they genuinely care. It's the kind of place where the love between the staff and the customers goes both ways.

    Stopped by here for breakfast on our way up north. It's the Asian American combo of dreams…read more Pancakes, omelette with chow mein and rice. We got the omelette, side of pancakes and combination chow mein all for $31. That is insane in this economy. Might I add the portions were HUGE and made another complete meal for us at home. They were so sweet and nice in there and food tasted great. Highly recommend!

    Photos
    Ho Ho Kafe - Having Breakfast at Ho Ho's ,love this place.

    Having Breakfast at Ho Ho's ,love this place.

    Ho Ho Kafe - #2, Chorizo and eggs with onions, hash brown, and toast.

    #2, Chorizo and eggs with onions, hash brown, and toast.

    Ho Ho Kafe - 2 huge fluffy pancakes, 2 eggs , 4 thick slices of bacon $10 Hot Chocolate $2

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    2 huge fluffy pancakes, 2 eggs , 4 thick slices of bacon $10 Hot Chocolate $2

    Shepherd's Inn - basque - Updated June 2026

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