Santa Fe Basque Restaurant & Bar image

Santa Fe Basque Restaurant & Bar

Restaurant

Long-running, family-owned bar/eatery preparing hearty Basque-American dishes in old-fashioned digs. People often mention Basque, chicken, family, fried, lunch, salad, side, soup, bread, Santa,


Address

3110 N Maroa Ave, Fresno, CA 93704, United States

Website

santafebasque.com

Contact

+1 559-226-7499

Price rating

$$ $$

Rating on Google Maps

4.60 (408 reviews)

Open on Google Maps

Working Hours

  • Monday: 12 to 7 pm
  • Tuesday: 12 to 7 pm
  • Wednesday: 12 to 8 pm
  • Thursday: 12 to 8 pm
  • Friday: 12 to 8 pm
  • Saturday: 12 to 8 pm
  • Sunday: Closed

Featured Reviews


Frequently mentioned in reviews: Basque (14) chicken (14) family (12) fried (10) lunch (9) salad (9) side (8) soup (8) bread (8) Santa (8)
Reviews are sorted by relevance, prioritizing the most helpful and insightful feedback at the top for easier reference.
  • 5/5 Los A. 4 years ago on Google • 629 reviews
    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.
    10 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 R R. 2 years ago on Google • 215 reviews
    The food here is very delicious. The employees are always helpful. Fast refills on all our drinks, and we didn't have to wait long for a our food.
    3 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Angela L. 2 years ago on Google • 76 reviews
    What a cozy little place! Friendly atmosphere, the people that work here are awesome. I had a glass of wine with my lunch, a turkey club sandwich with a side of sweet potato fries and it was perfect. A tad pricey IMO but I had a relaxing, enjoyable lunch. Not too crowded, not too loud. Service was quick and attentive.
    3 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 James J. 8 months ago on Google • 374 reviews
    I had heard about this for years and finally was in the area with enough spare time to stop and enjoy a meal. A very tasty lentil soup, nice green salad, savory bread and I chose the pork loin chops as my entrée , nicely done. The place as very quiet when we were there for lunch but that was a plus. It's an older establishment but in good repair, the bathrooms are clean the parking ample.

  • 5/5 Beverly F. 2 months ago on Google • 77 reviews New
    Amazing, homey food served family style. This is a family owned and operated place and the atmosphere feels comfortable, like going to visit a friend's home. It's been here a long time and maybe is slightly dated, but who cares! The food and service are amazing and that overcomes any trepidation one might have when they first walk in. Highly recommend!
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 jason c. 2 months ago on Google • 162 reviews New
    Poped in for a couple of cocktails. Super chill place. Highly recommended.

  • 5/5 Noel G. 8 months ago on Google
    Santa Fe Basque is an example of how a restaurant should always be: succulent eats, table service that is extraordinarily impeccable, and an eclectic atmosphere that is cozy, quiet, and smothered in conversation pieces. I admire the ceiling above the bar that is pierced with many currency bills. The menu is impressively unstoppable. There is a cuisine for all walks of life, but the juicy fried chicken will bring all to their knees for its flavorful addiction. And when one does decide to patronize this establishment, please do not eat before. You are going to require enough leg room for dessert.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Somsy M. 1 year ago on Google
    First time here, wasn't disappointed, side dishes kept on coming. I was almost full before the main course came out. My waitress was so nice and helpful. Will be back
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 Edmund W. C. 1 year ago on Google
    MUST VISIT! Secret place. Sorry for the low rating but I enjoy the slow traffic at my secret place.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Jayaram S. 2 months ago on Google • 111 reviews New
    Our group had our annual awards dinner here. It's a hidden gem in Fresno. The food and service were great.

  • 5/5 Timothy H. 4 years ago on Google • 70 reviews
    It's been years since we came here. The food was amazing, and you could tell the dishes were made from scratch. Vegetable soup with pasta, potato salad with bay shrimp, chicken in a Basque sauce, northern beans and a smothered 6 oz sirloin. (Biggest 6 oz steak I've ever seen.) The service was on point, 100% and the experience was perfect. A great place for my birthday dinner!

  • 5/5 Virginia Y. 2 months ago on Google • 9 reviews New
    You won't regret eating here. It's a wonderful place for a casual, sit down family dinner. The food is simple and cooked deliciously with love. I no longer live in Fresno, but I still dream about the setup.

  • 5/5 Matt W. 1 year ago on Google
    Came in from out of town and found this lovely place. Kuku was our server and she did a fantastic job. I had the lamb chops and my friend had the fish both prepared in an excellent fashion. Highly recommend!!! Thanks for a great meal!

  • 5/5 Andres R. 1 year ago on Google
    I was informed that you better arrive with a large appetite. Well, this location did not disappoint. The service is the best part of the night. Not once did we have to ask for anything. Our servers were attentive to our needs and anticipated our wants. The food was excellent and was delivered promptly. When you come here you are treated like family.

  • 5/5 Jerrold K. 1 year ago on Google
    Basque restaurants are popular in Central California. The meals I like best are served family style. I selected pork chops and my buddy got fried chicken, and we split them between us. Starting with a tasty soup with plenty of sourdough bread with butter, followed by courses of green salad, beans, macaroni salad, potato salad, your main course, then dessert. If you go away hungry, you must be sick! Served family style with communal bowls, it was great for our group of 16. Plenty of selections of wine, sangria, beers on tap and bottles or cans, plus mixed drinks. The Santa Fe Basque Restaurant moved to near-north Fresno from its former location across from the downtown Santa Fe railroad depot. Plenty of its ambiance was carried to their new location and has taken root. It's a popular spot!

  • 4/5 Bat M. 11 months ago on Google
    Home style dining, relaxing atmosphere, escape the normal restaurant experience and enjoy a friendly low key dinner with friends and family. Prices are realistic and the food is prepared daily. Be responsible as the Bartender makes the good drinks 🥳🤪🙃

  • 5/5 Jerome S. 9 months ago on Google
    My wife and I dined with another couple who had never been to a Basque Restaurant. We all ordered a entree with the setup. Each of us ordered calamari piccata or almandine. Cookoo was our waitress who treated us very well. All of us enjoyed our food and took boxes home for another meal.

  • 4/5 Ashley B. 11 months ago on Google
    While I appreciate the old school, family-owned vibe and aesthetic, and while our server was the nicest lady ever, I thought the menu seemed far more American than Basque. That being said our corquetas, pickled tongue and chicken livers were pretty tasty! Just be ready, we are nearly 40 and I think we were the youngest people in there by at least a couple decades.

  • 4/5 ANDRE B. 10 months ago on Google
    Overall food was good except the green beans were terrible and soup too salty. They could eliminate green beans and replace with French fries and salsa. Salsa and fries are usually served at Basque restaurants

  • 5/5 Kat H. 1 year ago on Google
    We were so happy to find a local place that is in business! We are charmed by this place. Great service, huge portions, charming family style dining. You can tell the locals cone here often.

  • 5/5 Maternall 1 year ago on Google
    Amazing place! We were travelling from Sequoia National Park to Yosemite and we stopped to have lunch. The food was so good and the barman and waiters were really nice. Recommended 100% Eskerrik asko

  • 5/5 A.S. T. 1 year ago on Google
    Took our family of 6 to celebrate our son's 2nd birthday for lunch. The kids loved it. My oldest got a chicken dish with a white creamy sauce and capers it smelled amazing and she said it was delicious. My older son got the pork chops also delicious. My toddler daughter got fried chicken and my birthday boy also got fried chicken. They loved it. My husband and I got the fried chicken with roasted garlic on top best fried chicken ever. Crunchy and the flavor goes all the way through to the bone. It's moist and delicious. The meals are served family style with 6 or 7 courses. The main dish comes out just before dessert. To start soup of the day (minestrone this time) and warm bread and butter, followed by salad, then some beans, and a shrimp potato salad, and a posts and meatballs then the main dishes then dessert. It's a lovely and clean welcoming atmosphere. The waitress is quick and friendly. Such a lovely family run Basque Restaurant. The people, the place, the food, the atmosphere, the flavors, are absolutely beautiful and amazing. The cost is reasonable. There's plenty of food. You do not leave hungry, but you do leave wanting to come back for more. I have been coming here since my teen years with my father and now with my family too. I highly recommend the Shields and Moroa location. I have gone once to the one down town, but the best experiences and flavors have always been at the Shields and Moroa location.

  • 5/5 Brenda V. 1 year ago on Google
    One of the best restaurants in town. The food is outstanding. The sangria is delicious. We come here on a weekly basis and we've never been disappointed by any of the food we've had here. Truly a great atmosphere and even better people. The service is the best. A MUST place to visit in Fresno.

  • 5/5 Ashton M. 2 years ago on Google • 2 reviews
    What a wonderful delight! Today my friend and I decided to revisit the Santa Fe Basque - it's been many years since either of us had enjoyed a meal there. My friend decided to take me there for lunch and what a fun, tasty and enjoyable lunch it was! We both ordered the full "set up". First in line was their lentil soup and baguette bread! Oh, heavenly! The first spoonful of soup and I knew that this was a lunch that would never be forgotten. As I knew what was in store for us with the rest of the courses, at first I thought I should forego the bread. Oh, what the heck! it is my birthday, try the bread! The bread rivals any bread that I have tasted in the Fresno area! Fresh with a crisp crust and oh, so soft inside. The lentil soup was so divine that I had to order a side to take home! The salad was nothing to shout about, but never mind, the potato salad with shrimp was wonderful and the rice side dish was to die for! My friend ordered the fried chicken as she remembered from the past how awesome it was and she wasn't disappointed! I was hoping that they had the lamb shanks as a side dish this day, but my prayers weren't answered for the lamb shank. I opted for the chicken fried steak as a side dish instead. Forget the lamb shank, this chicken fried steak was like none I'd ever had before! The gravy was extremely creamy, thick and smooth and with a flavor that I will dream about for years to come. Mash potatoes that rival any potatoes my mom has ever made. And the chicken fried stead was fabulous! The vegetable side was green beans. When you get the green beans as a side, it's not your run of the mill green beans, they have been stewed with potatoes, sausage and onions in a wonderful broth. Everything served at the Santa Fe Basque was expertly and freshly prepared. You know you're getting a fabulous "home cooked meal". Comfort food as good as it gets! Dominique, our waitress, was attentive as any waitress could ever be. She was timely, served all our requests immediately. She was pleasant without interfering with our meal and was informative when we asked about the history of the restaurant, the chef and all of the dishes. We are planning on heading back to the Santa Fe Basque for our annual friendship Christmas lunch. I also plan on taking another friend here for his birthday at the end of November. Remember that the Santa Fe Basque has a rich history in Fresno. It's a well-respected old time restaurant that many long-time Fresnans have known and grown to love. Give yourself a treat and go for the food and enjoy the ambiance of days gone by at the Santa Fe Basque, Fresno, CA. You won't be disappointed!
    4 people found this review helpful 👍


Call +1 559-226-7499 Open on Google Maps

Amenities


  • Parking
    • ✓️ Free parking lot
    • ✓️ Plenty of parking
  • Payments
    • ✓️ Debit cards
    • ✓️ Credit cards
    • ✓️ NFC mobile payments
  • Offerings
    • ✓️ Beer
    • ✓️ Wine
    • ✓️ Coffee
    • ✓️ Alcohol
    • ✓️ Spirits
    • ✓️ Cocktails
    • ✓️ Comfort food
    • ✓️ Small plates
    • ✓️ Vegetarian options
  • Popular for
    • ✓️ Lunch
    • ✓️ Dinner
    • ✓️ Solo dining
  • Accessibility
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible toilet
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible seating
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible car park
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible entrance
  • Dining options
    • ✓️ Lunch
    • ✓️ Brunch
    • ✓️ Dinner
    • ✓️ Dessert
    • ✓️ Seating
  • Service options
    • ✓️ Dine-in
    • ✓️ Delivery
    • ✓️ Takeaway
    • ✓️ Kerbside pickup
    • ✓️ Outdoor seating

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