Back when Buber’s Basque Page was still in its infancy, Charles Shaffer sent me a list he had curated of Basque restaurants in the United States. The list has evolved a lot since then, with restaurants coming and going. Many old favorites have closed while many new, diverse places have opened. The list went stagnant for a long while and I’m trying to revive it. If you have a restaurant to add to the list, or an update on an existing entry, let me know.

Below is the original introduction by Charles.

If you have never been to a Basque restaurant then you have missed something special. In the United States, these are little- known places that you will have to seek out, but the delicious food is well worth the effort. It is hoped that this list will help you find one near you or make it possible for you to visit one on a future trip. Help keep these restaurants in business! Note: It is strongly recommended that you telephone before planning a visit to verify current hours and days of operation, and to confirm that they are still in fact serving Basque dinners.

Meals are typically served family style. Occasionally you may be seated at a long table with others; this is most likely to occur at the historic hotels. Dinner will be delivered in courses: soup and bread, salad, beans, french fries, and a meat entree. Lamb is popular, but so are beef, pork, and chicken, and occasionally seafood is available. Sometimes you will have a choice among two or three entrees, but everything else will just arrive at your table. A dessert of ice cream will probably be included.

There will be plenty of food; this is not a light meal. The meal check will be moderate, but you will be full! You may find that the hearty food at typical Basque restaurants reminds you somewhat of other southern European cuisines. It should be mentioned that a very few Basque restaurants in urban areas of the West Coast may serve meals more resembling that of fancy French restaurants.

A house red table wine usually accompanies the meal, typically chilled and slightly off-dry. To sample the national drink, order a picon punch before or after dinner.

Basque restaurants are most likely to be located in areas where many sheep were once grazed on the open range. This is generally the Great Basin of northern Nevada, the Central Valley of California, and the Snake River Plain of Idaho. Early Basque immigrants to America were for the most part single men who came seeking sheepherding work. Many arrived by railroad, with little or no English language skills. For this reason Basque hotels and their restaurants were frequently located near the train station, and some of them still are.

With thanks to Deke Castleman (Nevada Handbook, Moon Publications, Inc.), Sunset Magazine, the late California Magazine, and the Winnemucca Hotel.

This list is also available on the Internet. I am grateful to Blas Pedro Uberuaga for posting it on his Basque page on the World Wide Web at: http://www.buber.net/Basque/

The restaurants are listed by state and city. Please help keep this list up-to-date by sending all additions, corrections, or deletions to: Charles L. Shaffer, 3120 N.E. 80th St., Seattle, WA 98115-4740.

A note from Blas: several of these restaurants have closed since originally being listed on this page. I’m keeping them listed here for their “historical” value. It should be evident which restaurants are closed by the coloring.