Pyrenees Basque Restaurant

Pyrenees  Basque Restaurant – Bakersfield, CA

What is the best Basque Restaurant in Bakersfield?  Or, what is my favorite Basque Restaurant in Bakersfield?

I’ve tried them all, multiple times.  I made my 3^rd or 4^th visit to Pyrenees last night (Thursday).  I heard of the nightly dinner specials.  And Thursday night is New York steak and Ravioli.  I ate in the bar where the darling bartender put on the L.A. Kings hockey game for me.  Since I was dining solo, this seemed more enjoyable than sitting alone in the back dining room.

The restaurant is about a hundred years old.  And the bar is about 30 ft. long.  The foot rail along the bar looks like lead pipe and has holes worn along the top where people’s feet have worn through.  The beer is kept cold in an old ice box with a big heavy door behind the bar.  And the floors are old wood planks.  The dining room in back is a series on long tables.  Only a hand full of diners there last night. 

I ordered the steak and ravioli special and a glass of Wild Horse Cab.  The soup, bread, salsa and beans come out first, typical of a Bakersfield Basque experience.  The soup for one was served in a bowl too large for one.  It was watery and had less body and flavor than Noriega or Benji’s.  Noriega and Benji’s have the best soup.  And the salsa had too much garlic and onions in it for my taste.  My salsa is better. 

My salsa recipe:  One large can of diced tomatoes, ½ white onion diced, 3 or 4 jalapenos (roasted on the stove top), a small hand full cilantro, Pulse in a food processor to the chunkiness of your choice.

The salad, pickled tongue, marinated vegetables came next after a pleasant wait while I enjoyed the game.   I ordered some blue cheese to go with the salad and bread.  I like buttered French bread with a couple slices of pickled tongue and a spoon of salsa on it.  I did not care for the salad as much as I do at the other Basque restaurants.  The pickled tongue was good though.  But the creamy sauce that Benji’s puts on their tongue makes it my favorite.

Sometime it’s hard to hold back and save room for the entrées when Basque dining.  But I did save room for the ravioli.  It was served with fries and a small dish of canned corn.  It had a nice tomato based sauce on it and was good with more bread and butter. 

The New York steak was served at the end.  It was about 12 oz. and I had ordered it with blue cheese topping.  It was a nice steak about ¾” thick, seasoned well and juicy.  I would have to say it’s a better steak than the ones served on Tuesday night at Noriega Hotel.  I really like the blue cheese topping.  It was creamed and added after the steak was cooked.  I ordered a 2^nd glass of cab with the steak.  The Wild Horse is a safe bet when ordering wine in a restaurant.  It’s always good and reasonably priced.

Would you believe me if I told you that the dinner was only $12.95 (plus 0.50 for the side of blue cheese).  The wine was reasonable as the bill totaled $21-$22. The steak was good, but the soup and salad are such an integral part of the dinner,  that I have to give the other Basque restaurants a higher rating. 

To answer the question at the top of the page, my favorite Basque restaurant in Bakersfield is Benji’s.  With Noriega Hotel coming in a close second, depending on what they are serving on any given night.