region

California

Kern County holds more Basque dining rooms than any county in the United States. The rest of the state runs from a members' club in South San Francisco to a tasting counter in West Hollywood.

Why Bakersfieldcited

Basque men came to the southern San Joaquin to run sheep, and the boarding houses that fed them clustered by the Bakersfield rail yard on Sumner and East 19th. The houses outlasted the trade. Two of them still serve on the same streets.

The spreadinference

A room in Chino keeps a monthly boarders' table. A club in South San Francisco opened its dining room to anyone. A counter in West Hollywood files itself under Basque and Catalan. Same state, four different answers to what a Basque restaurant is.

Pictures

The Arthur S. Crites Building at the SW corner of 19th and Eye Streets. Originally built in 1901 by J.B. Berges for the Redlick Brothers department store who occupied the entire building until 1911. D — The Arthur S. Crites Building at the SW corner of 19th and Eye Streets. Originally built in 1901 by J.B. Berges for the Redlick Brothers department store who oc
Publichall · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons

The rooms (14)

Room	Town	Seating	Dinner	Picon	Week
The Brass Rail	Alturas	long table	not published	yes	MTWTFSS
Benji's French Basque Restaurant	Bakersfield	own table	not published	not published	MTWTFSS
Chalet Basque	Bakersfield	long table	not published	not published	MTWTFSS
Noriega Hotel	Bakersfield	long table	not published	not published	MTWTFSS
Pyrenees Café	Bakersfield	long table	not published	not published	MTWTFSS
Wool Growers Restaurant	Bakersfield	own table	$22–$46	yes	MTWTFSS
Centro Basco	Chino	both	not published	not published	MTWTFSS
Taylor's Café	Chino	own table	not published	not published	MTWTFSS
Santa Fe Basque Restaurant	Fresno	not published	not published	not published	MTWTFSS
Glendora Continental Restaurant	Glendora	own table	not published	not published	MTWTFSS
Wool Growers Restaurant	Los Banos	long table	not published	not published	MTWTFSS
Dom's Taverna	Santa Barbara	own table	not published	not published	MTWTFSS
Zazpi at the Basque Cultural Center	South San Francisco	own table	not published	not published	MTWTFSS
Somni	West Hollywood	counter	$645–$785	not published	MTWTFSS

Kin

Wool Growers Restaurantroomthe Bakersfield room with the fullest record here← the state this room sits in

Title: Gateway to the scenic west, Hotel Humboldt, Winnemucca, Nevada
Subjects: Hotels
Places: Nevada > Humboldt (county) > Winnemucca
Notes: Title from item.
Extent: 1 print (postcard) : linen

Nevadaregionthe state next door, with the same trade behind it← the state next door, with the same trade behind it Benji's French Basque Restaurantroom← the state this room sits in The Brass Railroom← the state this room sits in Centro Bascoroom← the state this room sits in Chalet Basqueroom← the state this room sits in Dom's Tavernaroom← the state this room sits in Glendora Continental Restaurantroom← the state this room sits in

A 2011 dinner menu for Noriega Hotel in Bakersfield, California

Noriega Hotelroom← the state this room sat in Pyrenees Caféroom← the state this room sits in Santa Fe Basque Restaurantroom← the state this room sits in Somniroom← the state this counter sits in Taylor's Caféroom← the state this room sits in Wool Growers Restaurantroom← the state this room sits in Zazpi at the Basque Cultural Centerroom← the state this room sits in

Graves belonging to Basque immigrants and their descendants buried in Morris Hill Cemetery, Boise, Idaho, USA.

Idahoregion← the third state in this directory

Sources

Basque Restaurants — Southern California — Euskal Kazeta, directory · read 2026-09-16
The Beauty of Bakersfield's Basque Cuisine — PBS SoCal / KCET, public television · read 2026-09-16
Basque Americans in California — Wikipedia, encyclopedia · read 2026-09-16
Bakersfield Basque — Visit Bakersfield, visitor bureau · read 2026-09-16

Record provenance: cited · confidence high · updated 2026-09-16