Benji's French Basque Restaurant

Mmmmm...Basque food! Third time I have been to Bakersfield for Basque food. Hotel Noriega is closed so the wife and I went here. She had never had Basque food and I was afraid I had oversold it. Benji's did me proud though and she loved it. She found she liked pickled tongue and the Basque take on Calamari. I have the Leg O' Lamb and it was all great. Yosemite here we come!

Stopped for lunch on the way to Yosemite. Lunch menu is large and offers a lot of variety including lamb, seafood, beef tongue, seafood, escargot, and sandwiches. Sauteed breaded Scallops in Tarragon sauce over rice was fresh, perfectly cooked and very tasty along with the included simple green salad with a nice homemade French vinaigrette, French fries (a little limp), French bread ( a little stale) and very tasty hot spicy Spanish sauce included for $22. Good service in a dark, simple dining room. Basque sausage sandwich was spicy and good served with salad, French fries, French bread and Spanish sauce for $17. Good value. Easy parking in lot. Uncrowded at lunch on a Saturday. We would return next time we are in the area.

I happened to be in town overnight, and having some Basque ancestry, I had to go and check it out.

The staff was great. Kudos to Tanya and Mr. McCarthy for seeing to our every need.

The food was very good. I had the Ravioli with Basque Tomato Sauce. The 'Set Up' provided an array of extras, like soup, salad, tomatoes and fries.

Delicious, friendly and popular, so call for a reservation or get there when they open.

Next time I come over from SLO, I will visit again.

If you never have eaten Basque food you're in for a treat. Basque food with a French Flair, be sure and come hungry it's very good. Steaks are excellent, veal cutlet is wonderful and the rack of Lamb are the best around. Pictures are of the rack a lamb, salad with marinated tomatoes, soup with beans, and for dessert chocolate soufflé.

Benji's never disappoints. Individuals in our party ordered rack of lamb, fried chicken with garlic, and others just had the set up. The rack of lamb was delicious, cooked to perfection, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Every one enjoyed their meals, everything was everything we usually expect from a traditional Basque meal, even the warm salsa is worth mentioning.

The service was also excellent, it wasn't as busy as we expected for a Friday evening, but our waitress still went above expectations. She offered some excellent meal and drink selections while the delivery of our meals was timely, everyone seemed to be working in unison. Will always recommend Benji's.