Chalet Basque Restaurant

Horrible service!!! This place has gone way down hill. So sad that most of the iconic restaurants are losing great long-term customers because of hiring impatient wait staff and are just plain rude! Will "Never" go again!

Two great choices! Bone marrow and prime choice tomahawk cooked to perfection.

And of course they're set up

My friends and newcomers group went to Chalet Basque as a group of 25. It was a clean and nice establishment. We received excellent service, food was great, and our server had a lot of patience with us and our speaker person. I didn't care for the food with the old owner, but it's under new ownership and it's great. I would definitely would recommend this place or/and go back.

I want to start with the positive: the food was superb. My husband and I both ordered lamb chops. They were cooked to perfection, smothered in garlic and butter in the Basque fashion; the soup, beans, salsa, bread, salad, green beans and fries were all fresh, hot and delicious. But....we won't be back!

We've been to every Basque restaurant in Bakersfield and each one has it's strengths. We had never been to Chalet and since it was the only one open on the Monday evening we were passing through, we decided to give it a try.

The exterior is very fancy-looking, for lack of a better word! It was very well maintained, not junky looking like a lot of older establishments. We walked in to find a beautiful dining room, booths with tables set with linens, pleasant lighting. Two adjacent rooms were for larger groups but also were very attractive. We had looked at the menu on their website and were looking forward to a delicious meal; the surroundings were a bonus.

The waiter was a bit slow in arriving, but two young girls were fairly attentive, bringing us water and menus. I was surprised that the menus weren't the same as on their website; just about every item had an upcharge on it if you wanted sauce of any kind. As I said above, we both ordered lamb chops ($38) but were kind of surprised when the waiter asked if we wanted butter and garlic.

Just as we were about to enjoy our soup, loud rap music came blaring from the bar complete with tableware jarring heavy bass. The bar only has a partial wall separating it from the dining room, which is kind of unusual when you have a formal dining room. The waiter had vanished so there was no one to ask about changing the music, but luckily it changed to old-school country, then new country, then 1980s rock. I like all of these (except rap) when I'm driving around in my car but not when I'm trying to enjoy an expensive dinner.

Throughout the meal, the waiter was absent except to check on us one time. There were only two other groups there when we were but they both left shortly after we arrived. When we left, we saw a group of about 6 men dining in the bar, but still, not enough patrons for anyone to be ignored.

When we got the bill, we were surprised to see that we had been charged an additional $2 for butter and garlic! This is just odd in a nice restaurant. Besides, lamb chops are traditionally served with butter and garlic in a Basque restaurant, so why charge extra? That old saying "nickel and diming us to death" holds true. We didn't ask about it because we felt like the waiter probably wouldn't care and we were right, based on the comments in some other reviews.

I think that maybe they are more focused on their bar trade instead of dining patrons. That's a shame because the food is amazing and the restaurant is beautiful. I hope they do better, but we won't return.

Under new ownership.
Newly remodeled inside and out. Manny and George still there.
More staff has been hired to accommodate customers.
The whole staff is happy now and it shows.
Same menu.

I have just visited the cocktail lounge recently and I must say Jeffrey provides great service and delicious drinks.
Manny who has been here for years is always so friendly.
Now I have been informed that ownership has changed. The focus is on higher quality of meat & produce in the kitchen. Also staff has been expanded to provide the best in cuisine and service. I'm looking forward to dining here soon.

Have always loved this restaurant! Great food great staff! This is always our go to spot when coming to Bakersfield for local concerts from Taft.

Food was excellent as always service is top notch. Never a bad experience here. We had a wonderful valentine dinner with jazz music playing, A rose on the table. I highly recommend eating here. We come here often and are never disappointed.

Excellent! That one word describes Chalet Basque Restaurant.
First time I have been here, but definitely not the last.
I had a Lamb Sandwich with fries and a salad.
What pleased me first was that the lettuce was crunchy. It had Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, onions and bell peppers. With vinegar and oil dressing, it was good.
The fries were crispy, just the way I like.
The star of the show was the Lamb sandwich along with brown gravy.
The Lamb was so tender I did not need to chew it and could have just swallowed.
However, I wanted to savor each bite so I chewed slowly.
I recommend this restaurant to everyone.
They also have a fully stocked bar for those who drink.
Along with the tip my meal was under $20.
Go and enjoy.
They also use cloth napkins. Who does that anymore?

Went for lunch today. Absolutely wonderful.

I had the breaded veal with all the trimmings. Soup, beans, bread, and salad.

The entire meal was only $28. Well worth it.

I HIGHLY recommend this restaurant.

Had lunch at Chalet Basque. George , Norma and Chris were so awesome. Just had the bar set up and the food was amazing. The kindness that was shown from the staff was outstanding Thank you George for the little extra. Amazing

Had an excellent dinner here tonight. I had leg of lamb and my wife had Chicken Cordon Blue. Both were very well prepared. And as typical with a Basque Restaurant all of the sides were delicious.