(415) 479-1070
Parking: in parking lot, street parking
Hours: Tues-Fri Lunch 11:30am-2pm, Dinner 5pm-9pm; Sat - Sun 4pm-9pm; Bar open all day
http://www.chaletbasque.com/
Last Visited: August 15, 2010
Food: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $$ to $$$
I first heard about Chalet Basque after trying out a Basque restaurant in South San Francisco. The recommendation came from a Basque native, so of course, I had to listen and take note.
Chalet Basque offers a wide selection of dishes including duck, sweet breads, rabbit, tripe, seafood, and steak. All dinners include soup and salad (that's a Basque tradition). And for an additional $4, you can also get the pate maison and a choice of dessert (rice pudding or ice cream) to complete your meal. They also offer daily specials, and on Sundays, there is a five course menu available for only $22.
One thing is for sure, there is no reason you should go away from a Basque restaurant hungry. I've now been to Chalet Basque twice. While I struggled with deciding to rank the food a solid three or in between three and four star range, it's definitely a good value and you're in for a hearty treat.
Chalet Basque was first established in the 1960s. Passing by the area, you might never notice that there is even a restaurant amidst the residences. The current owner and executive chef first worked at Chalet Basque in the 1970s and later returned to purchase the restaurant during this past decade.
During our first visit, they were short staffed, and unfortunately, though our waitress tried her best to cover the lack of help, it was still noticeable. I wouldn't have penalized the service rating except that I overheard her tell the manager that she could handle it all and she refused additional help; yet, the amount to do was too much. Also, during our second visit, although we had made a reservation, the waiter still didn't realize that there were four in our party despite us telling them our names and that a reservation had been made. They almost took away place settings too since half of us came separately. This lack of detail brought down their service rating.During each visit, upon our arrival, we were promptly brought glasses of ice water. Hot bread (love that) arrived in a basket - during the first visit, it came wrapped in a paper napkin and the second visit, in a cloth napkin. Two options of bread - french bread and garlic bread - were available.
The menu offers many choices. During my first visit, I tried the salmon and got a full meal, just for the experience. As mentioned above, the full meal starts with a pate maison - two slices of salami for each diner ordering a full meal and a slice of house made pate. Pickled peppers also accompany the plate. The salami and peppers are fairly standard. The pate maison tastes good, but the presentation of a dark ring on the outside and pink meat on the inside causes some patrons to hesitate. I ate the whole thing, but 
didn't feel the need to order it during my second visit. It didn't wow me, and I still don't know what's in it.
Served family style in a stainless bowl and then plated into individual bowls, the soup, during both visits, was a puree of vegetables. Both times, it came out very hot (love that too). I can't remember what I had the first time, but it was smooth. The second time, it was a watercress soup with a potato and onion base. The watercress left the soup with a slightly bitter aftertaste that was to be expected. Both times, the soup was a little on the salty side, but still tasty.
A fresh salad with your choice of dressing also is included with all meals. A lightly dressed spring mix and leaf lettuce salad with a slice of tomato is sprinkled with parsley. During both visits, the vegetables were very fresh and the salad was cold and refreshing.
- Salmon with Champagne Sauce - Served with a mound of rice and seasonal vegetables (zucchini, carrots, cabbage, and broccoli), the salmon is topped with a champagne sauce and mushrooms. Although the color of the sauce is a little more bright yellow than I expected, it was absolutely one of the best cooked salmon dishes I've ever had. It was tender on the inside, cooked just right and not even a little dry. The rice separates nicely from each other and everything is well-seasoned. Wonderful. Market Price
- Rack of Lamb du Chef - As you can see from the picture, the portion is quite large. Beautifully frenched, there is a lot of meat on these bones. Mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables accompany this dish. While the quantity is large, I personally prefer to have less sauce cooked with my rack of lamb. Good flavor. $25.95- Lamb Shank (Sheepherder style) with beans - The lamb shank is slow cooked until tender and falls off the bone. Beans are also cooked in the same sauce. This dish is also served with seasonal
vegetables. While the meat is tender, I think there isn't quite enough sauce with this dish as the meat started to dry out near the end of the meal. The beans had changed the texture of the sauce and though very hearty, it was also very heavy. Although it states that it's cooked sheepherder's style, I didn't expect the presentation to look the way that it did. The first thing you see on the plate are the two bones. The flavor is good, but the dish is a bit hard to manage since the plate itself is small while the bones are rather large. Good. $22.95
Rice Pudding or Ice Cream are the choices available for the dessert that comes with the full meal. For the ice cream, you can choose between vanilla, chocolate, or spumoni. You can see that it's a healthy scoop. The rice pudding comes in a small bowl and is topped with cinnamon. Smooth and creamy, it was also a nice treat.The meals at Chalet Basque are good, but service varies. The manager is visible
and accommodating and the servers are friendly, but it seems that they are not as quick as they could be. For example, sometimes it took a long long time for dishes to be cleared and the check also took a long time to come.The prices are very reasonable considering that every entree comes with soup and salad, and the daily specials are an even better deal. The value is great considering the quality and portions of the food - I would imagine they could even charge higher prices if the atmosphere, slightly dated, was improved. As far as what they could do better, I would ease up on the salt in the soup just a touch and also consider updating some of the menu items to offer a few additions that would better cater to a younger crowd while still remaining authentically Basque.
I also noticed that my visit lowered the average age of the dining patrons - many are older folk especially in the early dinner hours, but as the evening continued, younger folks arrived.
Chalet Basque offers solid value and great food in a traditional atmosphere. You won't walk away hungry.
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