460 1st Street West, Sonoma, CA 95476
(707) 935-7687
Parking: street parking
Last Visited: June 14, 2003
Food: 3 stars, 5 star pastries
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $ to $$
First, let’s remind ourselves that this is a café, so when I talk about service, you’re really talking to someone behind a counter to order and then you hear your name when your food is ready. We’re not talking about a full service operation. You will even need to get your own silverware should you need any. Now that this is out of the way, we can officially begin.
Basque Boulangerie is a café bakery. There is a bar and small tables near the walls and windows as well as several tables outside. It’s a great place to go on a lazy Saturday morning for pastries and it’s excellent anytime for French bread. The menus are above the counters and the place reminds me of small cafes in Berkeley, but with a French twist. You’ll find locals and tourists alike in this place. The glass display counters show a variety of fresh pastries, both savory and sweet, and of course, cakes are available too. They also have a fine wine selection with the bottles on the wine rack above the bar.
The story behind Basque – once upon a time, the Sonoma French Bakery (SFB) was the place to go to get your French bread. It was well known by all, and tourists still as where it went. Well, back in the late 90s, SFB sold to another owner, and with it, they also sold the recipe for their great bread. An agreement was made that the previous owner would not open near that place for x amount of years, and just past that agreement date, Basque Boulangerie opened several doors down from SFB. Ah, the saga begins. Of course, the locals knew which place had the original owner, and the original owner of SFB was able to realize their dream of opening a café bakery.
There is a lot of variety available – soups, sandwiches, salads, pastries. There are always daily specials which include unique items. Daily soups, salads, quiches, sandwiches, etc are listed on a white board above the counter.
- Bread – Get any of their breads. They’re soft on the inside, and crusty on the outside. Great for parties too. They are available in many sizes and varieties – sourdough, sweet French, bague, baguette, seeded, etc. They’re so popular that Basque also sells its products to local supermarkets, baked fresh daily.
- Pastries/Cookies – You really can’t go wrong here. I love the pastries. Not much to say – they’re excellent.
- Sandwiches – Basque makes great sandwiches, especially the corned beef sandwich with sauerkraut. The roast pork sandwich can be a little on the dry side for my taste, but the prosciutto and brie is also great. Their chicken salad sandwich can be really nice too.
- Soup – The soup comes in those huge coffee cups. They’re great. Always hearty – be daring and try a soup that you might not normally go for. I haven’t been disappointed yet. They make a great chicken noodle soup.
My only bad experience here
- Salad – all in all, this was my only bad experience. Salad comes with bread. Nothing wrong with that. Most of the time, their mixed green salad with champagne vinaigrette is terrific. One time, it was like the greens weren’t washed and all I could taste was sand/dirt. You could feel that crunchy feeling in your mouth that isn’t supposed to be there. You could even scrape the plate with a fork and hear the granules. Gross. Aside from this, all the other items I have tried are without fault.
What café/bakery is without coffee. Everything that is brewed smells great. I usually go for the soup, so you’ll have to judge the coffee yourself. The hot chocolate is good though.
This is a terrific place to go to get a feel for Sonoma. When I’m at the Sonoma Plaza, I always try to stop off at Basque for lunch. They have such great bread – everyone loves it. It’s quaint charm is inviting, and it will continue to serve Sonoma for a long time to come. If you’re bored, go outside and sit at one of those tables. You’ll enjoy watching the people strolling the plaza. This place is a must try.
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