New Basque Restaurants to Open in San Francisco, Shell Beach

Update: Alphy’s closed in 2013.

Two new Basque restaurants in California are scheduled to be opened in San Francisco and Shell Beach.

In San Francisco, Bask is expected to start operating within several weeks in an area near North Beach and the Financial District. It will be the latest Basque-themed restaurant in a city with a storied Basque culture and history.


RELATED EUSKAL KAZETA REPORTS:
Favorite Basque Recipes
Basque Restaurants in the U.S.
Chef Hirigoyen Among Several Authors at Basque Culture Day

Bask will specialize in Basque, Spanish and French cuisines. The new restaurant will be operated by by the husband-and-wife teams of Sabrina and Patrick Thillard, and David and Suzanne Cot, according to report in the San Francisco Chronicle.

To be located at 42 Columbus Ave., Bask will be close to where a cluster of former boardinghouses and handball courts once paid testament to the city’s rich Basque history and culture. San Francisco is home to the oldest surviving Basque community in the West.

The Chronicle notes that Bask will create somewhat of a Basque corridor in the area. The new restaurant is just a few minutes walking distance from two other Basque restaurants: Bocadillos at 710 Montgomery St. and Txoko at 504 Broadway.

Along California’s Central Coast, Alphie’s Basque Chateau is expected to open around late March.

Owner Doug Simpson says the meals will be family style and include soup, beans, salsa, bread, potatoes, pasta and pickled tongue, according to a report by ksby.com. Main courses will include seafood, lamb, pork and chicken. There will also be a full bar.

Simpson, who owns Alphie’s Broiler in Arroyo Grande and Alphie’s Adobe Grill in Pismo Beach, told ksby.com that he has always wanted to open a Basque restaurant in the area. Nearby San Luis Obispo was home to Bistro Le Fandango for several years, until it closed in 2008. The new restaurant will join Tenth Street Basque Cafe in San Miguel, on the 101 corridor.