In my previous review I mentioned that it was mostly Italian dishes, and not so much tapas. I noticed that recently they changed the sign in front of the restaurant to read "Basque Italian & Mediterranean Restaurant", which is more fitting for what they serve.
Interestingly though, the Basque region is not in Italy, nor is it located on the Mediterranean. (It's in northern Spain and southern France.) Just a little geography quirk...
Basque Restaurant in Clearwater, Fl located on US 19 between 580 and Curlew, Service Goes South!!!!
I must say that it is sad that this restaurant changed hands. The food is delicious however, the service leaves a lot to be desired. Hopefully they can handle a table for two but don't go there with a large group. I have never been to a restaurant with a large group where the waiter takes drink orders two at a time, goes to the bar to get the drink and then proceeds to take the next one. it took almost an hour for our drinks to come out. Then when it was time for the food service, salads were served before appetizers, actually I was asked if I wanted fresh pepper on a salad that was not yet served to me( although the rest of the table had been served); finally got a salad, soon followed by my appetizer(Aren't appetizers supposed to be served before the salads?), before I could finish my appetizer, my main course was being served( guess they were trying to make up time for the hour wait for drinks). When the entrees were served the waiters were shouting who order this and who order that, they asked who ordered a NY strip when it was actually a rib eye. People were told that they could not substitute a vegetable in lieu of a starch, that they could not have a starch when the menu clearly said the meal included a starch (shouldn't the waiter know his menu?) and that you couldn't have dressing on the side. One person had a menu with a dead bug on it and the response she received from the waiter when this was brought to his attention was , well this is Florida, I've seen worst, I have even seen roaches, no apology. Never offered coffee or desert, the table was half cleared. Perhaps they didn't care what type of service they provided because the gratuity was built into the bill because of the size of our group. But isn't gratuity for the service received? That certainly was not the case, unless it was for bad service. It is really a shame, I have been to Basque prior to the change in ownership and the service and food were superb. We had other people in our group who have never been to Basque but heard us rave about the place, only to come across a bad waiter to ruin the entire experience. I have been to restaurants where the food was not that good but the service made up for that, but when the service is bad, and the waiter is rude when the CUSTOMER voices a compliant, is unacceptable. It is called CUSTOMER SERVICE. I can even understand if the restaurant is short staffed and if they apologize by letting the customers know up front that the service may be a bit slower that usual, that all it takes; but that did not happen either. It is really bad when the workers say to the customers that one waiter always has a poor attitude. Half the table received their checks, while it took an hour for the other half to get their checks. As I was leaving the waiter sarcastically said to me, hope you enjoyed your birthday, to which I responded no, you ruined it and need to learn the meaning of customer service. At that point, the waiter told me to get out and never come back; when I asked to speak to the Manager, I was told again to leave or he would call the police. My response was to call them. The manager finally came out, and apologized. I can say that the fellows busing the tables tried to make-up for the poor service provided by the waiter and the kitchen was clean.
We dined at Basque on a Saturday night. Â I found the restaurant by reading previous reviews. Â Dinner was WONDERFUL. Â The inside is beautiful and classy. Â It is clean, welcoming, and warm. Â
Our server's name was Jose. Â He was knowledgeable about the menu, and represented past experience with fine dining. Â He was gracious, and even introduced us to the chef at the conclusion of our meal. Â He was charming!
We ordered from the tapas menu because that was our main reason for going there.  We ordered the sauteed calimari (something that is hard to find....it's usually almost always fried), the beef carpaccio, chorizo skewer, and meatballs.  Each was FANTASTIC.  The carpaccio was especially well presented, and the meatballs were mouthwatering!  We spent most of dinner commenting on how  we couldn't BELIEVE Macaroni Grill looked packed and Basque had open tables!!
We finished out dinner with a creme brulee, which was delicious, and even took a cannoli to go!!
I can't wait until everyone catches on to this new spot!! In the mean time, we will DEFINITELY be back. Â I couldn't think of a better place to spend Valentine's Day :)
Have loved this place since it opened, but I'm afraid they may close. Â The last two times I've been there it has been dead and the atmosphere is cold and quiet. Â The servers also seem very disorganized. Â It's so sad. Â The food is fabulous. Â There just seems to be no advertising at all on the place. Â Other than Groupons, or other such discounts coupon offers, you hear nothing about it. Â =( Â The friends I've taken have even said, if I hadn't told them about it they would have never known and they don't hear anything about otherwise either. Â
Also, last time we went was on a weekend and they had handed out a musician schedule around Christmas as to who was going to be playing there through February at least. Â So we went to for the food and entertainment. Â We were told there would be no music, and (just like the time before) they are "going through some changes." Â
Please don't close.
A delightful gourmet culinary experience!
We dined at Basque and thought it was fantastic! Basque makes a successful effort  to be creative, uses quality ingredients and provides attentive service. The ambiance and design of the restaurant made me think that I was in LA, Miami or NY instead of Clearwater, FL! Â
We were fortunate to wander in during happy hour where selected  wines are half off and  marveled at the sophisticated wine selection available at happy hour prices! We started off with an Argentine Malbec which was full bodied and smooth and switched to the Bilbao Albarino white from Spain which was crisp and distinctive with traces of apricot and peach, The Albarino varietal comes from the Galicia region of Spain, which we visited last summer. I was absolutely floored that a local restaurant  offered this on the menu!  I believe that a restaurant that serves Spanish and Mediterranean food should have a wine list from those countries to compliment the entrees.It's Basque's attention to detail that stands out from the others.
Now for the Tapas... In Spain Tapas means "small plates" and larger samples are called "raciones." I would say that Basque really offers "raciones"You can actually order one as an entree.
We sampled the Tuscan white bean soup, a puree including Serrano ham,roasted garlic and rosemary ehich was rich and elegant. Sublime!
Next up, the Spinach salad tossed in a mustard vinagrette with a dash of pine nuts, cheese and sliced granny smith apples.Yum!
Moving on the the Ahi Tuna Tempura roll which was the highlight but I am partial for Ahi Tuna!
Then onto the oxtail which was tender and delcious but a tad heavy, the sauce was tasty but a bit overwhelming after the Ahi Tuna.
Needless to say, it was a gastronomical delight!
I do hope they remain in busimess and that the local Clearwater community will support them. I was dismayed that on a Friday evening around 7PM it wasn't very busy. I sometimes worry that an establishment such as this may be too sophisticated for Clearwater, the home of the Hooters and Wing House mentality. Please support his wonderful establishment. We need more places like this here in Pinellas county but the locals have to support the business!
The food is terrific!! Atmosphere is nice.  They have live music on the weekends.  The chef spent a great deal of time with us talking about his vision. We sat out on the patio. Although it was a bit cool and windy, they   reassured us they are in the process of getting heaters and a fire pit for the winter. For dinner we ordered tapas. We had the oxtail, hot manchego cheese with baguettes, the dates and tuna tartare. ALL of the items were exceptional as well as the presentation. The chef finished our evening with samples of mini desserts for the Sunday brunch the following day.  Dessert were amazing too....red velvet cake, pumpkin cheesecake, chocolate mouse and pineapple upside down cake. Definitely a favorite restaurant on this side of the pond.
Review Source:If you like wonderful food, great atmosphere and probably the friendliest staff I have seen, than Basque is the place for you!! Â Our waitress Tiffany was amazing, she's super friendly, she made you feel like you were having dinner with an old friend. Â We were shocked, when she came back to our table with Chef Rob, he wanted introduce himself and thank us for coming in. Â The pride everyone has in his restaurant was wonderful and such a nice change. He even brought us an order of the mixed seafood ceviche to try as a thank you, I don't know what we liked more the beautiful presentation or the delicious taste. Â Overall, great food and amazing staff, it's a win win and we'll definitely be back!!
Review Source:Was there Friday evening. Great service, great guitarist playing out in the garden, nice atmosphere and food was excellent, highly recommend to anyone, had drinks at bar inside afterwards, such a pleasant experience. The wait staff are all real friendly. Oh and they had a live art show with Cheetah, what a nice guy and great art also:) All in all a fun night out...go and check it out!!!!!
Review Source:Been to Basque last weekend. Very nice Place, Great Food, professional and very friendly Staff, lead by owner Keith Williamson who visits Tables and takes great Pride in what the Restaurant has to offer. The Tuna Tartar is awsome and so is the Seafood Cocktail both in taste and pesentation. This Place is a welcome addition to the Pinellas Dining Scene and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to enjoy a good night out with that special person.
Review Source:Purchased a $40 for $20 coupon from <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fhalfoffdepot.com&s=d438a6f6eada5d329f91ed28dd784943a013017fecf6b3ed71fd1ed04c4646de" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://halfoffdepot.com</a> for Basques. Everything we sampled was very good. Highly recommend the stuffed squash blossoms, lobster tater tots, and macaroni & cheese. Shrimp tempura was good & gets an average rating. Did not like the shrimp flat bread, very chewy, and  tough. Attentive & friendly wait staff. They are a bit pricey, but well worth it especially with the 1/2 off coupon. Will be going back again. Save room for desert!
Review Source:Just tried Basque for the first time. They've been open about 2 weeks and look like they're past shakedown. Â Waitstaff are friendly and fairly knowledgeable about the menu. Â Overall, the menu is good but limited. We are used to more extensive tapas selections, the menu kind of cherrypicks items. Â Food was well prepared and tasty, and the serving sizes were good. Â There was some very nice creativity coming out of the kitchen. Â We thought the pricing was a tad on the high side and should have been $1 - $2 lower. Â There is a happy hour, but strangely it is bar and outside patio only -- just a few additional steps to the dining room and happy hour doesn't apply? Â Seems strange.
Overall worth checking out and we'll definitely try them again.
I enjoy tapas style dining so naturally Basque is an easy choice for me. The menu is extensive but not too vast and the quality is way above a certain other establishment I used to visit. Not inexpensive so perhaps not the place to visit if you are ravenous. House Cab goes down very easily and the staff are a true pleasure.
Review Source:
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