I've lived in Chino/Chino Hills for almost my entire life. I always passed by this restaurant & never went inside until there was no other choice to go because of Covid. Boy was I so disappointed that I didn't come sooner. You get fine dining experience without all the fancy stuffy environment. Come as you are and enjoy a delicious meal! I would come every other day if I could. That's probably not responsible because I need to make a home made meal once in a while. I love this place. read more

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This place is family owned and operated by an extremely friendly staff! The food is great and the atmosphere is classy. A great place for couples and a group of friends. I highly recommend this place!!! Ask for bartender, Tammy. She's awesome!!! Eskerrik asko!!! read more

Centro Basco - Great food, cozy atmosphere. - Basque Near Me - Chino, California

Been coming for 30+ years always excellent food and great service. Real nice atmosphere as well.

PAELLA was EXCELLENT, recommended by the bartender, excellent service, love this place

I love this place! Wednesdays are the best for me as we love the potato leek soup. That's their special on Wednesdays.. we usually get potato leek soup and salad! Very delicious! And also who doesn't love fresh blue s cheese? ‍ great place for the family! read more

Centro Basque is a Chino institution. Amazing Basque food for more than 80 years. I personally have been coming for 61 years. I have never been disappointed and my expectations are high when I go since I now live across the country. This is simple Basque food from the sheep herders of the Pyrenees Mountains between France and Spain. The lamb chops are my favorite but they also have roasted chicken, steak and fish. I promise you will not go home hungry and I believe this simplistic food will delight and never disappoint. Like the food the dinning room is simple and functional including a space for large parties. The staff is always pleasant and attentive. I'll be back again on my next trip to California. read more

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We have driven by this place for over 15 years! We met some friends for dinner! We both had the Meatloaf with mash potatoes and green beans! Our meal was outstanding! We were served by Shay who was absolutely amazing! Great service! Extremely attentive! A great environment as well. To top it off we shared a Cheesecake which was extremely good! Overall it was a great evening! We definitely will be going back! read more

Centro....Today you really blew it. A group of 20 of us booked advance reservations over a week ago for 11:30. We are all in our 80's, graduates of CHS and coming from all directions, myself an hours drive. So I arrive in the parking lot about 11:20 and see other members of our group milling about in the parking lot and wondering why they aren't inside, after all it is 105 degrees according to the temperature gauge in my car and these old folks shouldn't be out in the sun. Well, come to find out all the doors were locked. After knocking on the door for awhile someone inside informed us they don't open until 11:30. After pleading to get inside and out of the heat they begrudgingly let us in 3 minutes early. Terrible experience with a couple of employees with a bad attitude. These YELPS are generally about food. My wife ordered the Basque fried chicken and got 3 backs. Good bye Centro Basque. After coming here for over 70 years I don't need the aggravation and service I witnessed today. read more

My family and I have come here for at least 30 years. What's my excuse for not writing a review? Uh...would you believe I forgot? But, before you get started, click on this link: http://www.xarnege.com/1024x768/english/indexeng.htm and pick out your favorite music from the MP3 list. We will all be dancing Basque style by the end of my review! First of all, Basque food is not fancy. It was designed to provide high calories to the tummies of sheepherders, cattlemen, and dairymen, commoners who worked hard, but also played hard. Large portions, many side dishes at each meal, lots of bread, and depending on which side of the border they are from, with a flavor palate influenced by either the Spanish or French cuisine. Either way, rich and delicious. I believe CB represents French Basque. We are lucky to have had a large community of Basque dairymen who settled in the Chino IE region. We would take the kids for a Sunday drive through the dairy lands just to admire their collection of exotic animals, easy to see from the dusty, eucalyptus lined roadsides. But sadly, most of those dairies have been swallowed up by aggressive housing developments, only a few remain. Luckily, Centro Basco still serves that diminishing community (and us wannabes), somehow managing to resist the pressure for now. I have seen CB go through good times and bad, sometimes the food was disappointing, the paint peeling, the carpet dull, the service slow. But right now, a younger perspective seems to be breathing new life back into a still dowdy looking location. I am happy to proclaim that the food is back on track and makes me happy. Lamb, lamb, lamb. It is all about lamb in my eyes (even though they serve much more). Lamb chops, lamb roast, rack of lamb (!!!!) are my favorites and worth every penny. My other delight, as you have probably already noticed from other reviewers, is the pickled (olive oil, vinegar and garlic) beef tongue appetizer. I was raised on this, so I have no qualms, but if you are squeamish, just close your eyes. The texture is far more tender than a filet mignon, with lots of flavor from invisible but well-marbled fat. Those who have no clue what it is, love it. It's all in your head, ha ha, and coming from a far better end of the cow than oxtail (which I also happen to love). What comes with the meal? Lots of fillers. A peasant soup du jour, usually thin, sourdough bread with plenty of butter, slices of cheese, a bowl of simple salad in an even simpler dressing of oil and vinegar, boiled beans, canned peas, and fries or au gratin potato, all round out the meal. You can ask for as much soup and salad as you desire. These days, if you want the whole typical appetizer spread, you must pay extra to add in the spaghetti and/or the tongue appetizer. Both used to be standard courses, but since many had issues with the tongue, and complaints of too much food, these became add-ons. They actually reduced their meal prices to reflect these omissions. For the full Basque experience, mark on your calendar 7:00 pm every first Saturday of the month. They are now doing a special family style dinner (Lamb BBQ and Chillindron (stew)) that includes five courses, plus bottomless wine. They encourage you to bring your accordion and other musical instruments. What the heck? Even if you don't like or play accordion, after all that wine, everything will sound good. And who cares if you don't speak Basque! Fake it. No one will notice. If you love Basque food, here is an interesting link to a list of restaurants throughout the US that claim to still serve Basque food. Thank you Buber.net. I cannot attest to it's accuracy, but folks, isn't that what Yelp is all about? http://www.buber.net/Basque/Food/charley.html read more

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Service was good & staff very friendly. Food was very yummy & fantastic . The Prices were reasonable. read more

Recently, friends and I ate at Centro Basco in Chino, CA. The ambiance, the service, and our delicious meals made our visit there quite special. I highly recommend this place. read more

Great place with amazing food! You will not be disappointed with anything that you order from here! read more

Centro Basco - Oxtail Stew - Basque Near Me - Chino, California

What can I say, this place is an institution in the Chino area! If you haven't been you need to go at least once. It is casual, not upscale. Paper sheets over the tablecloth, basic dishes and utensils, etc. Mostly locals and an older crowd. Lunch is a great deal. Dinner is a little pricy. Cheap cocktails ($5.34 with tax for a gin and tonic). They regularly have big open seating family style meals, and special events that are way cool! Everything is great, simple, tasty, and large portions. You must try a veal dish (e.g. veal chops at lunch), the tongue appetizer, and their homemade pate ($2)!! I didn't plan on posting these pictures, so sorry that they are basic. I had a meal of appetizers/side dishes because I'm cheap and the dinner prices seemed too high. I spent $25, which included a drink and a 25% tip! - First course was homemade pate ($2). - Second course was Lukinka Basque pork sausage link ($3.50). - Main course was a lamb chop, prepared medium rare with garlic ($7.25). read more

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They're the best! Their family style dinner is a great value and always excellent. This is a family restaurant that is always family friendly to boot. Service is at a relaxed pace as they do not rush you. The food is always excellent. The prices are reasonable for the food and service received. If I could give more than 5 stars I would! read more

Bernadette and the staff of Centro Basco exceeded expectations even when our expectations were set already high. The Basco team took care of our 100+ personalized order on the fly and made magic happen. The food was amazing. The professionalism was top notch and beyond welcoming. We were treated more as family rather than customers. That is key and Bernadette brought that and more. We look forward to future partnerships with catering orders Centro Basco. Thank you again so much and happy holidays. :) read more

Centro Basco - Homemade chicken and pork tamales with rice and beans! - Basque Near Me - Chino, California

GROSS. Ambiance: The carpet was old and littered with French fries. The place has no style, feels like a cheap cafeteria. Service: I took a sip of my mom's wine and the waiter completely freaked out because I was underage. Umm I'm over 25. Maybe just ask for an ID next time? Food: The soup was actually good. The salad was meh. Every entree was terrible. The basque chicken was dry. The lamb - I've posted a picture, judge for yourself. The steak was also gross. read more

Centro Basco - Lamb. Ew? - Basque Near Me - Chino, California

Visiting Centro Basco is a journey to a past before Chino dairy farms were replaced by warehouses. To a past when the smog was a bit thicker and times were simpler; when the Governor was Republican, and when Peugeots shared the road with Fords (that were actually made in America). Like the bald eagle, which was once a more common denizen of Southern California, the Basque people are becoming an exceeding rare sight. A trip here is worth it to experience this culture before it is too late. Drive into their unpaved parking lot and you realize you're not in a city slicker sanctuary anymore. There seem to be two entrances: one for a seated dining area and one for a family style banquet area. I've only been to the former, but I have a suspicion the Basque style dining area is where the unadulterated action is proffered. On Friday night, the special was paella (for $25). I was puzzled at first why paella was offered at a French restaurant. But after invoking google-fu, I discovered the Basque region sits between France and Spain. We were quickly seated in the sit down dining room. On a Friday night, this part of the restaurant was quieter than the family style banquet area. We ordered there homemade pate, which was reasonable priced at $2! The tongue is delicate and tender and seasoned with vinegar and olive oil. We had sausage and pork chops. The chops were a bit thin--I like them thick. I don't think they received the new USDA memo that you can cook pork to 145 degrees! Bread, soup, and salad are included. The portions are generous, and you can imagine hungry burly blue-collared dairy workers chowing down on this food after a hard days work. No foie gras here! This is not a Robuchon French restaurant, but a place where the 98% can enjoy! read more

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Just came here for Mother's Day, food is good, the wine is good too. Friendly staff, def will be coming back

The food was a bit meager and not of great quality or value for the money. Cool idea though. Just didn't do it for me.

First time to try their food , it's delicious! Can't wait to go back and try the rest of the items in the menu . I'm a foodie and definitely would recommend this to friends and family . read more

Bottom line: Solid food (stick with the classics); aging aesthetic; questionable service If you want old school Basque cuisine, the kind your grandmother or mother would have hopefully made for you, this is the place. For me, as long as I stick to the classics (tongue, lamb, steak) the food is good and the side dishes are great! I would recommend going for the shared experience on the long tables on the weekend. It is convivial and an experience to participate in. The regulars are a hoot and the food is solid. The service, as it is still family owned, is questionable. It really depends the time of day, who is working, and how many people are requesting their attention. So saddle up. But if you are looking for a solid, albeit aged aesthetic, this a great place for one of the only places around that serves Basque food. read more

Long established Restaurant and Bar in Chino, Ca. Excellent food, not a bad dish on the menu. Traditional dishes made like your grandmother is in the kitchen. Excellent and friendly service. Occasionally busy but very much worth the wait in the Dining room bar. Full wine and bar service and smiles and laughter all around. My favorite restaurant no matter how hungry I am, I will leave completely satisfied. Owners are charming and happy to serve their customers. Many regular patrons and nice to see familiar friendly faces from the community. read more

Family owned restaurant. Amazing food. Excellent customer service. You get your money's worth. We ordered oxtail, veal parmesan, and veal cut meals. Highly recommend this restaurant. read more

We have passed by this place for years not knowing what it was. Thankfully someone recommended this restaurant to us. This was a great experience in a family owned and ran restaurant with great food. They also give you plenty of food. We will definitely be back. read more

I really wanted to try this place, we talked to make a reservation for 2 people and they told us that it was not necessary, since there were not many people. When we arrived we waited for more than 30 mmt and they never call us, since the restaurant is not so full, bad experience. read more

The food here the best! Been coming here with friends for years, there's a local man that will be here and join you for dinner. Part of the story for the restaurant, service is exceptional. Worth trying for sure! read more

Went with my wife and our friends for lunch today The first restaurant we've been to in 2 months, it was worth the wait the food is excellent. We had steak sandwiches and ox tail stew to die for read more

This place is great. True home cooking. They also have the capacity to hold larger parties!

This is truly a wonderful place to dine. The food is wonderfully prepared and the service is warm and absolutely friendly. The whole place had so much charm. We ordered ox tail, pork and lamb chops, veal Taylor's style and the charcuterie. Absolutely amazing! The price for the quality of food alone deserves 5 stars but their service brings this way above par. We will be back for their other dishes! read more

Great selection for everyone. Plenty of food...noone leaves hungry. Personal service. Full bar The Trout, Pork chops, prime rib, calamari steak...each was mouthwatering and prepared to perfection. Sides and soup were delicious. Our group especially loved the au gratin potatoes. A definite go-to-place! read more

My boyfriend and I came here for a spontaneous date lunch after wanting to try something new. Overall it was a really cute environment and I wanted to love it but the food wasn't what we hoped for. This restaurant is literally a hole in the wall. It's in the middle of a random plaza on Central and is an easy miss. Outside looks old and run down but inside is really cozy and decorated with cute French Basque paintings, lights, and roses on every table to transform you to a new place. Since it was our first time here, we asked one of the servers what he recommended but he said he doesn't eat here and to ask our other server. Usually a bad sign if the workers don't try the food of the place they work at. Our next server recommended the sandwich dips to us so we ordered the Basque sausage sandwich and the beef dip. I ordered mine with a side of soup which the menu didn't mention an additional charge for. It was worth it only because the soup was portioned family style and was enough to feed at least four. The soup was their soup of the day, French onion which had generous amounts of caramelized onions and was a light taste, not too salty. However, the cheese they served on the side was just your average pizza joint cheap parmesan cheese. Then arrived our sandwiches and I noticed the dip for my French dip was the same exact soup but just with a lot of added flour to make it into a gravy. I really wished the server had mentioned to me or warned me of what I was ordering especially since it was my first time. Both the sandwiches were dry and my boyfriend's sausage sandwich was literally a sausage link (good flavor) but no sauces or cheese or veggies or slaw nothing. Just a dry piece of stale toasted bread that didn't taste too fresh. Same went for mine. The beef was dry, the bread was dry, it was really disappointing. Overall the portions are small and the food is pricy because of it. The food here and food options remind me of American diner or hometown buffet food, not sure if there is any bit of authenticy in the food. We came here to experience and learn about French Basque culture but feel cheated with Americanized food. We didn't want this to happen where we regret our orders which is why we asked for suggestions. Regardless, the food for us was terrible but it has decent reviews and even nearby customers raved about the place. So not sure what we did wrong. Maybe if we had another chance to try this place out with proper food recommendations we would be regulars here but our first experience has us avoiding this place for now. read more

Best service ever great food yummy always fresh Good times all the time keep up the good work read more

Food is plentiful and pretty good Server was new and very helpful Would go back again read more

Amazing food amazing service great atmosphere lovely people. Over all a great experience

Great service. The bar reminds me of goodfellas. The wings are fire. Food atmosphere for games.

We had dinner for the first time at this restaurant and were surprisingly pleased with all we ordered. All the dishes were delicious , each with a tasty gravy which we mopped it all up ! The rack of lamb was done in perfection. And the price was fair. The atmosphere is warm and cosy. The owner spoke with us and shared some of the family story. Absolutely friendly. We will certainly return in the future. read more

I forgot to mention another slight peeve I have. It seems that the butter they serve is always near frozen. One has to warm it between the palms or under the armpits before it's soft enough to spread. read more

Recently had our son's graduation party here and it was one to remember. Nice private room, great food and great service. If you're looking for a great place for your next special event, look no further than this local gem. read more

I must say this is my favorite place to eat. When it's my birthday this is my go to place. I love the family style lunch and dinner but it's difficult to get there st the exact time But when we can't make it then the restaurant is never disappointing It's a bit pricey but the portions are huge and can be shared. Everyone should order their blue cheese it goes with everything it's truly amazing. It's family owners and they are there every time I go which means they really care about their business read more

Lovely customer service, delicious food!! They have family size or individual so great for families!