review forthcoming?
His new menu will rely on live-fire cooking and rustic technique, envisioning a range of traditional Basque dishes made with California ingredients: white beans in local-vegetable broth; gratin de crabe caught from the California coast; sébaste au Español, or a classic roasted California rockfish with garlic and lemon and tomatoes in green olive oil; and ttoro, a fish soup with squid and shellfish and local fish cooked somewhat like a bouillabaisse.
wOw! That is pretty exciting. Damn. Had no idea this was coming and I follow him on Instagram 
Very exciting. Ate Le Coucou probably 4/5 years ago very good.
Wonder if the hotel lured Rose to come here to brand the food program, or did Rose choose the hotel as his restaurant space? There’s a difference.
That would be cool to have real, authentic, QUALITY Basque food.
Bakersfield has a bunch of Basque places since there’s a significant Basque population here (or the remnants thereof, after so many generations it changes) but the restaurants are uniformly horrible IMO, basically mid-west food of low quality with a side of beans and pickled tongue being the only things seemingly defining them as Basque
It’ll be interesting to experience the difference between Spanish Basque food and French Basque as filtered through Rose’s perspective. I had dinner at Spring in Paris in 2015 and was very impressed. He’ll be a welcome addition to the DTLA dining scene.
I love Basque-American restaurants, but they are old-school in both good and bad ways, and the food’s pretty farr from modern Basque cuisine.
Seems likw he doesn’t have a direct relationship with the hotel.
Hope they do well, love that menu
really impressed with everything I had tonight. the tortilla was probably the best I’ve had. execution and flavors are really strong. it’s a lot more casual than le coucou but just as delicious. this place is going to be a hit. will be back to try more of the menu.
talo - quail egg, eggplant
croquettes - mushroom & sherry
tuna à l’huile - bluefin tuna, espelette oil
tortilla de st. jean de luz - potato, onion & egg, red pepper purée
olives, anchovies & pickled green peppers
tomates farcies - stuffed tomatoes with olive pine nut, fennel pollen
sergio
avocat crevettes - shrimp & avocado, french cocktail sauce
calamars - fried squid, sauce tinta
like a txangurro - traditional crab gratin
riz au lait - rice pudding, caramel
Just the review I wanted to hear! Can’t wait to try this spot.
Prices look pretty reasonable! Nice to see more French in LA, I excited too
Beat me to it! Prices seem surprisingly reasonable, for the quality I’m expecting!
It was a real mixed bag for us on Monday night (sans Sergio).
Drinks were very good.
Stuffed Tomato was wonderful
Croquettes - decent
Tortilla St Jean De Luz was a complete mess, just a runny barely cook omelet, looked nothing like the @PorkyBelly image. But the sauce was lovely.
Large format chicken dish was tasty but I doubt it was even 1/2 a chicken.
Pork neck was completely “blah”
The Gilda pinxto (olive, anchovy, pickled pepper) was delicious.
The jambon pinxto was not a high grade jambon. Total joke of a pinxto.
Overall I wouldn’t go back unless there are great reports of improvement. Feels like the guy gives his name and ideas but no attention to follow thru, but I’ll be happy to be proven wrong because the ideas are there. And the last night of a holiday weekend right after debut is not the best time to assess.
Argh mixed reporting I have a reservation Friday!
Looking forward to your report (and crossing my fingers for you).
I have reservations for 5PM Sunday and need to cancel…scheduling issues with my companions.
still really enjoying cafe basque even though no sergio in the da house (but there was a @Hungrydrunk in da house). standouts were the bluefin tuna, calamars, talo, croquettes, duck, rockfish ttoro and chicken. the beef tartare and cheesecake were just fine.
our tortilla was a bit runny like @CiaoBob’s but the flavor was still there.
@rlw and @hppzz power rankings forthcoming?
tomates farcies - stuffed tomatoes with olive pine nut, fennel pollen
tuna á l’huile - bluefin tuna, espelette oil
so flavorful and love the touch of crunchy finishing salt on top.
seriole mariné - local raw kampachi, cider vinegar
talo - quail egg with eggplant
croquettes - mushroom & sherry
calamars - fried squid, sauce tinta
squid was perfectly fried, crispy and tender. the dipping sauce is great too, i was expecting a dank-earthy squid ink that i’m used to but it tasted bright.
tartare de boeuf - traditional condiments
a bit under-seasoned, it was just fine.
tortilla de st. jean de luz - potato, onion, & egg red pepper purée
grande salade - egg, artichoke, sweet pepper, tomato white anchovy, olives, px vinaigrette
canard grileé “souvenir d’Irouleguy” - grilled duck breast, almond purée, traditional cherry confiture
i thought the almond puree were robuchon potatoes they were so rich and creamy. duck went great with all the ingredients combined.
poulet basquaise - chicken with ham, tomato, onion & peppers
california rockfish ttoro - traditional stew with squid, mussels & shrimp espelette & saffron
squid was a highlight in this dish too, super soft and tender. pro tip, order some bread to soak up all the broth.
gateau au fromage - basque cheesecake, blackberries
