El Basque Restaurante — Restaurant in Bonita Springs

Fantastic establishment. Last week my daughters went to this restaurant simply to get out of the house and spend time together and trying something new. They came home RAVING about their meal. My older daughter has lived in Spain teaching English and is very particular about its cuisine. However, despite her being quite “tiquismiquis” (picky, in castillian spanish), she recounted an absolutely fabulous experience at El Basque—including the food, the atmosphere, the drinks, and the people. And the music!! More on the meal: The bread came out FRESH. Good sign. Then The ciders were excellent. They recommend the Pear one. The cheese+fig appetizer was a much smaller portion than the girls anticipated, but delicious. Their favorite was the escargot though, made with mushrooms. Good portion. For an entree, they split the squid ink fideu (similiar to a paella). One daughter reported that the peppers in it were not as she had in spain and she enjoyed her dish a bit crispier than they had, but other daughter very much liked it and said shrimp was cooked perfectly jn it. For dessert: cheesecake- marvelous.

My daughters sat at the beautifully decorated bar where they met owner/manager John and his partner Linda (who writes fantastic summaries and background history of the dishes at the restaurant in a weekly email). Theyencouraged the girls to try the traditional northern spanish dishes and were very knowledgeable about the region. The waitress Daniela was very attentive and kind and so was Roberto. You’d be lucky to have either one. As the girls stayed there late, they met Chef Marcela—who created that cheesecake —best my daughters said they ever had! It sounds like if you go be ready to mix mingle and immerse yourself in northern...

Our experience could not have been better! The food, wine, and service were all 5 star. What appears to be an unassuming mall storefront is beautifully done inside. Ashley, our server, was extremely helpful on both food and wine choices. Both wines we had were fantastic. The crusty bread, oil, and balsamic that came out first were delicious (but do not fill up too much-- save yourself). Of the starters we tried, our favorite was the chorizo and brie-- unbelievably tasty. The duck main course was cooked to perfection, as was the ink squid seafood pasta paella. The winner, however, was the filet with the best chimichurri sauce any of us ever had. The portions were perfect for us, not overly large, but filling, and allowed us to finish with the wonderful flan. We will definitely be back! It is well worth the drive from Fort Myers. Reserve ahead, as it was fully booked the Saturday...

Last night went on a date with my husband and I am from France so when I saw🇫🇷 “ coq au vin” ( chicken in wine sauce) “ my heart skipped a beat, and I had to get it… it was the best coq au vin I had ever had in my life! With little slices of tender carrot, bacon, simmered wine, which means the alcohol evaporated so even for those of you who don’t drink you still have to taste the sauce…You will lick your fingers! And the crispy baguette they bring to you is out of this world as well. Thank you very much chef John and the staff was outstanding as well , Micha manager, you were great! … Only negative for me I froze to death. It was very cold in there… Bring a sweater. The European music/French songs were a cherry on the cake. Thank you for this great experience we will be back and I will bring my real estate clients and friends ! Veronique PASCUAL John R...